30 Casserole Recipes Perfect for Sunday Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What casseroles don't freeze well? ›

Types of Casseroles That Don't Freeze Well

The result? Mushy casseroles with a grainy texture. Avoid freezing casseroles made with dairy products (especially soft cheeses with a high-water content like ricotta or cottage), eggs, starchy vegetables, and watery vegetables like lettuce and cucumber.

This quick-cooking casserole only needs 20 minutes to bake. The most time-consuming part of making it is the meat sauce—you could make that ahead and assemble and bake the casserole when you need it. Or, prep it all the night before and refrigerate—then enjoy this speedy meal on a particularly rushed weeknight.

Most casseroles can be made ahead and refrigerated for a day or two or frozen up to three months. Not only is this convenient, but it also lets the flavors mingle and fully develop.

If the casserole has raw protein (meat, poultry, seafood), you should cook it thoroughly before freezing. Line the baking dish with enough aluminum foil so that there is an overhang on all sides. After cooking, let the hot casserole cool a bit, then carefully remove it from the pan by lifting the foil on both sides.

In general, freezing your casserole before baking may yield better results with the dish's texture.

Top tips for casseroles

Cut your ingredients, such as meat, potatoes and parsnips, into similar-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly. Add any ingredients that cook quickly, such as broad beans, towards the end of cooking. To save time – and washing up – use a flameproof, ovenproof casserole dish.

So what's inside? Let's talk anatomy: A standard dinner casserole usually includes a protein, a starch, a vegetable, a sauce (or other binding ingredient), and cheese.

Soft vegetables like broccoli can be quickly par-cooked (aka blanched). If you are using hard vegetables like potatoes or carrots or other hardy root vegetables, you'll want to par-cook for longer. Often a quick 2-5 minutes in the microwave will just give them that great head-start.

2. Cover dishes. Covering dishes with aluminum foil during a bake helps lock in moisture. Loosely placing or tenting a sheet of foil over a dish can prevent the top from browning while the rest of your dish continues to bake.

A perfect casserole needs one or more binders: cheese, eggs, condensed soup, Greek yogurt or noodles, for example. Next up are good seasonings; you need herbs and spices to make it all sing.

Should you stir a casserole? ›

Preparing a casserole is easy – all you need to do is brown the meat on the stovetop, combine all the ingredients in the casserole dish then cover and pop it in the oven. There's no stirring required either, so you have more time to relax.

In general, you'll want to bake a casserole covered with aluminum foil for most of the cooking time. Covering the casserole helps lock in moisture and prevents it from drying out. If you don't cover the casserole or uncover it too soon, the casserole will dry out.

In the case of casseroles, leftovers should actually never be added to a preheated oven. The reason is simple: the cold casserole dish may crack.

Balance Flavors

Casseroles can really shine when they achieve a harmonious balance of flavors. Sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic elements should blend well and complement each other. Add ingredients like caramelized onions, olives, or lemon zest to give your casserole a depth of flavor.

Milk, yogurt, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, and soft cheeses all become inedible once frozen, since they separate and curdle upon defrosting, changing the texture and consistency entirely.