Cumberland Pie

Name: Cumberland Pie
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 34 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 2 Celery; 1 chopped Onion; 2 large Carrots; 5 Bay Leaves; 3 Thyme; 2 tblsp Vegetable Oil; 1 tablespoon Butter; 2 tablespoons Flour; 2 tblsp Tomato Puree; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce; 2 Beef Stock Cubes; 800g Feather blade beef; 800g Potatoes; 25g Mature Cheddar; 25g Parmesan Cheese

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with British flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 53 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 34 min total

2 Celery
1 chopped Onion
2 large Carrots
5 Bay Leaves
3 Thyme
2 tblsp Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
2 tblsp Tomato Puree
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Beef Stock Cubes
800g Feather Blade Beef
800g Potatoes
25g Mature Cheddar
25g Parmesan Cheese

Step-by-step instructions

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Soften the celery, onion, carrots, bay and 1 thyme sprig in a casserole with 1 tbsp oil and the butter for 10 mins. Stir in the flour, followed by the purée, Worcestershire sauce and stock cubes.
Gradually stir in 600ml hot water, then tip in the beef and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, then uncover and cook for 30 mins -1 hr more until the meat is really tender and sauce thickened.
Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water until they’re not done but about ¾ of the way there.
Transfer meat to a baking dish. Slice spuds into 1cm thick rounds and gently toss with seasoning, the remaining oil and thyme leaves. Layer on the beef, scattering with the cheese as you layer. You can cover and chill the pie now for 1 day, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and bake for 30-40 mins until golden and crispy, and sauce bubbling if the dish went in cold. Serve with peas.

Why this works on a weeknight

Cumberland Pie lands at about 34 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Cumberland Pie actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Beef British