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Cottage Pie Recipe with Dehydrated Vegetables

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Cottage Pie with dehydrated vegetables is great comfort food for the family, and a perfect way to learn how to use dehydrated foods in your everyday meals!

Cottage pie made from dehydrated vegetables

Shepherd’s Pie is one of my favorite comfort meals. It’s easy, it’s quick, it’s a great throw whatever vegetables you have put together with some ground meat, and call it good.

Cottage pie (which replaces lamb with beef), is the sister dish to Shepherd’s pie that is more accessible to most because of the meat choice.

Cottage Pie Recipe with Dehydrated Foods

First, I’m basing my general recipe off of the one I follow from Alton Brown here.

But remember, I’m eyeballing this recipe since I never follow it exactly, I use it as a base.

Ingredients Tips

  • Potatoes: You can use fresh potatoes (and double it up so you can freeze, dehydrate or freeze dry the excess), or the potato flakes you have in your pantry (or may have preserved).
  • Dairy: while the recipe calls for half and half or milk for the potatoes, use any dairy substitute that works best for you. The fat is part of what helps the potatoes have some good flavor, so if you’re using something with less fat, be sure to season well! Garlic mashed potatoes are awesome!
  • Meat: You can use any kind of ground meat you’d like with this including hamburger meat, chicken or turkey. We’ve even done this with half turkey and half sausage. You choose to use freeze-dried meat or dehydrated meat, too.
  • Vegetable Blend: Use any kind of dehydrated vegetables you have in your pantry. I use a varied blend depending on what is most plentify or needs to be used up from my dehydrating cabinet.
  • Tomato Powder: this helps increase the flavor of the sauce. Use as much or as little as you’d like. Another ingredient you might use is mushroom powder. It will help build the umami flavor of even the most uninspiring ground turkey!

Directions:

  1. Rehydrate the dried vegetables in a bowl with boiling water or hot broth for about 30 minutes. If you choose the overnight soak, remember to do this the night before or start the morning of in the fridge.
  2. If you’re using dehydrated ground beef or freeze-dried meat, you can include it with the vegetables above.
  3. Strain your soaked vegetables into your potato water as it begins to boil (or reserve and use in place of some of the chicken stock below.
  4. Make mashed potatoes (peel, chop, boil and add milk and butter for your own taste)
  5. Brown meat and drain any fat
  6. Add the powders, garlic, onion, salt, flour, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
  7. Add chicken stock and allow to simmer.
  8. Add dehydrated vegetables and mix well.
  9. Layer into two casserole dishes of your choice (I split between a 7×5 and 8×10 baking dish – one with the added vegetables, and one without.
  10. Layer with mashed potatoes. Be sure to go all the way to the edge to seal it in.
  11. Cook at 350­°F / 177°C for 15-20 min until potatoes are beginning to brown around the edges.
  12. You can remove, top with a little cheese, and place under the broiler until it is melted and browned.
  13. Allow to sit for 15 minutes to cool before serving.

Tips for Using Dehydrated Vegetables

  • Be sure to blanch vegetables if required. It will help make the final product much more pleasing.
  • Properly rehydrate before creating a meal using a hot 30-minute soak, or an overnight or all-day soak in water in the fridge. (see video below).
  • Vegetables are best as a part of a casserole, soup, stew, or integrated into something like meatloaf rather than eating as a side dish on their own. While this is personal preference, while you are learning, this is a great way to get started.
  • Be sure to give your dehydrated foods plenty of time to cook after rehydrating. Blanching only partially cooks food, and if you didn’t blanch, they still need to be fully cooked. So give your foods time in a simmering soup, rehydrate before adding to most casseroles, etc.
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Cottage pie made from dehydrated vegetables

Cottage Pie with Dehydrated Vegetables

An easy to make cottage pie using dried and powdered vegetables in place of fresh to use your dehydrated long-term pantry storage.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Irish
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 697kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds russet potatoes You can also use mashed potato flakes
  • 1/2 cup milk or half and half
  • 4 tablespoon butter
  • 3 pounds ground beef Use freeze-dried or dehydrated
  • 1.5 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 cup dehydrated vegetables Use vegetables of your own choosing
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup green powder optional
  • 1/4 cup vegetable powder optional
  • 1/4 cup mushroom powder
  • 3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce use to taste
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoon tomato powder
  • 3 teaspoons dried rosemary can use fresh
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme can use fresh

Instructions

  • Rehydrate your dehydrated vegetables in a bowl with boiling water for about 30 minutes. If you choose the overnight soak, remember to do this the night before or start the morning of in the fridge.
    Dehydrated vegetables in a glass container soaking in water to rehydrate
  • Strain your soaked vegetables into your potato water as it begins to boil (or reserve and use in place of some of the chicken stock below.
  • Make mashed potatoes (peel, chop, boil and add milk and butter for your own taste)
  • Brown meat and drain any fat
  • Add the powders, garlic, onion, salt, flour, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
  • Add chicken stock and allow to simmer.
  • Add dehydrated vegetables and mix well.
  • Layer into two casserole dishes of your choice (I split between a 7×5 and 8×10 baking dish – one with the added vegetables, and one without.
  • Layer with mashed potatoes.
  • Cook at 350­°F / 177°C for 15-20 min until potatoes are beginning to brown around the edges.
  • You can remove, top with a little cheese, and place under the broiler until it is melted and browned.
  • Allow to sit for 15 minutes to cool before serving.

Video

Darcy’s Tips

TIPS FOR USING DEHYDRATED VEGETABLES

  • Be sure to blanch vegetables if required. It will help make the final product much more pleasing.
  • Properly rehydrate before creating a meal using a hot 30-minute soak, or an overnight or an all-day soak in water in the fridge. (see video below).
  • Vegetables are best as a part of a casserole, soup, stew, or integrated into something like meatloaf rather than eating as a side dish on their own. While this is personal preference, while you are learning, this is a great way to get started.
  • Be sure to give your dehydrated foods plenty of time to cook after the rehydrating process. Blanching only partially cooks food, and if you didn’t blanch, they still need to be fully cooked. So give your foods time in a simmering soup, rehydrate before adding to most casseroles, etc.

Nutrition

Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 41g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 1017mg | Potassium: 1349mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g

Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.

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6 Comments

  1. Avatar for Cindy Green Cindy Green says:

    Could you make the potato part with dehydrated and powdered potatoes? How would you do that?

    1. Yes, just rehydrate them and make mashed potatoes first, then put them on the casserole before baking.

  2. Avatar for Rose Felton Rose Felton says:

    5 stars
    I have all the ingredients so will be making this tonight for dinner! Thanks!

  3. Avatar for Jennifer Beyer Jennifer Beyer says:

    I can’t wait to try this! I’ve been looking for my first recipe to try.

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