50 Best Casserole Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest known casserole? ›

Macaroni and cheese is the oldest written casserole recipe found in 1250.

"The standard size of a casserole dish is 9 by 13 inches. However, due to varying shapes, they are often measured by volume, with three quarts being average,” says Contrino. “It is important to note that if a recipe calls only for a casserole dish, it is most likely asking for a 9- by 13-inch rectangular size.

John Wayne first wrote the casserole recipe, but it looks a little different today. John Wayne Casserole was first popularized by the 1979 cookbook, "Cooking with Love from Cara and Her Friends," a collection of different celebrities' favorite dishes.

Uncovering the foods promotes browning and crisping, and reduces the amount of liquid in the finished dish. If a casserole looks soupy when it's ready to bake, bake it uncovered unless the ingredients include pasta or rice, which absorb liquid.

Many casseroles seem to improve in flavour if kept overnight (cool them quickly and keep them in a refrigerator, by the way, once they're cold). This means it's quite possible to make two casseroles while the oven is in full swing, and keep one for the next day.

Slow Cook

Another of the newer settings on electric ovens, this is characterised by a pot or casserole pot symbol. This symbol is designed to run on low consumption for low heat and very long cooking times. This is perfect for stews, casseroles and even some large meat BBQ like ribs and steaks.

' In the UK, the terms casserole and stew tend to be used interchangeably, although some distinguish them by saying stews are cooked on a stovetop while casseroles are cooked in an oven.

What is a traditional casserole? ›

In the simplest terms, a casserole is a dish, either sweet or savory, that consists of a mix of different ingredients cooked together in the oven, typically in a baking dish with raised edges. Green bean casserole, tuna casserole, and broccoli and cheese casserole are good examples of traditional casseroles.

Casserole history

Apparently, casseroles originated as communal pots that people shared for meals. The oldest recipe for a casserole, around 1250, consisted of pasta sheets cooked in water, layered with grated cheese and spices.

Starchy side dishes and casseroles: a 9 X 13 pan makes about 12 one cup servings. A 2 quart casserole will make 6 to 8 cups. A typical serving size for potatoes, stuffing, and yams is 1 cup.

The average 9x13 rectangular baking dish holds 3.5 to 4 quarts. However, the number of quarts varies based on how deep the dish is—some of our deeper recommendations hold up to 5 quarts. Recipes that cook in a 3-quart dish or Dutch oven can be cooked interchangeably in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

A recipe written for a 9” x 13” pan can also be made in two 9” round pans; one 9” round and one 8” round, or two 8” round pans. Baking times may vary due to slightly different depths of batter in the various pan combinations.

And a piece by Langdon Reid in a Staunton, Virginia, newspaper says: “History tells us that a French Canadian immigrant Elmire Jolicour is credited with inventing the casserole, this wonderful dish of culinary breakthrough, in Berlin, New Hampshire, in 1866.”

Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes consisted of rice that was pounded, pressed, and filled with a savoury mixture of meats such as chicken or sweetbread. Sometime around the 1870s the casserole seems to have taken on its current definition.

Casseroles were used as a means to stretch a leftover meal, which was especially important during the Great Depression and World War II. The term “hot dish” first appeared in a cookbook in 1930 by a Mankato, Minnesota church group called Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid.