87 Healthy Casseroles

We traded white rice for whole-grain quinoa and kicked out any processed ingredients for a new take on this comfort classic. To add more flavor to quinoa, try toasting it. Serve with a simple green salad. You can freeze an extra pan of this whole-grain main for kid-friendly comfort or make it ahead of time for a busy weeknight.

We love the old-school feel of this skillet supper. If you can't find whole-wheat panko, sauté fresh whole-wheat crumbs until crisp.

This quick and easy recipe delivers a family-friendly dinner to the table in just under 45 minutes. 

These enchiladas are a cinch to assemble and easy to freeze—just cover one of the pans with foil. If you plan to serve a crowd, bake in one (13 × 9-inch) baking dish. The chicken stays moist throughout baking and reheating, thanks to a gentle poach and a creamy verde sauce. Fresh cilantro stems have tons of favor; make sure to include them in the sauce.

Leftover quinoa, rotisserie chicken, and canned tomoatoes help this dish come together in less than an hour. Throw it in the oven for 25 minutes, and dinner is served.

Traditional creamy chicken casserole can have more than 800 calories per serving, but we’re serving up this classic comfort dish with a fraction of the calories.

Rise and shine to a thoroughly red, white, and blue breakfast. This lower-sugar recipe is a great way to use up slightly hard baguette and any berries you have roaming around your produce drawer. You don't have to let it sit overnight, but a few hours in the fridge will only make the casserole creamier.

This bubbling hot casserole is the quintessential comfort food. Prep ahead and bake when you're ready to eat.

This cheesy casserole is bound to be a new favorite. The individual servings are fun and perfectly portioned.

This perfect version of a classic Italian meatless dinner, Parmigiana, will quickly become a family favorite. Add a glass of vino for a Sicilian-style date night or a scoop of gelato for a kid-friendly Italian night.

For a complete meal, serve with a fresh salad of grapefruit and fennel, and sip our Pomegranate Fizz.

The expression “goes together like peas and carrots” doesn’t even do this casserole justice; although, those two ingredients help to make the creamy casserole a delectable comfort food.

This casserole makes use of casarecce pasta—a short noodle with a curled edge that provides a large groove to hold the creamy sauce. If you can't find it, use fusilli, campanelle, or radiatore. Use a large, deep pot for the pasta so the spinach will fit inside, as well.

Smoky bacon compliments the richness of butternut squash in this casserole to create a dish that can be enjoyed right away or prepared ahead for a party or weeknight meal.

This dish is like enjoying an omelet stuffed with spinach, Swiss cheese, and mushrooms, with hearty sides of bacon and hash browns, all in one package.

This creamy baked pasta comes together quickly. Melted, gooey part-skim mozzarella cheese makes it even more decadent—without leaving you feeling guilty. Use any short pasta—ziti or rotini also work.

This casserole is a quick and easy swap for more traditional tamales—but just as delicious.

This recipe combines cooked vermicelli, chicken, and mushrooms with a rich sherry–Parmesan cheese sauce. The mixture is sprinkled with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until bubbly and golden.

Onions, rice, and a creamy cheese sauce make this casserole a winner in our book. We're fairly sure you'll agree.

These enchiladas are a fresh take on the enchiladas you grew up with. Most noticeable is the lack of canned enchilada sauce. Make your own delicious ranchero sauce and receive rave reviews.

Here's a deliciously updated version of the classic, with fresh green beans and wine-infused mushrooms. We just had to keep the fried onion topping, which is arguably the best part.

Add pops of color to baked ziti with fresh summer veggies like squash, zucchini, and tomato. This quick and versatile baked pasta can be easily adjusted based on your favorite veggies or what you have on hand.

To help ensure that the cheesy layer remains moist and creamy, don’t press out the extra water from the tofu. Serve the lasagna with breadsticks and a green salad.

The combination of buttery Yukon gold and fluffy baking potatoes offers richness and a nice contrast in flavor and texture. We recommend using a food mill to ensure the potatoes are evenly mashed and not overworked, so they won't get gluey. If you don't have a food mill, cream the potatoes and cooking liquid with a potato masher.

