How to cook the most delicious slow cooker minced beef cobbler. This mince cobbler recipe is easy to prep and cook in the slow cooker, is frugal, yet flavoursome and will remind you of old fashioned cobbler recipes from childhood.
You can also mix and match the meat to make lamb cobbler, pork cobbler or even a vegetarian cobbler.
Minced Beef Cobbler
Yesterday on Recipe This as part of our slow cooker mince week, we showed you how to make a slow cooker minced beef and dumplings recipe.
Well today is the mince and dumplings sister aka a minced beef cobbler.
A mince cobbler was one of the first things I learnt to cook for my chef hubby and has lots of memories.
I figured as an 18 year old what is really that hard? You can take a classic savoury mince recipe such as the type you would use for the filling of a cottage pie and then top it with scones.
I loved making scones, had made more cottage pies than I cared to remember, and this was going to be a piece of cake.
Well, it went down very well, and I think I even impressed the chef. I made the scones a little different with some cheese and seasonings in them, but OMG it was good.
I couldn’t think of a better time to convert my mince cobbler to the slow cooker than during mince week and to explain in more detail what mince cobbler is, so that you can recreate it in your slow cooker too.
Or best of all, introduce you to a frugal dinner that will have the kids licking their bowls clean.
Are You New To The Slow Cooker?
This is perfect for you if you want to get more recipes for your slow cooker. Loaded with a lot of British classics and something for everyone.
Click here or on the banner above and you will have access to it in an instant.
Slow Cooker Mince Recipes
Over the next few days on Recipe This I am celebrating one of my favourite ingredients in the slow cooker and that is mince aka ground meat. I love how you can grab a cheap pack of it from the supermarket and use it to make your favourite comfort food and also have great variety too.
You can follow our slow cooker mince series below:
- Slow Cooker Cottage Pie
- Slow Cooker Shepherds Pie
- Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
- Slow Cooker Quorn Bolognese
- Slow Cooker Lasagne
- Slow Cooker Cumberland Pie
- Slow Cooker Mince & Dumplings
- Slow Cooker Mince Cobbler (todays recipe)
You can also get all our slow cooker mince recipes here.
What Is A Beef Cobbler?
A cobbler is a beef casserole (can be made with mince or braising steak) that is topped with a cheese scone topping.
A beef cobbler is very similar to mince and dumplings, just like cottage pie is very similar to shepherd’s pie.
And just like the difference between shepherd’s pie and cottage pie, the beef cobbler differs from the mince and dumplings because of one main ingredient.
That main ingredient is between using dumplings with suet, and no suet dumplings.
You see a cobbler is made with a no suet dumplings recipe, whilst beef stew and dumplings are always made with dumplings with suet.
This goes back for decades and decades and in old school cookery books, every recipe for a beef cobbler uses a scone mix on top that is often referred to as cheese cobbler scones or no suet dumplings.
It’s a similar mix to cheese scones just with herbs added into the ingredients list.
Best of all, making a cobbler topping is so easy and you will love how delicious it tastes once cooked.
What Makes A Cobbler A Cobbler?
A cobbler is a cobbler because of its uneven texture because of the scones loaded on top. It looks very similar in texture to the sweet cobblers, such as our slow cooker peach cobbler.
It also has a fantastic dough texture because the cobbler topping has cooked in the beef and looks just like dumplings.
Is A Cobbler The Same As A Crumble?
No, a crumble has a mix of butter and flour that has been turned into breadcrumbs and cooked over a casserole. Whilst a cobbler is a type of scones that is cooked over a casserole.
Do Cobblers Have A Bottom Crust?
No, beef cobblers don’t have a bottom crust. They are made of a savoury beef mince or a beef stew filling that is topped with cheese scones.
If you have not had one before imagine a cottage pie and then replacing the top with cheese scones instead of mashed potatoes.
Can You Make A Cobbler The Night Before?
Yes, you can make a cobbler the night before. It’s a brilliant idea to make ahead your beef cobbler because then you can be saving time on the day and don’t have to worry about cooking.
I recommend you prep everything the night before. Make your scone topping and place them in the fridge. Sauté the onion and brown your meat. Prep your veggies and then it will be ready to get cooked the next day.
Would you like easy & amazing slow cooker recipes from slow cooker experts? Click here and join the Recipe This Newsletter. We will then send you the BEST slow cooker beginner recipes direct to your email inbox along with other useful kitchen gadget resources.
Beef Cobbler Recipe Ingredients
Mince – The most important ingredient is the minced beef, or ground beef as you may call it in the US. We used lean beef mince which is best for the slow cooker because there is a lot less fat and then it won’t make your beef cobbler taste greasy.
Scones – My beef cobber topping recipe is loosely based on the original cobbler scone recipe in my favourite Bero and Mrs Beeton cookbooks. I have tweaked it a bit and the ingredients are still suitable for a traditional beef cobbler. You can also mix and match with favourite ingredients.
Veggies – I love the mix of carrots, celery, and onion that go into a beef cobbler recipe. I use the onion first to sauté the slow cooker and the carrots and celery are added later and cooks with the mince.
