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A dish of lobster mac and cheese

Change Up Your Cooking Routine With a New Casserole Dish

Yummy Casserole Recipes You Have to Try

Casserole recipes can be effortless or elaborate, opulent or frugal; but the one thing they all have in common is the oven.

These casserole recipes can be served at different meals — everything from breakfast to dessert. I’ve collected these recipes over the years, tweaking them along the way, and I can tell you they are not your grandmother’s casseroles.

Here are five incredible casseroles that are anything but boring:

Blintze Soufflé



I use this recipe as a side dish at virtually any meal, and everyone loves it! For those who don’t know, a blintze is a thin rolled pancake (almost like a crepe) filled with cheese or fruit. I use cheese blintzes I find in the Kosher frozen food section of the supermarket for this recipe.

  • 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
  • 12 ounces sour cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6-8 blintzes, cut in half and thawed
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice

Pour melted butter into oblong casserole dish and line with blintzes. Beat eggs well and add in vanilla, sugar, orange juice and sour cream. Beat again. Pour over blintzes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden on top. Serves about six if you’re serving other food as well.

Bourbon Baked Beans

Baked beans don't have to be boring. This recipe will take a plain food and make them taste so much better than before.

  • 5 cans baked beans
  • 1/2 cup chili sauce
  • 1/2 cup bourbon
  • 15 oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dark molasses
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/3 cup strong coffee
  • 8 slices bacon

Mix the beans, molasses, mustard, chili sauce, bourbon and coffee and let stand for three hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put bean mixture into casserole dish and bake beans for 30 minutes. Add the pineapple and brown sugar and bake for another 30 minutes. Fry the bacon until crisp then drain well and crumble over the beans.

Pumpkin Lobster Mac and Cheese

Everyone loves mac and cheese, so why not put a new twist on this classic comfort food?

  • 1 (12 oz.) package uncooked shell pasta
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 (12 fluid oz.) can evaporated milk
  • 1 (8 oz.) package shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 (8 oz.) container mascarpone cheese
  • 1 pinch garlic powder
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1 pound cooked lobster tails, peeled and chopped
  • 1 (12 oz.) package green peas, thawed if frozen
  • 4 tablespoons margarine or butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch paprika, or to taste
  • 2 dashes hot sauce, or to taste

I initially found this recipe on AllRecipes.com. I love the individual ingredients and together it’s a WOW!

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta shells until tender but still slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Melt two tablespoons margarine in a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir shallot in melted margarine until lightly browned, about five minutes.

Whisk flour into margarine and shallots to form a smooth paste. Slowly whisk evaporated milk into flour mixture until it forms a smooth sauce and simmer until thickened, two to four minutes. Whisk shredded cheddar cheese and mascarpone into sauce until cheeses have melted, about five minutes.

Stir pumpkin puree, lemon zest, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, nutmeg and hot sauce into the sauce until combined. Lightly mix in lobster tail meat, green peas, and cooked pasta shells until heated through, about five minutes.

Pour pasta mixture into prepared casserole dish and top with panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted margarine over the casserole.

Bake in the preheated oven until topping is brown and crisp, about 40 minutes.

Cajun Shrimp Casserole

Cajun shrimp is always delicious. But baked into a casserole? Even better!

  • 2 pounds large unpeeled fresh shrimp
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen sliced okra
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 can cream of shrimp soup or cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 3 cups cooked long-grain rice
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Peel the shrimp, and melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and peppers and sauté seven minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté for one minute.

Stir in okra, lemon juice and salt; sauté five minutes. Add shrimp and cook three minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Stir in soup, wine, soy sauce and cayenne until blended.

Pour into a lightly greased 11 x 7 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. Garnish, if desired, with quartered lemon slices and parsley sprigs.

Caramel-Pecan-Pumpkin Bread Puddings

Most people think of casseroles in terms of dinner dishes, but they can be made for dessert, too!

For the bread puddings:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (12 oz.) French bread loaf, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
  • 2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whisk together eggs, mashed pumpkin, milk, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add bread pieces, stirring to thoroughly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for eight to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon bread mixture into 11 (6-oz.) lightly greased ramekins (ramekins will be completely full and mixture will mound slightly). Place on an aluminum foil-lined pan and bake at for 50 minutes, shielding with foil after 30 minutes.

During last 15 minutes of baking bread puddings, prepare caramel-pecan sauce:

  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Heat pecans in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, for three to five minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Cook brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, three to four minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans.

Remove bread puddings from oven and drizzle with caramel-pecan sauce. Bake five minutes or until sauce is thoroughly heated and begins to bubble.

Or you can try this twist and use one dish instead of ramekins:

Prepare recipe as directed in step 1. Spoon chilled bread mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Uncover and bake 15 minutes. Proceed with recipe as directed for caramel-pecan sauce.