Look for veggie protein crumbles in the produce section, near the tofu. Zesty Mexican spices and flavorings sass up the crumbles.

Although the yellow and green veggies give this hearty, one-dish meal a colorful appearance, you can different vegetables, if you prefer.

This meatless version of pastitsio swaps ground beef for wild mushrooms but keeps the creamy, cheesy goodness of the classic dish. Entertaining? Serve alongside Swiss Chard with Crème Fraîche and an earthy pinot noir.

Translated from the Germanic Alsatian dialect, baeckeoffe means "baker's oven," as it was traditionally a dish that was brought to the local baker to cook in his oven. Classic versions are loaded with meat, but our vegetarian riff is equally hearty and rich.

Instead of the traditional buttery, heavy sauce present in most mac and cheese recipes, we turned to an unlikely hero for a boost: Butternut squash. Combined with nonfat milk and Greek yogurt, the squash adds a rich, nutty flavor, sneaks in some vegetable, and brilliantly mimics the color and creaminess of cheddar sauce. Over 65 5-star reviews agree: Butternut squash is a delicious addition.

Senior Food Editor Julianna Grimes advises, “Buy lamb loin chops, and have the butcher remove the meat from the bones in the store.” The lean, tender meat cooks quickly, and it’ll stay moist in this speedy take on a comfort classic.

Instead of the usual jarred salsa often called for in Mexican casserole, this recipe features a homemade salsa made with charred tomatoes that are mixed with cilantro and fresh lime juice. Charring the tomatoes gives a rich flavor to the salsa, which is a good match for this chicken-and-veggie-packed dish.

In this meatless version of the classic Greek dish, bulgur wheat stands in for ground meat in a spiced tomato filling surrounded by eggplant layers and topped with a béchamel sauce. The eggplant and bulgur pack this dish with fiber. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

The walnuts in this gratin offer a crunchy contrast to the roasted vegetables and cheesy rice mixture, while the splash of half-and-half adds creamy richness. The rice mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated. When ready to prepare, bring to room temperature, spoon into the baking dish, and proceed as directed at the end of step 5.

Rich porcini broth and nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano add deep umami taste to this vegetarian lasagna. Plain white button mushrooms will work in place of cremini. Serve with a simple green salad for a satisfying meal.

This dish embodies the alluring qualities you'd expect from rösti―shredded potatoes that are cooked until browned and crisp on the edges. Senior Food Editor Julianna Grimes notes, "This casserole fills the crispy, creamy, cheesy bill. Adding a salad rounds out the meal."

This simple skillet dish uses shredded potatoes as a base. The potato mixture cooks on the stove top first to get it browned and crisp on the bottom. Use a cast-iron skillet to get the potatoes perfectly crusted on the bottom, then bake them with smoky chorizo under a blanket of gooey cheese.

Pop a prepared casserole in the oven and let it bake while you sip coffee—that’s the way to wake up on a lazy Sunday. Seems like every family has a beloved version of this type of breakfast strata. This one is much lower in fat than most.

Creamy and savory collide in a wonderful way—everyone gathered around your holiday breakfast table will love this one.

Lots of colorful, delicious baby veggies between pasta layers reduce the typical mounds of cheese. Our white sauce is based on fat-free broth, and we add just a bit of cream and an egg to give it a silky texture. We sprinkled the Parm within the layers to supplement the fontina that's used to give a crunchy-cheesy crust on top.

Home fries meet casserole in this ultimate comfort food dish that's great for brunch or dinner. It's most economical to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself.

Three kinds of beans take the classic dish from ho-hum to fun, with different shapes and pleasing textures—from the al dente bite of chickpeas to the creaminess of Great Northern beans. If you happen to use hot smoked paprika, you can omit the ground red pepper.

Just a tip: Wash the pan well before using it again to cook the strained milk mixture—that will ensure a silken sauce.

For this classic casserole, whip sweet potatoes until they're smooth and top with a delicious, buttery brown sugar and pecan mixture.

