One of my all-time favourite winter dinners has to be a cottage pie, it’s a perfect treat for the whole family and I remember my mum cooking it all the time when I was a child and how I’d love to come home from school to the smell filling up the house! Now I’m older I love making my own cottage pie, although this time it’s a slimming world cottage pie!
Slimming World Cottage Pie
I think most people would have had a cottage pie and it is probably a family staple, it is a dinner that can be made and packed full of goodness, vegetables, gravy and yum.
Cottage pie is one of those dinners that can be prepared before time and just finished off in the oven so that the potatoes have a nice crispy topping. If you want to be naughty, you can add some cheese to the topping and it does make the potatoes that little bit special.
Because this is a syn free dinner, unless you add cheese, you can then save and use your syns on something delicious such as this slimming world diet coke chocolate cake!
What is the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie?
Most people think that Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie are the same thing when in fact they are different. Cottage Pie is made with beef mince and shepherd’s pie is made with lamb mince.
The actual recipe is the same, so it doesn’t matter what mince you are using, you just need so make sure you cook it well and most importantly, enjoy it.
Slimming World Cottage Pie Syns
This is one of the absolute best recipes, once that is packed full of flavour and goodness, especially as I do something a little different with it. When I’m making a cottage pie, instead of cutting the carrots into chucks and putting them into the mixture to cook, I grate the carrot and put it in.
This makes the whole dish packed even more with vitamins and good vegetables, the carrots do breakdown, so if you have children who don’t like them, this is a great way to add some extra goodness into the meal.
As this is a fantastic family recipe, no one would know that this is syn free, that’s right, this is a syn free family dinner.
Cottage Pie Cost
This is a great dinner for the family or if you’re on a budget, then this is a meal you must try. It comes in at less than £1 a portion and it is so good for you.
If you’re looking for hearty family meals or budget dinners, then you should check out some other great family-friendly, cheap and budget meals, such as Slimming World Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chicken Spaghetti Carbonara, or even these Beef Burritos.
Slimming World Cottage Pie Recipe
Slimming World Cottage Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Large Deep Frying Pan / Skillet
- Large Casserole Dish
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 500 g Mince Beef 5% fat or less
- 250 g Potatoes Peeled and chopped
- 100 g Onions
- 50 g Mushrooms
- 50 g Peppers
- 50 g Carrots Grated
- 50 g Peas Frozen
- 50 g Green Beans Trimmed
- 50 g Sweetcorn Drained
- 32 g Low Fat Spread
- 75 ml Water
- 2 tsp Gravy Granules 2 syns
- Salt and Pepper
- Frylight
Instructions
- Chop up the onions and grate the carrot. If you are using frozen vegetables, then just get everything ready and in bowls / plate, so you can then just add it when needed.
- Peel and chop the potatoes and add to a pan of water. Put this on a low – medium heat, add some salt to the water and leave until they are soft.
- Add the mince and onions to a pan, make sure you use a wooden spoon to break up the meat and mix with the onions. Cook until the meat is half-cooked through, then add the mushrooms.
- Once the mince is all cooked through, add all the other vegetables and mix until all combined.
- Once the vegetables have cooked through, make a well in the middle of the pan, if there isn’t enough water, then add some as this will form the gravy. Add the gravy granules and mix until you have a gravy, once the gravy is ready, mix it through the cottage pie mixture.
- N.B Don’t worry if you need to make more gravy, just repeat this process. If the gravy is too thick, just add some more water.
- Now the cottage pie mixture is ready, put it into an oven proof dish and leave while you are making the mash potato. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C – 200°C.
- The potatoes should be soft strain then and get rid of all water, add the potatoes back to the pan. Add the Butter / margarine and mash the potatoes until smooth, also add the milk and mix until it is smooth.
- Add the mash to the top of the cottage pie mixture, spread until the mixture is covered, run a folk down the whole length of the mash potato to make a pattern, now put the cottage pie in the oven and cook for around 20 minutes or until it is golden on top.
- Now remove from the oven, serve and enjoy.
Notes
| INGREDIENTS | WEIGHT | CALORIES | PRICE |
| Extra Lean Beef Mince | 500g | 890 kcal | £2.85 |
| Potatoes | 340g | 322 kcal | £0.29 |
| Onion | 100g | 40 kcal | £0.03 |
| Mushrooms | 50g | 14 kcal | £0.10 |
| Carrots | 50g | 18 kcal | £0.03 |
| Peas (Frozen) | 50g | 43 kcal | £0.04 |
| Green Beans | 50g | 17 kcal | £0.19 |
| Sweetcorn | 100g | 84 kcal | £0.23 |
| Gravy Granules | 2 tbsp | 25 kcal | £0.02 |
| Sunflower Spread | 32g | 210 kcal | £0.05 |
| TOTAL | 1663 kcal | £3.83 | |
| PER SERVING | 416 kcal | £0.96 |
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