Food and Recipes Dish Casserole Easy 9x13 Recipes for Your Labor Day Crowd By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 11, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo: Hector Sanchez Labor Day should be a relaxing holiday, not one spent in your kitchen preparing food for a party. Enjoy your break with crowd-pleasing recipes that don't take much effort or time. With the help of everyone's favorite 9x13 casserole dish, you can serve up incredible Labor Day food that every guest will love. From appetizers to desserts, these easy Labor Day recipes can be made in your trusty 9x13 dish. Whether you're attending a Labor Day potluck at the neighbor's or hosting yourself, let your 9x13 handle the cooking. With cookout classics like macaroni and cheese and baked beans, your Labor Day crowd will be in side dish heaven. We didn't forget about dessert, though! Don't waste time perfecting an intricate layer cake this Labor Day. Easy 9x13 desserts like poke cakes, lemon bars, and our new go-to, Sweet Tea and Lemonade Cake, will be gobbled up by kids and adults. On Labor Day, you should revel in your rest. These no-fuss 9x13 casseroles and desserts will let you do just that. 01 of 20 Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas Photographer: Will Dickey Prop Stylist: Missie Crawford Food Stylist: Erin Merhar Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas Forget the Buffalo chicken party dip and opt for this crowd-pleasing meal instead. This hearty recipe can be made in a casserole dish and packed with ingredients like blue cheese, Franks RedHot, cream cheese, celery, and corn tortillas. 02 of 20 King Ranch Chicken Southern Living Recipe: King Ranch Chicken Trust us: This recipe deserves a spot on your holiday table. It's a tried-and-true recipe beloved outside of Texas state lines thanks to the interesting Mexican-seasoning-meets-cheesy-casserole flavor combination. Whip it up for your next party and you'll soon see why. 03 of 20 Okra and Rice Casserole Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Okra and Rice Casserole This dish is versatile yet flavorful thanks to a deliciously Southern mixing of sautéed okra, buttery garlic breadcrumbs, sweet corn, and Cajun spices. Just mix it up and serve! 04 of 20 Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad Send summer off with a bang with a sensational pasta salad recipe. This dish has an amazing yet unexpected ingredient: field peas! This recipe can be made in any dish, but once stirred, we recommend packing it in a 9x13 dish with a lid to store it in the fridge. 05 of 20 Baked BLT Dip Southern Living Recipe: Baked BLT Dip One of the South's favorite sandwiches gets the appetizer treatment with this dreamy dip recipe. 06 of 20 Baked Tex-Mex Red Pepper Cheese Dip Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: Baked Tex-Mex Red Pepper Cheese Dip Every cookout needs an incredible dip on deck for guests that arrive hungry, and we're happy to report that this addicting recipe is ready for the job. 07 of 20 Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese Our Test Kitchen's secret for the creamiest mac and cheese? Adding cubes of cheese that melt as the pasta bakes. 08 of 20 Squash Casserole Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Sarah-Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Julia Levy Recipe: Squash Casserole This cheesy casserole is a Southern potluck must, and Labor Day is the perfect time to make it with fresh summer squash. 09 of 20 Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chip Crust Sheri Castle Recipe: Hot Chicken Salad with Potato Chip Crust This retro dish will knock old-school cold chicken salad off its thrown as the party favorite. 10 of 20 Corn Pudding Casserole Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Corn Pudding Casserole This version of corn pudding is extra creamy and more savory than sweet. 11 of 20 Zucchini, Squash, and Corn Casserole Hector Sanchez Recipe: Zucchini, Squash, and Corn Casserole This veggie-filled casserole is your perfect vehicle for savoring all the flavors of summer. 12 of 20 Pasta-Chicken-Broccoli Bake Iain Bagwell; Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck; Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Recipe: Pasta-Chicken-Broccoli Bake Instead of showing up with the same cold pasta or broccoli salad you usually bring, delight guests with this tangy, warm side dish that combines the best of both. 13 of 20 Blackberry Cobbler Southern Living Recipe: Blackberry Cobbler This fresh summer cobbler hits all the right notes for a Labor Day cookout dessert: It's easy to prepare, feeds a crowd, and is easy to bake and take. It can't be beat when topped with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream. 14 of 20 Chocolate Lasagna Southern Living Recipe: Chocolate Lasagna If you want to show up with a dish that no one can find a reason to complain about, let us introduce you to our favorite vintage dessert recipe. 15 of 20 Nehi Orange Poke Cake Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Nehi Orange Poke Cake This moist poke cake is inspired by one of Mama Dip's classic orange cake recipes. 16 of 20 Luscious Lemon Bars Southern Living Recipe: Luscious Lemon Bars We don't know any party that's ever responded negatively to a cake plate stacked high with beautifully bright lemon bars. 17 of 20 Peach Dump Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Peach Dump Cake It's all in the name here: For this delicious dessert, you literally dump a few recipes in your casserole dish and bake it. Hallelujah! 18 of 20 Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade Cake Hector Sanchez Recipe: Sweet Tea-and-Lemonade Cake This Arnold Palmer-inspired sheet cake is ideal for summer cookouts. 19 of 20 Chocolate-Zucchini Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chocolate-Zucchini Cake We can't think of a better dessert to serve as a summer finale on Labor Day than this new favorite sheet cake that's a clever way to use up any fresh farmers' market zucchini you have left. 20 of 20 Deep Dish Berry Cobbler Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Deep Dish Berry Cobbler There's almost nothing a simple berry cobbler won't fix. In fact, it makes just the right addition to an end of summer menu. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit