Do Something New With Baked Potatoes — Grab The Ground Beef For A Decadent Cottage Pie Filling

Cottage pies are cozy, filling, and a great way to turn a few seemingly simple ingredients into an impressive baked dish. If you're unfamiliar with the difference between cottage pie and shepherd's pie, the difference comes down to simply the type of meat that's used in the dish. Fitting for the name, shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb or mutton, while cottage pie is made with ground beef, but the general concept and structure remain the same. If you're a fan of either but are growing bored of eating the same casserole-style dish, it's time to give new life to a boring baked potato with a spin on cottage pie. 

Our recipe for fluffy cottage pie baked potatoes takes the concept of a traditional cottage pie and transforms it. Rather than make a massive casserole, a more compact cottage pie can be built inside the hollowed out skins of a baked potato. Not only does this twist on a cottage pie save you the hassle of washing a greasy baking dish with caked-on food, but it also lets you use the skin of the potato, which otherwise would to go waste in a traditional cottage pie. The swap from baked casserole to stuffed potato maintains all the lovely diverse textures of a traditional cottage pie. Even better, the skins on the potatoes lend another layer of texture to the meal. 

For a slightly different twist on the recipe, you could also split the potatoes in half once they've been cooked, hollow out both halves as you would for potato skins, and then build the cottage pie-stuffed potatoes on top of the shallow halves rather than stuffing them back into the whole hollowed-out potatoes. This method is slightly easier for those who aren't keen on the delicate process of hollowing out a whole baked potato. Additionally, you could use something other than a traditional Russet potato for the base, like a Yukon Gold or even a sweet potato, which would give the cottage pie baked potato a slightly sweeter and creamier twist, as well as a vibrant orange hue to the meal.

Perfect to make for a crowd or just to meal prep for yourself, these stuffed and loaded cottage pie potatoes make great leftovers as well when gently reheated in the oven. For those who don't eat red meat but don't want to miss out on this comforting, rib-sticking dish, take inspiration from our turkey cottage pie recipe and simply swap the ground beef for ground turkey before continuing with the cottage pie baked potatoes recipe. If you're a vegetarian lamenting the loss of this recipe, it can easily be made vegan or vegetarian by using lentils, beans, peas, or any other plant-based ground meat alternative, and the cheese can be omitted or swapped for a plant-based cheese as well.