Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie) top a true comfort food casserole of beef and vegetables in Americanized British style.
Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie)
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie) is my recipe of the day with the blogging group Baking bloggers. We group monthly to share recipes for various baked foods.
This month the group decided to share recipes using ground meats or mince.
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I have been thinking of making a Shepherd’s/Cottage pie for awhile now, and topping it with Tater Tots instead of mashed potatoes.
It sounded like a nice variation that would make dinner prep even that much easier. No peeling of potatoes or cooking them into mash.
The result is a far easier method to create the classic casserole topped with potatoes.
Beef or Lamb the Choice is Yours
I have used ground beef in this but it can also be made with ground lamb. I don’t care which one you use as that is a personal choice. Traditionally, the shepherd uses lamb because the shepherd watches over the flock (and eats it too). Cottage pie would use ground beef.
Of course you can also use other mince, such as ground chicken turkey, or pork. You could also sub veggie crumbles- just make sure the one you use is suitable. Some of those unfortunately get soggy and a bit soft.
Baking Bloggers: Ground Meats & Mince
-
- Baked Chicken Fingers by Sneha’s Recipe
- Baked Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Bierocks (German Beef & Cabbage Stuffed Rolls) by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Hawawshi (Egyptian Meat Stuffed Bread) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
- Pierogi Shepherd’s Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie) by Palatable Pastime
- Turkey Zucchini Feta Meatballs by Food Lust People Love
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Tater Tot Cottage Pie (Shepherd's Pie)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 10 ounce bag Bird's Eye frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 teaspoons ground dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon kitchen bouquet
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 32 ounces frozen Ore Ida Tater Tots
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Spray an oval gratin baking dish or casserole with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in a skillet and drain off fat.
- Stir in the frozen vegetables, mustard, marjoram, pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, kitchen bouquet or other caramel color, and tomato paste.
- Whisk corn starch into beef broth and add to the pan.
- Cook over low heat, stirring, until mixture thickens into a nice gravy.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Top with tater tots, standing them on end and not pressing them into the sauce. There may be a few leftover, depending.
- Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the grated Parm.
- Bake for thirty minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Great minds Sue. I’m sure yours with the tater tots was just as good as mine with the pierogi.
Oooh, give me all the tater tots! This sounds amazing.
I love how you topped the casserole with tater tots to avoid peeling or mashing. Definitely the perfect comfort food!
What a fun recipe. It’s been too long since I’ve had tater tots. Must fix that soon.