46 Side Dish Casserole Recipes To Elevate Any Meal

scalloped corn casserole
Photo: Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Karen Rankin

A casserole side dish fills your plate with a range of flavors and tastes at the same time. These easy recipes make preparing your favorite casserole side dish simple, too. Maybe you love a light and fluffy side dish casserole, like Buttermilk Spoon Bread. Or if you'd prefer rich macaroni and cheese, you could try Mac and Cheese with Ham. If you want delicious spuds, try our Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes and the Fennel and Potato Gratin. If you prefer sweet potatoes, you can't go wrong with a casserole side dish like the Sweet Potato-Carrot Casserole. However you slice, scoop, or serve your favorite casserole side dish, these recipes will make getting it from oven to table easy.

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Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

Classic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

If ever there were a versatile side, this is it. This lavishly rich casserole is ideal for family suppers, and it will complement everything from Italian entrees to the panoply of chicken and beef dishes in your kitchen arsenal. Gently stirring this dish twice while it bakes promotes even cooking and adds some creaminess to the dish.

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Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows, Pecans, and Cornflakes

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows, Pecans, and Cornflakes
Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Adding cornflake cereal to the pecan-brown sugar topping gives this casserole extra crispiness. Set this down on the sideboard for a buffet-style Thanksgiving meal, and your friends and family will be piling their plates high. They'll also marvel at how beautiful it looks with its rows of cornflakes, pecans, and marshmallows spread diagonally across the top.

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Mac and Cheese with Ham

Baked Smokin' Macaroni and Cheese
Beth Dreiling Hontzas

This delicious mac and cheese is light on butter and cheese, yet it still melts in your mouth. You can change the flavor profile of the recipe with combinations such as sweet peas and prosciutto or ham and broccoli. It will be a fantastic side dish on your dinner table, and it will be so loved that it may become an entrée dish.

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Parmesan Corn Pudding

Parmesan Corn Pudding
Photo: Jennifer Davick

In our recipe, this tasty side dish takes a quicker approach to classic corn pudding. You'll love the abbreviated preparation and cooking time as well as the cheesy Parmesan twist. You may want to make two batches of this recipe. The first will go quickly.

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Summer Squash Casserole

Summer Squash Casserole
Laurey W. Glenn

One of our favorite days of the season is when summer squash appears at the local farmers' market. Summer squash casserole is one of the most versatile Southern side dishes, and it gets its due on dinner tables across the region. We think that it pairs well with everything from fried chicken at a summertime Sunday lunch to roast turkey at Thanksgiving.

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Sweet Potato-Carrot Casserole

Sweet Potato-Carrot Casserole
Photo: Iain Bagwell

Carrots add a smooth texture and sweet flavor to this comfort food favorite. You can serve this classic holiday casserole any time of year and expect rave reviews. This casserole is topped with marshmallows, but it also has a special ingredient: our Sugar-and-Spice Pecans. You will love the combination of heat and sweetness that these bring to this amazing dish.

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Zucchini, Squash, and Corn Casserole

Zucchini, Squash, and Corn Casserole
Photo: Hector Sanchez

There's nothing quite as delicious in the summertime as fresh zucchini, squash, and corn—and there's certainly nothing like it when that trio of fresh vegetables is baked together in a flavorful side dish casserole. Soft, white breadcrumbs double as a feather-light binder and a golden crumb topping since they brown ever so slightly atop the casserole and add a subtle crunchy texture.

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Fennel-and-Potato Gratin

Fennel-and-Potato Gratin
Photo: Jennifer Davick

This cheesy potato gratin gets a punch of flavor from nutmeg and fennel. It's impressive enough for a holiday party, but it is also easy enough to put together on a busy weeknight. It's a perfect complement to roasted turkey, sweet ham, or sliced beef. It's also easy enough to whip up en masse if you have a large group to feed.

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Classic Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Thanksgiving Sides: Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Mouthwatering doesn't even begin to describe this delicious casserole, but it's certainly the best way we can find to describe it. This casserole blends flavors and textures boldly with a satisfying, crunchy topping and smooth filling.

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Butternut Squash Gratin

Butternut Squash Gratin
Photo: Iain Bagwell

We know and love potato gratins, but the addition of butternut squash to this beloved dish has made us fall for it all over again. Preparation tip: You'll want to slice the potatoes as you use them and place them in each layer (rather than slicing them all at once). Doing this will help to prevent oxidation in the potatoes and will ensure that your dish is as fresh as can be.

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Scalloped Corn Casserole

scalloped corn casserole
Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Karen Rankin

This timeless dish has generous amounts of creamy corn filling blanketed by crunchy, buttery crackers for the perfect combination of textures. Cheese, cream cheese, and half-and-half make it extra indulgent.