Make everyone happy and top this lightened version of the classic sweet potato casserole with both marshmallows and toasted pecans.

Add a dash of cumin or paprika to the onions, if you'd like. You can also use purchased rotisserie chicken to cut down on the prep time.

Try this rich and creamy Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese for the ultimate feel-good meal.

Trade the traditional enchilada sauce for a creamy, cheesy topping on this Mexican chicken casserole recipe. Your family will never know they're enjoying a lightened meal.

To fill the shells, simply spoon the cheese mixture into a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; squeeze out the air. Snip a one-inch hole in one corner of the bag, and pipe the filling into the shells.

A traditional Mexican breakfast favorite, chilaquiles (chee-lah-KEE-lays) is a sauté of day-old tortilla strips, fresh tomato sauce, cream, and cheese. This hearty version is baked.

Summer means a bounty of zucchini from farmers’ markets. This lasagna makes use of fresh summer produce in a filling meatless entrée.

This chicken spaghetti casserole is low in calories and can easily be made ahead. The recipe makes two casseroles so enjoy one for dinner and freeze the other for later. To prepare the frozen casserole, cover and bake for 55 minutes at 350°; uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

This casserole is easy to prepare, especially if you purchase diced ham from your supermarket. Gruyère is a type of Swiss cheese. Its sweet nuttiness enhances this dish, though you can substitute Edam, Gouda, or even cheddar cheese.

Broccoli remains slightly crisp in this recipe, though you can substitute any leftover cooked vegetables. Assemble the casserole the night before. Cover, refrigerate, and bake in the morning.

Arrange the noodles crosswise in the pan to allow space for them to expand in the casserole's liquid. Serve with salad.

This was created as a breakfast dish, but that didn't stop Missie from serving it for supper. "My husband raved and the kids gobbled it up. We had it for dinner with scrambled eggs. It was very easy to prepare and will be a good dish to double and make for mornings at the cabin with family."

This moist, sweet-savory side dish is a cross between corn bread and corn pudding. You can use 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels in place of the canned corn, if you prefer.

Grapefruit or mixed fruit marmalade will work just as well as the orange marmalade called for in the recipe. Serve the casserole with honey or pancake syrup warmed with orange rind and a splash of orange juice (add one teaspoon rind and two tablespoons juice per 1/2 cup syrup). This easy casserole can be assembled in less than 15 minutes and stored in the refrigerator overnight.

"Now that I am retired, I have more time to cook," said recipe developer Glenda Mann, Longview, TX. "My husband and I love to travel, and this dish was inspired by a trip to Italy. Pancetta is Italian bacon and comes in a sausagelike roll; it lends a salty bite to the marinara."

We prefer the richness of Gruyère for this gratin, but you can also substitute any type of Swiss cheese. Try a mandoline or the slicing blade of a food processor to create uniformly thin potato slices. You can use a skewer to check the tenderness of the potatoes as the gratin bakes.

Corn pudding evolved from the popular colonial Indian pudding, which was itself a cornmeal adaptation of flour-based English porridge. This dish makes an excellent side and kids love it.

When it comes time to serve a crowd, this easy French toast casserole is a rich and decadent addition to any breakfast or brunch table.

Breakfast casseroles are ideal for overnight guests. Assemble it the night before, and bake in the morning.

This simple hash brown casserole features a buttery cornflake crust and is a favorite side for both casual family gatherings and holiday celebrations.

Make this Southwestern chicken favorite for a festive dinner. Chilaquiles mimic a traditional casserole by layering ingredients. For even more heat, add 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper to the tomatillo mixture.

You can assemble the spinach and cheese casserole in less than 10 minutes by using preshredded cheeses. The casserole's spinach, cheese, and nutmeg ingredient combination produces a rich layer of flavor that everyone will love.

Stratas are easy make-ahead dishes. The night before, assemble and layer the casserole without the egg mixture; cover and refrigerate. Combine the egg mixture, and refrigerate in a separate container. In the morning, pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture; allow the strata to stand for 30 minutes before baking.

