Savoury Mince is a British and Australian comfort food classic. It's a budget-friendly, cozy, one-pan dish of ground/minced beef and vegetables in a rich gravy.
As well as being delicious (seriously my kids love this!), what makes savoury mince so special is its adaptability. You can steal in extra veggies, swap out the beef for lamb, chicken pork, or turkey, and play around with the seasonings to make it your own.
Whether you grew up with this classic or it's your first time making it, savoury mince is sure to become a regular on our dinner table. It's comfort food at its finest! Simple, hearty and totally delicious!
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Ingredients Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, with quantities, check out the recipe card below.
Onion: You can use any onion that you have in the kitchen. I have a bowl of standard brown onions, so they are what I use most often.
Garlic: Unusually for me, there is only 1 cloves of garlic in this recipe. That's because this a dish from my childhood; there was never garlic when my Gran made it for us. But I couldn't resit adding a little bit. But as always, measure garlic with your heart. And if you want it just like Gran made, then leave the garlic out completely.
Ground/Minced beef: For a truely comforting meal, go for a ground/minced beef with some fat content. It will help the sauce have that rich mouth feel. I typically buy a mix that is 85% beef/15% fat. If you buy lean beef the meat will taste drier. But again if that works for you, go for it.
Dried herbs: The recipe specifies Thyme, Oregano and Parsley. But you can replace them all with 4 teaspoons of dried mixed herbs.
Beef broth/stock: This adds a beefy, meaty flavor. Feel free to use chicken or vegetable broth if you only have those available.
Beef bouillon cubes: These really boost the easy flavor of the ground beef. I use beef oxo cubes (the red ones) but use whatever you have. Or you can replace them with a concentrate like 'better than bouillon'. Check the instructions, and use however much it suggests for 2 cups of water.
Frozen veg: Any frozen veg works here, carrot and peas are traditional plus corn in Australia. But use what you know your family will eat. If you are using something chunky like broccoli or cauliflower, you will need to use more than 1½ cups worth.
Recipe Tips
We've tested this recipe at least 3 times to ensure it works well for you. Have a look at our tips for getting the best dish you can!
- You want to use a large skillet or shallow dutch oven style dish for this recipe, to ensure you can fit everything in and have space to stir.
- Add the garlic after you have browned the ground/minced beef. This ensures that it doesn't burn.
- When adding the flour, sprinkle it over the surface of the beef and then stir to combine. If you tip it all in one spot, it is much harder to dissolve it into the fat of the meat.
- The recipe says to cook the meat and gravy for 10 minutes, but you can leave it for longer if you are busy making dish dishes. Just add a lid and put it on the lowest heat. It may form a skin on top, but just stir that back into the meat mixture and it will dissolve back in. If the sauce looks thick, add a little water or broth to thin it out.
- The frozen vegetables are cooked in the sauce. Depending on your mixture of vegetables, this can take different times. Carrots, corn and peas need around 3 minutes. But cauliflower and broccoli may need longer.
Why Is This Recipe Special?
This is the food of my childhood. Comforting and familiar. I have so many memories of eating this at my Gran's house. Her kitchen was on the second floor of her 4 storey end terrace house with views down over a hill. And she had Corelle plates and bowls with a blue flower patten on them. We'd eat this with mash (that is what the English called mashed potatoes) and she'd cook the potatoes in her amber glass saucepans. Funny how fashions come back around! Anyway this is just pure comfort for me, and I hope you love it too.
- It is a budget-friendly meal.
- It is cozy and comforting.
- It is so easy to make and the kids love it.
- It goes with lots of different side ideas.
- Leftovers keep well and heat up easily.
Recipe Adaptations
These are just suggestions and things that have worked in my test kitchen for my family, but it is your dinner, so adapt it to suit your family. That is the beauty of cooking; we can all create our own delicious meals.
- Change the ground/minced beef: You can swap it for lamb, chicken, pork or turkey. Or use a mixture. A pork and beef combination is a favorite in our house.
- Add mushrooms: You can finely chop mushrooms and cook them with the onions. Or add sliced mushrooms when you add the beef.
- Add peppers: Add some chopped bell pepper/capsicum as you are cooking the onions.
- Add different seasonings: This is a great dish to change the flavour with herbs and spices. Swap the dried herbs for some curry powder and make curried mince. Add some taco or Moroccan seasoning and serve the finished dish with rice.
- Add wine: While my Gran never put wine in her savoury mince, a half a cup of red wine, would add to the rich gravy.
Serving Suggestions
If you're wondering what to serve with this recipe, I've pulled together some of my (and my kids) favorite ideas so you can mix and match sides and drinks to make a complete meal.
What to eat with savoury mince
Mashed Potatoes! They are the perfect side for the rich gravy goodness! You could also go for rice or a baked potato (what my Gran would call a jacket potato), or my youngest loves this with buttered macaroni.
