11 Casserole Recipes That Make Dinner Feel Like Sunday at Grandma’s

Edited by Isabel Ehlert

The thing about a casserole is that it carries history with it. When I pull a casserole out of the oven, there is a moment where I can almost hear my grandma Carol’s kitchen, the sound of the foil coming off, the smell of something cheesy and bubbling, the feeling that dinner is going to be okay because there is a hot dish in the middle of the table.

These are the casseroles I rotate through when I want dinner to feel like a memory. They are not fancy. They are not Instagram-pretty. They are the ones that get scraped clean and that my kids will, hopefully, remember someday the way I remember Carol’s.

Chicken Tetrazzini▼

This is the casserole my mom Carol made when somebody was coming over for dinner who she actually wanted to impress. Spaghetti, chicken, mushrooms, a creamy sauce, all baked under a layer of parmesan that crisps up on top. It looks like company food. It eats like comfort food.

I make this when one of my kids brings a friend home from college. The leftovers do not last 24 hours.

Get the recipe: Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole▼

All the chicken pot pie feelings without the part where I have to fight with a pie crust. Chicken, vegetables, a creamy sauce, and a biscuit topping that puffs up golden and a little crispy at the edges. This is exactly the kind of dinner that my grandma would have made on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

If you want a single recipe that captures the entire spirit of cozy weeknight food, this is it.

Get the recipe: Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Loaded Cheesy Potato Casserole▼

This is the funeral potatoes casserole. The church potluck casserole. The one that everyone has eaten at some major life event. Potatoes, cheese, sour cream, butter, a crispy topping, all baked together until it is bubbling at the edges and somehow exactly perfect.

I bring this to potlucks and to grieving friends and to anyone who needs a little comfort, because it is the most comforting food I know how to make.

Get the recipe: Loaded Cheesy Potato Casserole

Cheesy Potato Casserole▼

The simpler cousin of the loaded version. Cubed potatoes, cheese, a creamy sauce, a buttery topping. It is the side dish that becomes a main dish if you are not careful, because everyone keeps going back for more.

This is the recipe I make as a side and then end up eating as my main course while pretending I am only sampling.

Get the recipe: Cheesy Potato Casserole

Weeknight Cheesy Tortellini Casserole▼

This is the casserole that uses store-bought tortellini, which is one of the most underrated dinner shortcuts there is. Cheese tortellini, marinara, ground beef, mozzarella, all layered into a casserole dish and baked until the top is bubbling and a little browned.

It tastes like lasagna without any of the layering, and my kids ask for it on the regular. Carol would have approved of the shortcut. She approved of all shortcuts that did not show.

Get the recipe: Weeknight Cheesy Tortellini Casserole

Dorito Casserole▼

The casserole that nobody will admit to loving until they take the first bite. Ground beef, cheese, taco seasoning, and crushed Doritos on top. It is the casserole of school nights and slumber parties and the moments when you do not want to cook anything fancy but you do want everyone to be happy.

My grandma would have laughed at the idea of putting Doritos in dinner. My kids think it is the best thing I make. Both can be true.

Get the recipe: Dorito Casserole

Pizza Pasta Bake▼

If a pizza and a baked ziti had a baby, it would be this casserole. Pasta, ground beef, pizza sauce, pepperoni, and so much mozzarella that the top puffs and browns into something you cannot stop looking at when you open the oven.

The kids think it is the most exciting dinner of the week. My husband, who is not above being a kid sometimes, agrees.

Get the recipe: Pizza Pasta Bake

Easy Crockpot Lasagna▼

Lasagna in the crockpot is one of those things that should not work and absolutely does. Noodles, meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, all layered into the slow cooker, and a few hours later you have a real lasagna without the oven mess.

I make this in the summer when I refuse to turn the oven on. It tastes exactly like the baked version and saves my kitchen from being 90 degrees in August.

Get the recipe: Easy Crockpot Lasagna

Lasagna Without Ricotta▼

If you grew up in a no-ricotta household, you already know what I mean. This version uses cottage cheese and cream cheese instead, and the texture is creamier and smoother than the traditional kind. My husband prefers it. My kids prefer it. I have come around to it, too.

It is the lasagna for people who think they do not like lasagna, which turns out to be a lot of people.

Get the recipe: Lasagna Without Ricotta

Creamy Baked Ziti▼

The Italian-American casserole that always shows up at potlucks for a reason. Ziti, meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, all baked together until the cheese on top goes golden and a little crispy at the edges. The creamy version uses a splash of cream that takes the whole thing to a different level.

I make a 9×13 and we eat it two nights in a row. Nobody complains. Some recipes age that well.

Get the recipe: Creamy Baked Ziti

No Peek Chicken▼

The classic vintage casserole that Carol made on Wednesday nights. Rice, chicken, soup, broth, onion soup mix, all in a casserole dish, covered tight, baked low and slow for 90 minutes. You do not open it. You do not peek. That is the deal.

When it finally comes out of the oven, the rice has soaked up everything good, the chicken practically falls apart, and you have a dinner that tastes like every grandma’s kitchen at once.

Get the recipe: No Peek Chicken

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