Toddler cottage pie

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1 rating Rate this recipe

Try our healthy toddler meal recipes that won’t take forever to prepare and are great for young children...

Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Serves 4
Difficulty Level Easy

Preparation

Print this recipe

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
Preparation Time 25 mins
Cooking Time 50 mins

Ingredients
Method

For the filling

1 tbsp sunflower oil
Onion (2 slices), finely chopped
2 tbsp natural beef stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp thyme
2 carrots (peeled and cut into small cubes)
500g lean minced beef
1 tsp cornflour
75g peas

For the topping

2 potatoes (peeled)
1 tbsp single cream
White pepper (to taste)

For the filling

Pour a dash sunflower oil into a saucepan and add finely chopped onions to the pot to soften
Cover with water and cook until tender
Add beef stock, tomato puree, black pepper and thyme
Place chunks of carrot to saucepan and stir
Bring to a boil, and then add in the beef mince
Cook until beef is tender, approximately 30 minutes
Mix cornflour with a splash of cold water and add to the saucepan while stirring
Finally thrown in the peas and heat for a couple of minutes
Place mixture into a casserole dish

For the topping

Cook cubes of peeled potato in boiling water until soft
Mash potato with a spoonful of single cream and pepper
Finally place mashed potato onto meat filling and place in oven for a crispy top

You will need

Saucepan - This heavy-duty 20 cm aluminium saucepan features vitreous enamel coating and non-slip handle for extra safety and convenience. You can get it at Amazon for £2 5.24.

Potato masher - Designed with a broad mashing plate and strong grip handle, this one allows easy mashing of potatoes under gentle pressure and is available at Amazon for under £10.

Potato peeler - This innovative, multi-peel Y-shaped one is designed with thee different blades AND is dish-washer safe. You can get it at Amazon for £9.

Tips

This recipe makes enough for two adults and two children, so it's great for family mealtimes (especially in the winter!). Serve with a sprinkle of grated chedar cheese on top along with some fresh veggies on the side – we recommend green beans, broccoli, peas, asparagus or roasted cauliflower.

Variations

Add dried red lentils (and a little extra water or stock) instead of beef for a vegetarian version

Reviews

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1 rating Rate this recipe

Polly L(45)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5

DD's obsessed with sweet potato, so I used that for the topping instead and she gobbled it all up.

on 16/4/20
Guest

I made this today for my 9month old and nearly three year old. I grated the carrot as my older one is a reluctant vegetable eater and I did a mix of half normal potatoes and half sweet potato for the topping. I just whizzed it up a bit for the baby and they both gobbled it up. So a thumbs up from us :)

on 22/10/10
Guest

we tried this dish my two year old is a fussy eater he wouldnt normally eat cottage pie but he loved this i will definatly be trying other dishes off this page

on 1/11/08