A casserole is a complete dinner that cooks unattended, which is the whole of its appeal. It is also a dish where the problems are structural rather than culinary: the ratio of liquid to starch decides whether you get a bake or a soup, and almost nothing you do at the table can rescue it afterwards.
The groups below are sorted by what is carrying the dish – the protein, the starch or the vegetable – because that is what determines how much liquid it needs and how long it takes.
Ground beef casseroles
The quickest group, because the meat is already in small pieces. Drain the fat after browning or it pools on top of the finished bake.
- Cheddar Bay Hamburger Casserole Recipe
- Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole Recipe
- Creamy Beef & Mushroom Rice Bake Recipe
- Easy Big Mac Casserole Ready in 30 Minutes
- Easy Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole Ready in 30 Minutes
- Easy Hobo Casserole Ground Beef Ready in 30 Minutes
- Hearty Beef and Rice Casserole with Creamy Recipe
Chicken and turkey casseroles
Lean meat in a sauce. The sauce is doing the work of keeping the meat moist, so these are the recipes where cutting the liquid is a false economy.
- Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe
- Chicken Zucchini Bake Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole Recipe
- Dollys Chicken and Stuffing Casserole Recipe
- Easy Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole Ready in 30 Minutes
- Easy Creamy Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole Ready in 30 Minutes
- French Onion Chicken and Rice Bake Recipe
- Ground Turkey Zucchini Casserole Recipe
Pork, ham and sausage bakes
Cured and fatty meats bring their own salt and their own fat. Season the rest of the dish lightly and taste before you add more.
- Homemade Reuben Bake Recipe
- Italian Sausage & Pepper Casserole Recipe
- Loaded BBQ Bacon Ranch Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
Potato and vegetable bakes
Vegetables release water as they cook, which is why these recipes often roast or salt them first. Potato is the exception – it absorbs rather than releases.
- Best Butternut Squash Casserole Recipe
- Easy French Onion Potato Bake Recipe Ready in 30 Minutes
- Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
One-pot and sheet-pan dinners
Cooked on the stovetop or on a single tray rather than assembled and baked. Faster, and the components stay distinct instead of merging.
- Chicken Apple Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe
- Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi (20 Minutes, ONE-PAN) Recipe
- Easy One Pan Baked Ranch Chicken With Broccoli And Bacon Recipe
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies Recipe
- One Pan Herb Roasted Vegetables & Chicken Recipe
- One Pan Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sausage Rice Recipe
- One Pot Pasta (The Best Recipe!) Easy
- One-Pot Mushroom Rice Recipe
Watery, dry, or burnt on top
- Watery. Vegetables, frozen ingredients or a raw starch that never got the chance to absorb. Thaw and drain anything frozen, pre-cook watery vegetables, and give rice or pasta enough liquid and enough covered time.
- Dry. Too little sauce, or the dish was baked uncovered from the start. Cover for most of the bake and uncover at the end, which is also how you get a browned top without drying the middle.
- Burnt cheese, cold center. The dish was too deep for the temperature. A deep casserole needs a lower oven and a longer time, or a foil cover for the first half.
Casserole questions
Can I assemble a casserole the day before?
Most of them, yes. Keep it covered in the fridge and add time when you bake it from cold. Hold off on crisp toppings until it goes in the oven.
Do casseroles freeze?
Meat and sauce based ones freeze well. Potato and dairy-heavy bakes can turn grainy, and pasta softens. Freeze before baking rather than after where the recipe allows it.
Why does my pasta bake come out dry?
The pasta absorbed the sauce. Either use more sauce than looks necessary, or undercook the pasta so it finishes in the dish rather than before it.
What size dish should I use?
The one the recipe names. Depth changes the cooking time more than width does, so a deeper dish in place of a wider one is the most common cause of an undercooked middle.