Super-Easy Casserole Recipes for Kids

August 27, 2019
Casseroles are a busy parent’s dream. You can make them ahead and pop them in the oven for an easy weeknight dinner. And there are usually enough leftovers for a second meal later in the week. These tasty recipes will have kids clamoring for more. And you can feel good about them being healthier than the average comfort food casserole.
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Chicken-Noodle Casserole

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Flavorful Chicken-Noodle Casserole comes to life with this diabetic-friendly recipe. Select light sour cream to lower fat and calorie content.

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Baked Mac & Cheese

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Mac & cheese can be a true comfort on a gloomy day, and our healthy update takes advantage of extra-sharp Cheddar balanced with creamy low-fat cottage cheese and tucks a layer of spinach into the middle, which may help picky eaters down their vegetables. Whole-wheat pasta adds robust flavor and extra fiber.

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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

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To save time during busy weeknights, prepare this family-favorite, make-ahead chicken casserole recipe the day before serving. Before baking, spoon on the sour cream sauce, bake, then serve.

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Apple-Cheddar Ham and Egg Casserole

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This casserole featuring eggs, cheese, ham, and fennel would also make a perfect breakfast for a special day.

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Zucchini Pizza Casserole

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Got a bumper crop of zucchini? Try this crowd-pleasing casserole-meets-pizza dish, which can easily be made gluten-free. A layer of tender shredded zucchini is topped with all the classics: sauce, cheese, pepperoni and sliced bell pepper. Experiment with your own favorite toppings, but make sure you don't overload the crust or it will be too wet.

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Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

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Fiber-rich sweet potato is used as the base for the cheese sauce in this healthy, homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. The bright orange color tricks your eyes into thinking this healthy macaroni and cheese recipe is loaded with cheese, but there's actually only about half as much cheese as compared to a traditional recipe.

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Cheesy Potato Casserole

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The original version of this cheesy potato casserole stars canned soup, full-fat sour cream, a stick of butter and a crust of crushed potato chips. We lightened it considerably by using a homemade white sauce instead of canned soup and swapping nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Crushed corn flakes replace the potato chips. All in all, we slashed 200 calories, 25 grams of fat (12 grams saturated) and 170 milligrams of sodium per serving. Dig in!

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Cheesy Meatball Bake

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Use leftover Italian meatball soup along with beans, reduced-fat cheese, tortillas and an easy tomato sauce to make a family-pleasing casserole that's great for weeknights.

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Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole

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Use reduced fat soup and fat-free milk to make this favorite casserole lower in fat and calories. Adding a variety of vegetables makes it more nutritious than the traditional recipe.

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Creamy Hamburger Noodle Casserole

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The EatingWell Test Kitchen takes lean ground beef and combines it with whole-grain bulgur, egg noodles and a creamy tomato sauce in a baked casserole topped with Cheddar. With less fat and calories than the original skillet meal, this dish is sure to become a new family favorite.

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Oatmeal Brunch Casserole

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Because they are full of soluble fiber, oats can help to moderate blood sugar levels by slowing digestion. They taste great combined with apples, cherries and walnuts in this hearty, 30-minute breakfast casserole.

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Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

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This one-pan chicken-and-broccoli recipe comes out of the oven all browned, cheesy and bubbling like a casserole, but is really prepared more like a skillet meal on the stovetop. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

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Mac & Cheese

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This healthy, homemade macaroni and cheese recipe is topped with plenty of golden breadcrumbs. If you want to add a little flair to this healthy macaroni and cheese, use aged Gruyere instead of Cheddar and add extra ingredients like peas, chopped cooked mushrooms or chopped ham. This recipe makes more Cream Sauce without the Cream than you'll need for the macaroni and cheese. Refrigerate or freeze the extra sauce and use it in place of heavy cream in any sauce or soup that calls for cream.

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Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

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Reduced-fat soup, semi-soft cheese and fat-free milk make this classic casserole recipe low in fat and calories.

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Turkey & Leek Shepherd's Pie

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The mashed potato-covered shepherd's pie was originally created to use up the leftovers from a festive roast. This version blends peas, leeks and carrots with diced turkey, all in a creamy herb sauce. The dish is a perfect way to create a second meal with the holiday turkey but if you like, use leftover roast chicken, duck or goose.

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Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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We lightened up this enchilada recipe with a creamy filling that includes just a small amount of light sour cream, rather than loads of regular sour cream.

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Broccoli Casserole

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The lightened-up luscious sauce elevates this easy casserole recipe over standard broccoli and cheese side dishes.

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Chicken Potpie with Biscuits

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In this lightened-up recipe for chicken potpie, creamy chicken stew is topped with flaky biscuits for quintessential comfort food. Our recipe for chicken potpie takes advantage of convenient frozen mixed vegetables to keep it quick.

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Broccoli, Beef & Potato Hotdish

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This easy casserole, full of ground beef, roasted broccoli and topped with hash browns, was inspired by the classic Minnesota Tater Tot hotdish. Roasting the broccoli before adding it to the casserole gives the whole dish a much more complex and exciting flavor, but it's by no means necessary. If you want to keep it simple, skip roasting the broccoli (Step 2) and use 6 cups frozen broccoli, thawed, in its place (omit 1 tablespoon oil, as well).

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Quick Shrimp Enchilada Bake

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Shrimp enchiladas offer a taste of coastal Mexican cuisine but some versions contain so much cheese, butter and sour cream that they can pack a whopping 50 grams of fat per serving. Our version has vibrant flavor and only half the calories and 6 grams of fat per serving, plus we use precooked peeled shrimp so you can get the dish on your table fast enough for a weeknight supper. The addition of refried beans helps makes these enchiladas an excellent source of fiber as well.

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Chilaquiles Casserole

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Our version of this enchilada-style chilaquiles casserole is packed with nutritious beans and vegetables. Canned prepared enchilada sauce has great flavor and keeps the prep time quick. It can vary in heat level so find one that suits your taste. If you want to eliminate the heat altogether, try a green enchilada sauce (which is often milder than red) or substitute two 8-ounce cans of plain tomato sauce.

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Squash & Leek Lasagna

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Grated butternut squash, pine nuts and sautéed leeks in a creamy white sauce are layered with sheets of whole-wheat pasta for this wintery variation on a vegetable lasagna. Any Parmesan cheese can be used in this casserole, but we recommend Parmigiano-Reggiano for its superior flavor.

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Chipotle Ranch Chicken Casserole

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Simplify weeknight dinnertime by transforming leftover slow-cooked chicken (see associated recipe, below) into an easy, cheesy casserole.

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Baked Tortellini

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Nutty-flavored fontina cheese gives this homey baked tortellini casserole a real taste twist and the cheesy breadcrumb topping makes it all but irresistible. You can easily double this recipe and make one for today and an extra to pop in the freezer for a heat-and-eat meal someday in the future.

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Stovetop Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

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We trimmed 9 grams of fat and almost 100 calories in this makeover of cheesy chicken-and-broccoli casserole. All the raw ingredients are layered in a skillet, then simmered for a quick weeknight dinner.

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Chili Cornbread Casserole

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Here's a fun way to serve chili and cornbread together. Don't let the ingredient list intimidate you--this casserole is easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.

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Skillet Tuna Noodle Casserole

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Known as Tuna-Pea Wiggle to some, this family-friendly tuna noodle casserole tends to be made with canned soup and whole milk, which means high fat and sodium. We remedy this by making our own creamy mushroom sauce with nonfat milk thickened with a bit of flour. Look for whole-wheat egg noodles--they have more fiber than regular egg noodles (but this dish will work well and taste great with either).

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