Tomatoes – I also use both tinned tomatoes and tomato puree or as you might call it tomato paste. The tomato combo adds a delicious flavour to your mince.
Peas – a recipe for mince beef cobbler just wouldn’t be the same without stirring in some frozen peas. We love the colour of the peas in this slow cooked recipe.
Seasoning – Then for mince seasoning we used salt, pepper, mixed herbs, and parsley.
Variations – Though of course you can vary the mince and use pork for a pork cobbler, minced lamb for a lamb cobbler and so on.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this beef cobbler slow cooker recipe it has just been our Ninja Foodi. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of slow cooker recipes and also great for easy Sunday lunches.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our slow cooker recipes category as we have more than 100 tried and tested slow cooker recipes and have been using slow cookers for 18 years.
How To Slow Cook Mince Beef Cobbler?
- Prep. Peel and dice your onion and carrots and clean and dice your celery.
- Sauté. Add your diced onion and sauté with a little extra virgin olive oil. Then brown your minced beef.
- Dump. Next dump in the rest of your ingredients (apart from the peas and cobbler dough) stir and then slow cook on high for 2 hours.
- Prep. Whilst the slow cooker is cooking your mince, make your cobbler dough and weigh them out as you go to make sure they are of an equal size.
- Topping. When the slow cooker is done, stir the slow cooker and add in frozen peas if it is too dry add in an extra can of tinned tomatoes to give it some extra sauce.
- Finish. Cover with homemade cobbler scones and slow cook for a further two hours before serving.
And I am sure you can see why this recipe for mince cobbler is a true favourite of mine.
How To Make Cobbler Dough?
The beef cobbler topping recipe is my favourite bit. As I have mentioned before the cobbler dough is similar to making homemade cheese scones, like the air fryer scones we made all the time.
And scones are one of the early recipes you learn at school that is so easy, kids make it. You can also use the time when the slow cooker is cooking your savoury mince filling to make the cobbler dough without feeling stressed that you are on a fast time limit.
To make the cobbler scones, simply load into a bowl seasonings, flour, and butter and rub the fat into the flour.
Then add in the egg and enough milk to bind into a cobbler dough. You will then have a dough similar to this:
Then using weighing scales weigh out the total dough and divide by 10 and aim for this weight for each of your cobbler dumplings. This will help with an equal weight and no one can then argue that they got the small cobbler.
You can also mix and match ingredients such as adding in mustard, swapping a seasoning or your own favourite seasoning or even changing the type of cheese.
Can You Freeze Beef Cobbler?
Yes, you can freeze beef cobbler and I do recommend doing so. You then have another batch of beef cobbler that you can reheat for another day.
To freeze beef cobbler, you will need to wait until it is fully cold and then I recommend using a pyrex dish, or something similar that will allow you to keep the beef cobbler flat in the freezer.
Can You Reheat Beef Cobbler?
Yes, you can reheat beef cobbler, and even better, you can reheat beef cobbler in the slow cooker the next day and it will avoid extra washing up.
Simply, the night of cooking the beef mince cobbler, place the slow cooker cooking pot into the fridge. No need for the lid on just the cooking pot.
Then the next day remove from the fridge and put back in the slow cooker unit and cook on low for 60 minutes. This will warm your cobbler through without the need of moving the beef mince cobbler to the microwave or onto another dish.
Listen To Slow Cooker Mince Cobbler
Want to learn more about our Podcast? Then click here and you can browse through past episodes and subscribe to the Magic With Gadgets Podcast.
More Slow Cooker Dinners
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef Hash
- Slow Cooker Pork Leg Joint
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew
- Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
- Slow Cooker Bacon Chops
- Slow Cooker Stovies
Your beef cobbler in slow cooker recipe is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free ebooks and useful cook time charts and so much more.
Slow Cooker Minced Beef Cobbler
Ingredients
- 500 g No Suet Dumplings
- 750 g Minced Beef
- 1 Medium Onion
- 3 Large Carrots
- 2 Celery Sticks
- 2 Cans Tinned Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Parsley
- 1 Tsp Mixed Herbs
- Salt & Pepper
- 2 Cups Frozen Peas
- 3 Frozen Beef Stock Cubes
Kitchen Gadgets:
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion and the carrots as well as cleaning and slicing the celery.
- Use the sauté function to sauté the onion, with extra virgin olive oil.
- Once the onions are sautéed add in the minced beef and brown all over but don’t cook.
- Then add everything else into the slow cooker (apart from the peas and dough) and mix well. Slow cook for 2 hours on high.
- Whilst the slow cooker is doing its magic prepare the cobber dough.
- After 2 hours stir in the peas, fork test your carrots to make sure they are cooked. Add in a little mashed potatoes to thicken if it’s not thick enough.
- Load up with cobbler dough, pushing them down a little into the mince and then slow cook on high for 2 more hour before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!
I much prefer the cobbler over a mince and dumplings, just because i love the cobbler topping, this was delicious and i am loving your slow cooker recipes this week, thank you.