Mince & Tatties Recipe: Traditional Scottish Comfort Food (2024)

Mince & Tatties is the traditional Scottish recipe? If you never heard of the ‘classic’ Mince and Tatties recipe in America then you are not alone. I love to learn new recipes and this is a budget friendly dish which is heralded as one of the most popular dishes in Scotland.

I noticed this little gem of a Mince and Tatties recipe flying through the Facebook feed of a Scottish friend. This recipe caught my attention and is a keeper.

At the time we were in the middle of a heat wave so I waited until the weather has cooled to give this recipe a try and this Mince & Tatties recipe was a comfort food winner and was well worth the wait until comfort food weather here in the north.

If you love potatoes, this is a recipe for you.If you love an affordable meal, this recipe is for you.

If you are a meat and potatoes lover, this recipe is for you!

When I first read the Mince & Tatties recipe it reminded me of our own family meal when I was growing up which originated from the stretch the budget combination and concoction ofhamburger, peas and rice.The original recipe from The Herald Scotland can be found here.

When the author stated he didn’t like his Mince & Tatties without any vegetables, I thought this is a recipe for me! But I loved the fact that root vegetables can easily be added for a well rounded meal.

For an easy to make and very affordable comfort food meal, Mince and Tatties ties with my Grandma’s Hungarian Goulash recipe (thanks Grandma!)

Is Minced Beef The Same As Ground Beef?

Well I stumped my local butcher when I asked for a pound of mince. “Which of course he then asked, did you say mincemeat?” This led to a discussion of what is mince?

I explained this was a recipe from Scotland and from the pictures and research it appeared to be our American version of finely ground beef or sirloin.

The next time I visited the store, the butcher came running over and was quite excited to reveal that he now understood what I was asking for? Beef which was minced via a mincing machine or for this butcher it would be grinding the beef 3-4 times.

In any event, ground beef or sirloin works for this recipe and I simply ‘minced’ the beef while cooking the beef with a fork by making reducing the size of the ground beef.

Either way it is the consistency which will differ depending upon how minced the beef is and not the taste. For those really interested in mince, Jamie Oliver provides all you need to know at All About Mince.

My version of Mince & Tatties with American conversion of measurements:

How To Make Mince & Tatties Recipe

Ingredients

Serves four.

1 pound of minced beef (ground round, ground sirloin, ground steak)

1 small diced onion

1/2 tablespoon of flour

1 cup of beef stock

Idaho potatoes to make as many servings of mashed potatoes as desired

Butter and milk as desired for mashed potatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Peas, carrots, vegetables of your choosing. Worcester sauce for a kick.

DIRECTIONS

I know – you know- how to make mashed potatoes. You will be boiling the mashed potatoes in conjunction with cooking the beef. Begin boiling the potatoes first in order to time the potatoes to be finished with the mince.
On medium heat in a large skillet, brown the beef and onions.
Once cooked, add flour to mixture.
Pour beef stock over mixture, lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Mash and prepare your potatoes to be ready when the mince is completely cooked.
Kitchen Tip: I simmered the mince longer and added a smidge more flour for a consistency I desired. If you are a cook who likes to tweak recipes, this recipe can be easily tweaked for the preference of the audience regarding consistency and optional vegetables or Worcester sauce.

The Must Have Kitchen Tool For Mashed Potatoes

I make no taters about the fact I am a mashed potato fan. I’ve probably made mashed potatoes in every way possible (adding Mince & Tatties) to the rotation. What is common about every mashed potato recipe I have made is my favorite mashed potato helper – the potato ricer.

The ricer will be the key to creamy mashed potatoes every time. (I know there are lumpy mashed potato fans, but I prefer creamy.) I highly recommend adding a potato ricer to your kitchen tools and ricers can also be used for any soft veggie to mash.

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Mince & Tatties Recipe - Traditional Scottish Comfort Food

Enjoy this traditional comfort food from Scotland. Affordable dinner that combines your favorite mashed potatoes with "mince" aka hamburger in the U.S.A. Perfect for fall and winter dinners.

