15 Comforting Casserole Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the 5 components of a casserole? ›

Not every single casserole has all of them, but as a rule of thumb, here's what to look for: a starch, a binding agent or sauce, and a protein or vegetable. Many casseroles also have both vegetables and proteins, as well as a crunchy element to give some textural contrast, and cheese.

In general, you'll want to bake a casserole covered with aluminum foil for most of the cooking time. Covering the casserole helps lock in moisture and prevents it from drying out. If you don't cover the casserole or uncover it too soon, the casserole will dry out.

Make-ahead meals (especially baked casseroles) are terrific because you can completely assemble them in advance and bake them just before serving. They're the ultimate comfort food as they come bubbling hot and delicious straight from the oven to the table to the delight of family and friends.

Casseroles can really shine when they achieve a harmonious balance of flavors. Sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic elements should blend well and complement each other. Add ingredients like caramelized onions, olives, or lemon zest to give your casserole a depth of flavor.

In the United States, a casserole or hot dish is typically a baked food with three main components: pieces of meat (such as chicken or ground meat) or fish (such as tuna) or other protein (such as beans or tofu), various chopped or canned vegetables (such as green beans or peas), and a starchy binder (such as flour, ...

Covering a casserole traps heat and steam and gets the casserole cooking. However, you also have to take the cover off to get a crunchy, browned top. Covering a casserole in the oven depends on what you're making, and whether or not the ingredients inside are already cooked when the dish goes into the oven.

Generally, casseroles with grains, rice or pasta that will cook during the baking process are usually covered, for at least part of the time. Casseroles made of cooked ingredients are usually baked uncovered. If you like a crisper, browner top, be sure the casserole is uncovered for at least part of the bake time.

I have found that, using heavy flameproof casserole, the ingredients for a beef casserole can be brought slowly up to simmering point on top of the stove, then transferred to the middle or low shelf of a pre-heated oven. Gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C) is gentle enough to produce the very best results.

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

Two options really, either it is really a poor cut of beef, or more likely it hasn't been cooked for long enough. Usually 3 hours in the oven in a casserole dish at 180C/350F should make any cut of beef tender.

What qualifies something to be a casserole? ›

A casserole is a one-dish meal that's baked and served from a sturdy baking dish that's itself known as a casserole. Casseroles can be main courses or side dishes like gratins or the famous Thanksgiving green bean casserole.

“A casserole dish and a baking dish are the same thing: an oven-safe piece of cookware, usually made of ceramic, porcelain, or glass,” says Anthony Contrino, an Emmy Award–winning culinary producer and food stylist. "They can come in various shapes, with the most common being rectangular, oval, or square.

The binder is the sauce, which holds ingredients together.