Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (2024)

Warm up your table with these hearty, satisfying hotdish meals from the oven.

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Pizza Pasta Skillet Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (1)

A blanket of gooey cheese and the oven-crisped pepperoni make this casserole a guaranteed kid pleaser. Of course, you can switch up the ingredients as easily as the toppings on a pizza. Classics like sweet pepper, black olives and sausage are all fair game—but we'd hold the anchovies!

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Cheesy Bratwurst Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (2)

This six-ingredient hotdish recipe from an Appleton, Wisconsin, reader features an all-star lineup of Wisconsin foods, including bratwurst, cheddar cheese and potatoes. "It's a quick, easy recipe," our reader says. "There's not much you can mess up."

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Spring Chicken Pot Pie

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (3)

Frozen puff pastry and a rotisserie chicken are your cheats to this fast and delicious pot pie filled with seasoned fresh veggies.

Top Chicken Casserole Recipes

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Chicken and Corn Hash-Brown Bake

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (4)

This comfort food hotdish offers a new twist on the usual hash brown casserole. Try it for everyday meals as well as potlucks!

Easy Potluck Recipes

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Calico Bean Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (5)

This recipe blurs the line between baked beans and chili. It's great for feeding a crowd.

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Spinach-Mushroom-Sausage Pierogi Bake

You don't get much easier than this recipe from Jan Valdez of Chicago! Saute a few ingredients, stir in cream cheese to make a sauce, and dump it all over frozen pierogis in a casserole dish. (You don't even need to thaw the pierogis!)

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Classic Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (7)

Rich cream sauce stands in for canned soup in Minnesota chef Amy Thielen's spin on classic chicken and wild rice hotdish. The recipe comes from Amy's book The New Midwestern Table (clarksonpotter.com).

Top Chicken Casserole Recipes

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Mexican Mac and Cheese

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (8)

Pair Mexican flavors with pasta for this comfort-food casserole that includes sausage, salsa and Monterey Jack cheese.

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Cheeseburger-and-Fries Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (9)

This might be the easiest casserole you ever make, with just four ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time. The recipe comes from an Elkader, Iowa, reader. Kids of all ages will probably douse the stick-to-your-ribs meal with ketchup.

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Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (10)

Doctored with onion, chili powder and cocoa, canned sauce becomes a stepping-stone to something deeper.

Sizzling Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes

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Unforgettable Chicken Pie

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (11)

This from-scratch deep-dish chicken casserole comes from a Caledonia, Michigan, reader. "It's not your run-of-the-mill chicken pie," says the reader, who adds a bit of pork sausage for farm-hearty flavor. "Anyone who tries it just can't get enough of it."

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Spicy Brunch Lasagna

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (12)

This make-ahead egg casserole features lasagna noodles, Alfredo sauce and hash brown potatoes, making it great for brunch or a simple dinner.

Our Best Breakfast Casseroles

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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (13)

The combo of butternut squash, rigatoni, bacon and smoked cheese makes for a delicious twist on traditional mac and cheese.

Easy and Delicious Butternut Squash Recipes

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Eight-Layer Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (14)

A Waukegan, Illinois, reader contributed this homespun ground beef-and-noodle hotdish recipe. Make-ahead directions are included at the end of the recipe.

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Chicken-Broccoli Bake

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (15)

A flurry of curry adds zest to this classic casserole combo of chicken, broccoli and cheese.

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Wine-Tasting Lasagna

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (16)

This is a great recipe for entertaining. If you're thinking about holding a wine-tasting party, the flavors of the red meat sauce and cheese-spinach layers in this colorful lasagna will complement the wines.

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Triangle Ranch Scalloped Corn

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (17)

Diced green chile peppers give this cheesy baked dish character with some hotness. We like the crunch from the saltine crackers, too.

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Mexican Biscuit Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (18)

This taco-flavored main dish is a potluck favorite from a Fargo, North Dakota, reader. Serve it with tortilla chips so your guests can scoop and eat.

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Bacon-Pear Macaroni and Cheese

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (19)

Your family won't be able to resist the flavor combo of this macaroni and cheese casserole!

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Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (20)

This chicken and rice main dish is comfort food at its best.

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Cheesy Italian Meatball Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (21)

Combine Italian meatballs, three kinds of cheese, pasta and sauce for this easy, crowd-pleasing casserole.

