What Can I Cook With Ground Beef and Potatoes?

Ground beef and potatoes makes cottage pie, a beef hash, a skillet dinner, or loaded baked potatoes. It's filling, cheap, and every version comes down to browning the beef properly before the potato ever enters the pan.

Potato is a sponge for beef fat and juices. In a cottage pie, the mash lid traps steam and the beef braises underneath; in a hash, the potato fries in the rendered fat and crisps.

Dishes you can make

• Cottage pie — The filling must be thick before it goes under the mash, or the topping sinks.
• Beef and potato hash — Par-cook potatoes, brown beef separately, combine only at the end.
• Skillet beef and potatoes — One pan, potatoes first, beef on top, lid on for 10 minutes.
• Loaded baked potatoes — Bake at 200°C for an hour, no foil — foil steams the skin soft.
• Beef and potato curry — Keema aloo: brown the beef hard, add potato with the spices.

Tips that actually matter

• Rough up par-boiled potatoes before frying — more surface area means more crust.
• Drain most but not all of the beef fat.
• For cottage pie, dry the mash out over low heat before spreading it.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between cottage and shepherd's pie?

Cottage pie uses beef; shepherd's pie uses lamb. Otherwise the method is identical.

Can I make it ahead?

Cottage pie improves overnight. Assemble, refrigerate, then bake from cold with 15 extra minutes.

How do I make it healthier?

Use 90/10 beef, swap half the mash for cauliflower, and bulk out the filling with carrots and lentils.

Related guides

• chicken and potatoes
• ground beef and rice
• potatoes and onions

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