15 Make-Ahead Casserole Recipes for Easy Weeknight Dinners

We're starting fast here with this inspired recipe—it's casserole-like but super fast to put together thanks to the precooked polenta and quick-cooking chicken cutlets. It's also a super comforting dinner.

This egg casserole with spinach and potatoes is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian. Fontina cheese, nutmeg, and thyme give it a nice, robust flavor.

Here's a riff on a Swiss Rösti, where potatoes are fried and then baked. In this casserole version, you add broccoli, eggs, and a mixture of cheddar, Dijon, yogurt, and scallions. It tastes like a loaded baked potato (complete with crumbled bacon on top!) and has the crispness of hash browns.

While this shortcut baked pasta can be prepped ahead and baked when you need it, thanks to using store-bought marinara sauce and a clever sub of ricotta and heavy cream for the usual béchamel, you can also assemble it in 30 minutes and bake it in just 30 more.

A strata is one of the easiest, most reliable brunch dishes you can make, and typically consists of bread, eggs, and cheese. Here, rye bread, smoked salmon and havarti star alongside classic bagel garnishes like capers, red onion, and lemon for a bagels-and-lox-inspired meal.

Consider this an upgraded version of basic pork and beans, with deep flavor thanks to red wine and thyme. You can make it in two medium-sized shallow baking dishes or eight ramekins, so everyone gets their own individual portion.

Quick-cooking polenta provides heft to this casserole (it's also a busy cook's dream, a classic shortcut ingredient that doesn't taste like it). It forms the base layer of this delicious casserole, which also includes leek, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and Gruyère, a cheese that always melts beautifully

Spicy pork sausage (though you could certainly swap in sweet) and hearty kale come together with creamy cheese for a crowd-pleasing meal you can make hours, days, or even weeks ahead of time if you freeze it.

This Monterey Jack-topped casserole is made with green chiles from New Mexico's Hatch Valley, along the Rio Grande. They're earthy and buttery-tasting, but if you can't find them, Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers can work, too.

Chicken, mushrooms, and pasta unite for a delicious and easy freezer-friendly dinner. You make it using a rotisserie chicken, with the skin removed and meat shredded, which cuts down significantly on your prep time.

To create this Tex-Mex-inspired casserole, you combine sautéed mushrooms, cooked black beans, and store-bought salsa with corn tortillas. Margaritas are optional, but highly recommended.

The supermarket staple of rotisserie chicken strikes again in this comforting casserole. You combine the shredded chicken with sautéed spinach in a cream sauce, pour into a baking dish, and top with torn bread.

To prepare this classic ahead of time, make a thick, creamy, and brothy sauce, then toss with cooked elbow pasta, canned tuna, and peas. Transfer it to a baking dish and top with a panko-Parmesan mixture; all that's left to do is pop it in the oven whenever you're ready for a warming, hearty meal.

Making beef tacos ahead of time might be tricky, yet the casserole version is completely doable. Just cook the meat, vegetables, and beans, and when it's dinnertime, top with a mixture of tortilla chips and cheese and bake. Serve with sliced radishes, jalapeños, olives, sour cream, and cilantro.