Mince & Tatties may not be the most exciting meal to make, but it’s a simple savoury mince recipe that brings plenty of comfort, and for many of us, a lot of nostalgia.
Although I grew up in New Zealand, savoury mince and tatties was a common staple on our family dinner table, especially during the colder months.
It brings back fond memories of meals at home and at my grandparents’ houses, as it does for many others too!
We called it “savoury mince”, I guess to differentiate from the type of mince you find in a mince pie at Christmas time. This seems kind of funny because surely there are many more savoury mince recipes than sweet ones!
A savoury mince recipe is also one of the first meals that I made when I moved into my first flat and had to start really planning meals and cooking for myself because it’s so easy to make, but is tasty and warming.
Plus, if you make extra you can have it on toast the next day! Trust me, it’s delicious.
Like many Scottish recipes (we’re looking at you, Stovies) each family has their own take on this classic, and each one will tell you that theirs is the best.
This mince and tatties recipe is our own savoury mince recipe, with tips from family, and we’re happy to share it with you.
The best thing is, you can always change things up to suit your own tastes, and make our savoury mince and tatties recipe your own!
Scroll to the end or use the table of contents below to be taken straight to the Printable Recipe Card.
Ingredients for Mince & Tatties
We’ve kept our mince and tatties recipe simple, with the most basic of ingredients.
Of course, there are many extras you could add that we’ve detailed in the variations section below, but we think this is the easiest way to make this tasty dish.
- 500g (1lb) minced beef
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp flour
- 350-450ml beef stock/gravy *see recipe method for details
Stock or gravy?
We prefer to use stock to flavour our mince and tatties, but lots of people swear by gravy granules and water instead.
Gravy will thicken the mixture faster than stock, and you can use a little less flour (try 3 tbsp instead).
Minced Beef
We’ve made our mince and tatties with both lean beef (less than 5% fat) and beef with 20% fat.
We have to say the 20% beef is usually a bit tastier, but of course, you can use lean beef and add additional seasoning or try some of the variations below if you like too.
How to make Mince & Tatties – Step by step Method
Dice the onion and peel and chop the carrots into circles.
Heat a saucepan or pot to a medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions, cooking them until they are soft.
Add the mince, using a wooden spoon to break it up so there are no big lumps.
Add the flour and stir thoroughly.
Add the carrots and stock/gravy. You should have enough to cover the meat. It will reduce through the cooking process but if it does so too quickly you can add a bit more.
Turn to a low heat and simmer until the meat and carrots are tender and it has all thickened up. This will be approximately an hour. You can also cover with a lid if the stock is reducing too quickly.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, prepare your mashed potatoes as desired (we like lots of butter and seasoning!) and then serve with any other sides like peas or skirlie.
Recipe Variations
As we mentioned, savoury mince and tatties is a very personal recipe. You can change things up as you wish!
Adding Sauces
As a child, we always added a bit of tomato sauce to our mince & tatties, and I would liberally squirt some extra over the top right before eating too. Brown sauce is another option as well.
Some people like to add Worcestershire sauce to the recipe, and maybe a dash before serving as well, although this is more English of course.
Extra Ingredients
Our mince and tatties recipe is very simple and sticks to the most basic ingredients, as it would have been made for many years.
However, you will find some savoury mince recipes that include things like garlic, red wine, celery, tomato paste, or even beer.
All of these can definitely make a delicious mince and tatties meal, and you’re more than welcome to try them of course!
Somewhat controversially, my Mum has also been known to add a teaspoon or two of garam masala to the mix as well.
Adding Dumplings
Dumplings are a popular addition to mince, either with or without the tatties on the side. You can see our Dumplings recipe here – we make ours without suet, although you can switch it in if you like.
You can see our full Mince & Dumplings recipe here to get all the timings right.
Serve with something else
We have also been known to serve this mince recipe with rice or pasta, whatever we have available at the time!
Mince and mashed tatties will always be our favourite, but sometimes we go for boiled, and sometimes we don’t have them, so we use something else. It’s all up to you!
Mince and Tatties in the Slow Cooker
You could also easily adapt this to be a mince and tatties slow cooker recipe.
The difference with cooking in a slow cooker is that the mixture does not reduce as it does on a stovetop, so you’ll want to add less water with your stock/gravy granules, although you can use the same amount of those to keep the flavour.
Add around half to three-quarters of the amount of water (it’ll depend on the size of the slowcooker as you still want the mince to be JUST covered.
If the mince is too runny at the end of the cooking time (4 hours high and 6-8 hours low) then you can add a little cornflour to thicken it.
And there you have our simple mince and tatties recipe! A firm favourite in our household, and many others too.
Top Tips for Cooking Mince & Tatties
What if you add too much water?
If you accidentally add too much liquid, then you can just let it simmer and reduce for longer.
If you don’t have the time, you could always mix a bit of the sauce (maybe a quarter of a cup) with some cornflour or flour to make a paste, then add it back in and stir thoroughly.
What if you add too much flour?
If you have the opposite problem and somehow added too much flour, then you can add some more gravy/stock to thin it out a little.
Printable Mince & Tatties Recipe Card
Easy & Tasty Mince and Tatties Recipe
Mince and tatties is a warm and comforting meal that's perfect for the winter months. Like many Scottish recipes each family has their own take on this classic, and each one will tell you that theirs is the best! This mince and tatties recipe is our own recipe, with tips from family, and we’re happy to share it with you. The best thing is, you can always change things up to suit your own tastes, and make this recipe your own!
Ingredients
- 500g (1lb) minced beef
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp flour
- 350-450ml beef stock/gravy *see recipe method for details
Instructions
- Dice the onion and peel and chop the carrots into circles.
- Heat a saucepan or pot to a medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions, cooking them until they are soft.
- Add the mince, using a wooden spoon to break it up so there are no big lumps.
- Add the flour and stir thoroughly.
- Add the carrots and stock/gravy. You should have enough to cover the meat. It will reduce through the cooking process but if it does so too quickly you can add a bit more.
- Turn to a low heat and simmer until the meat and carrots are tender and it has all thickened up. This will be approximately an hour. You can also cover with a lid if the stock is reducing too quickly.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, prepare your mashed potatoes as desired (we like lots of butter and seasoning!) and then serve with any other sides like peas or skirlie.
Notes
Stock or Gravy?
We prefer to use stock to flavour our mince and tatties, but lots of people swear by gravy granules and water instead. Gravy will thicken the mixture faster than stock, and you can use a little less flour (try 3 tbsp instead).
Minced Beef
We've made our mince and tatties with both lean beef (less than 5% fat) and beef with 20% fat. We have to say the 20% beef is usually a bit tastier, but of course you can use lean beef and add additional seasoning or try some of the variations below if you like too.
Adding Sauces
As a child, we always added a bit of tomato sauce to our mince & tatties, and I would liberally squirt some extra over the top right before eating too. Brown sauce is another option as well.
Some people like to add Worcestershire sauce to the recipe, and maybe a dash before serving as well, although this is more English of course.
Extra Ingredients
Our mince and tatties recipe is very simple and sticks to the most basic of ingredients, as it would have been made for many, many years. However, you will find some recipes that include things like garlic, red wine, celery, tomato paste, or even beer.
All of these can definitely make a delicious mince and tatties meal, and you’re more than welcome to try them of course!
Somewhat controversially, my Mum has also been known to add a teaspoon or two of garam masala to the mix as well.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 463Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 127mgSodium: 400mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 38g
Let us know how you go, and if you add any extras!
Phil and Sonja x
Other Savoury Scottish Recipes to Try:
- Delicious Creamy Haggis Pasta Recipe
- Balmoral Chicken Recipe: Chicken Stuffed with Haggis
- Traditional Scotch Broth Recipe
- Simple Beef Olives Recipe
- Scottish Steak Pie Recipe
- Traditional Scottish Stovies Recipe (Plus Variations!)
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This is now my go to for mince and tatties and the first one I recommend, that said, I make it lot so I know it like an old friend! Its great for batch cooking and freezing too. Thank you for helping me finally get it right.
You’re very welcome, thanks for leaving such a kind comment!
In the olden days, as it were, in the Highlands where meat was precious the addition of cubed swede was a very common practice, just as much swede as carrots was the rule and it adds a certain depth of sweetness to the mix, just delicious, I never miss it out on our mince n tatties night.
In some recipes it may be referred to as ‘tumshie’, ‘neeps’ or turnip, but it is actually good old slightly yellow swede.
Can you please tell me exactly what cut of meat? Is it Ground Meat? Looks great and I want to try this.
Yes, as far as we can tell ground meat is what we would call mince here in the UK.
Ground Beef
Ground meat in Scotland is usually a mix of shoulder steak, flank and rump depending on fat content desired.
My grandpa used to make and serve with buttered bread to dip into it.nowt else,aye think of him when l make it.the granny was the worst cook ever,a right crabbit auld bitch,her barley soup was barely fit for horses,she didn’t use stock,just more salt..she pretty much survived on biscuits and tea, fortunately o
We feel this comment got cut off halfway through. Hope you get round to finishing one day Dave!
I love mealy pudding with my mince…I make my own..not quite the same but close enough..brown your onions, in bacon fat, add your oats and brown(like you do for ricearoni) I then ad a bit of water to moisten…all this can be put in a clean linen cloth, tied up and boiled…me, I perfer just a scoop with my mince,,,My mum use to just add a bit of oatmeal to mince as it cooked to thicken
Some great tips, thank you!
As a child I used to get sent down to the local shop for a pound of mince half a pound of carrots and half a pound of onions. Mum used bisto for the stock and I still do this today 60 years later! I never really knew it was a Scottish dish for a long time. It was just Mummy’s mince! She was from Dundee but I was born and brought up in England. It’s still a family favourite and as it happens I’m making it today!!!
PS. My son and granddaughter live in Arrowtown!
Your mum must be a wild woman in the kitchen! Lol. Garam masala??! That’s so nontraditional, and yet such a fantastic idea. I think I’ve tried it on everything except ice cream.
This is a delicious recipe, and as you said, easily adapted. I have added some thyme with good results.
Time to try it on Ice cream then!
Add some diced turnip
Helps fill it out more
Adds a little sweetness too
Great idea!
I grew up on mince and my mum would roll over in her grave as I use a good Scottish beer and make a rue with the fat from the mince.
Simple ingredients garlic and onions
My mother is a New Zealander she would make this all the time although she would put curry in it. I still make it for my family. My American husband talks about it to Americans. Of course they don’t know what mince is. But great throw together last minute meal.
Sounds like you’re making it a global dish, good job!
I grew up on mince and tatties. My mum made it for us on a regular basis. But she would pour the mince over the tatties. I’m first generation American. Mum and dad were born in Scotland. My daughter loves this and makes it for her family all the time.