Mushroom and lentil cottage pie
A savoury mushroom-lentil filling with a soft potato topping.
About 1 hr · 360 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian
Butter bean and leek savoury crumble
Creamy beans and leeks under an oat and cheese crumble.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the sauce thickens with 10 g of flour to 250 ml of liquid
- Confirm the topping crisps in 25 to 30 minutes
- Photograph the finished dish
- Time
- About 45 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 520 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 22 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- vegetable stock. Vegetable stock often contains celery, and some contain milk or gluten; check the label, especially if you need it vegan.
- rolled oats. UK allergen law lists oats among the cereals containing gluten. If you avoid gluten, buy oats labelled gluten-free.
- cheddar. Some cheddar is made with animal rennet; check the label if you are vegetarian.
Cooking steps
Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan).
Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the leek for 8 minutes, until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute.
Add the milk and stock a little at a time, stirring, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the butter beans and tip everything into a baking dish.
Rub the butter into the oats with your fingertips until the mixture is loose and grainy, then stir in the cheddar and scatter it over the beans in a thin, even layer.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the topping is golden and the sauce bubbles at the edges.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
The useful detail
Keep the crumble layer thin enough to crisp. Piled deep, the underside sits in steam and stays pasty while the surface browns.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the dish. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Cannellini beans instead of butter beans
Firmer and smaller. The figures do not change: both use the tinned white bean record.
Per serving: about the same energy, about the same protein, about the same fat.
A vegetarian hard cheese in the topping
Sharper and drier, and it browns more.
Per serving: about the same energy, about 2 g more protein, about 1 g less fat.
Unsweetened soya milk
Thickens in the same way.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Adds soya. The butter and cheese still contain milk.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
The most substantial vegetarian dish in this group. The beans carry the protein and fibre; the butter and cheddar in the topping carry most of the fat.
| Energy | 520 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 22 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| of which saturates | 10 g |
| Carbohydrate | 68 g |
| of which sugars | 9 g |
| Fibre | 11 g |
| Sodium | 810 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| olive oil | 4.5 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 40 kcal | 0.0 g |
| leek | 200 g | FDC 169246Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw | 122 kcal | 3.0 g |
| plain flour | 10 g | FDC 169761Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, unenriched | 36 kcal | 1.0 g |
| milk | 155 g | FDC 171267Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin A and vitamin D | 77 kcal | 5.1 g |
| vegetable stock | 98 g | FDC 171583Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve | 5 kcal | 0.2 g |
| butter beans | 300 g | FDC 175204Beans, white, mature seeds, cannedFoodData Central has no record for tinned butter beans, which are mature lima beans. Calculated as tinned white beans, the closest tinned bean it records; the two are close in energy and protein, but your tin's label is the exact figure. | 342 kcal | 21.8 g |
| rolled oats | 40 g | FDC 173904Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry | 152 kcal | 5.3 g |
| butter | 20 g | FDC 173430Butter, without salt | 143 kcal | 0.2 g |
| cheddar | 30 g | FDC 173414Cheese, cheddar (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | 121 kcal | 6.9 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 1039 kcal | 43.4 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. The topping softens; crisp it under a grill if you want it back.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Orzo with white beans and spinach
Orzo with white beans, spinach and a hard cheese finish.
About 25 min · 440 kcal · 23 g protein per serving
Vegetarian