The best part of a meal is enjoying it around the table with your friends and family. The worst part is cleaning up the mess in the kitchen afterwards. Whether you have a dishwasher or not, collecting and dealing with all those pots and pans is never fun.
So why use multiple pots when one will do? One-dish casseroles are a home cook's secret weapon. With minimal prep you can combine proteins, veggies and starches in a single pot, then let the ingredients work their magic together in the oven. The result is a hearty, comforting meal that can be enjoyed on it's own, or rounded out with a quick side salad and fresh bread. The best part? Minimal cleanup afterwards. At most, you might have to quickly clean a separate skillet used to brown meat for your casserole recipe, which you can do while the main dish bubbles happily in the oven.
Our casserole dish collection offers plenty of easy dinner ideas for the family, enabling you to feed your family without overfeeding a hungry dishwasher afterwards.
Let's start with an easy casserole recipe that saves you time without sacrificing flavour. Our Brown Gravy Mix is the secret ingredient in this Hamburger Casserole, which blends pasta, mushrooms and ground beef with a deliciously chewy gooey cheese topping. It takes just 45 minutes from pantry to plate, but will taste like it took far more effort.
Casseroles with international flavours
Ground beef is also the star of the show in this Beef and Chili Potato Casserole recipe, which features thin-sliced potatoes and tender white kidney beans. Our 25% Less Salt & Gluten-Free Chili Seasoning Mix is a low-sodium option to add a spicy Tex Mex taste to this casserole dish.
Our Quesadilla Casserole also uses chili spice to bring the heat, along with chopped green chilies and fragrant cumin. We're used to quesadillas that you can hold like a sandwich, but this layers them in a flavourful beef and cheese mixture that also include black beans and corn. Yum.
Alternatively, take a trip to the east with this Curry Casserole recipe, which uses Curry Powder to create a fragrant, healthy casserole dish with plenty of veggies. It takes tasty pork chops to a whole new level.
Casserole dishes can take you all around the world. Check out this Tomato Basil Casserole recipe for a healthy mix of vegetables with an Italian flavour. Two classic Italian herbs — Basil and Oregano — mix with pasta and tomatoes for a classic Mediterranean treat. The medley of other vegetables in this dish provide a rich, layered set of flavours that add depth and richness. You'll savour every bite.
Vegetarian dinner ideas for the family
Sub out the chicken broth for vegetable broth in our Italian casserole recipe and it would be fully vegetarian. There are plenty of other easy dinner ideas that combine vegetarian ingredients in a one-pot casserole dish.
How about a Poutine Potato Casserole? Casserole recipes are best with a starchy base like rice, pasta or potatoes that absorb the flavours of the other ingredients and make the dish hearty. The potatoes in this dish, along with our 25% Less Salt & Gluten-Free Poutine Gravy Mix, reproduce a favourite Canadian recipe in casserole form. This isn't just a casserole; it's the definition of comfort food for a cold winter day.
There are plenty of benefits to one-pot casserole dishes. Aside from the easy clean-up, they are also perfect make-ahead options. We recommend making one or even two of these recipes every few weekends and freezing them (after appropriate cooling, of course). Then, when you're short on time, or just can't think of any dinner ideas for the family, you can break out one of these in a pinch and save the day.
These single-pot dishes are versatile, time-saving home cooking options that don't compromise on taste or nutrition. And on cold gloomy days, their heartiness is also good for the soul.
Other one-pot options
Once you get your time and your kitchen surfaces back, you'll probably want more one-pot recipes to keep life easy. Don't worry — we have you covered. Check out these options:
· Louisiana-Style Easy One-Pot Jambalaya