Warm and Cheesy Recipes

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Zucchini Sausage Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (22)

This homey casserole takes only 25 minutes of prep, making it a perfect pick for a weeknight dinner.

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Tuna Alfredo Casserole

Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (23)

Purchased pesto and refrigerated alfredo sauce are the shortcut ingredients that make this tuna casserole so easy.

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Best Casserole and Hotdish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a hotdish and a casserole? ›

What Minnesotans — and some North Dakotans — call hotdish is a type of casserole, although its definition is somewhat narrower. A hotdish must be a main course, and almost always a hearty one that includes a protein, starch and at least some vegetables. It can't be a breakfast or side dish, for instance.

Why is it called John Wayne casserole? ›

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.

What is the oldest known casserole? ›

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

What is a Midwestern hotdish? ›

Only a Midwestern staple for which every home cook has a go-to recipe waiting in their back pocket. A hotdish is essentially a casserole that typically consists of a starch (potatoes or pasta are most common), frozen vegetables, a meat, and a can of cream-of-something soup.

What state is known for hotdish? ›

The dish originates in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, where it remains popular, particularly in Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and eastern Montana. Hotdish is cooked in a single baking dish, and served hot (per its name).

What do Italians call casserole? ›

casseruola. an earthenware casserole. the food cooked in a casserole. (cibo cotto in casseruola)

What is Jackie Kennedy casserole? ›

A seemingly simple, tender noodle dish with plenty of cheesy, tangy flavor, and the refreshing garden sharpness of chives, Jackie Kennedy's Special Casserole is delicate and hearty at the same time, heartwarmingly homemade yet delightfully classic.

What is the most popular casserole dish size? ›

"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.

What do they call a casserole in Minnesota? ›

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.

What do British people call casserole? ›

' 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 the oldest dish still eaten? ›

The World's 10 Oldest Dishes And Where They Are Today
  • Indian curry, circa 2200-2500 B.C. ...
  • Pancakes, circa 11650 B.C. ...
  • Linzer Torte, circa 1653. ...
  • Tamales, circa 5000 B.C. ...
  • Burgers, circa 100 century A.D. ...
  • Mesopotamian Stew, circa 2140 B.C., and bone broth, circa 400 B.C. ...
  • Rice dishes, circa 4530 B.C. ...
  • Beer, circa 3500 B.C.
Sep 2, 2023

What ethnicity is casserole? ›

The name even comes from a dish — sauce pan in French.

What is a Minnesota hot dish? ›

What is the Minnesota tater tot Hotdish? Tater tot hotdish is a casserole dish that contains starch, meat, cheese, and veggies mixed with soup. The most classic example is ground beef, topped with tater tots and flavored with thick cream of mushroom soup sauce.

What is a North Dakota hot dish? ›

In Fargo, ND, a hot dish is basically a warm-ya-up, comforting casserole that's bursting with goodness. We think we hit the nail on the head with our recipe for Fargo Hot Dish. It's a layered casserole that features hearty noodles, ground beef tossed with tomato sauce, a savory cheese filling, and more.

What is the most famous food in the Midwest? ›

The Midwest is home to many regional specialties and some of the most iconic foods of the United States. Though most midwestern food is not fancy cuisine, many of these dishes are symbols of Americana: hot dogs, fruit pies, pizza, chili, ice cream, and hotdishes—not fancy, but very, very good-tasting foods.

What makes a hotdish a hotdish? ›

According to Eater, the elements that are absolutely necessary to include in hotdish are a starch, protein, and vegetable bound together by a creamy sauce, usually cream of mushroom soup. It's all baked in one dish and served piping hot.

Why does Minnesota call it a hotdish? ›

What is known, though, is that the term "hotdish" first appeared in a 1930 Mankato cookbook, published by Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid. "What's clearer is that the dish has become a symbol of Minnesotan identity," Deustch said. "That is exactly why there are so many debates over what a hotdish can be."

What is the difference between a hotdish and a casserole in Minnesota? ›

just keep in mind a hot dish is a one pot meal. a casserole is either a one casserole meal. or a side dish that you bake in a casserole dish and hope that heals.

Why is it called hotdish? ›

The word "hotdish" was first used in a 1930 Minnesotan cookbook published by the Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid. This landmark recipe called for hamburger meat, onions, celery, canned peas, canned tomato soup, and Creamettes — Minnesotan macaroni — all to be stirred together and baked.

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