What Is a Casserole? Definition, History, and Variations

The term “casserole” can refer to any dish prepared in a casserole dish—essentially a deep, wide baking dish—and baked in the oven. A casserole can have layers, as in the case of an Italian lasagna or a deep-dish pizza, or composed of some evenly distributed combination of veggies, a protein, and a starchy binder.

A casserole is often a one-pot meal that involves combining the ingredients in an oven-safe dish and baking them.

The etymology of “casserole” likely dates back to the Greek “kuathion,” meaning “little cup.” The word eventually morphed into the Medieval Latin “cattia” and settled on “cassole” or “casserole,” the French diminutive of “casse”—essentially meaning “pan.” By the eighteenth century, the English-speaking world used the word “casserole” to refer to a dish of cooked rice with a meaty filling baked in the oven.

Casserole-style cooking grew in popularity because it was convenient and easy, allowing you to cook and serve a meal in the same dish. Home cooks could essentially use a low oven as a slow cooker, leaving a casserole to cook for an extended period.

The convenience factor was responsible for the casserole’s resurgence in the twentieth century, when the introduction of processed and canned foods made it possible to combine already prepared components into a semi-homemade weeknight dinner.

Since the world of casseroles is so far-reaching, there’s no one type, but the following characteristics roughly define casserole-style cooking:

1. 1. Method: Casseroles get baked in the oven. While some are one-dish meals, the cooking process for many casseroles (especially macaroni casseroles) involves preparing one or more ingredients before combining everything in a casserole pan and baking. If you need to finish the dish on the stovetop, it’s probably not a casserole.
2. 2. Vessel: You can use many different kinds of cookware for casserole recipes, provided they’re oven-safe. A cast-iron skillet could technically serve as a casserole dish since you can combine ingredients in it and then put it in the oven. Earthenware vessels are particularly popular for casseroles since they retain heat in the oven and look attractive as part of a tablescape.
3. 3. Dish type: Casseroles are often hearty comfort foods. They can be main dishes, especially if they include a protein, or side dishes, like a classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole.

The casserole method spans many cuisines and regions. If you tinker with a recipe enough, it’s hard to find a dish that you can’t modify into a casserole. With that stipulation, here are some of the more commonly known casseroles:

1. 1. Corn chip pie: Popular throughout the Southwest, a corn chip pie usually contains a mixture of ground beef, enchilada sauce, and a healthy topping of corn chips.
2. 2. Green bean casserole: A cheesy side that combines green beans and french-fried onions, green bean casserole is a staple in the “dump and bake” genre.
3. 3. Hotdish: In this classically Midwestern preparation, the meat gets combined with some kind of canned soup (like cream of mushroom) and vegetables and then topped with starch like noodles or tater tots.
4. 4. Kugel: Noodle or potato kugel is like an Ashkenazi Jewish take on hash browns, in which the starch (noodles or potatoes) gets mixed with egg, seasonings, and fat, and then baked.
5. 5. Tuna casserole: The central piece of tuna casserole is, unsurprisingly, canned tuna. Other components may include pasta or noodles, canned soup, and vegetables.

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