Casseroles are the ultimate comfort food workhorse: hearty, crowd-pleasing, and easy to pull off. Even better, they’re flexible — most can be assembled ahead of time, turning a little weekend prep into stress-free meals all week long. From pot pie to shepherd’s pie and lasagna to tuna noodle casserole, these make-ahead favorites can be stashed in the fridge or freezer and baked whenever you need a cozy, satisfying dinner with minimal effort.
Chili Cornbread Casserole
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
For this hearty one-skillet meal, pour a quick homemade cornbread batter over a classic ground beef and bean chili, then bake it until irresistibly golden. Make the chili ahead, then whip up the cornbread topping when you’re ready to bake.
King Ranch Casserole
Alex Lau / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox
Filled with shredded rotisserie chicken, corn tortillas, melty cheese, and chiles, this hearty Tex-Mex casserole has all the flavors of enchiladas, but made even easier. Assemble it up to a day in advance and keep it in the fridge, then let it come to room temperature while the oven preheats.
Braised Brisket Potato Tot Casserole
Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Beer-braised brisket and caramelized brussels sprouts are combined with a mushroom béchamel, then topped with frozen potato tots tossed with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil and baked until golden. The components can be made the day before and assembled just before baking.
Grandma’s Lasagna
Cara Cormack
This definitive American-style lasagna layers noodles with a beefy tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, sweet Italian sausage, and a melty mix of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Assemble it a day ahead, bake and reheat when ready to eat, or freeze it — baked or unbaked — for longer storage.
Chicken Amandine Casserole
Food & Wine / Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
This texture-rich casserole is layered with nutty wild rice, rotisserie chicken, sautéed mushrooms, and crisp-tender green beans. Toasty sliced almonds and crisp bacon top it off. Chill the unbaked casserole in the fridge up to a day in advance.
Shepherd’s Pie
Caitlin Bensel / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee
British chef Tom Aikens’ version of this classic bake is especially luxurious — he infuses the dairy with fresh herbs before folding it into the mashed potatoes that then top succulent minced lamb. Unbaked, it can be refrigerated up to two days; or, store it in the freezer for up to two months and bake from frozen, adding extra time as needed.
French Onion Mac and Cheese
Chris Simpson / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
Caramelized onions add a sweet-savory balance to this beloved staple. It can be prepped up to one day in advance of baking.
Baked Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Prosciutto
Food & Wine / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
Giada De Laurentiis coats chewy rigatoni in a best-of-both-worlds pink sauce, then stirs in chopped mushrooms and prosciutto before topping it all off with shredded Fontina cheese and baking to perfection. Prepare it a day ahead, then bake and serve.
Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Make the filling for this savory chicken pot pie with capers and leeks in advance (use a rotisserie chicken so it’s even faster). Then, top it with a thawed sheet of frozen puff pastry before baking it.
Baked Ziti with Shortcut Vodka Sauce
Alex Lau / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox
The shortcut vodka sauce for this hearty pasta casserole starts with a jar of store-bought marinara. Spicy Italian sausage and three types of cheese turn it into a satisfying meal. Keep the assembled ziti in the refrigerator for a day before baking, or freeze for longer storage.
Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Blue Cheese Pasta
Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Fontina and Parmesan cheeses melt into a creamy Mornay sauce that bubbles under a topping of Gorgonzola crumbles, forming a golden crust atop layers of sweet squash, spicy sausage, and rigatoni. Assemble it up to two days in advance, or bake it off and freeze for up to a month.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Alex Lau / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox
This take on classic tuna noodle casserole is greater than the sum of its delicious parts. Egg noodles, tuna, pimientos, and peas are blanketed in bright, briny tonnato sauce, then topped with Parmesan cheese and crunchy potato chips before hitting the oven. Assemble it a day ahead, then tack on some extra oven time as instructed in the recipe notes.
Vegetable Pot Pie
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
There’s no resisting this golden puff pastry–topped veggie delight, made extra savory with the inclusion of lentils, portobello mushrooms, and white miso. Prepare the filling up to three days ahead, then reheat before topping with the pastry and baking.
Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
This cheesy mac casserole takes inspiration from the Swiss älplermagronen — Alpine farmers’ macaroni. Robust flavors and creamy textures abound from Gruyère and raclette cheeses. Quick-picked shallots cut through the indulgence with a sharp, bright flair. Put the dish together a day in advance, then bake it off and serve.
Mini Potato, Steak, and Chorizo Pies
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
The topping of thinly sliced starchy russet potatoes forms a crispy, potato chip–like crust over each of these small meaty pies, filled with a combination of fresh chorizo and lean grass-fed ground beef. Make the filling up to two days in advance.
Spinach Lasagna
Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Layers of spinach-laced ricotta, Mornay sauce, noodles, and mozzarella cheese bake up into a golden, decadent pasta masterpiece that’s guaranteed to please everyone at the table. This can be frozen for up to two months, then thawed overnight in the refrigerator before baking to reheat.
Chicken Gratin
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
There’s so much to love about chef Amy Thielen’s rich chicken casserole. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs perch atop a layer of melted turnips and leeks before everything’s bathed in a creamy Cognac and sherry-enriched gratin sauce, sprinkled with cheese and garlicky breadcrumbs, and baked until golden. Without the breadcrumbs, the assembled gratin can be refrigerated for a day or frozen for a couple of months.
Lazy Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet
Cookbook author Molly Stevens’ quick take on this hearty French casserole includes boneless, skinless chicken thighs, smoked sausage, and plenty of white beans. It can be fully assembled and refrigerated the day before, then baked when you’re ready to eat.
Roasted Eggplant Moussaka with Lamb
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Creamy, custardy roasted eggplant is the base for this cozy take on moussaka. It’s layered with a rich, meaty sauce made with ground lamb and forgoes the usual béchamel for a topping of luscious ricotta and mozzarella. The baked moussaka can be refrigerated up to two days ahead, then gently reheated in the oven.
Hache Parmentier
Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s rendition of the French shepherd’s pie is an excellent make-ahead dish. Assemble it a day or two in advance and refrigerate until you’re ready to eat, or pop the unbaked casserole in the freezer for later.
Crusty Baked Shells and Cauliflower
Christina Holmes
In this warming bake from Ina Garten, cauliflower florets are roasted until caramelized, then folded into a mix of pasta shells and plenty of cheese. A breadcrumb topping crisps in the oven, giving every bite a satisfying crunch. Refrigerate the unbaked shells overnight if you’d like.
Picadillo Beef Casserole with Corn-Scallion Biscuit Topping
Alexandra Rowley
Tender scallion-studded cornmeal biscuits bake atop a warmly spiced ground beef filling enhanced with sweet raisins and tangy green olives for this Cuban-inspired casserole. Make the filling, refrigerate overnight, then bring to room temperature before topping with the biscuits and baking.
Broccoli and Wild Mushroom Casserole
Lucy Schaeffer
Photographer and Alabamian Robert Rausch grew up eating a version of this homey vegetarian casserole. He still relies on Ritz crackers for the crispy, buttery topping but trades the usual canned mushroom soup for wild mushrooms. The baked dish can be refrigerated overnight and reheated before serving.
Creamy Shrimp Casserole with Buttery Crumbs
Lucy Schaeffer
Here, shrimp are blanketed in a hot sauce–spiked sherry cream sauce, then topped with buttered oyster cracker crumbs, baked until bubbling, and broiled until browned. Refrigerate the creamy shrimp overnight and scatter with the buttery crumbs just before baking.