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Sweetie's Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweetie’s Sweet Potato Casserole
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Chef and restaurateur Kelsey Barnard Clark's grandmother puts a twist on the standard sweet potato casserole, and we just can't get enough. Notes of orange take this one over the top.

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Creamed Greens Casserole

Creamed Greens Casserole
Atonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

If you always served greens like this, there'd never be any negotiation at the dinner table ever again. Kale and collards are served up in a creamy blend of cheeses, and everyone will want seconds.

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Baked Corn Casserole

Baked Corn Casserole
Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis

While cornbread and corn pudding remain beloved side dishes, this Baked Corn Casserole can come through in a pinch. Consider it a hybrid between the pudding and bread, made easily in one skillet.

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Cabbage Casserole

Cabbage Casserole
Photography: Victor Protasio, Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck, Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Our Cabbage Casserole is proof that this veggie is delicious beyond the coleslaw tub. Served warm, it hints at everything you love about a potato gratin while keeping things light and crunchy.

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Easy Cauliflower Casserole

Easy Cauliflower Casserole
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

We wager the kids may have this cheesy, crunchy casserole confused with their favorite mac and cheese dish—what more could you ask for? Plus, it uses basic pantry staples, so you can pull it together on a busy weeknight.

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Wild Rice-and-Greens Casserole

Wild Rice-and-Greens Casserole
Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

While the recipe calls for kale, feel free to swap in your favorite green. If you're planning on taking this to a party, it can also be made up to three days ahead.

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Okra and Rice Casserole

Okra and Rice Casserole
Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

There's more than one way to eat okra, though fried sure is delicious. In this casserole, sautéed okra, sweet corn, Cajun spices, and garlic breadcrumbs create one flavorful side dish.

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Cheese Cracker-Topped Squash Casserole

Cheese Cracker-Topped Squash Casserole Recipe
Hector Sanchez

Inspired by one reader's grandchild's refusal to eat a veggie, this squash casserole will win over even the pickiest eater. You can substitute any cracker for the topping, but we love the whimsy of these fish-shaped crackers.

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Broccoli Cheese Casserole

13x9 dishes, casseroles, easy meals
Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Though this is an excellent side dish casserole, we wouldn't blame anyone who filled up on it and skipped the main dish. This one is easy to make ahead and bake later in the week.

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Corn Pudding Casserole

Corn Pudding Casserole, 9x13 casseroles
Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Cheesy and creamy, Corn Pudding Casserole knows how to please. You might even find yourself making it on a regular weeknight.

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Pineapple Casserole

pineapple casserole in a white square casserole dish
Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle,Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn

Only Southerners know the treasure of Pineapple Casserole, and if it's not a side dish at your party then you know you're missing out! A short ingredient list makes putting together this comforting dish a snap.

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Cheddar Cheese Grits Casserole

Cheddar Cheese Grits Casserole
Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Rose Nguyen

Grits are good, but cheesy grits are great. This recipe helps you make them for a crowd.

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Reunion Pea Casserole

Reunion Pea Casserole
Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Packed with Italian sausage, squash, spices, cheese, and peas, this casserole makes for an excellent side dish but can also hold its own as a main. This makes a large amount and works great for a crowd.

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Bacon-Brussels Sprout-Green Bean Casserole

Bacon-Brussels Sprout-Green Bean Casserole
VICTOR PROTASIO; PROP STYLING: GINNY BRANCH STELLING; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL

Topped with a generous sprinkling of crispy fried onions and bacon, green beans and Brussels sprouts have never been tastier. Plus, you can make it in advance and pull it out on a busy evening.

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Buttermilk Spoon Bread

Buttermilk Spoon Bread
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Don't be fooled by the name. The texture produces a silky, savory pudding with a golden-brown top.

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Old-School Green Bean Casserole

13x9 casserole, green bean casserole
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Creamy, savory, and crunchy, this casserole is a solid take on an old favorite. It's so good, we wouldn't blame you if you wanted to make it all year long.

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Savannah Red Rice

Savannah Red Rice
Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

This pilaf works well as a side with chicken, pork, and shrimp, but it can also stand on its own as a main. The secret to getting its signature layer of fluffy rice atop a bottom layer of crispy rice is to not stir during cooking. Our recipe calls for baking, so it will come out just right.

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Hot Potato Salad

Hot Potato Salad
Helen Norman

There’s no rule that says potato salad has to be cold. In fact, this version, served warm from the oven, just may replace your family’s favorite potatoes. Bacon, cheese, and olives punch up creamy, cheesy potatoes, which are already delicious on their own.

