Sausages in a pie with beans and topped with cheesy, buttery mashed potato… Hello old school dinner classic. This Cowboy Pie is a hearty feast that’s so simple and will be a massive hit with kids (and adults).
This Cowboy Pie is a feast of a meal that is perfect for the whole family. I asked you recently about school dinner favourites and this came high on the list, so I thought I’d come up with my own version (with added veggies and some shortcuts).
It’s easy to make, can be prepared ahead of time, is served up in one dish, and is loaded with smoky, rich flavour that makes it hearty and satisfying. When you put sausage, beans and mash together, the kids will offer no complaints, I’m sure.
This is a sort-of store cupboard staple recipe too, meaning no elaborate ingredient list, which keeps it very budget friendly.
You can also make this a Vegetarian Cowboy Pie very easily by using veggie sausages. It freezes well too for a future dinner win or batch cooking!
Why you’ll love this easy recipe
⭐️ Budget friendly, simple ingredient list
⭐️ Hearty, delicious and fun
⭐️ Very easy to make
Some other easy family friendly pie recipes
Easiest Ever Chicken & Ham Pie
Cowboy Pie Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Pork sausages
- Onion – You can cheat and use frozen pre-chopped or use fresh
- Peppers – Again, frozen or fresh is fine
- Baked beans
- Tinned tomatoes
- BBQ sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Potatoes – Something good for mashed potatoes like Maris Pipers or King Edwards.
- Butter
- Milk
- Cheese
How to make Cowboy Pie
- Peel and chop your potatoes and get them on to boil.
- Meanwhile, fry the sausages in hot oil for about 10 minutes.
- Cut the sausages into thirds and add onions and peppers to the pan for about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Drain your potatoes, mix in the rest of the ingredients and mash together.
- Put the filling into an ovenproof dish, top with the mashed potato and cheese, then either oven bake or grill until the top is golden.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian or gluten-free – Add veggie sausages instead. You can also make this a gluten-free meal too by using gluten-free sausages. Just be careful with the BBQ sauce you use or make your own.
- Veggies – You can either leave them out or swap them with your preference. Peas or carrots work really well too, the carrots will take a little longer to cook in the pan or you could pre-boil them.
Leftovers
Can you freeze Cowboy Pie?
Yes! So, if you find this is a favourite at home, you might be best making a big batch and then freezing half of it for another day.
Prepare up until the end of point 7 and then freeze, covered, before melting the cheese on top.
When you want to eat it, allow it to defrost fully and then pop into the oven until hot through.
There’s nothing better than serving up something everyone loves for dinner and the only effort involved is heating it up again! It will also keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Top tip
Foil trays
If you’re making one of these pies to eat now and one for the freezer, I love to store pies in these foil trays from Amazon.
It means you don’t have to put an oven dish out of action while your pie’s frozen, and you can also pop it into the oven without any further faffing or handling when you’re ready to cook it.
FAQ
I love a recipe with a story behind it, and because food is all about coming together and sharing, you can impress your family or guests with some of these other funky-named meals: Campfire Stew, Hunter’s Chicken, Bubble and Squeak, Dirty Rice and Marry Me Chicken.
If you find that the beans/mash in a pie combo is a big hit with the family, you can use the same recipe but instead using corned beef or beef mince instead.
These are known variations of Cowboy Pie and are also delicious, great value for money and freezable.
I usually just serve it up on its own as it’s a complete meal and absolutely fine without a side. However, if you want to make it go further you could serve it up with some green vegetables like peas, green beans or broccoli.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Cowboy Pie
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 454 g Pork sausages
- 1 Onion Peeled and chopped into large chunks.
- 3 Peppers Deseeded and chopped into large chunks.
- 2x Tins of Baked beans
- 400 g Tinned tomatoes
- 4 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
For the mash:
- 1 kg Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 4 tbsp Milk
- Salt and pepper
- 50 g Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven if finishing the pie in the oven (see optional last step).
- Put the potatoes on to boil in salted water.
- While they are boiling heat oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the sausages and cook for 10 minutes, turning regularly.
- Cut the sausages into thirds (I use scissors) and add the onions and peppers. Cook for a further 7 – 10 minutes until the peppers have started to soften and the sausages are golden.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and add the butter, milk, cheese and salt and pepper, and mash until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the sausage mix to an oven dish and top with the mash and cheese.
Either:
- Put in the oven on 180C for 25 minutes. (You'll need to heat this way if you've made the pie in advance and it has cooled down.)
- Put under a hot grill for 5 minutes until the top is golden.
Ness Leigh says
I love this recipe as a vegetarian option you would have to switch the Worcester sauce for a vegetarian alternative also as it contains fish. For anyone reading this that disagrees, of course, it’s down to individual preference but if you’re a strict vegetarian or vegan, you should be aware.
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks Ness, yes and cheese for rennet of course if you are very strict 🙂
Samantha says
Can I make this with frozen sausages?
Lou says
Had this for dinner tonight – big hit! Thank you. Also made your garlic honey chicken today and is amazing too… popped that in freezer but already thinking about when i’ll eat it. Thank you
LJ says
Really tasty. This was so easy to make and was enjoyed by all the family. Will be adding this to my winter warmer regulars.
PS I swapped in cannellini beans for the baked beans and it was still great!
Jess says
Made this last night and it was so simple and delicious especially bc I had leftover mash from a few nights ago. My only tip would be don’t do what I did and cook it in the round Le creuset bc your mash will sink! Dirty up the extra pan it’s worth it 😉
Fiona Clark says
Making this tonight swapped out one tin of beans for a tin of Aldi taco beans and added paprika as well tastes amazing.
Jayne says
Absolutely loved this. I cut the recipe in half and it was more than enough for 2 people for 2 nights. So tasty, didn’t change any of the ingredients and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes a comforting, and very delicious dinner. Thank you.
Gemma says
HUGE PORTIONS!! This recipe fed our family of 3 for 2 meals!
Very easy to make and filling
😍😍
Jenny Campbell says
We don’t like mash potato in our house so we made this minus the mash and placed it over chips instead, it was so nice! Thank you x
AndiW99 says
Thank you so much for this recipe. So simple to put together, so filling and tasty!! Went down a treat with all the family. I used our usual spicy BBQ sauce which added a little heat. Delicious 😋
Katy says
This is super delicious. It’s so filling and warming and just yum. My family absolutely devoured it.
Victoria says
Our fridge freezer broke a couple of days ago and we spent an evening cooking everything in site. So, I’ve adapted this recipe somewhat – we used precooked Quorn sausages, popcorn chicken, potato waffles and potato starts. Also added in some celery. Lots of cheese on top and…yum! Thank you.
Helen says
Done this today for Sunday lunch. Huge hit with my elderly mother. I couldn’t be bothered to make mash and hadn’t got frozen so I chopped hash browns with cheese inside and put a rough layer on top. Creamy, potatoes with a slight crunchy texture.
Joanna says
Lovely recipe- I added smoked paprika and garlic granules and a Knorr dark and rich beef gel stock. Turned out amazing and was scoffed by the bottomless pit of a 17 year old and his friend!
Louise C says
Yet another tasty meal! Just me and hubby at home and fed up over two nights. Actually, I read the recipe wrong and added an extra tin of toms, so I actually have a portion that I removed before adding potato and that’s my tea tonight on a Jacket potato.
Love your recipes -keep up the good work
Nia says
omg ! comfort food on a plate. Qe all absolutly loved this. so yummy. this is added to my list of delsh recipes from your website. amazeballs x
Caroline says
Used veggie sausages and found a veggie alternative for Worcestershire sauce. Loved it!