20 Casserole Recipes for Two People

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked chicken, 1½ cups cooked egg noodles, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup peas, ⅓ cup crushed saltine crackers, 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the chicken, noodles, soup, milk and peas together in the baking dish. Mix the crackers with the butter, then scatter them over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the middle bubbles and the crackers turn golden.

Use ½ cup thawed mixed vegetables instead of peas if that’s the open bag in your freezer.

Keep the crackers out of the filling. You want their crunch against the creamy noodles, not crumbs that disappear into the sauce. This is the sort of supper that earns its place on the table even when only two chairs are pulled out.

Campbell’s chicken noodle casserole uses a 1½-quart dish. The cracker topping takes its cue from Bumble Bee’s classic tuna noodle casserole.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 drained 5-ounce can tuna, 1½ cups cooked egg noodles, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup peas, ¼ cup shredded cheddar, ¼ cup crushed crackers.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the tuna, noodles, soup, milk and peas in the dish, breaking the tuna into generous flakes. Scatter the cheese and crackers across the top. Bake for 20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the topping browns.

Use thawed green beans instead of peas when that’s what you have.

One can is your stopping point. Bumble Bee’s full casserole uses two 5-ounce cans for four servings; this version starts with one. Measure the noodles you need before putting the package away.

Once a full pot is cooked, it’s tempting to keep adding noodles until your small casserole has become a large one. If you want a crisp top, keep the crackers above the sauce rather than stirring them in.

Serves 2. About 45 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 4 ounces breakfast sausage, 1½ cups thawed hash browns, 3 eggs, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brown the sausage in a skillet, then spread it with the hash browns and onion in a greased dish.

Beat the eggs with the milk and pepper, then pour them over the filling and add the cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the center is set and a knife inserted nearby comes out clean.

Use leftover cooked potatoes instead of hash browns.

This gives you breakfast with browned edges and actual corners to cut. Johnsonville’s full-size casserole pairs sausage, hash browns, eggs and cheese. That recipe bakes at 350°F (175°C) for 65 to 70 minutes; the shorter time here is for my smaller version.

Your dish has its own clock. Watch the center: if the knife brings up wet egg, give it a few more minutes.

Serves 2. About 40 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked chicken, 1½ cups cooked rice, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup chopped broccoli, ½ cup shredded cheddar, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the chicken, rice, soup, milk, broccoli and pepper in the dish. Spread the mixture into the corners so the rice heats evenly. Scatter the cheddar over the top. Bake for 25 minutes, until the center is hot and the cheese has browned in spots.

Use peas instead of broccoli if you’d rather skip the chopping.

That container of cooked rice in your refrigerator already has dinner halfway done. Spoon out 1½ cups, then close it before the casserole grows. Here, the rice carries the sauce into every bite; the broccoli gives your fork something firmer to find.

Campbell’s publishes a cheesy chicken and rice casserole in an 11x8x2-inch dish. It also has a skillet version for a night when you want to leave the oven off.

Serves 2. About 45 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: ½ pound ground beef, ¼ cup chopped onion, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup frozen peas, ½ cup shredded cheddar, 1½ cups frozen tater tots.

Heat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Brown the beef with the onion in a skillet, then drain off the fat.

Stir in the soup, milk and peas, and spread the mixture in the dish. Add the cheese and arrange the frozen tots in a single layer. Bake for 25 minutes, until the filling bubbles and the tots are crisp.

Use frozen corn instead of peas.

You’ll get browned tops if you leave space between the tots. That’s the pleasure of this pan: crisp pieces over a spoonable beef filling.

Serves 2 as a main. About 35 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 4 ounces dry elbow macaroni, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, ¾ cup milk, 1 cup shredded cheddar, 2 cooked bacon strips, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Boil the macaroni until just tender, then drain it. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, add the milk, and cook until thick.

Stir in the cheddar and pepper. Fold in the macaroni and crumbled bacon, transfer to the dish, and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes, until browned at the edges.

Use crushed crackers instead of breadcrumbs.

Four ounces of dry pasta looks modest before cooking. Once it has sauce, bacon and a browned lid, it fills two proper bowls. If you cook the whole package from habit, the small pan won’t stay small.

Cabot’s mac and cheese distinguishes two main-dish servings from four side servings. Settle which meal you’re making before you tip more macaroni into the pot.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked shredded chicken, 3 small corn tortillas, ½ cup refried beans, ¾ cup enchilada sauce, ½ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons chopped onion.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread a spoonful of sauce across the bottom of the dish. Layer torn tortillas, beans, chicken, onion, sauce and cheese, repeating until the ingredients are used.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce bubbles through the top layer. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting so the layers stay on your spatula.

Use drained canned beans, lightly mashed, instead of refried beans.

Three tortillas make distinct layers without building a tower. Count them out before you start, then put the package away. Otherwise, the last tortilla has a way of becoming one layer too many.

