Beef and Lentil Cottage Pie
A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please eve...ryone - we use a small amount of minced beef mixed with red lentils, so you get the satisfaction of eating meat with a lot more fibre. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian you can use tempeh instead of beef - give it a few pulses in the food processor until it's crumbly. Read more A common conundrum our users express is wanting to eat more plant-based meals but living with family members who don’t. Recipes like this please everyone - we use a small amount of minced beef mixed with red lentils, so you get the satisfaction of eating meat with a lot more fibre. If you want to keep it completely vegetarian you can use tempeh instead of beef - give it a few pulses in the food processor until it's crumbly.
points
protein
fibre
vegetables
points
protein
fibre
vegetables
NUTRITION PER SERVING (Read more)
Notes
Freezing Instructions: Assemble the pie up until stage 10. Allow to cool completely. Wrap well and place in the freezer. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and let sit out for 30 minutes to lose fridge chill before baking as usual. (It might need an extra 10-15 minutes). Keeps well frozen for up to 3 months.
points
protein
fibre
vegetables
Ingredients
Method
Gather and prepare your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 5-6 minutes, until softened.
Add the garlic, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Cook for 1-2 minutes until darkened and fragrant.
Add the red lentils and beef and stir to coat. Chop up the beef with the back of your spatula. The beef doesn't need to fully cook at this stage.
Add the stock, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-12 mintues, until tender. If using beef, cook uncovered. If using tempeh, cover the pan during cooking.
Add the peas at the end and cook for about 1 minute, just until defrosted.
Meanwhile, place the potatoes into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 17-20 minutes until tender. Drain well. Allow the potatoes to sit in the colander for several minutes to steam. The drier your potatoes are at this stage, the creamier your mash will be.
While the potatoes are draining place the milk and olive oil into the pan over a low heat. Heat for 2-3 minutes, just until shivering but do not let it bubble.
Turn off the heat and add the cooked potatoes to the pan with the milk. Mash until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasoning to taste. Don’t worry if it appears wet at first. Potatoes absorb a lot of liquid and they will dry out further in the oven. As there is a fairly minimal amount of added fat in this mash you need a lot of liquid to avoid a grainy texture.
Spoon the mashed potatoes over the base. If desired, use a fork to create grooves in the mashed potatoes.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling at the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Freezing Instructions: Assemble the pie up until stage 10. Allow to cool completely. Wrap well and place in the freezer. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and let sit out for 30 minutes to lose fridge chill before baking as usual. (It might need an extra 10-15 minutes). Keeps well frozen for up to 3 months.
User comments (15)
Replaced potato with NZ sweet potatoes (kūmara)
Super watery. Good taste but more like a soup 🫤
This needs a massive casserole dish to fit it all in. Which I didn’t have so needed up putting some of the mince in separate tin. Meant the main dish had too much potato and not enough mince. But I just swapped it all about in serving and divving up into freezer tubs. Might be worth heeding that warning prior?
Swapped the white potatoes for sweet potatoes, yummy
Looks like tomato paste in the photo - not puree
Yum yum yum. I added chilli 🌶️ and served with oven roasted broccolini and cauliflower
I had 200g lamb leftover from a roast. My husband didn’t like the texture of the minced lamb with the lentils but it’s a great way to make a little go a long way.
This smelt so good cooking. I found the ratio of filling a bit too much against the potato but it was delicious all the same and we’ve got loads leftover for freezing. Might use a grater or food processor to quicken the veg prep.
Hi. The cook time is wrong on this recipe. It says 35 mins, but that’s just the oven time st the end. There’s lots of cook time before that too!
Delicious recipe!
Wonderful!
Very tasty dish, it was a huge family sized meal, loved it.
Really tasty however could you please clarify how watery the mixture should be at stage 5 in the method? 750ml of stock seemed like a lot and the mixture was still very watery after 10-12 minutes - is this correct? I ended up cooking it for over an hour to reduce down as I wasn't sure!
Good wholesome meal
Easy and tasty. All the family loved it