Sausage cottage pie is a family-friendly supper that everyone will love! It's similar to the traditional 'bangers and mash' but with a twist. The sausages are baked in a casserole dish in a rich onion gravy with a topping of creamy cheesy mashed potatoes.
Sausage and mash casserole
Introducing everyone's favourite food - sausage cottage pie! I can't think of anyone who doesn't love both sausages and cottage pie. And this recipe is the best of both! Tasty sausages cooked in a deliciously thick onion gravy and topped with piles of cheesy mustard mash before being browned in the oven.
This easy sausage cottage pie is what comfort food is all about!
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Why I love this recipe
I love this sausage and mash pie recipe for so many reasons.
- First and foremost it's got sausages in it! If I ever ask hubby what he'd like for supper, you can guarantee that 9 times out of 10 the answer will be 'sausages'. And on the other odd occasion, he'll answer 'lamb'. So whenever I make this sausage cottage pie he's a very happy man!
- Secondly, sausage and mash pie is easy to make. All you do is brown the sausages in a little oil and transfer them to a casserole dish. Fry some sliced onions, thicken them with flour, stir in the stock and seasonings and pour over the sausages. Finally top with mashed potatoes, sprinkle with cheese and pop into the oven for half an hour. And if you've got any leftover mashed potatoes then the dish is even easier to make, because you don't even have to boil the potatoes.
- Thirdly, sausage cottage pie is an economical dish. Sausages are relatively cheap, and you can easily feed a family of 4 on a pound (450 grams) of sausages.
I love the creamy mashed potatoes too. They are made with boiled potatoes mashed up with butter and a splash of milk (and if you want to make them even creamier you could use single cream instead). Once the potatoes are mashed, stir in some grated cheddar cheese and a good tablespoon of wholegrain mustard. Wholegrain mustard doesn't have too much burn, and I think the little pops of flavour that you get from the mustard seeds add an extra 'something' to the potatoes.
For a tasty variation you could make the mash with a mixture of normal potatoes and sweet potatoes (or yams).
All you will need in addition is a side dish of your favourite vegetable. I like to use peas, but green beans, cauliflower or carrots would make a good alternative.
Let me show you how easy it is to make:
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a frying pan for frying the sausages. You can use the same pan for making the onion gravy, You will also need a large saucepan for boiling the potatoes.
For assembling the dish you will need a casserole dish large enough to hold the sausages and gravy, as well as the mashed potatoes.
I recommend placing the casserole dish on a baking tray when it goes into the oven. If your casserole dish is very full, there is a strong possibility that some of the gravy might boil over and make a mess on the bottom of your oven.
Ingredients
**You can find the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this sausage cottage pie on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Sausages - good quality pork or beef sausages. Don't buy the cheapest sausages you can find - you want good meaty sausages for this dish. I've allowed 2 sausages per person, but if you have a larger appetite then, by all means, add extra.
Oil - I used sunflower oil but you could use any neutral-flavoured vegetable oil. This is used for frying the sausages.
Potatoes - use any potatoes that you would normally use for mashing. The potatoes should be peeled and cut into evenly-sized chunks. You could use a mixture of potatoes and sweet potatoes too if you prefer.
Milk - just a splash for adding to the mash. If you want to be slightly more decadent you could substitute the milk with cream.
Butter - for mashing with the potatoes.
Cheese - I like to use a nice sharp mature cheddar - it is used both for mashing with the potatoes and also for sprinkling on top.
Wholegrain mustard - this gets mashed into the potatoes too. If you prefer you could substitute it with Dijon mustard.
Onions - because what would onion gravy be without onions? You can use red or white onions, and they should be peeled, cut in half (top to bottom) and finely sliced into semi-circles.
Stock-pot - I like to use a red-wine-flavoured beef stock-pot. You could use plain beef or even a vegetable stockpot.
Worcestershire sauce - for flavouring the gravy.
Flour - for thickening the gravy
Tomato puree - which I forgot to include in the photo. Tomato puree (you may also know it as tomato paste) is highly concentrated tomatoes - not to be confused with tomato ketchup.
Water - you could use half water and half red wine if you want to add even more flavour.
What to do
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages on moderate heat until they are browned on all sides. This should not take more than 5 minutes.
Cut the sausages into three or four pieces and arrange them on the base of a casserole dish. If you prefer, you can leave the sausages whole.
Using the same pan, add the finely sliced onions and fry them gently until they start to turn brown and caramelise. There should be sufficient oil left over from frying the sausages - if not, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Don't let the onions become too brown.
Remove the onions from the heat and stir in the flour. Make sure the flour is well mixed in, with no lumps.
Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, water and the stock pot and bring it to a boil.
