30 Healthy Casseroles (Whole30 Casseroles) (2024)

FAQs

What must casseroles include? ›

The main ingredients for a casserole are protein, sauce, vegetable, starch, and topping. After that, you can just choose from each category whatever food is to your family's liking or what you have on hand.

Fill your casserole dish with all the ingredients so it's about three-quarters full. This ensures the liquid doesn't overflow, but there's still enough liquid so food doesn't dry out.

Rich, comforting, and creamy, Anna's casserole dish starts out as an easy weeknight dinner that helps her get through the day after the death of her daughter, Elizabeth, and her divorce from her husband, Douglas.

According to food blog High Heeled Homemaker, your basic casserole requires five ingredients: a protein, starch, vegetable, sauce, and cheese. If you have those five ingredients in your casserole dish, congratulations; you just made a casserole, whether it's a beloved recipe or a concoction of your own creation.

"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.

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 general rule of thumb is to plan for 1 litre per person, and then round up. So for a family of four, you would want something that is a minimum of 4 litres. And then with rounding up, the ideal size would be somewhere in the 5-6 litre capacity.

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

Why is baked chicken pink? ›

Chemical changes occur during cooking. Oven gases in a heated gas or electric oven react chemically with hemoglobin in the meat tissues to give it a pink tinge. Often meat of younger birds shows the most pink because their thinner skins permit oven gases to reach the flesh.

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.

Casseroles are at their best when the ingredients are able to meld, which is why they often taste even better the second day.

Liquid for casseroles

Bone stock is good for beef casseroles, but failing that plain hot water enriched with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom ketchup makes a handy instant stock. Red or white wine will add extra flavour of its own, and its acidity will actually help to tenderise the meat as it cooks.

A perfect casserole needs one or more binders: cheese, eggs, condensed soup, Greek yogurt or noodles, for example.

Casseroles are usually quick and easy. Some ingredients quickly stir together and are poured into a baking dish, topped with cheese, and baked. A traditional lasagna takes more time. Multiple layers, all made separately, then put together before baking.