I love a good cottage pie and my family loves it, including children. But due to a Low FODMAP diet, I had to learn to make it the Low FODMAP way. I removed all onions and replaced them with a green leaves only from a leek. Also, I didn’t add any favourite peas, because they are allowed in small amounts only. But I still could cook it with my favourit small diced carrots as well as parsnips. And, of course, I topped it with a creamy mashed potatoes. That is how the Low FODMAP beef cottage pie was created.

 

 

This recipe has been approved by a Low FODMAP dietitian, Evelyn Toner.  Find interesting articles about Nutrition, IBS and FODMAP on her blog. 

 

Ingredients for 6 portions of a Low FODMAP beef cottage pie:

 

FOR THE SAUCE – BASE:

700 g lean beef mince

350 g carrot, diced small

150 g parsnips, diced small

160 g leeks, green part only, choped finely

15 g rice flour – to thicken the sauce

700 g potatoes

 

 

FOR MASHING POTATOES:

100ml lactose free milk, 2%

1 tbsp. butter/ dairy free spread if desired

 

 

Above – minced beef and vegetables cooking away.

 

Instructions for 6 portions of a Low FODMAP beef cottage pie:

 

First, you need to peel potatoes and place them in the pot with salted water to boil. They need to be ready when the sauce is ready, to assemble the pie.

 

Next, put a deep non stick pan on a medium heat. Place the beef mince inside and brown it nicely.

 

When the mince beef is cooked, add chopped leek greens to it. When the leek is soft, add the rest of the vegetables – small diced carrots and parsnip.

 

Fry all mince and vegetables for 10 minutes, then add hot water from the kettle, just enough to nearly cover the mix in the pan.

 

When all of the vegetables are soft, add a tbsp. of rice flour, sprinkled on the mix and mix it in quickly. Simmer for about 2 minutes, until the flour is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, you can also add a little bit of rosemary, either fresh of dried. Be careful, because rosemary is very strong, therefore it is easy to add too much and overpower all the dish with its flavour.

 

When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them, then evaporate leftover water in the pan, by shaking potatoes and placing the pan on top of the heat again.

Add the lactose free milk and butter, then mash the potatoes with a masher ir potato ricer. DO NOT use a blender, because potatoes will turn all goey.

 

 

Above – minced beef and vegetables simmering, after adding water to the pan.

 

 

Use a large rectangle pie dish. Spray it with oil spray. This time I used my Mum’s dish, but normally I use my Le Creuset dishes in different sizes. They are so good, even after many years! Last night I used it for roasting vegetables potatoes and parsnips and after cooking, its surface was so sticky. But after a dishwasher it is like new again.

 

 

Place the mince and vegetables mix in the pie dish. Then cover it with mashed potatoes. Level the potatoes with a tablespoon, then make marks across the potatoes, using a fork (above). 

 

If you are baking the cottage pie straightaway, because all ingredients are warm, it is enough to place it under the grill and the potatoes will crispen up nicely. If not, you can prepare it in advance and then just place it in the oven, at 180 degrees C, for 25- 40 minutes, when you are ready.

 

 

Nutrition Facts for 1 portion of a Low FODMAP beef cottage pie:

 

345 kcal

40 g Carbs

28.6 g Protein

8.4 g Fat

 

 

For more low FODMAP recipes for dinners, please visit here: Dinner recipes.