Turn down the heat, and simmer for about 3 minutes until the gravy is thick and glossy. Stir occasionally to prevent lumps from forming.
Pour the onion gravy over the sausages.
Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft enough to mash (8 to 10 minutes) then drain them. Add the milk and butter and mash. Once mashed, stir in the cheese and mustard.
Carefully place spoonfuls of the mashed potato onto the onion gravy and then use a fork to spread it. Gently fluff the surface of the potato with the fork and then sprinkle the cheese on top.
Place the casserole dish on a baking tray and then bake it in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are golden.
Serve hot, with your choice of vegetables.
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Sausage cottage pie FAQ
That's a very good question - and the answer is - I've no idea! I threw a few ideas around - 'bangers and mash pie', sausage and mash pie' - and even toyed with the idea of making it with sliced scalloped potatoes instead of mash, and calling it 'sausage shepherd's pie'. In the end, I just settled on sausage cottage pie.
Not at all, you could fry the sausage, make the mashed potatoes and serve them on a plate with the gravy poured over the top. If you are going to be doing this then I would suggest making the gravy slightly thinner so that it pours over easily.
If you want to make this dish and freeze it for another day, I would recommend preparing the dish to the stage where it is ready to go into the oven. Wrap the casserole dish in tin foil and 2 or 3 layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
To use, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator and then bake as per the recipe instructions. Alternatively, bake from frozen but add 10 to 15 minutes onto the cooking time to compensate.
I would also recommend assembling the dish in a disposable aluminium container so you don't have to leave your casserole dish in the freezer.
Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated either in the oven or in the microwave.
If you want to make the top of the potatoes extra crunchy, why not crush up a small packet of cheese and onion potato crisps and mix them with the grated cheese before sprinkling them over the mashed potatoes?
Save for later
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Related recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, perhaps you'd like to take a look at some of my other easy supper ideas:
📋The recipe
Sausage cottage pie with onion gravy
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Saucepan
- Casserole dish
- Baking tray
Ingredients
- 1 pound / 450 grams good quality sausages beef or pork
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Onion gravy
- 2 medium onions peeled and finely sliced
- 3 tablespoons / 30 grams flour for thickening
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 stock-pot (red wine flavour if possible)
- 2 cups water or use 1½ cups water and ½cup red wine
- Salt to taste
Mashed potatoes
- 2½ pounds / 1.25 kg potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 ounce / 30 grams butter
- ½ cup / 50 grams grated cheese for mixing with the mash
- 2 tablespoons Wholegrain mustard or to your own taste
- ½ cup / 50 grams grated cheese for topping
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages on a moderate heat until they are browned on all sides. This should not take more than 5 minutes.1 pound / 450 grams good quality sausages, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Transfer the sausages to a casserole dish and set aside. If you prefer you could cut the sausages into three or four pieces before adding them to the casserole dish.
Onion gravy
- Using the same pan, add the finely sliced onions and fry them gently until they start to turn brown and caramelise. There should be sufficient oil left over from frying the sausages - if not, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Don't let the onions become too brown.2 medium onions
- Remove the onions from the heat and stir in the flour. Make sure the flour is well mixed in, with no lumps.3 tablespoons / 30 grams flour
- Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, water and the stock-pot and bring it to a boil.1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 stock-pot (red wine flavour if possible), 2 cups water
- Turn down the heat, and simmer for about 3 minutes until the gravy is thick and glossy. Stir occasionally to prevent lumps from forming.
- Season with salt to taste.Salt
- Pour the onion gravy over the sausages.
Mashed potatoes
- Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft enough to mash (8 to 10 minutes) then drain them.2½ pounds / 1.25 kg potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add the milk and butter and mash until smooth. Once mashed, stir in the cheese and mustard.2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream, 1 ounce / 30 grams butter, ½ cup / 50 grams grated cheese, 2 tablespoons Wholegrain mustard
- Carefully place spoonfuls of the mashed potato onto the onion gravy and then use a fork to spread it. Gently fluff the surface of the potato with the fork and then sprinkle the cheese on top.½ cup / 50 grams grated cheese
- Place the casserole dish on a baking tray and then bake it in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are golden.
- Serve hot, with your choice of vegetables.
Notes
To use, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator and then bake as per the recipe instructions. Alternatively, bake from frozen but add 10 to 15 minutes onto the cooking time to compensate.
I would also recommend assembling the dish in a disposable aluminium container so you don't have to leave your casserole dish in the freezer. For an extra crispy topping, mix a small packet of crushed cheese and onion flavour crisps with the grated cheese before sprinkling on top of the potatoes. Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated either in the oven or in the microwave.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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