Five Ingredients Are Plenty
Five-ingredient dinners have a questionable reputation, but we don’t think that’s fair. Most home cooks know the value of dumping cans into a baking dish, especially when you don’t need to do a whole grocery run for a tasty meal! No matter what people say, a short ingredient list doesn't mean dinner has to be bland, and these casseroles use smart shortcuts to get plenty of flavor to your plate.
1. Pesto Chicken Tortellini Bake
Grab cheese tortellini, cooked chicken, basil pesto, cherry tomatoes, and shredded mozzarella for a dinner that tastes right out of a five-star restaurant. Toss everything except the cheese together, spread it into a baking dish, then cover the top with mozza before popping it in the oven. The pesto seasons practically everything for you, so you don’t need to go further than that!
2. Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Corn tortillas, shredded chicken, salsa, Monterey Jack, and canned black beans are all you need for this one. The prep is just as easy as the ingredient list, too! Layer torn tortillas with the chicken, beans, salsa, and cheese, repeating until the dish is full and the top is generously covered. Don’t worry; the salsa verde brings enough acidity and seasoning that you won't miss a complicated sauce.
3. Spinach Ravioli Lasagna
Who said you had to bust your back making a lasagna? The traditional dish is great, but this is the recipe that works in a pinch. Layer refrigerated cheese ravioli with marinara sauce, baby spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella, then bake until the pasta is tender and the cheese starts browning. You still get those satisfying layers without turning dinner into a project.
Harshit Suryawanshi on Unsplash
4. BBQ Chicken Cornbread Casserole
This sweet-and-savory bake starts with prepared cornbread batter, shredded chicken, barbecue sauce, canned corn, and cheddar cheese. From there, all that’s left to do is spread the saucy chicken and corn into your dish, add the cornbread batter, then scatter cheddar across the top before baking. Best of all, using a BBQ sauce you love does most of the seasoning work.
5. Sausage Gnocchi Bake
Shelf-stable potato gnocchi can go straight into a casserole with cooked Italian sausage, marinara, mozzarella, and baby spinach. Yes, it’s that easy! The gnocchi softens in the tomato sauce as everything bakes, while the sausage adds enough seasoning to flavor the entire dish. It comes out somewhere between baked pasta and a proper Sunday dinner, so you can get your fill with every bite.
6. Buffalo Chicken Potato Bake
We know it doesn’t sound like it, but frozen diced potatoes make a surprisingly good base when they're paired with shredded chicken, Buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, and cheddar. All you need to do for prep is coat the chicken and potatoes lightly in the sauces before covering everything with cheese and baking until the potatoes are tender. It's spicy, creamy, and substantial enough to satisfy any rumbling tummy.
7. French Onion Beef and Potato Casserole
Don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients—thinly sliced potatoes, ground beef, French onion dip, shredded Swiss cheese, and beef broth turn into a particularly cozy dinner. Brown the beef first, then layer everything so the potatoes have enough liquid around them to become tender in the oven. The onion dip boasts both creaminess and seasoning, which is more useful than buying six different spice jars for one dish.
8. Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake
Why pay for chicken parm when you can get remarkably close to it at home? You only need cooked penne, breaded chicken tenders, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan! Slice the cooked tenders, tuck them throughout the sauced pasta, and finish everything with both cheeses before baking.
9. Ham and Swiss Croissant Casserole
Day-old croissants don’t belong in the trash; they’re more useful than you think when you have eggs, milk, sliced ham, and Swiss cheese around. Tear the croissants into a baking dish, scatter the ham and cheese between them, then pour beaten eggs and milk over everything before baking. That day-old pastry makes this taste far more luxurious than you’d expect.
10. Taco Sweet Potato Casserole
Roasted sweet potato cubes give this bake more personality than another pan of plain rice, and for that, we’re thankful. Combine them with cooked taco-seasoned beef, canned black beans, salsa, and Jack cheese, then bake until the top bubbles. Sweet potatoes play especially well against spicy salsa and salty cheese, so don’t assume the short ingredient list won’t translate into flavor.
