This Corned Beef Pie is the love child of Shepherd’s Pie and Corned Beef Hash. Make it with leftover corned beef or canned corned beef. Great comfort food and the perfect thing to make with leftover corned beef!
Why you’ll love this Corned Beef Cottage Pie
- This Corned Beef Cottage Pie is just the thing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or any day!
- It’s perfect to use up leftover corned beef or it can be made with the always handy canned corned beef.
- It’s not always easy to find great recipes that use canned corned beef recipes beyond hash, so it’s a great, back-pocket recipe.
- If you enjoy Corned Beef Hash and Shepherd’s Pie, you’ll love this corned beef mash-up version!
What you’ll need
Corned Beef – as noted above, you can use left-over corned beef from a cooked corned beef brisket or reach for canned corned beef any time. If you find yourself a bit short of corned beef, consider some of the Variations below, to add extras to your pie.
Wondering how to cook up your Corned Beef brisket? Scroll down for instructions!
Mashed Potatoes – You can use left-over mashed potatoes or make some mashed fresh for this dish (you can make them ahead and refrigerate, then assemble the dish later). I used Yukon Gold yellow-fleshed potatoes for my mashed potatoes. You could also use Russets if you like.
Breadcrumbs – Breadcrumbs are optional, but if using, you can use dried breadcrumbs or Panko, as you like.
How to make Corned Beef Cottage Pie
- Start by softening the onions in a skillet with some butter.
- Add the chicken broth, Worcestershire, ketchup, parsley and thyme. Stir to combine.
- Simmer the onion mixture over medium heat until it reduces by half.
- When the sauce has been reduced, add the corned beef.
- Simmer the corned beef mixture over medium heat to reduce the liquid.
- Cook until most, but not all of the liquid has cooked off. (I added some small peas to my dish here).
- Add the corned beef mixture to an oven-safe dish.
- Top the corned beef mixture with the mashed potatoes (I added some extra parsley to the potatoes here).
- Top the mashed potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese if using, then finish with some breadcrumbs (I’m using Panko here).
Recipe tips!
- Be sure not to skip the step of reducing the liquid in the skillet before adding the corned beef. This process concentrates the flavours of the Worcestershire and Ketchup and makes for a fuller-flavoured finished dish.
- After you have added the corned beef, simmer the mixture until there is just a bit of liquid in the pan, but don’t cook it until ALL the liquid has evaporated. Leaving some liquid will keep your corned beef layer moist as it cooks in the oven.
- The cheddar cheese and breadcrumb topping is optional. You can skip if you like and you will still have a very nice dish. Since I’ve never been one to “skip the cheese”, I usually add it :)
- If your cooking dish is filled to the brim like mine, be sure to place it on a baking sheet to catch any bubble over.
- My favourite way to eat this is with a generous dollop of ketchup on the side.
- At my house, this dish served 2. Me and a very, very hungry husband. I’ll call it 3 servings, as it is more like 3 average servings. If you are serving more, just double the recipe and cook up in a larger dish.
Variations
- Add frozen peas to the simmering corned beef mixture.
- Add some diced tender-crisp, cooked carrots to the corned beef mixture.
- How about a bit of shredded cabbage? Add some thinly sliced cabbage to the simmering corned beef mixture.
How to cook a corned beef brisket
Starting with an uncooked corned beef brisket, you can cook it either on the stove-top or in a slow cooker. Simply remove the brisket from its wrapping. Place in a large pot or slow cooker and cover with about 1 inch of water. If a separate spice pack was included with your corned beef, add the spices to the water.
On the stovetop, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 50 minutes per pound of corned beef. For the slow cooker, cook for 4 1/2 hours on HI or 8-9 hours on LOW.
Get the Recipe: Corned Beef Cottage Pie
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes (or use leftover mashed potatoes):
- 1 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered, about 4 medium-sized potatoes
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- Salt, to taste
Corned Beef Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, or beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 1/2 cups cooked corned beef, finely diced or 340g/12oz canned corned beef
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Topping (optional):
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 Tablespoons dried bread crumbs, or 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
Instructions
- Make the Mashed Potatoes: Add peeled, cut potatoes (evenly sized) to a large pot of cold water. Add salt to the water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Meanwhile, heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until warm, then keep warm until needed.
- Drain the potatoes then return the potatoes to a dry pot. Place over medium heat on the stovetop. Add milk/butter mixture to the pot. Mash potatoes until smooth. *Add a bit more milk, if needed. Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Cover and set aside (or cover and refrigerate if making ahead).
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Make the Filling: Heat 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and just starting to turn golden. Add the Worcestershire, ketchup, chicken broth, parsley and thyme to the skillet. Simmer over medium heat until the liquid reduces by half. Add the corned beef and reduce the heat slightly. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until there is only a bit of liquid left in the mixture (don't let all of it cook off). Taste the mixture and add additional salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed.
