Quorn Cottage Pie

Name: Quorn Cottage Pie
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes (or mix potato and sweet potato, organic); 10 g butter (organic (optional)); 1 tbsp olive oil (organic, fairtrade); 1 onions (organic, peeled and finely chopped); 150 g carrots (organic, diced into 1cm pieces); 300 g Quorn Mince; 400 g chopped tomatoes (organic, tinned); 200 ml vegetable stock (organic); 2 tbsp tomato puree (organic); 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (organic); 1 dash salt; 1 dash freshly ground black pepper (fairtrade)

Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie are great British comfort food dishes and swapping the mince for Quorn mince, is an easy way to reduce your meat consumption and make a Vegetarian Cottage Pie. Quorn cooks quickly, is simple to use, gluten-free, and low in fat. This Quorn Cottage Pie is ready in just 30 minutes, making this a great mid-week go-to. For a version that uses mixed beans instead of Quorn mince, try my Mixed Bean Vegetarian Cottage Pie. For more recipes that use Quorn Mince, try my simple Quorn Bolognese, Quorn Chilli or Quorn Lasagne

quorn cottage pie in dish with portion removed and side of garden peas

Cottage Pie is a traditional British dish. The name comes from the end of the 18th century when the poorer folk in Britain living in cottages in the country, started using potatoes as an everyday food. At that time, any dish that had mashed potato on top was called a Cottage Pie.

In this recipe, onions and carrots are fried together and then mixed with the Quorn mince, tinned tomatoes, and stock before being baked under a layer of creamy mashed potatoes.

Other Vegetarian versions of traditional British dishes you might like are Sausage Casserole with Beans, Vegetable Stew with dumplings or Vegan Toad in the Hole

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Common Questions about Quorn Mince
Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Sustainability
How to serve it
Storage
📖 Recipe

Common Questions about Quorn Mince

What is Quorn Mince?

Quorn mince is a meat-free or plant-based substitute for meat. It's made with a mycoprotein and is high in protein, gluten-free, low in saturated fat, contains no soy, and is vegetarian society approved. It is not, however, suitable for vegans as it contains rehydrated free-range egg white. There are other plant-based mince substitutes available that are suitable for vegans.

Why use Quorn Mince?

Quorn is a very easy substitute for traditional mince. It can be cooked from frozen making it an easy go-to. Although it has very little taste on its own, it easily absorbs the flavour of the dish. Swapping meat for Quorn mince is a simple way to reduce your meat consumption. Swapping meat for a plant-based meal even just once per week can have a significant impact on your carbon footprint.

Can you Freeze Quorn Mince?

Yes! Quorn mince is sold frozen and can be kept for around 2 months. Once you've cooked it, you can refreeze it as a cooked meal for up to one month. Let your dish cool properly first.

Ingredients

This is an easy recipe made with simple everyday ingredients. Quorn Mince can be kept in the freezer so is a handy standby.

Quorn Mince is a great standby and can be cooked from frozen.
Potatoes. The best potatoes to use for lovely creamy mash are higher starch potatoes such as Maris Piper, King Edward, or Desiree varieties or Russet or Yukon Gold if you are in the US. Waxy varieties are harder to mash.
Chopped Tomatoes. I always suggest using the best quality tinned or canned tomatoes you can afford. Cheaper varieties usually have a higher water content so will make your sauce runnier.
Tomato Puree or Paste. This helps give extra flavour and depth to the sauce. It's not a disaster if you don't have it.
Worcestershire Sauce. A traditional ingredient in a cottage pie. It adds a spicy concentrated flavour. A traditional version does however contain anchovies so is not suitable for those who don't eat fish. However, vegetarian and vegan versions are widely available.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Peel the potatoes and chop them into egg-sized pieces. Boil for around 10 minutes until soft then drain and mash together with a little butter or milk. Leave to one side.

Add the oil to a pan or flameproof casserole dish and fry the onions and carrots over a medium heat for around 5 minutes until soft.

Add the Quorn mince to the pan and fry for around 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Pour over the tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, and add the Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper and stir together. Simmer for 5 minutes

tomatoes and stock added to quorn mince and vegetables

Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish if necessary. Use a dessert spoon and cover the mince with a layer of mashed potato. Start at the outside and work inwards then level off with a fork.

quorn mince covered with mashed potato starting on outside working inwards

Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the potato is browned on the top. If you want to serve it with any additional vegetables such as peas or sweetcorn, put these on to cook whilst your cottage pie is in the oven.

quorn cottage pie portion on plate with side garden peas

Substitutions

Quorn Mince - I've tested this recipe with Quorn mince which is a particular brand. You could use other plant-based or meat-free mince products. Quorn is not suitable for vegans, but other plant-based mince products are.
Potato - you could also use Sweet Potato as the topping, or half and half.
Vegetables - I've used onions and carrots in this recipe. You can also add in leeks, celery, garden peas, and mushrooms.

Sustainability

Try to buy your vegetables lose without any plastic packaging where possible and from a local source to reduce your food miles. Quorn has a much lower carbon footprint than mince as it uses 90% less land, water, and carbon emissions than animal proteins.

How to serve it

Cottage Pie is a great one-pot meal and contains protein, vegetables, and potatoes. However, how a dish looks is important. For this reason, I always serve it with a green vegetable. I think peas go nicely, but you can choose any green vegetable you like. A good dollop of ketchup or brown sauce on the side is a must in our house.

Storage

Quorn mince can be frozen and can be cooked from frozen making this a great standby. If you want to defrost it in the fridge, you should cook it within 24 hours. Once cooked, a Quorn cottage pie will keep well in the fridge for 48 hours. You can also freeze it, even if the mince was frozen before. Let it cool and place in the freezer for up to one month. To eat it, let it defrost fully in the fridge for 24 hours and reheat it until it is piping hot. Like with meat, you should only reheat the dish once.