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Dave isn’t a huge fan of fish – we usually eat a lot of chicken – yet he loved our first Slow Cooker Fish Pie! Amazingly, there aren’t that many slow cooker fish recipes online and a lot of people don’t really think cooking fish in a crock pot is something you can do. But, you can definitely cook fish and even seafood in the slow cooker so I thought I’d share this one and it’s turned out to be one of our favourite slow cooker recipes and one of our regular dinner ideas too.
How to make fish pie
You can cook the whole recipe in the slow cooker pot as long as you have an ovenproof slow cooker inner. After cooking the fish element and cooking your mash potatoes you then need to construct the pie and grill or oven until golden brown on top which adds slightly to the cook time.
Do I need to cook fish before making this fish pie slow cooker recipe?
This super easy slow cooker fish pie is a great meal for all the family and a real comfort food. You can include any fish you like in this mixed fish pie recipe – and you don’t need to cook it beforehand either. Smoked haddock or any smoked fish, salmon fillets, cod fish and even prawns or shrimps if you fancy them. The ingredients can be varied to suit the tastes of your whole family.
Why should I make a slow cooker fish pie?
The slow cooker fish pie is a great way of getting fish into your diet and even our young children love it. The mashed potato topping makes it the perfect one pot meal or you can add vegetables on the side if you wish or even put them in the slow cooker too – peas or sweetcorn would work wonderfully with the creamy sauce.
Alternatively, any seasonal vegetables would be a great accompaniment to this dish. The whole family love this fish pie and it’s a really healthy slow cooker meal.
What fish should I use in the slow cooker fish pie?
A slow cooker fish pie is as wholesome and full of flavour as a shepherds pie or cottage pie but is a great way of getting more fish into your diet and you can use any kind of fish depending on your favourite flavours or what fish is on offer when you’re looking to make this easy fish pie.
Is a fish pie a lot of work to make?
The sauce is the hardest part of the fish pie to make but it only takes a few minutes and then everything can be popped in the slow cooker to start the cooking process. The sauce is made just from milk, flour and butter which thickens up nicely and makes a great base for the fish pie.
If you have an oven proof slow cooker pot you can take a couple of minutes to just spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the mixture once cooked, topping with the sprinkle of cheese and then continue with the rest of the recipe.
You can also make individual mini fish pies if you want too which would be fantastic to freeze in portions as baby food or for children’s meals for the little ones. It’s not quite finger food but is something the children loved when they were weaning as toddlers.
What to serve with fish pie?
When ready to serve the food, the Crock Pot Fish Pie should be lovely and golden brown on top. It’s one of those meals that is ready to eat straight away and we have also had leftovers the following day at times – just make sure you heat the leftovers fully before eating.
Fish pie is best served simply with steamed vegetables and a crack of ground black pepper. We love a selection of green veg and sometimes even sweetcorn too and frozen peas can also be thrown into the fish pie mix before baking. You could also add lemon slices on the side if you wanted.
This is quite a low fat, healthy, low calorie recipe and apparently it could be a Weight Watchers friendly or Slimming World fish pie if you’re looking for low syn or syn free recipe. I’ve never followed Slimming World or used any Slimming World recipes but I hope this helps! It’s definitely one recipe we loved when we were focusing on weight loss.
The is the best fish pie recipe we have ever used, it’s a pretty healthy fish pie too and it’s something the whole family really enjoy for dinner. It’s become one of our favourite family meals.
If you’re looking for a creamy fish pie recipe for kids or an easy fish pie for babies then this fish slow cooker recipe would be perfect – it’s great from weaning and beyond. You can see all our recipes to date here and for more inspiration, here’s our Slow Cooker Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne and Slow Cooker ‘Lazy’ Cottage Pie.
If you are looking for the best slow cooker on the market right now, be sure to read this review from Kitchenistic
What equipment do you need to make fish pie?
The equipment needed to make a fish pie is all things that you’ll probably already have at home but these are the things that we use in case it helps.
- Slow cooker
- A large saucepan
- A measuring jug
- Scales
- A whisk
- An ovenproof dish
- A potato masher – or a potato ricer which we swear by!
And now you can make this wonderful fish pie. It’s one of our favourite slow cooker seafood recipes and one the whole family loves.
So here’s our Slow Cooker Fish Pie recipe – happy cooking!
Ingredients
- Spray oil
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
- 450 ml milk
- 150 ml fish or chicken stock
- 75 g Cheddar cheese
- 1 bay leaf
- 800 g mixed fish – salmon smoked haddock, unsmoked haddock etc skinned and cubed
For the Topping:
- 800 g mashed potato made with milk and butter. However, you can make slimline mash with just skimmed milk if you’d prefer.
Instructions
- Spray a large saucepan with oil and fry the leeks until softened. Transfer to a plate and continue with the next steps.
- Add the butter, flour and milk to the saucepan and bring to the boil while whisking constantly until thickened and smooth. Stir in the stock, cheese and bay leaf.
- Put the fish in an even layer in the slow cooker pot, add the leeks and pour over the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours cooking time.
- Spoon the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with mashed potato and sprinkle with the cheese and brown in the oven until golden.
You can also print or pin the Slow Cooker Fish Pie recipe to make later at the bottom of the page if you like. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Fish Pie
Ingredients
- Spray oil
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain flour
- 450 ml milk
- 150 ml fish or chicken stock
- 75 g cheese
- 1 bay leaf
- 800 g mixed fish – salmon smoked haddock, unsmoked haddock etc skinned and cubed
For the Topping:
- 800 g mashed potato made with milk and butter. However, you can make slimline mash with just skimmed milk if you’d prefer.
Instructions
- Spray a large saucepan with oil and fry the leeks until softened. Transfer to a plate and continue with the next steps.
- Add the butter, flour and milk to the saucepan and bring to the boil while whisking constantly until thickened and smooth. Stir in the stock, cheese and bay leaf.
- Put the fish in an even layer in the slow cooker pot, add the leeks and pour over the sauce. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
- Spoon the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with mashed potato and sprinkle with the cheese and brown in the oven until golden.
*Note: Nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published.
I love to use my slow cooker and wouldn’t have dreamed of cooking a fish pie in it. Looks wonderful. I must give it a go x
I would never of thought to cook fish pie in a slow cooker but this looks delicious. Infact I need to dust off my slow cooker and start using it again x
Oh this looks delicious, I expect Si would really enjoy this too. Am I the only person in the UK who doesn’t own a slow cooker?!
Stevie x
Are you able to freeze if the fish I use is chilled and not frozen? Wondered if I could make a batch?
I’m sure you could as long as it hasn’t been frozen before from a health/reheating/freezing perspective. As it’s quite a creamy style sauce I’m not sure how well it will freeze – we haven’t tried it. If you try can you report back and let me know? 🙂
My first attempt at fish pie it’s in the slow cooker now will let you know how it went. Thank You 🙂
You don’t say when the leeks go back in. Assuming it goes on top of the fish. Also do you stir it all together or leave it in layers?
Thanks for letting me know – I’ll update it now! You add the leeks after the fish and top the whole lot with the sauce. You don’t stir at this point but when you transfer everything to the overproof dish it all mixes up nicely and can be stirred at this point if you like.