What's the difference between cottage pie and shepherd's pie? (2024)

FAQs

Is shepherd's pie and cottage pie the same? ›

The main difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's pie is cottage pie uses ground beef, and Shepherd's pie uses ground lamb. Both pies are cooked with vegetables and gravy and baked under a layer of mashed potatoes. To make Shepherd's pie using this recipe, simply substitute ground lamb.

A dish of shepherd's pie. Cottage pie is made using similar ingredients to shepherds pie - what separates them is the type of meat used. Nationally Cottage pie is made with ground beef and Shepherds pie is made with ground lamb.

Shepherd's pie is another variation on the cottage pie. In its classic form, as its name suggests, lamb is used for the meat filling. Today lamb is less often seen than beef, which renders it largely indistinguishable from cottage pie and gives purists a cause for argument.

The terms shepherd's pie and cottage pie have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd's pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.

Cottage Pie – comfort food central! This English classic has a deeply savoury beef mince filling smothered in gravy topped with creamy mashed potato, baked until golden. One of the best cosy foods to make with ground beef!

Shepherd's pie comes to us from England, and is traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Here in the states we are more of a beef eating culture than a lamb eating one, and when one is served "shepherd's pie" here, it is most often made with ground beef.

Simply put, after making a weekend roast, unused meat was repurposed into a pie using affordable potatoes as a crust. This frugal, albeit clever, meal suggests the name “cottage pie” referred to the consumers of the dish—poor Irish peasants (remember, they lived in cottages).

Most workers ate their meat, potatoes and corn separately but workers of mainly Asian origins, combined their rations to create shepherd's pie, a more communal dish. The French-Canadian railway workers liked this new concoction, adopted the dish, and called it “pâté chinois”, which loosely translates to Chinese pie.

Many people believe that the peasant housewives invented the pie as an easy way to repackage leftovers from their Sunday roast. The Shepherd Pie is thought to originate from Ireland and the northern parts of England.

It's called cottage pie in the U.K. because they use beef and in Ireland since the shepherds tend sheep, it's shepherd's pie. No doubt, the English put out an excellent cottage pie, but in Ireland it used to be a delicacy since the Irish couldn't afford beef they repurposed any unused veggies and meat.

What do New Yorkers call pie? ›

In NY, pizzas are referred to as “pies,” as in a pizza pie. So, please don't get excited and ask us if we sell apple or pumpkin.

Lombardi's in New York City opened in 1905 and has been a family-run business ever since. Pizza was coined “pie” for its similarities to the dish, with its crust, circular shape, and sliced triangle portions that fit the description. By the 1900s, pizza became known as street food and the pie saw sales soar.

Cottage pie is an English casserole that's traditionally made with minced meat (usually ground beef), gravy, vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

United Kingdom

Shepherd's pie / Origin

The best cottage pies and shepherd's pies are made with leftover roast meat, not mince. In fact, the whole purpose of these pies was to eke out the leftovers. If you don't have any, use finely diced fresh meat.

So, if you ask nearly anyone what country shepherd's pie comes from, you're bound to get the answer, "Ireland." However, cottage pie probably originated in Scotland, in the North of the UK. Meat pies were common in this region and were topped with pastry crust before the 1700s when potatoes were introduced as a crop.

The british recipe has no cheese in it but some put grated cheese on top of the mashed potato before going in the oven. Also we use lamb not beef as that is cottage pie and that also can have cheese on top.