If your supermarket offers turkey Italian sausage in the butcher case, purchase one or two links to equal 4 ounces. If starting with a package of several sausages, freeze leftover links up to two months for later use.

Even though this side dish appears in New England and East Coast Thanksgiving spreads, it would be a fine accompaniment to roast turkey or pork any time.

Simple and satisfying, this hearty sausage and bean casserole is fast enough to prepare on a busy evening.

Parmesan cheese adds a nutty, salty flavor to this chicken casserole recipe. Garnish the dish with a thyme sprig, if you like.

New Mexican enchiladas, especially those made simply with tortillas, chile sauce, and cheese, are often served layered like lasagna.

Stuffed manicotti recipes can be high in calories, but turkey sausage and other lower-fat ingredients keep the numbers down in this family-friendly Italian dish.

Lean ground pork is seasoned to mimic the flavor of sausage, while allowing you to control the sodium. Egg substitute, eggs, and egg whites are combined to provide the desired eggy texture with less saturated fat than you’d have if it was all eggs. Sharp cheddar cheese instead of mild cheddar makes it taste like there’s more cheese than a couple tablespoons per serving, while keeping saturated fat at a reasonable level. For a super convenient breakfast when you have company, this is assembled the day before and chills in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it in the morning.

One of those “wow” dishes. It’s comforting, full of flavor, different than any other casserole you’ve had, and it’s really easy. Could it get any better? When corn is in season, by all means, cut off fresh kernels to use instead of frozen.

The crunchy topping on this side-dish casserole gives way to a cheesy interior, resulting in a comfort food winner. A bonus with this dish is that you can make the casserole ahead—assemble and refrigerate it until time to bake. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the casserole just before baking.

This recipe has a nostalgic appeal that harks back to the 1950s and ’60s. If you make it ahead, don’t add the potato chips until it’s time to bake the casserole, or they’ll become soggy.

To crush baked potato chips for the casserole topping, place the chips in a large zip-top plastic bag. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, crush the chips by lightly pounding or rolling until you achieve the desired size and texture. This method makes cleanup a breeze and keeps crumbs in the bag.

Making the most of convenience products, this corn casserole comes together quickly as an ideal side dish for a weeknight meal or even a friendly gathering.

We added cooked rice to this popular casserole to make it more substantial, plus a sprinkling of breadcrumbs for a little crunch. Thaw a frozen casserole in the refrigerator before baking.

Yukon gold potatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and tomato paste boost umami taste in this hearty entrée. If time is a concern, use store-bought, refrigerated mashed potatoes for the topping. A light drizzle of white truffle oil over the finished dish provides an irresistible aroma.

Finish this warm and hearty casserole with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. A fresh green salad with sliced avocado will round out the plate.

This satisfying breakfast recipe is perfect to make for weekend guests. Assemble and refrigerate the casserole the night before, and just pop it in the oven the next morning. Look for turkey sausage near other breakfast-style sausage in the frozen foods section.

The popular combination of corn, lima beans, and bell pepper is tossed with a creamy cheese sauce and baked under a crisp cracker crumb topping. Place the crackers in a zip-top plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin or bottle. Serve with grilled or roasted chicken.

Very few things embody comfort food as well as this hearty, warming mushroom and bacon casserole.

Classic shepherd's pie gets a Moroccan update with heady, aromatic spices in the filling and a garlicky whipped chickpea topping in place of the usual mashed potatoes.

This rich, creamy twist on traditional chicken paella gets an alluring Spanish accent from smoky cured chorizo and the unmistakable fragrance and flavor of saffron.

"Fresh" is a word not often associated with lasagna, yet that's exactly the sensation this one offers. Sweet-as-candy grape tomatoes burst and release their moisture and flavor, while earthy-bitter broccoli rabe and milder Broccolini balance the taste.

This casserole is a cross between tamale pie, posole, and—somehow—chicken and dumplings. It's a great use for leftover holiday turkey, taking the flavors south of the border for a welcome break from the Thanksgiving palate. You can also use rotisserie chicken in place of turkey.