59 Casserole Recipes for Creamy Comfort With Crispy Edges
Casserole recipes are extremely important for cold weather for quite a few reasons. First, they’re delicious. Second, they’re a great way to cut down on dishes, because they’re usually served in the same dish you cook them in—and who doesn’t love a one-dish dinner? Third, easy casseroles were invented pretty much as busy weeknight dinners when you wanted a lot of flavor but not a lot of fuss. We could keep going, but you get the point.
To clarify, when we say casseroles, we primarily mean the traditional one-pan wonders with crispy things on top (the one you’re picturing in your head right now), but we also mean lasagna, macaroni and cheese and other pasta casseroles, gratins, breakfast casseroles, shepherd’s pies, tater tot casseroles, and more. They’re guaranteed crowd-pleasers and ideal if you’re hosting brunch, attending a potluck, or planning weeknight dinners for the whole family. Casseroles are the epitome of comfort, so we rounded up our favorite easy casserole recipes for you. Behold, the best casserole recipes we’ve got. And a happy casserole season to you and yours!
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark1/58Mississippi Corn Casserole
You can think of this corn casserole recipe as a cornbread lover’s hedonist fever dream. This Mississippi-born version from chef Elle Simone Scott calls for adding cheddar cheese to the mixing bowl and topping the dish with crushed butter crackers before baking for a cheesy, crispy holiday-worthy recipe you won’t soon forget.
Photo by Charles Masters, Food Styling by Suzanne Lenzer3/58Our Favorite Lasagna With Sausage, Spinach, and Three Cheeses
This extra-cheesy dinner recipe is easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for a special occasion. It's a compilation of all the greatest lasagna recipes in the Epi archives.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich4/58Green Bean Casserole With Crispy Fried Onions
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich6/58Vegan Roasted Garlic–Potato Enchiladas
Double the sauce for this intensely savory vegan take on Mexican enchiladas and you’ll have enough to make a vegan rendition of menudo a few days (or months, if you freeze it) later.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne7/58Our Favorite Mac and Cheese
Creamy homemade macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food; it’s a perfect meatless main for the whole family (what’s more kid-friendly than macaroni and cheese?) and a wildly popular side dish at any cookout.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova8/58Cowboy Breakfast Casserole With Sausage and Spinach
Assemble this easy egg casserole studded with lots of crumbled sausage and cheese the night before you plan to serve it. Then, put it in the oven (straight from the fridge) the next morning for a quick and casual brunch dish.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert9/58Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
This supremely cheesy dish of shredded (frozen!) potatoes and onions might remind you of your favorite roadside eatery. You’ll be very glad to learn that you can put it on your table whenever you want.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne11/58Simple Bread Pudding With Melted Ice Cream Sauce
This straightforward bread pudding recipe gets an even easier sauce, which is made simply by leaving out (or microwaving) a pint of store-bought ice cream. Easy peasy.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell13/58Sheet-Pan Pasta Bake With Chicken and Kale
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne14/58Baked Rigatoni With Red Peppers and Green Olives
The sauce in this baked pasta recipe is bulked up with jarred red peppers and green olives. It’s a vegetarian casserole, but if you wanted to toss in some cooked meatballs, the dish would welcome the addition.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl Jones15/58West Indies Shepherd’s Pie
This shepherd’s pie uses ground chicken and leans toward warming flavors, incorporating bright bursts of the tropics—ginger, habanero chile, lime—as well as aromatic Angostura bitters.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl Jones16/58One-Skillet Orzo With Tomatoes and Eggs
Pizza meets eggs in purgatory in this one-pan pasta casserole recipe. It’s punchy from the tomato sauce, creamy from starchy orzo and melty mozzarella, and ready in under an hour.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi17/58Cheesy Potato and Kale Gratin With Rye Croutons
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by John Bjostad18/58Crème Brûlée French Toast Casserole
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton19/58Chicken and Potato Gratin With Brown Butter Cream
Photo and Food Styling by Anna Stockwell20/58Spicy Tomato–Tuna Noodle Skillet Casserole With Aioli
This revamped tuna noodle casserole is homey, bright, and pantry-friendly. You’ll toast dry pasta in oil until golden brown before cooking it in the tomato sauce.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Frances Boswell21/58Manicotti
Photo by Waterbury Publications, Inc.23/58Blissed-Out Crispy Cheesy Broccoli Gratin
When you cook broccoli gratin on a sheet pan, every single morsel gets an ample coating of crunch. Try it with added sliced bell peppers or jarred artichokes for even more flavor.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Anna Hampton24/58Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey tetrazzini is a classic use of leftover Thanksgiving turkey—and it may well be the only casserole named for an Italian opera star.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton25/583-Ingredient Sweet Potato Casserole With Maple Pecans
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson26/58Parmesan-Roasted Butternut Squash
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell27/58Cauliflower Gratin
A combination of cauliflower and cabbage mingles in this soufflé-like vegetable gratin which is lighter than most casseroles, but no less warm and comforting.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Christopher Barsch28/58French Onion Breakfast Strata
There’s little we love more than a breakfast casserole, and this one is where French onion dip meets savory bread pudding. It’s a perfect make-ahead, crowd-pleasing brunch headliner.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Anna Surbatovich, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell29/58Cheesy Baked Pasta Casserole
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton30/58Potato, Leek, and Pea Pot Pie With Spinach-Arugula Salad
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell35/58Cauliflower "Mac 'n' Cheese" Casserole
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell36/58Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Skillet
This easy, soul-warming chicken enchilada casserole starts with shredded rotisserie chicken, a jar of salsa, and a can of black beans.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson37/58Bacon and Egg Casserole
This make-ahead casserole is almost too pretty for its own good. Halved boiled eggs peak from underneath a faux lattice top made from strips of frozen puff pastry.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi38/58Sweet Potato Casserole With Graham Cracker Streusel
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks39/58Cheesy Delicata Squash and Kale Casserole
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson40/58Butternut Squash and Creamed-Spinach Gratin
Photo by Molly Yeh41/58Chicken Pot Tot Hotdish
This iconic Midwestern dish is like a hybrid chicken pot pie and tater tot casserole: think creamy chicken with a sauce made from scratch (no store-bought mushroom soup here) and a crunchy potato topping. It’s just hard to imagine what else you could possibly want from a casserole recipe.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi43/58Microwave Lasagna With Spinach, Mushrooms, and Three Cheeses
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini44/58Cheesy Baked Butternut Squash Polenta
Photo by Nicole Franzen46/58Creamy Vegan Mushroom Lasagna
Using store-bought tomato sauce cuts down on the prep work for this hearty lasagna, while blitzing cashews with vegetable broth turns out a sauce so creamy and delicious you may have trouble believing it's entirely vegan (but it is, we promise).
51/58Old-Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes
This cheesy scalloped potatoes recipe is a classic side dish from Gourmet, simply made with softened onions, an easy roux, cheddar cheese, and thinly sliced potatoes.
Beth Moncel54/58Southwest Veggie and Rice Casserole
In this Tex-Mex-inspired casserole, a base of spiced tomato-infused rice provides an ultra-flavorful base to build upon. Cheddar cheese and a mélange of vegetables bring texture to the mix. For even more crunch, crush some tortilla chips over the top and call it taco casserole—a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Cristian Barnett57/58Croissant Bread and Butter Pudding
Classic bread pudding is a favorite, for sure—but have you ever tried subbing the usual slices of bread with flaky, many-layered croissants? The results are incredible.