Keyword mince and tatties recipe, comfort food,

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author The Savvy Age

Ingredients

1 pound minced beef (ground round, ground sirloin, ground steak)
1 diced small diced onion
1/2 tbsp flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
4 servings mashed potatoes

Instructions

Mash and prepare your potatoes to be ready when the mince is completely cooked.
On medium heat in a large skillet, brown the beef and onions.
Once cooked, add flour to mixture.
Pour beef stock over mixture, lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Serve the mashed potatoes with the meat - or serve the mashed potatoes on top of the meat - your preference!
Kitchen Tip: I simmered the mince longer and added a smidge more flour for a consistency I desired. If you are a cook who likes to tweak recipes, this recipe can be easily tweaked for the preference of the audience regarding consistency and optional vegetables or Worcester sauce.

Notes

Salt and pepper to taste

Add a splash of Worcester sauce for a kick.

Optional: Add your favorite vegetables. Peas, carrots, corn all work well.

Comfort Food Recipes

Grandma’s Mac N Cheese

Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie

Mince & Tatties Recipe: Traditional Scottish Comfort Food (2024)

FAQs

What are mince and tatties made of? ›

Mince and tatties is a Scottish dish which consists of ground beef and mashed potato. Other vegetables or thickening agents are sometimes added to the dish as well.

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When was mince and tatties invented? ›

An economical dish, dating back to the 18th century, when the potato was first introduced to Scotland. The history and origins of “Mince and Tatties”, a traditional Scottish dish, are rooted in the simplicity and necessity characteristic of Scottish folk cooking.

Are ground beef and mince the same thing? ›

Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, including pork, veal, lamb, goat meat, and poultry.

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What type of meat is mince? ›

Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, meatballs, and kofta.

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What is Tatties in Scotland? ›

Neeps are mashed swede or turnips, and tatties are mashed potatoes. Confusingly, people in Scotland refer to what the English calls turnips as swedes, and what the English call swedes as turnips.

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How to cook mince for dummies? ›

Easy Mince Instructions

Add a dash of oil to a hot pan and then add mince.
Stir to ensure the mince does not stick to the pan and that it browns evenly.
If it begins to stew and water gathers in the bottom of the pan the mince will taste like it has been boiled ~ take the mince from the heat and strain away the liquid.

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Is haggis Scottish or Irish? ›

haggis, the national dish of Scotland, a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep (or other animal), minced and mixed with beef or mutton suet and oatmeal and seasoned with onion, cayenne pepper, and other spices.

Learn More Now ›

When did Scots start eating haggis? ›

The first known written recipe for haggis is from 1390, by one of the cooks for King Richard II, called Afronchemolye. The recipe calls for eggs, breadcrumbs and finely diced sheep's fat with seasoning (saffron) to be stuffed in a sheep's tripe and sewn securely, then steamed or boiled.

What do Americans call mince? ›

In the U.S. we refer to mince beef as hamburger or Ground beef . Many of us just call it hamburger even when we are referring to ground beef that has not been formed into hamburger patties.

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Why do Americans call mince hamburger? ›

The name of the German dish was shortened to “Hamburgs” and then, when the beef was eventually sandwiched between two slices of bread, to “hamburgers.” Some sources claim the word “hamburger” first appeared on a menu in 1873, when Delmonico's restaurant in New York City advertised a hamburger steak.

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Why is it called a hamburger instead of a beef burger? ›

Excellent question. The term 'hamburger' comes from Hamburg in Germany, where a minced beef style dish was first created. All of our burgers are made from whole cuts of 100% British and Irish beef, with nothing added except a pinch of salt and pepper after cooking.

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What is Tatties made of? ›

Neeps and tatties are a classic Scottish dish – the 'neeps' means swede or turnip and the 'tatties' refer to potatoes. Traditionally they're served mashed separately alongside haggis, although some recipes suggest mashing them together with some butter, salt and pepper.

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What is mince made of UK? ›

UK government guidelines currently state that minced meat must not include meat containing bone fragments or skin, meat of the head, mechanically separated meat or scrap cuttings or trimmings. Instead, it must derive from fresh meat, skeletal muscle and any adherent fatty tissues.

What does mince include? ›

Ideally mince contains 100% muscle meat, and that can include a range of cuts or trimmings. Making mince out of a range of cuts is a good way for butchers to make the most out the entire animal, avoiding wastage.

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Why is it called mince meat? ›

The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English mincen, and the Old French mincier both traceable to the Vulgar Latin minutiare, meaning chop finely. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.