Easy corned beef stovies is a Scottish recipe made with potatoes and onions. This cheap and delicious variation is great when you don't have any leftover meat!
Just about every Scottish family has their own stovies recipe. This is my variation, easy corned beef stovies.
Stovies is a Scottish staple dish based on potatoes, onions and pieces of leftover meat.
It's kind of a potato stew originally made with leftover meat cuts. It's the ultimate comfort food.
The traditional Scottish stovies recipe calls for lard and butter, or leftover fat and meat from a roast dinner to be used.
Here I've used just a little olive oil to make it a slightly healthier stovies recipe.
Also these are stovies with corned beef. So you can make them any time without having to have any leftover meat!
I'm probably going to receive lots of angry comments saying "these are not Stovies". Ha ha!
And I'm not saying they strictly are!
But everyone is entitled to their opinion and this recipe for stovies is what I remember my mum making and the version I make.
I had a conversation at work the other day, some of my colleagues agreed that these are what they remember as stovies and someone said this was more like corned beef hash to them.
I very rarely have any leftover roast beef from a Sunday roast to make stovies so that's why I use corned beef. If you do have leftover beef then great just use that instead!
Stovies are not only delicious but they're extremely versatile. This easy stovies recipe can be made anywhere and at any time.
Indeed it was always a traditional camping recipe for me too. It's made all in one pot and with just a handful of ingredients.
You can easily add in any vegetables once the stovies are cooked, like peas.
Check the FAQ's below for more variations and information about stovies!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Potatoes
- Beef Stock
- Corned Beef
- Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make stovies with corned beef:
Step 1
- Heat the olive oil. Sauté the onion until softened.
Step 2
- Add potatoes and stock to the pan. Simmer until the stock has been absorbed and potatoes have softened completely.
Step 3
- Stir in the corned beef and cook through.
Step 4
- Season to taste and serve with some slices of thick crusty bread or the traditional Scottish way with oatcakes.
Substitutions
- Olive Oil - you can use lard, butter, beef dripping or another oil.
- Onion
- Potatoes - I use ordinary white potatoes. You can also use leftover roast potatoes.
- Beef Stock - I just make this up from a stock cube. You can make your own from a leftover roast.
- Corned Beef - you can use leftover roast beef, sausage meat, or minced beef.
- Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper
Equipment
For This Easy Corned Beef Stovies Recipe You May Need….
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This is the set of pans I recommend for cooking with.
The set includes 16, 18, 20 cm saucepans, 1 x 14 cm milk pan and 1 x 24 cm fry pan.
The pans are suitable for all hobs including induction.
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FAQ's
How To Store Stovies?
Stovies can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 2 - 3 days.
Can You Freeze Homemade Stovies?
Yes stovies can be transferred to airtight containers and frozen.
How To Reheat Stovies?
Allow stovies to thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Vegetarian Stovies?
To make vegetarian stovies simply substitute the beef stock with vegetable stock and the corned beef with a vegetarian sausage alternative.
What Vegetables Can I Add To Stovies?
Add any vegetables into the cooked stovies like carrots, sweetcorn or peas. You can also add in any leftover vegetables from your Sunday roast!
Other Popular Scottish Recipes
📋 Easy Corned Beef Stovies Recipe
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion finely chopped.
- 500 g Potatoes peeled and cut into bitesize chunks.
- 400 ml Beef Stock
- 340 g Corned Beef chopped.
- Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper
Instructions
- Gently heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan and sauté the onion for about 6 - 8 minutes until softened.
- Add potatoes then the stock to the pan. Stir well, bring to the boil then turn down to simmer for 30 - 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally until stock absorbed and potatoes have softened completely.
- Stir in the corned beef and continue to simmer and stir for about 2 -3 minutes until cooked through.
- Season to taste and serve with some slices of thick crusty bread or the traditional Scottish way with oatcakes.
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this easy corned beef stovies recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
angiesrecipes
I have never heard of stovies..but the combo of meat and potato sounds really delicious and comforting and it's an excellent recipe to use up any leftovers.
Neil
It really is a delicious comfort food Angie. And you can absolutely chuck any leftovers into it!
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
I'm in no position to judge whether these are real stovies or not. But I can say these do sound tasty.
I'm fascinated to see that picture of tinned corned beef. Where I grew up at least, corned beef is an actual cut of beef (brisket, I believe) that's been cured in different spices, which you then boil and serve with cabbage. It's popular among Irish Americans. And everybody else around St. Patrick's Day. I suppose the tinned kind is the already cooked meat chopped and tinned?
Neil
Thanks Frank. Yes the corned beef you see is just minced and canned salt beef. It's already cooked and easy to use for simple recipes like this. You could make this recipe with an actual cut of beef, like brisket if you wanted to though. 🙂
Mimi Rippee
A wonderful way to use corned beef leftovers! Nice and hearty. Very Scottish!
Neil
Or really any kind of meat leftovers! Thanks Mimi.
David @ Spiced
I must admit that I have never heard of stovies until now. They sound like a great way to use up leftovers! Every culture has something similar, but I need to try the Scottish version. I love the ingredients in here!
Neil
Absolutely David, there's really simple ingredients used here and you can practically add any other leftovers to it too! Thanks!
Raymund | angsarap.net
I bet I will love this, we have something similar in the Philippines and we love our corned beef. It is a typical breakfast item consumed with rice, basically same concept where onions, potatoes and corned beef are sauteed together in oil. Yum!
Neil
That's really interesting Raymund. I love that this is a kind of breakfast in the Philippines. It just goes to show you how well food travels and all the different cultural and regional variations it can have. Oh and I could definitely eat this for breakfast too. Ha ha!
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!
Well you're not going to get any angry comments from me, because I've never heard of stovies! My takeaway is that it's a kind of hash where meat rather than potatoes is more of the central ingredient? Anyway, I'm a meat and potatoes fan, so I'm in. I feel like I need to drizzle it with Russian dressing. Will that get some angry comments?
Neil
Jeff, as a meat and potatoes fan you will love this. And you should just go ahead and add whatever dressing you want! Even if you're favourite dressing is from one of the least favourite countries in the world at the moment! Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe!
2pots2cook
This must be tasty! Lardo and I are in love; also roast leftovers are great to make budget friendly meal!
Neil
Thank you. And yes I love using roast leftover to make lots of cheap meals! 🙂
Michelle
I happen to have all these ingredients -- will need to give this use-up-the-leftovers recipe a try soon!
Neil
It's a great recipe for using up leftovers. Thanks michelle!
Velva- Evening With A Sandwich
Hi Neil, I have never heard of 'stovie' before-the first thing that came to mind when I saw this recipe was corned beef hash. Growing up we served up something similar with fried eggs. Love it-love your recipe too.
Velva
Neil
Hi Velva, it is definitely similar to corned beef hash! As I wrote in the post I had a debate with colleagues at work about it. Glad you like it and it would definitely be amazing served with fried eggs. Yum! Thanks for your comment!