Old El Paso’s chicken enchilada casserole serves three in a 1-quart dish. My ingredient amounts and two-serving yield above are a separate small-batch version.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup chopped cooked turkey, ¾ cup frozen mixed vegetables, ½ cup gravy, 1½ cups mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the turkey, vegetables, gravy and pepper together in the dish. Spoon the potatoes over the filling and drag a fork across the surface to make ridges. Dot the top with butter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling bubbles and the ridges brown.

Use cooked chicken instead of turkey.

Those fork marks give the potatoes little peaks to color. They also turn a container of leftovers into something you’ll want to carry to the table. USDA MyPlate’s shepherd’s pie uses an 8-inch square dish and ground turkey. My smaller version uses your already-cooked turkey under the potatoes.

Look at when you cooked that turkey before starting. Butterball’s leftover guidance gives refrigerated cooked turkey a 3-to-4-day window.

Serves 2 as a side. About 35 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 pound sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons chopped pecans.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Peel and cube the sweet potatoes, then simmer them in water for 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and mash them with the butter, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the mash in the dish, add the pecans, and bake for 15 minutes, until hot.

Use crushed crackers instead of pecans for a crisp top.

A holiday-sized pan isn’t required to make this feel like a holiday side. You get a spoonful with a warm middle and a little crunch, then clear the dish at the end of dinner.

A branded sweet potato casserole recipe card uses a 1½-quart oval dish for four servings. This one is measured for the two plates at your table.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 3 eggs, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup chopped bell pepper, ½ cup chopped spinach, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Scatter the vegetables in a greased dish. Beat the eggs, milk and pepper, then pour them over the vegetables and add the cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Use thawed peas instead of bell pepper.

This is a good place for the handful of spinach left after another meal. If yours is frozen, squeeze it well before adding it; excess water collects where you want the eggs to set.

The American Egg Board’s vegetable egg casserole uses the same clean-knife check. Trust that test over the color of the cheese on top.

Serves 2. About 60 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 2 medium potatoes, ¾ cup diced cooked ham, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, ¾ cup milk, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slice the potatoes thinly and spread half in a greased dish with half the ham.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, then add the milk and cook until thick. Layer in the remaining potatoes and ham, pour the sauce over them, and add the cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until a knife slides through the potatoes.

Use cooked chicken instead of ham.

The knife tells you more than the browned cheese does. Push it into the middle, where the potato slices have the least contact with the hot dish. If you meet a firm layer, put the casserole back in the oven before serving.

You want sauce clinging to tender slices, not a lovely top hiding crunchy potatoes. No fancy slicer is needed. Aim for slices that look alike so your first forkful and your last cook at the same pace.

Potatoes USA publishes the classic scalloped-potatoes-and-ham pairing. Del Monte identifies an 8x8x2-inch dish as a 2-quart option for scalloped potatoes.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 4 ounces dry short pasta, 5 ounces kielbasa, ¾ cup tomato sauce, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons chopped onion.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Boil the pasta until just tender and drain it. Slice the kielbasa into thin coins and brown it with the onion in a skillet.

Stir the pasta, kielbasa, sauce and milk in the dish, then add the cheddar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles.

Use cooked breakfast sausage instead of kielbasa.

Slice only what goes into your pan, then put the rest of the sausage away before dinner grows. Johnsonville’s sausage mac and cheese uses a 13.5-ounce kielbasa rope cut into ¼-inch coins.

Here, a smaller amount still gives you browned sausage throughout the pasta, especially if you scatter a few coins across the top before baking.

Serves 2 as a side. About 30 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1½ cups cooked green beans, ½ cup condensed cream soup, 2 tablespoons milk, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ cup crispy fried onions.

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Stir the beans, soup, milk, pepper and half the onions in the dish. Bake for 20 minutes, until hot. Scatter the remaining onions over the top and bake for 5 more minutes, until crisp.

Use crushed crackers instead of fried onions if the pantry is bare.

There’s a reason this tastes like a gathering, even when the gathering is two people. Campbell’s green bean casserole supplies the familiar soup-and-onion combination.

Campbell’s company history credits Dorcas Reilly with creating the dish in 1955. Give your beans their own small pan instead of making a full holiday casserole out of habit.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked chicken, 1 cup chopped broccoli, ½ cup cooked rice, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the chicken, broccoli, rice, soup and milk together in the dish. Spread the mixture evenly, then scatter on the cheddar and breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and the center is hot.

Use peas instead of broccoli.

Set the empty dish beside your measured ingredients first. The broccoli and chicken need room to sit in sauce without being spread into a thin layer. Campbell’s uses a 1½-quart dish for its small chicken noodle casserole, while Anchor Hocking lists a 2-quart baking dish for a little more capacity.

If your dish looks sparse, resist adding more rice to fill the corners. Choose the smaller dish. Your fork will still find broccoli in every scoop.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in an 8x8-inch dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked chicken, 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, 1 cup cooked egg noodles, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the chicken, vegetables, soup, milk and noodles together. Spread them in the dish, leaving space below the rim for bubbling sauce. Add the cheddar and breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until hot through and golden on top.

Use cooked rice instead of noodles.

When your family recipe calls for a 9x13-inch dish, halve each ingredient before mixing. Don’t pour half of an already mixed filling into another pan. Measuring first gives both the chicken and the sauce their proper share.

King Arthur Baking’s halving guide points to an 8x8-inch pan for half a 9x13-inch recipe. It recommends weighing ingredients when possible. Write your halved amounts down once; next time, you won’t have to do the math with the oven heating.

Serves 2. About 35 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked chicken, 1½ cups cooked rice, ½ cup frozen peas, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the chicken, rice, peas, soup and milk in the dish. Spread the filling evenly and scatter the cheese over it. Bake for 20 minutes, then check the center and continue for 5 to 10 minutes if it isn’t hot throughout.

Use thawed corn instead of peas.

You’ve seen the edge bubble while the middle still needs time. That’s why this bake has a deliberate pause at 20 minutes. Push a spoon into the center before you call it done; a browned rim tells you only what happened at the rim.

King Arthur Baking advises checking a changed pan about 15 minutes before the original recipe’s minimum bake time. Its pan-size guidance also suggests filling a pan about ½ to ⅔ full. Those are checks for adapting your old recipe, not a reason to change the times written for this one.

Serves 2, with 1 extra portion. About 35 minutes, in a 1½-quart dish.

You need: 1½ cups chopped cooked turkey, 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, ¾ cup gravy, 2 cups mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the turkey, vegetables, gravy and pepper in the dish. Spread the potatoes over them and dot with butter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling bubbles and the top browns.

Use cooked chicken instead of turkey.

If you want that extra helping for another night, put it in its own container after dinner. Otherwise, the whole casserole tends to follow you back into the refrigerator.

For the portion you keep, USDA FSIS gives refrigerated leftovers 3 to 4 days. Frozen leftovers keep their best quality for 3 to 4 months.

Reheat your portion to 165°F (74°C), checking several places, including the center. A frozen casserole portion can go into the oven or microwave without thawing if it reaches that temperature throughout.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked rice, 1 cup drained canned beans, ½ cup frozen corn, ½ cup tomato sauce, ¼ cup chopped onion, ½ cup shredded cheddar, a pinch of chili powder.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the rice, beans, corn, sauce, onion and chili powder in the dish. Press the mixture into the corners and add the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, until the middle is hot and the cheese browns.

Use peas instead of corn.

Before you shop, decide where the rest of the rice and beans will go. A half-used package isn’t a bargain if you never reach for it again.

The USDA MyPlate budget guide recommends planning meals and matching what you buy to what you’ll use.

For this dinner, measure the rice first. Save any remaining beans for a different meal, rather than stretching tonight’s casserole into another pan.

Serves 2. About 50 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 drained 5-ounce can tuna, 2 medium potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, ¾ cup milk, ¼ cup chopped onion, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, a pinch of black pepper.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Slice the potatoes thinly and layer them with the tuna and onion in a greased dish. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, add the milk, and cook until thick.

Pour it over the layers, add the cheddar, and cover. Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Use cooked chicken instead of tuna.

One can gives you a clear stopping point. You don’t have to open another package to make the dish look full.

Bumble Bee’s four-serving tuna noodle casserole starts with two 5-ounce cans. My potato version takes the one-can idea into a smaller pan; it isn’t the brand’s recipe. Cut the potatoes thinly enough that your fork slides through the center when dinner is ready.

Serves 2. About 30 minutes, in a 1-quart dish.

You need: 1 cup cooked green beans, ½ cup cooked rice, ½ cup chopped cooked carrots, ½ cup condensed cream soup, ¼ cup milk, ⅓ cup shredded cheddar, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs.

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir the beans, rice, carrots, soup and milk in the dish. Spread the filling evenly and scatter the cheddar and breadcrumbs over it. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the center is hot and the top is golden.

Use peas instead of carrots.

This vegetable bake gives you a recipe for the smallest dish in the chart. The chart is the part to keep for your next casserole. Put the empty pan beside the measured filling before mixing. If the filling reaches the rim, choose a larger dish instead of hoping the sauce stays put.

| Dish | Best use | When to check the vegetable bake above | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 quart | Two-person vegetable bake or a small side | At 20 minutes | | 1½ quarts, 8x8 or 9x7 inches | A deeper small-batch main | At 20 minutes | | 2 quarts | A two-person meal needing a little more room | At 20 minutes |

Those check times belong to this vegetable bake, not every casserole here. The dish choices have different jobs, too: start with the 1-quart pan for a side, then look at how deep your measured filling sits. Reach for the larger pan only when the filling needs it.

Campbell’s small chicken noodle format uses a 1½-quart dish. Anchor Hocking lists a 2-quart baking dish. King Arthur Baking notes that an 8-inch square pan has a little over half the area of a 9x13-inch pan. Keep that last comparison handy when you halve a family recipe.