- Spoon the filling into a small baking dish (8-inch round-ish). Spoon mashed potatoes over top in an even layer. Top with shredded cheese, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. To catch any bubbleovers, place the baking dish on top of a baking sheet.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and bubbling and the top is lovely and golden.
Notes
If you find yourself a little short of corned beef, consider adding in some of the Variations listed below to make up for the lesser amount of corned beef. Be sure not to skip the step of reducing the liquid in the skillet before adding the corned beef. This process concentrates the flavours of the Worcestershire and Ketchup and makes for a fuller-flavoured finished dish. After you have added the corned beef, simmer the mixture until there is just a bit of liquid in the pan, but don’t cook it until ALL the liquid has evaporated. Leaving some liquid will keep your corned beef layer moist as it cooks in the oven. Variations Add frozen peas to the simmering corned beef mixture.
Add some diced tender-crisp, cooked carrots to the corned beef mixture.
How about a bit of shredded cabbage? Add some thinly sliced cabbage to the simmering corned beef mixture. Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, where I share some valuable tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe! You’ll also find step-by-step photos that you might find helpful.
More Corned Beef Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Great way to re hash corned beef
Thanks Mike :)
I added some shredded cabbage just because I felt like it needed some veggies and because cabbage and corned beef!
Good idea!
Hi, could you please tell me what corned beef is when you make it yourself? Thank you!
Hi Ann, Corned beef is essentially pickled beef. It is a beef brisket that is marinated in a vinegar and spice mixture, then it is generally boiled or baked. It is often bought pre-marinated here in packages and then is just cooked at home.
Thank you for the great recipe! I made the recipe as written and the whole family really loved it. I would classify it as a comfort dish. I appreciate recipes that deliver great flavor and are easy to put together that do not have a long list of ingredients.
This will definitely be added to our family recipe book.
We served a salad on the side.
So glad you all enjoyed it, Sherry :) Thanks!
Wonderful flavor! I had scant leftovers for the 3 of us, but I will try them tonight. I used my own recipe for mashed potatoes which was made with 1 1/2# of potatoes, since one member of my family can never have enough potatoes! I doubled the cheddar cheese on top, which may have been overkill. My only criticism would be that it took rather a long time to make with all the chopping + measuring. But then, most things in life worthwhile take time + effort.
So glad you enjoyed it, Joan :) Thanks!
Wow! Lots of great ideas here. I too, will likely be making some up to freeze. I have a tin of corned beef in my cupboard to use up, plus some instant mashed potatoes.
Enjoy Judy :)
Tried this recipe last night and is was enjoyed by all!! Will definitely make again when I cook a corned beef!! Thank you!!
So glad to hear, Jan! Thanks so much :)
Omg! This cottage pie is heaven! We used our leftover corned beef, the broth too, and colcannon. This recipe is a keeper, and we decided it’ll become our annual post-Paddy’s day dinner! But let’s be real here, we’ll probably make it way more than once a year!
So glad you enjoyed it, Pixi! Thanks so much :)
I used leftover colcannon potatoes from St. Patrick’s day. :) yum!
Sounds great, Casie and such a great idea! My husband makes sure we never have any leftover colcannon (but next year I’ll hide a bit to try it :) Thanks so much!
I made the pie following the recipe exactly. But I made mine to freeze and have at a later date. Wondering how long you would bake it from frozen? Instead of 30 maybe 45 minutes? Thanks!
Hi Marnie and yes, I think 45-50 minutes should be about right from frozen. Enjoy :)
I used fresh corn that is knifed off tcob mixed into russet mashed potatoes . The filling I followed exactly but chopped up some green beans. And for the topping crumbled biscuits and cheddar. Yummy.
It does sound yummy, Will :) So glad you enjoyed it!
I just prepped this…a friend of mine ended up with a can of corned beef in her grocery order that was purchased by accident and she sent it my way. I wanted to do something different from just eating it on sandwiches and came across your recipe.
I added half of a 6oz can of tomato sauce that I had leftover from another recipe in place of some of the broth, and about 2 cups of frozen mixed veggies, and then did a layer of cream style corn like I do in my typical cottage pie. I ended up with enough for 2 dinners for our small family. So we will have one casserole for tomorrow night’s dinner and one to freeze for another night that we need something easy.
I could tell just from sampling the filling as it was simmering that it is going to be delicious! We like cottage pie and the occasional corned beef hash is one of our guilty pleasures, so I know this will not disappoint! Next time I think I might stick closer to your recipe and serve it for brunch topped with an over-easy egg, or with eggs baked in indentations on the potato topping! Thanks for the recipe, and for fueling my creativity!
Thanks so much, Monica :)
In your recipe was the chicken or beef stock made with stock cubes? Would it be as nice if it was?
Hi Trish, I actually use Better than Bouillon, which is a paste that is re-constituted with water. So it’s similar to cubes in that respect. I’d say any stock you enjoy will be fine here :) Enjoy!