Leftover Roast Beef Cottage Pie made with leftover gravy, mashed potatoes and veggies, a delicious meal that best describes that comfort food is all about. It's packed with fantastic flavours, and it uses up any leftovers from a nice roast beef dinner. Quick, easy, and great for the whole family.
I absolutely love a good cottage pie! Creamy mashed potatoes, minced meat and veggies, what can be better! My Turkey Cottage Pie finds its way to our table pretty often. Although traditionally a cottage pie is made with minced beef, there is nothing stopping us from tweaking it to our own liking and using any other mince.
This leftover roast beef cottage pie uses not only leftover beef from my East Roast Beef Recipe, but also leftover gravy to added flavour. And you can use any other leftovers too: leftover mash, roasted veggies or any other meat that you had for your Sunday dinner.
I used carrots, celery and peas, but feel free to use anything else that you have left, or in your fridge/freezer. When it comes to vegetables to add to a casserole, there is no right or wrong. The more, the better.
We all love gravy, and I tend to double the amount we would otherwise need (better have some left, than not enough, right?). And because it already had a thickening agent added, there is not need to thicken this filling. If you don't have leftover gravy, and you use only beef stock/broth, you have to thicken the filling with cornflour (cornstarch).
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Ingredients needed to make leftover roast beef cottage pie
- leftover roast beef - diced
- onion
- celery sticks
- carrot - 1 large or 2 small
- frozen peas - or fresh peas
- butter
- leftover gravy - if no leftover gravy, use double the amount of broth, and thicken with cornflour
- beef stock/broth
- salt& ground black pepper
- mashed potatoes - either leftover mash, or make it fresh using 3-4 large potatoes
Easy swaps
This leftovers pie can be easily transformed into a regular pie by using either puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. The only different will be, if you use pastry, is that the filling has to be cooled down before covering with pastry, otherwise the pastry won't cook well.
Whereas with mashed potatoes it can be topped and baked straight away. The cooking time won't be much any different if you use pastry, just keep an eye on it after it has been in the oven for 15 minutes.
I cubed the leftover beef I had, but you can also shred it for a different texture, it's up to you. Or even mix it with any other leftover met you have.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
If you don't have leftover mashed potatoes, you can make it quickly by peeling and chopping 3-4 large potatoes and boiling them until tender. Once they are drained, you can add salt, butter and milk and mash them to a smooth texture. I have this Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan that I use and it's lush.
To make the filling, you need: butter or oil, onion, carrots, celery, peas, leftover gravy and/or beef stock/broth.
- melt the butter in a large pan, add the peeled and chopped onion, and fry until tender
- add the chopped carrots, celery, peas (I used frozen) and chopped leftover beef
- give it a good stir, add the gravy and broth, cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes until the veggies and tender and the liquid is reduced
- butter an oven-proof dish, add the filling, and top with mashed potatoes
- dot with small butter cubes, and bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes until bubbly hot and golden brown
Other leftover roast beef recipes
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Leftover Roast Beef Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover roast beef, diced
- 1 onion
- 2 celery sticks
- 1 large carrot
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup leftover gravy (if no leftover gravy, use double the amount of broth, and thicken with cornflour)
- 1 cup beef stock/broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups mashed potatoes (either leftover mash, or make it fresh using 3-4 large potatoes)
Instructions
- To make the filling, add one tablespoon of butter to a large pan and melt.
- Peel and chop the onion, and add to the pan.
- Fry on a medium heat until it softens, then add the peeled and chopped carrot, chopped celery and the peas.
- Give it a good stir, add the diced beef, gravy and broth.
- Place the lid on and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes until the veggies are tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
- Butter an oven-proof dish, spread the filling over, and top with the mashed potatoes.
- Scatter a few dots of butter over the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling is bubbly hot.
Notes
- This leftovers pie can be easily transformed into a regular pie by using either puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. The only different will be, if you use pastry, is that the filling has to be cooled down before covering with pastry, otherwise the pastry won't cook well.
- Whereas with mashed potatoes it can be topped and baked straight away. The cooking time won't be much any different if you use pastry, just keep an eye on it after it has been in the oven for 15 minutes.
- I cubed the leftover beef I had, but you can also shred it for a different texture, it's up to you. Or even mix it with any other leftover met you have.
Sue
Would u freeze this before baking? Thank you Sue
Daniela Apostol
Because the meat had already been cooked, I would not freeze it and reheat it too many times.