30 Easy Casseroles You Should Always Have in Your Arsenal
Fact: Everyone loves a quick and easy dinner. And casseroles are lifesavers in that department. They can feed a crowd (or leave you with lunch leftovers), freeze well, and once you pop them in the oven, they're pretty much good to go. That means you can never have too many recipes for them in your back pocket. Here are 30 easy casseroles you should always have in your arsenal.
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1. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Casserole
This grown-up version of your favorite childhood lunch is as easy as making eight grilled cheese sandwiches (hello, mozzarella and Boursin cheeses) and topping them with homemade tomato soup. The canned kind will work too.
2. Italian Sausage and Kale Baked Ziti
Have an hour? You’ve got the ultimate comfort food dish. Even if you usually opt for mild, spicy sausage will bring serious flavor to this lightning fast meal.
3. Roasted Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese
Sometimes we’re craving a big bowl of veggies. Other times, we want all the cheese. This dish lands us somewhere in the middle. We substitute pasta for cauliflower florets (you can use broccoli or squash too) and load them with white cheddar, Parm and panko.
4. Eggplant Parm Casserole
The kids will have nothing to whine about when they taste this cheesy masterpiece. They can even get in on the layering while you prepare the garlic bread.
5. Slow-Cooker Breakfast Casserole
Brunch is on, thanks to your trusty Crock-Pot. And you’re only eight ingredients away from fluffy eggs, gooey white cheddar and crispy bacon. We’ll make the mimosas.
6. Ravioli Lasagna
We love an easy, customizable dinner. Choose whatever ravioli you love—meat! cheese! mushroom!—and layer it with easy marinara, mozzarella and ricotta. Bring on all the grated Parm.
7. Shepherd’s Pie
Listen, we’re not waiting for St. Patrick’s Day. Guinness-beef stew, veggies and fluffy browned mashed potatoes are too good to put on the back burner. Isn’t she pretty?
8. Gruyere and Asparagus Potato Noodle Casserole
Kugel fans beware: You’ll want to make this over and over again. And you’ll only need five ingredients to pull it off. Peel your own potato spirals or substitute zucchini for a lighter spin.
9. Healthier Green Bean Casserole
We love canned cream of mushroom soup just as much as the next guy, but this mushroom-Alfredo sauce blows it out of the water. Try not to eat the crispy onion topping before dinner’s ready.
10. Baked Gnocchi Casserole in Creamy Tomato Sauce
There’s nothing a hot bowl of gnocchi can’t fix. Even better, it only calls for nine ingredients and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
11. Healthy Tuna Casserole
Here’s a meal you can brag to your gym squad about. This recipe swaps brown rice for pasta and stars a dairy-free cashew cream sauce.
12. Pastitsio
Never heard of this Greek pasta bake? You’re in for a treat. It’s basically a ground-lamb lasagna made with a creamy béchamel of Greek yogurt, eggs, milk and cheese. Yeah, we’ll preheat the oven.
13. Slow-Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Think Taco Tuesday with a twist. It’s got all the fixings: black beans, green chiles, corn, chicken and lots of Jack cheese and sour cream. Now, where are those tortilla chips?
14. Rigatoni Pasta Pie
Your springform cake pan wants to get in on the fun. This eight-ingredient meal isn’t only impressive, but it’s also loaded with ground Italian sausage, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and jarred marinara.
15. Spicy Tuna Rice Casserole
Obsessed with spicy tuna rolls? Meet your favorite sushi, deconstructed. Canned tuna gets gussied up in salty nori, Sriracha yogurt, grated cucumber and diced avocado. Jasmine rice will be nice and aromatic, but standard white rice works too.
16. Polenta Ragu Casserole
Pasta can get boring after a while. Swap noodles with hearty, buttery polenta. The ground beef, half-and-half and fresh mozzarella make it extra decadent.
17. Baked Zucchini ‘Ziti’ Spirals with Mozzarella
Bye-bye, carbs. Who needs pasta when you have curls of thin-sliced zucchini? With store-bought marinara in the mix, it’s a no-brainer.
18. Rigatoni Broccoli Rabe Bake
Bitter broccoli rabe turns earthy and savory in this homemade tomato-basil sauce. Don’t have pancetta? Fry up some bacon instead.
19. Easy One-Pan Baked Ziti
Anything casserole dishes can do, skillets can do better. (Or they’ll at least look better doing it.) This easy dish comes together in an hour and boasts pancetta, Italian sausage and all the fresh mozz.
20. Tortellini Tuna Casserole
Noodles are so yesterday. Substitute cheese tortellini in this modern take on an old-school staple. It’ll take you less than an hour to make and the tortellini cooks in the sauce. That means—yay—no boiling.
21. Spaghetti Squash Casserole
This gourd deserves to be promoted from side dish to main course. Once you try it, rich with ground turkey, onion, bell pepper, garlic and mozzarella, you’ll know why.
22. Easy Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Things are about to get cheesy. Make your own tomato sauce with shallots, tomato paste, cherry tomatoes and a dash of heavy cream. Then, bring on the mozz and pop it under the broiler until it’s bubbly and golden-brown.
23. Creamy Chicken Quinoa and Broccoli Casserole
Vegetables, grains and protein all in one single dish. Genius. Plus, you likely have everything you need already in your kitchen. Bacon is optional, but we're going ham with it. (See what we did there?)
24. Chicken Pesto Bake
Store-bought pesto. Grated Parmesan. Mozzarella. Ricotta. This recipe may be simple (like, six-ingredient simple), but you’ll wow the kids with this half-hour wonder.
25. Crock Pot Mexican Casserole
A gluten-free dish that's healthy and protein-packed, thanks to quinoa, black beans and ground chicken. The secret flavor-packed ingredient? Red enchilada sauce.
26. Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes
This Thanksgiving classic has both Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes. They turn fork-tender and delicious in a buttery bath of sharp cheddar, grated Parmesan and thyme. It’s technically a side, but we won’t tell if it’s all you have for dinner.
27. Leek, Kale and Goat Cheese Strata
Never heard of strata? It’s a baked dish made with eggs, bread and cheese. Combine pieces of your favorite loaf with sautéed leeks and kale, add goat cheese and soak it all in creamy custard. You’ll know it’s ready to eat once it turns golden brown in the oven.
28. French Toast Casserole
Your kids have a new favorite breakfast. It may have something to do with the vanilla brioche. Or it could be the buttery brown sugar-oat streusel topping.
29. White Pesto Spinach Lasagna
Red sauce is not the boss of lasagna. Not only is this dish loaded with caramelized wild mushrooms, but it’s also ooey-gooey with cheesy béchamel, made with Emmi Raclette and Parmesan.
30. Holy Mole Enchiladas
We’re big fans of mole, a Mexican cocoa sauce balanced with cumin, tomato paste, cinnamon and chili powder (add jalapeño if you like it hot). And these will only take you 40 minutes to whip up. Sounds like a win to us.