The Old-School Ground Beef Dish You Can Make With 3 Ingredients

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Ground beef shines in many forms; whether it's a delicious meat taco or a basic burger. Yet when it comes to the ultimate comfort factor, it's hard to top a cottage pie. There's a deeply nourishing appeal to the combination of a rich, gravy meat filling topped with a delectable browned layer of mashed potatoes. The meal's only downside is its laborious nature: Building a gravy from scratch takes effort, as does chopping, boiling, and then mashing potatoes.

Thankfully, with some savvy component selection, you can construct a tasty cottage pie rendition using only three ingredients. Still throw the ground beef in the grocery cart, but for the topping, opt for packaged instant mashed potatoes. Meanwhile, to get gravy and veg in one go, rely on a thick and flavorful canned soup — perhaps vegetable and beef to stay aligned with the flavor palate. With such elements selected, voilà; cottage pie shopping is complete.

Not to mention, subsequent dish assembly is easy-breezy, too. Start by cooking the beef in a pan, then add in the canned soup, until everything is bubbling and hot. Meanwhile, whip up the instant mashed potatoes, according to the package's instructions. Pour the beef mix into a casserole pan, top with the mashed potatoes, and then bake at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown and delicious.

Of course, packaged components won't lend quite the same vibrancy as a cottage pie created fully from scratch. However, with a few calculated adjustments, you'll still get a mouth-watering result while minimizing the effort. For instance, start by focusing on one of the many ways to upgrade instant mashed potatoes. Whether simply folding in more butter, incorporating sour cream, or reaching for half and half, extra dairy boosts the dish's richness, further complementing the beef. Also take note – cheddar cheese shows up in many cottage pie recipes: You could grate such a fourth addition into the potaotes for added character, too.

The canned soup-based gravy is another element worthy of careful attention. For starters, swap the beef vegetable can for a denser cream of mushroom, or create a lighter gravy by meshing canned tomato soup with a frozen vegetable medley. All the while, you could always incorporate a few raw ingredients of your choosing, like garlic and onions for flavor, or mushrooms for a more robust filling. 

And if you have some studier vegetables like carrots, celery, or peas that need emptying from the fridge, toss them in while gravy's simmering, too. You could even layer in additional flavors through condiments; a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a pour of opened red wine, or simply a sprinkle of nutmeg or paprika are all traditional ingredients. Think of the three ready-made ingredients as the most pared-down foundation, and embellish into your own cottage pie from there.