Meat and Potato Skillet Gratin Recipe (2024)

I've made this twice. The first time I followed the recipe exactly, but the second time I replaced the beef with chopped crimini mushrooms. My family thought it was, if anything, marginally better as a vegetarian dish.

This recipie is glorious. I do it in a dutch oven and add a few mushrooms with the onion. It has become a favorite and is not too much trouble.

This recipe is less fussy than Shepherd's Pie and really quite tasty. I've omitted the rutabaga and used cheddar when I was too lazy to go to the market.

If I could, I’d give this 6 stars! The epitome of comfort food!!Substitutions:—Oregano/garlic/thyme to infuse the cream—Mixed russet and Yukon gold potatoes because Yukons are my favorite for gratins—Swiss chard instead of spinach—sautéed the ribs with the onions and then subbed in the torn leaves for the spinach—doubled the cheese...really, you can’t have enough Gruyere.—Thanks to the cook who recommended a Dutch oven. Broiled at the end to put some color on the potatoes at the end.

Not being a great fan of either sage or rutabaga, I substituted a few tiny baby carrots and some butternut squash, enough of both to equal the amount specified for the rutabaga, and used just a light dash of oreganoI also did it in two separate oven-proof crock-type Italian bowls since I am cooking for just me these days, added mushrooms with the onions and the whole thing turned out wonderful, far better than any shepherd's pie I've ever had (tho never cooked). Nourishing and filling.

I followed her directions right down to really browning the mean and carmelizing the onions. I even infused the cream! But I didn't have a cast iron pan the right size so used the 2-handled Calphalon casserole pan. Before adding the spinach I splashed a little red wine in the pan to deglaze all the good bits in the bottom. This was DE-LISH and I will make it again and again I'm sure.

Followed instructions exactly and was delicious. One note...as a collector of vintage cast iron pans, and someone who cooks with them everyday. I would not recommend cooking casserole in cast iron. Do all your browning in cast iron and then bake in a ceramic dish (or stainless steel pan). There is no quicker way to destroy the patina of a nicely seasoned cast iron pan than by cooking wet soupy stuff in it. Avoid using it for any sauce that will be in it for a long time (meat sauce, etc).

Loved this! Didn't have spinach so sauteed a mixture of red, green, yellow and orange peppers with the onions. Also used sweet potatoes in place of rutabaga. Very versatile dish which works well with ingredients on hand.

Endlessly adaptable. I subbed Whole milk for cream and dark meat ground turkey for beef and Swiss chard for spinach. Delicious! Also, I didn't have sage so I used 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary instead dried sage in the milk. And I used 1 tbsp fresh oregano and thyme with the garlic. So glad you had some Gruyere in the fridge. This was so comforting and satisfying. I would highly recommend and adjust as you see fit!

1/2 pound of potatoes + 1/2 pound rutabaga (or celery root, in my case) + 3 ounces of spinach does not constitute a full meal for 4 - 6 people. The quantities on meat and cheese were okay, but the vegetables should be doubled, and don't reduce the cream by half, unless you prefer a dry casserole. To reduce cooking time, the potato slices could be parcooked in the simmering cream. Nicely seasoned & very flavorful.

I would substitute the heavy cream with milk. Add a little bit more olive oil and substitute the cheese with a mixture of cheddar and gruere cheese or even parmesan.

Had a rutabaga in my CSA and came across this recipe to use it. I used a bunch of kale instead of spinach and added some red pepper flakes for a little heat. The heat was not needed. Taking the time to cook each step to build flavor was worth it. My husband and I loved this dish and I look forward to making it again.

Add more liquid next time. Don’t simmer first step for so long.

Really enjoyed this! I couldn't get my hands on rutabaga so I substituted with butternut squash. I really don't like sage so skipped that all together for a bit more thyme. Simply delicious!

Really good, definitely will make again. Added swiss chard and lots of spinach--I wouldn't have minded even more veggies. Also used parsnip slices on the top, along with russets and sweet potatoes--excellent. Used a little more cheese than what was called for.

Precook potatoes until halfway cooked.Drain onions after cooking.

Made it with ground turkey which was ok but beef is probably better. I agree with comments about not cooking the cream down so much. More moisture is needed. The combination of sweet potatoes and russet potatoes was very nice but maybe a little more potato than needed

Deglaze with wine. Do not use cast iron for the casserole itself

I needed to use the broiler to get it to brown at the end. Otherwise, delicious!!!

Very tasty, but not putting this in my rotation. I usedlean ground beef (96%) and it was a bit dry. Also, after frying the ground beef then baking the dish for 60-70 minutes, the ground beef was overcooked to the point of being almost burnt. If I made it again, I would use more ground beef and would increase the herbs and onions as well. I would use ground beef that is not so lean and I would place a cookie sheet on the shelf below the skillet so that the beef does not burn on the bottom.

My wife is not that big on rutabagas so I substituted sweet potatoes instead. I've also added a bit of Mexican Chili to the spice list. The result was excellent!

I made this without the rutabaga and added some cheddar to the top, I thought it would be good but I didn't expect it to be as good as it turned out. I'm glad Melissa took the time to drastically improve shepherds pie. It has been quite awhile since a simple recipe tasted so good.

I make this with ground lamb and it is incredible! A great winter meal! The snow is falling this morning so this is dinner tonight.

At the suggestion of another note I parboiled the potatoes in half and half and then set them aside to drain and cool while I made the meat layer. Used peas instead of spinach, half lamb and half beef and added a bit of tomato paste to the meat mixture. Since potatoes were half cooked only had to bake covered for 30 and then 15 extra to brown the top. DELICIOUS!

I made this as written and while it was very tasty, I found that the potatoes did not cook enough in the allotted time. I might try parboiling them next time.

Is it sacrilege to sub ground chicken or turkey for beef? Any herb or other additions I should make to do that?

I halve the recipe for the two of us with 1/2 lb ground turkey. Get it nice and brown and deglaze with white wine. Slice the potatoes 1/8" thick. The skillet is too big at this point, so I transfer to a small casserole dish, proceed as usual and bake one hour covered, 10 minutes uncovered. We love it!

This is a spectacular recipe! I use a 10 inch cast-iron skillet. It takes time to get everything sliced but in my opinion it’s worth it. I add sweet potato to the layers. I cut everything with a mandolin at 1/8 of an inch. I double the sauce, the cheese, the garlic and the sage. Otherwise I do everything as posted. I find that it cooks a lot faster on convection at a higher temperature, 400°. Cover it very tightly with aluminum foil for the first 40 minutes and then uncover for the final 10.

Used thinly sliced carrots instead of rutabaga, baked in 11x17 Pyrex, bake for 75 minutes covered, then uncover. Used can of evaporated milk reduced to about 1 cup