Cheese and potato pie was ever present on the school dinner menu as well as at home, it is essentially a cheesy mash bake and it is awesome!
It’s not refined in the slightest, it’s a baked cheesy mash with a little onion, a cheesy topping, and some tomato, which is completely optional.
Cheese and Potato Bake
The sight of cheese and tattie pie on the school dinner menu or my Mom talking about it being for dinner would have filled me with delight growing up!
For some strange reason, it is a recipe that kinda slipped from my consciousness over the years. Working on my cheese and onion pie and cheese and onion pasty rekindled a load of memories and I had to give it an itch!
It joins other childhood favourites like spam fritters, gammon, egg and chips, savoury mince beef, canned corned beef hash and liver and onions, yes I loved liver as a kid!
The cheese and potato pie I grew up with featured no pastry, and no filling.
Many people use something similar to top shepherds pie or cottage pie. But as far as I am concerned that is just wrong!
But it is still a pie, us Brits are perfectly comfortable with being “liberal” with our food names. If you are ever find yourself in rural Hungary buy me a beer and let me explain British puddings to you!
I digress, cheese & potato pie is essentially a cheesy mashed potato bake. My US readers would probably call it a “casserole”.
I call it comfort food heaven and it’s super easy to make because you do not have to mess around with pastry.
If cheese is your thing you must check out my chicken parmo recipe! An incredibly indulgent dish of a fried breaded chicken breast covered in bechamel sauce and cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sort of potatoes should I use?
This recipe is as simple as it gets! It is essentially a cheesy mash but don’t tell anyone I said that!
As with all mashed potato recipes you need floury or mealy potatoes as my US readers would call them.
You are looking for something like King Edwards, Maris Piper, Russet or Idaho.
What sort of cheese should I use?
For me, it has to be a nice sharp mature cheddar cheese. I have experimented with both Wensleydale and Cheshire cheese, both are pleasing in this dish but not quite as satisfying as cheddar!
Good cheddar should have a firm texture and not be spongy.
It should be creamy but crumbly all at the same time. Most importantly it should scream savoury with just the slightest hint of sweetness.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, you can build this dish and place it in the fridge for 2-3 days covered with film and then bake it when you are ready.
I personally do not like freezing mashed potato and that goes for this recipe too.
Do I have to use English mustard?
No, you can omit the mustard or scale it back to something a little less “pokey” if you wish. Anything from German or American mustard to dijon or even wholegrain mustard is fine.
Serving Suggestions
Growing up this would usually be served as a main course with peas and loads of tomato ketchup.
This recipe will serve 2 as a main and 4 as a side dish. Although I reckon I would eat it all myself if left to my own devices!
I usually serve it as an indulgent side dish and it usually gets trotted out when I make my homemade sausages.
Just to ramp up the Britishness I tend to serve it with baked beans too!
But it is also superb with baked beans, so good in fact that it was the seed of the idea behind my fish finger pie!
But if you wanted to get all wrapped up in some serious bean cooking then these baked beans with bacon sound incredible.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a dish. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Stovetop.
- Oven.
- 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
- 500-600ml (2 cup) baking dish.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Potato ricer or masher.
- Mixing bowl.
- Colander.
- Weighing scales and or measuring jug, cups and spoons.
Yield: 2-4 Servings
Cheese and Potato Pie Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cheese and potato pie was one of my favourite meals growing up, back then it would have been served as a main with peas and ketchup. I now prefer to serve it as a side with sausages and baked beans, yes I am still a child at heart!
Ingredients
- 400g (3 Small-Medium) Potatoes
- 75g (½ Stick + 1 Tbsp) Butter
- 1½ Tbsp English Mustard
- 150g (1½ Cups) Sharp Mature Cheddar
- 75g (½ Cup) Onion
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tbsp Milk
- 1 Tomato
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. I use 1 teaspoon of salt in a pan this size.
- Add on the potatoes whole and unpeeled and boil until cooked, this should take around 30-35 minutes.
- Halfway through cooking the potatoes peel the onion and drop it into the pan.
- Drain the potatoes, prick them with a fork and peel off the skin.
- Mash the potatoes or pass them through a potato ricer.
- Add the butter, almost all of the cheese and the mustard and mix well.
- Beat the egg with the milk.
- Add in the beaten egg and milk, then mix well, you should have quite a "wet" mash.
- Chop the onion into a 1cm (½") dice and mix that through the potatoes.
- Have a taste here and add more salt if required although it should not be!
- Place the mash into a greased or buttered casserole dish (around 0.5 litres in size) and top with the remaining cheese.
- Slice the tomato into 3-4mm (⅛-¼) thick slices and add them to the top of the mash.
- Bake in an oven at 200°C or 400°F for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition calculated for 4 portions, this will serve 4 as a side and two as a main.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 418Total Fat: 59gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 249mgSodium: 1216mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 28g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