What to drink with savoury mince
You want something that compliments the rich, heart flavours but isn't too overpowering. A lightly baked Chardonnay has enough body to hold up against the rice sauce. Or go for something super crisp, like a new-world Sauvignon Blanc to cut through the richness.
The smooth tannins and fruit forward profile make a Merlot a perfect choice for red wine drinkers. Or go for a spicy, fruity Grenache. It will stand up to the gravy but won't overwhelm the dish.
More Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this dish, here are a few more classic childhood comfort food recipes I think you'll love! They're all easy, tasty, and perfect for adding to your weekly meal plan.
Enjoy x
If you try this Savoury Mince, please leave a 🌟rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that this recipe is trustworthy. And in a world where AI is becoming so common, it is nice to still have real human interactions.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comment section below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Get the Recipe
Savoury Mince
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced (see note 1)
- 1½ lb ground/minced beef (see note 2)
- 3 tablespoon AP flour
- 1½ teaspoon dried thyme (see note 3)
- 1½ teaspoon dried oregano (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (see note 3)
- 2½ cups beef broth (see note 4)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 beef bouillon cubes (see note 5)
- 1½ cups frozen veg (see note 6)
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a large skillet/frying pan and heat over medium heat.1 tablespoon oil
- Add the chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes until it has softened but not colored.1 onion - chopped
- Add the ground/minced beef and cook for 6 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat apart as you brown it.1½ lb ground/minced beef - (see note 2)
- Add the minced garlic and stir.1 clove garlic - minced (see note 1)
- Sprinkle the flour over the meat and mix until you can't see any flour.3 tablespoon AP flour
- Add the dried herbs, beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper, and then crumble in the bouillon cubes. Stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.1½ teaspoon dried thyme - (see note 3)1½ teaspoon dried oregano - (see note 3)1 teaspoon dried parsley - (see note 3)2½ cups beef broth - (see note 4)2 tablespoon tomato paste1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon black pepper2 beef bouillon cubes - (see note 5)
- Add the frozen vegetables and simmer for 3-6 minutes until they are cooked through (the time will depend on the veg that you add)1½ cups frozen veg - (see note 6)
- Add extra salt and pepper to taste (the stock and bouillon cubes add salt so you might not need any).
Notes
- Unusually for this site, there is only 1 clove of garlic in this recipe. That's because this is a dish from my childhood; there was never garlic when my Gran made it for us. But I couldn't resist adding a little bit. But as always, measure garlic with your heart.
- For a truly comforting meal, go for ground/minced beef with some fat content; it will help the sauce have that rich mouth feel. I typically buy the 80% beef/20%fat packets. See bulk of post for alternatives to beef.
- The Thyme, Oregano, and Parsley can be replaced with 4 teaspoons of dried mixed herbs.
- Feel free to use chicken or vegetable broth if you only have those available.
- I use beef oxo cubes. But use whatever you have. Or you can replace them with 2 teaspoons of a concentrate like 'better than bouillon' (check the instructions on your concentrate. You want to use however much it suggests for 2 cups of water)
- Any frozen veg works here, carrot, corn, and peas are traditional. But use what you know your family will eat. If you are using something chunky like broccoli or cauliflower, you will need to use more than 1½ cups worth.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
John M. says
I already left a pretty glowing review earlier, but I made this with ground lamb today and it was a game changer. I will not use any other meat going forward. Thanks again, Claire.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so glad you have enjoyed it again 🙂
I don't see many people using ground lamb, so it is so nice to read that you did 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment again.
Cx
GeeGee says
Thank you so much for sharing....very very close to my recipe. I add Worcestershire sauce, red wine and I don't add any herbs (imo, herbs can tip this dish over into an Italian spaghetti sauce-type flavor profile, but that's just my silly opinion).
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy you were able to adapt it to make it your own 🙂
Cx
John M. says
This was superb! I moved the handy Servings slider down to 4 and then made this exactly as written, using 2 tsp. of the new 'Seasoned Roast Beef' Better Than Bouillon base instead of cubes. Mashed potatoes make a perfect side dish for this recipe, too. So delicious that it will be part of our meal rotation from now on.
Thank you so much Claire, and greetings from Colorado USA.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it John. It is a taste of my childhood 🙂
'Seasoned Roast Beef' Better Than Bouillon sounds so good!!! I'll have to see if I can find it on Amazon.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Fanica says
Thank you for the recipe. This was very good. The only changes I made was to increase the garlic and slightly and decrease the thyme and oregano to one teaspoon since I only had dried herbs. I have on occasion served my mince on toast. I attended highly schools in Jamaica while it was still part of the British Empire. I love you web site.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it Fanica 🙂
Thank you for your kind words.
And thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx