Growing up in Scotland meant that Mince and Tatties (a Scottish name for ground beef and potatoes) was a staple mid-week family dinner for me. It’s Scottish comfort food at its best; championing the quality of our local larder in a simple, satisfying meal loved by everyone.
Like with all Scottish recipes, there are a few different ways to make it so I’ll include variations below. But whether you make it with or without gravy granules, serve it with doughballs (dumplings) or mix it all together until it resembles Stovies, you’re guaranteed a no-frills dinner that is ideal for cold Scottish nights.
Jump to:
- What is Mince and Tatties?
- Recipe Variations
- Mince and Tatties with gravy granules?
- Suitable For The Whole Family
- Ingredients For Mince and Tatties
- Method for Mince and Tatties
- Serving Suggestions for Mince and Tatties
- FAQs
- Top Tips for Cooking Mince & Tatties
- Storage, Reheating and Leftovers
- Other Scottish Recipes You Might Like
- Mince and Tatties (Traditional Scottish Recipe)
What is Mince and Tatties?
Mince and Tatties quite literally translates to “ground beef and potatoes”, for those of you not local to Scotland.
It’s a savoury mince dish, usually cooked with onions, carrots (the unofficial vegetables of Scotland), beef stock some sometimes gravy. Served with either mashed or boiled potatoes.
Much like Clapshot, each Scottish family has their own version of this dish.
The best thing to do is try making this recipe for yourself and adjust to suit your own tastes.
It’s one of the most traditional ‘Scottish’ meals you can get! So it’s always one I love to share with people, especially when visiting the country for the first time. I served it to my brother's in-laws when they visited Scotland from Japan and they loved it!
Recipe Variations
Mince and Tatties is a dish with many variations across Scotland. Each family has their own recipe variations, some of which include:
- 5%, 10% or 20% Fat Beef Mince: my preference is 20% fat ground beef as I like the additional flavour and juiciness the higher fat content brings to the dish. The additional fat content helps to caramelise the meat when browning it off, adding a depth of flavour to the dish. However, I can understand if you’d prefer to reduce the calories so use whatever suits you best.
- Vegetables: carrots and onions are typical additions to most Scottish dishes, but some families also add peas into the mince itself (rather than serving on the side). My Gran would occasionally drop a couple of whole, small peeled onions into the mince to simmer and soften as it cooked (you can add more water if needed) - I loved them!
- Dumplings (Doughballs): a bonus extra when being served m
- Gravy: my family were huge fans of adding Bisto to their Mince and Tatties. It comes down to personal preference as some prefer it classic and without.
- Sauce: when served Mince and Tatties when I was younger, I used to add a generous helping of HP Sauce to my plate and mix it all together. My brother opted for Tomato Ketchup instead.
- Cook in Slow Cooker instead: soften the veg and brown the mince, then add to the slow cooker (with less water) and cook until softened. You can thicken the beef stock with cornflour or gravy if desired
Mince and Tatties with gravy granules?
The question that really divides Scottish households.
Since I was a wee girl, both my Mum and my Gran have added Bisto to their Mince and Tatties. Bisto Granules and Bisto Powder respectively, but the common theme was Bisto.
If you want an understanding of just how much the methods can vary - check out my video on Tik Tok. The sheer volume of comments helps to illustrate how different people's views are on the matter:
Suitable For The Whole Family
Suitable from 6 months + old.
I felt comfortable giving this to my children who followed Baby Led Weaning (BLW). The soft vegetables and tender mince are a great complete meal when paired with creamy mashed potato and some fresh green vegetables (e.g. peas or broccoli) on the side.
The only element I would modify is the salt content. As both stock cube and Bisto gravy (granules or powder) have a significant amount of salt in them for a baby. So either use reduced salt stock cubes and/or omit the gravy granules in favour of stock only.
And because Mince and Tatties freezes well, you can make a batch and freeze into little portions. Then use as necessary for your baby or toddler when needed.
Ingredients For Mince and Tatties
Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete ingredient list and details.
- Oil: I usually use either olive oil or vegetable oil. Any neutral oil will work well. If trying to cut down on calories, you could cook the mince first, remove from the pan and then use the residual fat to soften the vegetables.
- Carrot + Onion: these are typical vegetables to feature in most Scottish dishes. You can add peas or whole onions (which soften as the mince simmers) as well.
- Dried Mixed Herbs: although not traditional, I believe this adds to the flavour - my Mum always added them to her Mince and Tatties recipe.
- Beef Mince (Ground Beef): I use 20% fat mince from my local butchers. Mince from the butchers is always better than any supermarket option, so I would encourage sourcing the best quality meat you can. And the higher fat content provides better caramelisation when browning off the meat, which adds to the overall flavour of the dish.
- Beef Stock: I use OXO beef stock cubes. It’s purely personal preference on this one, as you could use Knorr stock cubes or stock pots, OXO cubes or even powder. Bone broth could be used instead of beef stock or even Bovril could work in a pinch!
- Worcestershire sauce: Not a traditional ingredient at all, but I love the extra zing it adds to the mince. You can choose to leave it out if you prefer. Or you could add a dash of either HP Brown Sauce or Tomato Ketchup instead!
- Gravy Granules: I occasionally use Bisto granules, but there is a variety of gravy powder or granules available on the market. The classic version uses nothing at al!
- Salt and Pepper
- Water
Method for Mince and Tatties
Prepare the vegetable by finely chopping carrots and onions into small pieces. Add these to a pan with oil and mixed herbs and cook until softened (approx. 10 minutes). Then add beef mince (ground beef) to the pan too and season with salt and pepper.
You can chop the carrots and onions up as fine or as chunky as you like. Just take into consideration the length of time it will take to cook and soften (bigger = longer). I use a wooden spoon to break up the mince and spread it out over the whole surface area of the pan.
Brown the mince until it is caramelised (approx 10 minutes). Browning the mince is what intensifies and enhances the flavour of this simple dish - so don’t miss this step! Using a stainless steel pan will provide a better outcome. The mince will brown all over and even develop little crispy edges when you scrape it from the bottom of the pan (that’s the good bit)!
Pour in optional Worcestershire sauce and beef stock cube dissolved in water.
Simmer on medium heat on the hob for approximately 30 minutes.
Stir through gravy granules or powder if using and simmer for a few more minutes until thickened. You may need to add a little more water at this stage if choosing to add gravy. Otherwise, leave it classic with no gravy.
Visual differences can be seen below:
Serve with some mashed potatoes and fresh garden peas.
Serving Suggestions for Mince and Tatties
Mince and Tatties is typically served:
- On its own! This is the most traditional way - no extra fluff - just Mince and Tatties.
- Green vegetables: broccoli, peas or green beans are popular options.
- Potato element variations: you could serve with chips, roast potatoes or baby boiled potatoes instead.
- Served alongside dumplings too!
FAQs
Personally, I don’t. But it’s a question I get asked often. So if you would prefer to skim the fat, then do it.
Although I haven’t tried it myself, I’m sure you could try the recipe using Quorn mince or similar. If you do try it, please let me know how it works out in the comments.
Top Tips for Cooking Mince & Tatties
- Buy the best quality ground beef you can afford from your local butcher. The hero of the dish is mince; so to achieve the perfect taste and texture I would personally recommend 10-20% fat beef mince.
- Cooking times will vary: the volume of water you require may be different to the recipe as stated. If you want to add whole onions to cook and soften whilst the mince cooks, add enough water to cover the onions. Simmer until the water reduces enough to suit your needs.
- Gravy: If you aren’t adding gravy granules (or powder) then you won’t need as much liquid at the end to mix it through. But if you are, you can add more water as required.
- Thickening: if you don’t want to add gravy but want to thicken the beef stock, then you could add some plain (all purpose) flour to the mince after it has been browned but before the stock is added, or some cornflour mixed with water at the end.
- Mashed Potatoes: for the perfectly silky potatoes, I would use a combination of both butter and milk when mashing. Or user a ricer for the smoothest potatoes.
Storage, Reheating and Leftovers
Mince and Tatties can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
To reheat: either reheat on the hob (stovetop) or in the microwave until piping hot throughout.
Top Tip: I add a dash of water to the mince mixture when reheating as it helps to keep the consistency good.
Leftover Mince and Tatties? You could use the mince to make a pie similar to Cottage Pie and use the leftover mash to make Potato (Tattie) Scones.
Other Scottish Recipes You Might Like
If you want to try other traditional Scottish recipes, then these are some of my favourites:
If you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Or I would really appreciate it if you left me a review below.
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Mince and Tatties (Traditional Scottish Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
- 500 g beef mince ground beef
- 1 beef stock cube
- 800 ml water
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce optional
- gravy granules or powder optional
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables: peel and finely chop 2 carrots and 1 onion
- Add the chopped vegetables to a pot with 2 tablespoon oil & 1 tablespoon mixed herbs - cook until vegetables have softened
- Add 500 g beef mince to pot, seasoned with salt & pepper, and brown off the mince (approx 10 minutes)
- Add 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional) and 1 beef stock cube dissolved in 800 ml water
- Simmer the mince on a medium heat for approx. 30 minutes
- Optional: add gravy granules or powder and stir through, allow to simmer for further 5 minutes (until thickened)
- Serve alongside some mashed potatoes and green veg of choice (peas, broccoli, cabbage are all good options)
Notes
- Buy the best quality ground beef you can afford from your local butcher. The hero of the dish is mince; so to achieve the perfect taste and texture I would personally recommend 10-20% fat beef mince.
- Cooking times will vary: the volume of water you require may be different to the recipe as stated. If you want to add whole onions to cook and soften whilst the mince cooks, add enough water to cover the onions. Simmer until the water reduces enough to suit your needs.
- Gravy: If you aren’t adding gravy granules (or powder) then you won’t need as much liquid at the end to mix it through. But if you are, you can add more water as required.
- Thickening: if you don’t want to add gravy but want to thicken the beef stock, then you could add some plain (all purpose) flour to the mince after it has been browned but before the stock is added, or some cornflour mixed with water at the end.
- Mashed Potatoes: for the perfectly silky potatoes, I would use a combination of both butter and milk when mashing. Or user a ricer for the smoothest potatoes.
Annemarie says
My go to recipe for mince & tatties! Delicious.
Caroline Paterson says
Best mince & tatties I’ve ever made using this recipe. Haven’t done the doughballs with it yet but definitely will do and will try the oven technique with them too.
C Crawford says
Pure comfort food. Delicious
Ashleigh says
Hi, great recipe me and my partner love it.
If i only use 250g mince, should I half the Worcester sauce & water for beef stock? Thanks!