11. Creamy Tuscan Chicken Orzo Bake
Orzo, cooked chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, and garlic-and-herb cream cheese make a very convincing creamy casserole. It doesn’t require much work on your end, either. Simply stir the ingredients together with enough hot water to cook the pasta, then cover the dish for most of its baking time so the orzo can soften.
12. Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Casserole
We know that on some nights, ordering pizza feels inevitable. But what if it didn’t have to? To bring the mouthwatering goodness home, you only need cooked rotini, pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, and sliced mushrooms. Mix the pasta with sauce and mushrooms, then layer plenty of pepperoni and mozza across the surface before baking. The edges of the pepperoni curl and crisp in the oven, which gives this whole dish everything you’re after.
13. Chicken Bacon Ranch Biscuit Bake
Refrigerated biscuit dough in a casserole? Don’t count it out! That dough makes this combo of cooked chicken, bacon, ranch dressing, and cheddar ridiculously easy. Cut the biscuits into pieces, gently combine them with the filling ingredients, and bake until the dough has puffed and browned throughout. Ranch already has plenty of herbs, too, so there's no need to empty half the spice cabinet into the pan.
14. Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake
Who said you couldn’t turn everyone's favorite party dip into dinner? It’s easier than it looks, too. All you need is cooked pasta shells, jarred Alfredo sauce, frozen spinach, canned artichoke hearts, and Parmesan. Fold everything together thoroughly so bits of spinach and artichoke actually make their way into the shells rather than collecting in one corner.
15. Loaded Baked Potato Casserole
Baby potatoes, bacon, sour cream, cheddar, and green onions cover everything people actually want on a baked potato! Roast your spuds until nearly tender, lightly crush them in the dish, then add the rest of your ingredients before baking. You don’t need to peel them, either; leaving some skins exposed gives the finished dish better texture.
16. Sausage and Apple Stuffing Bake
Boxed stuffing gets a bad rap, but not in our kitchens! For us, it gets considerably better when you add cooked sausage, diced apple, chicken broth, and dried cranberries. Prepare the stuffing with the broth, fold in the remaining ingredients, and bake it uncovered so the top gets nice and crispy. Make no mistake: the sausage and fruit keep this from tasting like the side everyone ignored at Thanksgiving.
17. Meatball Parmesan Casserole
Frozen Italian meatballs stretch a lot further when you’re creative in the kitchen. Believe it or not, they make an easy starting point for a hearty casserole with marinara, ricotta, mozzarella, and garlic bread. Simply nestle the meatballs into the sauce with spoonfuls of ricotta, cover them with mozzarella, and bake the garlic bread separately during those last few minutes.
18. Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bake
Cooked rice is only as good as what you put into it, which is why a little shredded chicken, teriyaki sauce, frozen broccoli, and canned pineapple chunks go a long way. Stir everything together and bake until the broccoli is tender and the sauce has soaked into the rice. Pineapple isn't mandatory in every dish, but here its sweetness keeps the bottled sauce from tasting too salty.
19. Chili Cheese Corn Chip Bake
For a shamelessly easy dinner, you don’t need anything but prepared beef chili, canned corn, shredded cheddar, corn chips, and sliced jalapeños. As far as prep goes, all you need to do is spread the chili and corn into the dish, add cheese, then wait until the final few minutes to scatter on the chips and jalapeños so they keep their texture.
Marcelo Oliveira Santana on Pexels
20. Lemon Chicken and Feta Rice Bake
Call us crazy, but we can’t resist a brighter casserole made from cooked rice, shredded chicken, jarred marinated artichokes, feta cheese, and lemon! It’s as easy to make as it is to prepare; mix the rice and chicken with chopped artichokes, then crumble feta over the top before baking. Then, just squeeze the lemon on afterward.
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