This delicious, warming beef and bean hotpot is made from a mince beef and baked beans stew, with extra veggies. It's then topped with sliced potato and popped under the grill until golden and crispy. It's an easy, healthy family dinner, hearty comfort food for a chilly evening!
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Mince beef with baked beans and Worcestershire sauce makes a really tasty savoury sauce (or gravy). The family will love this healthy comfort food, inspired by a traditional Lancashire hotpot.
- Includes plenty of veggies as well as beans. Baked beans are good for your health and are a great way of making mince beef go further. The British Heart Foundation suggest that replacing some of the meat you eat with beans is a great way to reduce the saturated fat in your diet. Beef hotpot with beans is also high in protein and fibre to keep you feeling full.
For a meat-free meal, you might also like to try this lentil hotpot recipe. - Gluten free, and easy to make dairy free.
- Great for meal prep and freezing.
- Easy beef and bean hotpot can be cooked on the stovetop and under the grill - no need to run the oven for hours! And it's very quick and easy to make on a busy weeknight.
- A hearty, healthy budget-friendly family meal. One pack of minced beef will generously serve 6 people. (You might also like this economical Scotch broth with lamb recipe)
Ingredients
Minced beef. I used 5% fat for this mince beef hotpot but you can vary that if you wish. Minced beef such a versatile ingredient - I regularly make this healthier cottage pie, lasagne, GF spaghetti bolognese and savoury mince. Making a hotpot with minced beef means that it is much quicker to make than a traditional recipe.
Onion and garlic are healthy and add great flavour
Carrots add natural sweetness, and of course it's an easy way to add another vegetable to your beef and bean hotpot.
Canned tomatoes add liquid as well as flavour to the recipe. You can use either chopped or whole tomatoes - if using whole, just squish them down with the back of a spoon after you add them to the pan.
Baked beans are an ideal ingredient in a minced beef hotpot. They add an instant thick savoury gravy or sauce as well as plenty of flavour and seasoning. If you prefer, you can use these homemade baked beans.
Worcestershire sauce adds a great hit of flavour to the mince beef and bean stew. Check the label if you are coeliac as some brands contain gluten.
Parsley. I like to add a handful of chopped parsley to the hotpot as it adds a lovely freshness, but if you haven't got any, no problem. You can also add other herbs such as thyme if you prefer.
Potatoes. You can use any variety of potatoes to make the hotpot topping. The potatoes don't need to be peeled, in fact, unpeeled potatoes will hold together better. But the potatoes do need to be pre-cooked before they go under the grill.
Butter. Brushing melted butter over the potatoes turns them golden brown. If you want a dairy-free hotpot you can use olive oil, although the topping may not go so golden. For a very low-fat hotpot, use olive oil spray.
You'll also need some olive oil for frying. The combination of beans and Worcestershire sauce should add enough seasoning, but if it's not sufficient you can always add extra seasoning at the end.
How to make beef and bean hotpot
If you've got a large lidded frying pan that can go under the grill, you can make this as a one-pot beef and bean hotpot. If not (most pans don't have heat-resistant handles!) you can use a frying pan and then transfer the recipe to an ovenproof dish.
Start by browning the onions in a pan which will add an extra layer of flavour. Add the mince beef and garlic and brown for a few minutes more. Gently move the meat around occasionally so that it gets browned all over.
Add the grated carrot, Worcestershire sauce and canned tomatoes. Pop a lid on the pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile you can prep the potatoes. They don't need to be peeled (they'll retain more goodness that way) so give them a quick wash. Then cut into slices, about 3-4mm. Place in a pan with boiling water and simmer for about 5-6 minutes until they are starting to go soft but not mushy. Drain well (be gentle so the slices of potato don't break up).
Stir the baked beans and parsley into the beef mince.
Spoon into an ovenproof dish. Top the casserole with slices of cooked potato, overlapping them slightly as you go. If there are a few broken pieces of potato, don't worry, just pop them in and they'll brown up nicely.
Preheat the grill. Melt the butter in a small pan, and brush over the potato slices. Pop the beef and bean hotpot under the grill for about 5 minutes until golden. Keep a close eye on it and turn partway if necessary.
Variations
- You can also add extra vegetables to the dish. Mushrooms would go very well.
- You could also make a lamb mince hotpot instead of beef if you prefer.
- If you are a cheese lover, you can add some grated cheese to the top of the hotpot in place of butter.
- Make individual beef and bean hotpots in small heatproof dishes, they are easy to serve if you want to serve the hotpot for guests.
Meal prep tips
This easy mince beef and bean stew can be cooked in advance and stored in the fridge. Heat it through in a pan before adding the potatoes and grilling so that the whole dish is piping hot.
If you prefer you can cook the assembled beef and bean hotpot bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. If you'd prefer to not precook the potatoes, it'll take much longer to cook - up to 2 hours.
Serving and storage
This easy mince beef hotpot just needs a helping of greens or salad on the side. Try sauteed leeks and peas, or sauteed spinach.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the cooked dish.
You could also double up on the beef and baked bean stew, and freeze that separately. Once defrosted, reheat and add the potatoes. Or for a change, serve it with these easy dumplings instead of potatoes.
Frequently asked questions
Many beef hotpot recipes use stewing beef. However, if you've using stewing beef, you'll need to cook it long and slow. If you like, you could use this slow cooker beef shin recipe, or beef bourguignon and finish it with sliced potatoes. Traditional hotpots are often also made with lamb. For a quicker version, you could use this lamb mince stew and add the potatoes.
A hotpot has a layer of sliced potatoes on the top which are browned in the oven or under the grill. A stew is cooked all in one, and may or may not contain potatoes. Just to confuse matters, you could refer to the meat base of a hotpot as a stew!
This homemade mince beef hotpot recipe has 344 calories for a filling and substantial dinner. If you want to reduce the calories in the recipe, use a cooking spray to reduce the oil in the recipe. Make sure that you use low-fat minced beef too.
Other healthy mince recipes
All of these healthy mince recipes contain plenty of added vegetables and pulses. You can also browse the health dinners collection for further inspiration.
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Recipe
Beef and Bean Hotpot
Equipment
- large lidded frying pan
- saucepan
- oven proof dish if frying pan cannot be used under the grill
Ingredients
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic peeled and very finely chopped or crushed
- 500 g mince beef
- 200 g carrot washed and grated
- 400 g canned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 400 g baked beans
- 1 handful chopped parsley
- 750 g potatoes scrubbed and cut into 3-4 mm slices
- 20 g butter or an extra tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and fry the onion for 5 minutes until starting to brown.
- Add the beef mince and garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes. Stir occasionally so that the meat is browned on all sides.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, grated carrot and tinned tomatoes. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into slices about 3-4mm. Cover with boiling water and simmer for about 5-6 minutes until just soft. Drain well.
- Stir the baked beans and parsley into the minced beef. Spoon the mixture into an oven proof baking dish.
- Lay the cooked potato slices over the top of the hotpot, overlapping them slightly. Preheat the grill.
- Melt the butter in a small pan and brush over the potatoes (or drizzle with olive oil if preferred.)
- Place under a preheated grill and brown the top of the hotpot for 5 minutes. Turn partway so that it is golden on all sides.
Notes
- The cooked potato slices will be slightly fragile - don't worry if they break a little, they'll still crisp up nicely!
- For a dairy-free beef hotpot, drizzle olive oil over the potato topping and omit the butter
- If you are Coeliac, check that your Worcestershire sauce is gluten free
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
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