[1] The dish was known in its present form, though not under the same name, in the early 19th century: in 1806 Maria Rundell published a recipe for "Sanders", consisting of the same ingredients as cottage or shepherd's pie: minced beef or mutton, with onion and gravy, topped with mashed potato and baked as individual servings.

"But with the first mincing-machines, prison, school and seaside boarding house cooks acquired a new weapon to depress their victims, with watery mince, shepherd's pie with rubbery granules of left-over meat.

[7] A recipe for shepherd's pie published in Edinburgh in 1849 in The Practice of Cookery and Pastry specifies cooked meat of any kind, sliced rather than minced, covered with mashed potato and baked.

Dorothy Hartley quotes a traditional verse, "Vicarage mutton", showing not only the uses to which the joint was put, but also the interchangeability of the terms "shepherd's" and "cottage" pie: Hot on Sunday, Cold on Monday, Hashed on Tuesday, Minced on Wednesday, Curried Thursday, Broth on Friday, Cottage pie Saturday.

The 26 recipes cited in the table show the varieties of titles and ingredients recommended by cooks and food writers from Australia, Britain, Canada, France and the US.

Fillings for other pies with a mashed potato topping are numerous, and include artichoke hearts and red peppers;[45] black pudding;[46] chicken and spinach;[47] chorizo;[48] curried chicken;[49] duck;[50] rabbit;[51] salmon;[52] salt cod;[53] turkey and ham;[54] and flaked white fish with shrimps in a white sauce.