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Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach

Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach
Hector Sanchez

Creamed spinach makes eating our greens an indulgent treat. Adding in pimiento cheese takes this dish to a whole new level. This Southern take is unexpected but definitely appreciated.

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Creamy Whipped Potato Casserole

Creamy Whipped Potato Casserole
Atonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Move over mashed potatoes. These creamy whipped potatoes are a weeknight dream. Full of fluffy potatoes and cheese, these can be made ahead and rewarmed before serving.

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Zucchini Potato Casserole

Zucchini-Potato Casserole
Iain Bagwell

This layered vegetable dish is known as a French tian. Don’t reserve it only for special occasions. It cooks in the oven while you prepare the rest of the meal, and it can be served at room temperature.

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Pumpkin-and-Winter Squash Gratin

Pumpkin-and-Winter Squash Gratin
Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Potatoes bake with butternut squash and pumpkin in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Topped with homemade breadcrumbs, this dish makes a comforting side dish to pork or chicken.

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Squash and Green Chile Casserole

Squash and Green Chile Casserole
Greg Dupree

Put your slow cooker to use for your side dish instead of your main dish. Create a sauce of green chiles and tomatillos to cook the squash, zucchini, and rice in. Finish this Southwest casserole by stirring in sour cream and cheese to warm.

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Herbed Breadcrumb-Topped Macaroni and Cheese

herbed breadcrumb topped macaroni and cheese
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Do you need another macaroni and cheese recipe? Yes, yes you do. This version uses cubes of Cheddar cheese that melt during baking. Combine those cheesy pockets with an herbed topping, and this is one side you’ll make on repeat.

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Chipotle Scalloped Potatoes

Chipotle Scalloped Potatoes
Photo: Hector Sanchez

Add some spice to ordinary weeknights with these cheesy scalloped potatoes infused with smoky chipotles. Chipotle cream sauce is layered with potatoes and Cheddar cheese for the ultimate side. Top with more cheese and crumbled bacon.

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Creamy Kale and Pasta Bake

Creamy Kale and Pasta Bake
Hector Manuel Sanchez

Creamy, cheesy, and delicious, this pasta casserole is everything you want in a side dish. Use packaged kale and shredded cheese to speed up prep time. This makes a great pairing with chicken or pork. 

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Two-Potato Gratin

Two-Potato Gratin
Hector Sanchez

If you can’t decide between regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, this casserole is your answer. Thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes bake in a decadent herbed sauce topped with Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

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Savory Sweet Potato Bread Pudding

Savory Sweet Potato Bread Pudding
Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Here’s an unexpected but delightful roasted sweet potato side. It makes a great accompaniment to chicken and pork, or even to your breakfast main meal. With chunks of sweet potato, bread, and spinach baked in Parmesan custard, it will go fast.

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Bacon and Blue Mashed Potato Bake

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potato Bake
Jennifer Davick

Mashed potatoes already make a great pairing for steak night. Add in blue cheese and bacon, and these potatoes will really wow.

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Tasty Tex-Mex Mashed Potato Bake

Mashed Potato Bakes
Jennifer Davick

Chorizo sausage is a savory, fantastically flavorful addition to mashed potatoes that conjures a Southwestern, Tex-Mex-inspired flair. Pepper Jack cheese and green chiles add spice. Just stir in the additions before baking for this variation.

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Creamy Spinach Mashed Potato Bake

Mashed Potato Bakes
Jennifer Davick

Make classic mashed potatoes a more elegant side with a few stir-ins. Add creamy garlic-and-herb cheese spread, spinach, and pecans to turn this casserole into an easy, elegant side.

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Smoky Sweet Potato Mashed Potato Bake

Mashed Potato Bakes
Jennifer Davick

The simple addition of chipotles in adobo sauce kicks up the flavor of everyday mashed potatoes. The combination of mashed Russet potatoes and sweet potatoes makes this mashed potato casserole a new comforting classic.

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Caramelized Onion Mashed Potato Bake

Mashed Potato Bakes
Jennifer Davick

Serve this potato casserole alongside a pork tenderloin dinner for a meal to remember. Stir in caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese before baking for a decadent side you'll come back to.

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Savory Sweet Potato Casserole

Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox

You don’t need the bag of marshmallows for this sweet potato casserole. This savory version is finished with a Parmesan cheese-laced, herbed breadcrumb topping. Pecans add crunch.

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Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles

Mini Cheese Grits Casseroles
Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Don’t reserve individual servings for the holidays. They make any meal special. Make these mini casseroles the night before, and bake while you prep the rest of the meal.

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