Layers of creamy mashed potatoes, stuffed with juicy beef, and lots of melted cheese. Who can resist this Pastelón de Papas?
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Pastelón de Papas is a complete meal in itself, and a popular dish in which you can use the filling of your choice, although here you can find the beef filling, which is the most popular version.
Of course, the king of pastelones is Pastelón de Plátano Maduro – raise your hand if you disagree. But Pastelón de Papas is one of those dishes that everyone finds very easy to appreciate, which is not the case with all Dominican dishes, which may require a process of adaptation to the criollo taste.
About our Dominican Pastelón de Papas recipe
This is a comparatively easy recipe to make. The most important trick is that the filling does not get too dry, but neither so moist that the pie becomes a soup in the oven.
You can be very flexible with the selection of cheeses, as long as they are cheeses that melt, and that do not have a taste so “soft” that it is drowned out by the flavors of the filling. A little competition in the flavors goes well in this casserole. If you have any good ideas for making this dish, we will love reading it in the comments.
Buen provecho!
Pastelón de Papa Recipe (Potatoes and Beef Casserole)
Ingredients
How to make minced beef filling
- 2 lb [0.91 kg] of ground beef
- 1 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 onion diced into tiny cubes
- 1 cubanella pepper diced into very small cubes
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- A pinch of oregano
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon of parsley finely chopped
How to make Potato Casserole
- 2 lb [0.91 kg] of floury potatoes (like Russet) , peeled
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste)
- 1 tablespoon of parsley , chopped finely
- 2 egg yolks (optional)
- 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/ cup of grated Cheddar (optional)
- Butter for greasing the pan
Instructions
How to make minced beef filling
- Season the meat with salt, pepper, onions, cubanella pepper, garlic, and oregano.
- In a shallow pan heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and brown. Add water and the tomato sauce. Simmer over medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated.
- Taste and season with salt to taste if you find it necessary. Mix in parsley.
- Remove from the heat and reserve.
How to make Pastelón de Papas
- Heat the oven at 350 ºF [170 ºC]. Grease a 9″ x 9″ x 3″ [23 cm x 23 cm x 9cm] baking pan.
- Boil the potatoes until they are cooked through. Mash the potatoes, while still warm, until there aren’t any lumps.
- Mix in potatoes milk, butter, garlic powder and salt to taste. Mix in parsley and yolks. Spread half of this mixture in the baking pan, cover with half the mozzarella. Top with the meat filling and then the remaining half of the mozzarella.
- Finally cover with the remaining potatoes and sprinkle with Cheddar. Bake until the top is light golden and cheese is bubbly.
- Serve hot with green salad.
Everything is just gorgeous! The photos are fabulous & make one want to run into the kitchen to make one of these nice meals… I had no idea that one can mix milk & orange to make a drink…!
This looks yummy and easy to make.
What size mold did you use
I added it to the recipe.
I like most of your receipes.
i’ve made this recipe 3 times and alway had the same problem, it’s way too liquid and i end up with something that looks like mashed potatos. the taste is awesome but the texture nope. i’ve tried using less milk and less and less but it’s to not use
Stephanie, I am very sorry, and even more confused at what could have gone wrong. I have tested this recipe at least a dozen times, the last time a couple of months ago to make new pictures, and you can see in the picture in the instructions how the potato looks (the spoon is upside down). I know it works for me (and my readers) every time, as this is one of our most popular recipes).
It could be the type of potatoes you are using. some are better than others for stiff mash potatoes, the specific kind she used isn’t used here so u might have to try out different ones to see. Hope this helps, if not sorry 🤷♀️
I am not sure if I understood right..LOL, but Do you mix the egg yolks and the potatoes all together together?
Yeah, add the yolks to the potato and mix them.