There is nothing more comforting or nostalgic than a homemade casserole for dinner. It's delicious as a hearty weeknight meal and even better as leftovers. Casseroles are always a crowd-pleaser and an easy way to feed the whole family.As wonderful as casseroles are, sometimes things go wrong and the dish isn't as delicious as expected. To make sure you don't end up with mushy, overcooked vegetables or undercooked rice or pasta in your casserole, we're sharing the most common casserole-making mistakes and how to avoid them, so your dish bakes up perfectly every time.
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What Is a Casserole?
Casserole is a pretty broad term; the name actually comes from the dish the food is cooked in. A casserole recipe is baked in one dish and served family style. Casseroles can be loaded with meat or vegetable-forward. Some are served as side dishes, like the traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole, and others are meals in and of themselves, like tuna noodle casserole or Shepherd’s pie. They can even be sweet. Custard-based treats like baked French toast or bread pudding are usually baked in casserole dishes and can be classified as such. Casseroles can usually be made ahead and reheated, so they're perfect for your busiest days and nights.
Learn where it's easy to go wrong when you make a casserole—and how to make sure you don't succumb to these common pitfalls.
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Common Casserole Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them
Using the Wrong Baking Dish
Set yourself up for success by choosing the right baking dish for the job. Be sure to select the right size dish for the casserole you're making. Most recipes will specify either based on measurable dimensions or by how much food they can hold —9-by-13-inch rectangle or a 3-to-3½-quart dish, for example. Sometimes the recipe will get even more specific, noting how deep the dish should be. The shallower the dish, the more surface area it has. The more surface area, the quicker your casserole will dry out. Using the right size baking dish will ensure that the casserole won't be too dry (not enough filling in the baking dish) or overflow (too much filling).
Make sure your casserole dish is ovenproof. Now is not the time to use that vintage copper baking dish or antique pottery. Look for pans that are made of ceramic, glass, or cast iron. Bonus points if the pan is dishwasher safe—the last thing anyone wants to do is hand-wash a casserole dish.
If your casserole has a high acid content (for instance, something heavy on the tomatoes) avoid using cast-iron. Acid tends to react to the cast-iron coating and affect the flavor of the food. Enameled cast-iron casserole dishes are fine to use with acidic foods.
Cutting Ingredients the Wrong Size
Remember, casseroles are meant to be spooned into bowls. They aren't the most aesthetically pleasing meals, but they are comforting and delicious. You should be able to eat forkfuls of casserole and get a little bit of every ingredient in each bite.
- If there is meat in the casserole, make sure to chop it up into bite-size pieces so it is easy to eat. Ground meat and sausage should be broken up into smaller pieces as well.
- Ingredients like potatoes and vegetables should be chopped into uniform pieces. Keeping the size consistent helps ingredients to cook evenly. That means you won't end up with any soft, overcooked vegetables or unpleasantly undercooked starches.
Not Browning Meat (and Other Ingredients)
It may be tempting to just throw everything into a casserole dish and put it in the oven to bake. But if you want to really build flavor and make a delicious dinner, you need to put in a few extra minutes of work on the front end. Browning meat for the casserole is a crucial step. Whether it’s ground meat, slices of sausage, whole chicken breasts, or pork loins that will chopped and incorporated later, getting a golden brown sear all over the meat creates depth of flavor. As the casserole bakes, all of those flavors you built up front will continue to mingle and make the dish even more satisfying.
Other ingredients like onions, garlic, and spices also benefit from some toasting time. As onions cook down and get golden brown, they release a lot of their natural sugars, which will enhance the casserole. Garlic and spices like paprika, cumin, dried herbs, and so many more are brought back to life when they are given time to cook in a splash of oil before being added to the casserole dish. This only takes a few minutes and you just don't get those flavors without browning the ingredients before baking.
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Not Thawing Frozen Ingredients
A lot of casserole recipes use frozen vegetables, and they are a great ingredient. They are already prepped and ready to use—and since they are frozen at their peak, they are full of flavor and nutrients.
On the downside, frozen vegetables do store a lot of excess water, so if you choose to use them, make sure to do one of two things:
- Thaw and drain them before adding them to the recipe.
- Cook them from frozen until they are thawed and most of the liquid has evaporated.
If you skip this prep step, the water from the frozen vegetables will seep into the casserole and make it soggy.
Adding Raw Vegetables and Starches
It's a casserole and everything is going to be baked in the oven, so it might seem counterintuitive to par-cook ingredients like potatoes, rice, grains, and vegetables—but do not skip this step.
It’s important to understand the difference between direct and indirect cooking. When ingredients are surrounded by sauce and other ingredients and baked in the oven, they do cook partially, but not thoroughly. It's a more indirect heating technique. When the ingredients are exposed to direct heat, like being sautéed in a pan, this is where most of the actual cooking will happen.
When making a casserole, you want the vegetables and meat to be almost all the way cooked before they go in the oven. The same goes for starches. Cook potatoes until they meet little resistance when poked with a paring knife. Boil rice and other grains until they are mostly tender with a slight chewiness. Take these steps and you won't have any bites of undercooked ingredients in your casserole.
Cooking Uncovered Too Long
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.
The foil is usually removed in the last few minutes of baking to help the top of the casserole crisp up and develop a golden brown color. The recipe will specify how long to cook the casserole uncovered, depending on the surface area of the dish, but also keep an eye on the dish as it bakes. When the mixture is bubbling, you can uncover it and bake just until golden.
Digging In Too Soon
One of the most important steps happens after the casserole is finished cooking. It’s tempting to jump in and enjoy your dinner right away but it's not a good idea. We always recommend letting the casserole sit for a few minutes once it comes out of the oven. It will be burning hot and needs to cool down a little before you serve it. Also, the food needs time to settle—just like resting a piece of meat when it comes out of the oven. It’s important to let the casserole rest because if you scoop too soon the dish, the juices will run out and the casserole will seems soupy or watery rather than the richand creamy dish it will be after resting.
Not Using a Trusted Source
There are endless casserole recipes, but they aren't all of the same quality. It’s important to use one from a source that you trust. You’ll have a much higher success rate with recipes that are developed and tested by professionals.
