MAIN INGREDIENTS
Lasagne alla Bolognese is a typical dish of the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, specifically of the city of Bologna. In many Italian families, this dish was and still is the symbol of Sunday lunch and family gatherings. To prepare the lasagne alla Bolognese, you will need pasta sheets, fresh or dried, slowly cooked ragù and béchamel sauce.
The first step is to cook the ragù as it requires time; you'll need finely chopped onions, celery, carrots, minced meat (beef/veal and pork), some wine and tomato purée/paste. The second step is to make your green pasta sheets (if you're going to make them yourself); with eggs, flour, nettle or spinach and some olive oil and then to prepare the béchamel sauce; with butter, flour, milk, some nutmeg and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
TIME
- Preparation time: 2 h 30 min
- Cooking time: 30 min
- Total time: 3 h
Serve with
Escondidinho is a traditional Brazilian dish, akin to a casserole, featuring a layer of mashed cassava (or sometimes potatoes) atop a filling of meat, often dried or salted beef (carne seca or carne de sol) or shredded chicken.
The dish is then topped with cheese (traditionally coalho) and baked until golden. Its name translates to "hidden" in Portuguese, referring to the meat being hidden underneath the cassava or potato layer. Escondidinho is celebrated for its comforting, hearty flavors and is a staple in Brazilian cuisine.
TIME
- Preparation time: 50 min
- Cooking time: 3 h
- Total time: 15 h 50 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Parmigiana alla Napoletana is a casserole that features fried eggplant slices layered with marinara sauce and slices of mozzarella or fior di latte. The top of the casserole is sprinkled with a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano, making for a beautiful crust once baked.
Depending on the recipe, the eggplant slices can be fried as is or fried after being coated in flour and eggs.
TIME
- Preparation time: 30 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 1 h 20 min
Depending on the region, this classic southern Italian eggplant casserole is made with fried or grilled slices of eggplant layered with an aromatic, basil-flavored tomato sauce and one or more cheeses such as pecorino Siciliano, mozzarella, fior di latte, or even scamorza and caciocavallo Silano.
Hard-boiled eggs may also be added to the layers, and the final casserole is given a generous topping of grated cheese before being put to bake. Contrary to popular belief, parmigiana originally had nothing to do with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, even though it is nowadays used in many recipes as it makes for an extra crunchy top crust.
TIME
- Preparation time: 30 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 1 h 20 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Quick and simple to make, the tartiflette is a perfect winter dish which requires a single specific ingredient — reblochon cheese, produced in Savoie region in Eastern France. The first step is to prepare the potatoes: they can either be cooked in their skin or peeled and fried with onions and bacon in a skillet.
The mixture is then braised with white wine and placed in a baking pan with Reblochon cheese. Half the amount of the cheese goes in the mixture, and the other half covers the top following the French gratin technique, which allows the cheese to melt over the top during baking.
TIME
- Preparation time: 25 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 45 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Causa rellena traditionally consisted only of mashed potatoes infused with lime juice, oil, and aji amarillo paste—a Peruvian yellow chili paste that gives the dish its distinctive yellow color and spicy flavor. However, a classic causa rellena these days will have layers of said seasoned mashed potatoes and a filling in the center.
Common fillings include tuna salad, chicken salad, or seafood mixed with mayonnaise, finely chopped vegetables (like onions), and sometimes avocado, boiled eggs, and olives. Causa Rellena is served cold, making it a refreshing appetizer or side dish, especially during warmer months.
TIME
- Preparation time: 40 min
- Cooking time: 40 min
- Total time: 2 h 20 min
Giouvetsi is a hearty and comforting Greek dish that features slow-cooked meat, typically lamb, beef, or chicken (even seafood), baked with orzo pasta or hilopites in a rich and flavorful tomato-based sauce. The dish often includes onions and carrots, is seasoned with garlic, wine, and bay leaves, and can include spices like cinnamon or allspice to add a warm depth of flavor.
Giouvetsi is baked in the oven until the pasta absorbs the sauce and the meat becomes tender and succulent. It's commonly served straight from the oven in the same dish it was cooked in, often garnished with grated cheese, such as kefalotyri or feta, adding a salty, tangy counterpoint to the savory flavors of the meat and sauce.
TIME
- Preparation time: 20 min
- Cooking time: 2 h
- Total time: 2 h 20 min
Although it is regularly associated with Greek cuisine, moussaka is one of those dishes with an unclear origin — it is deeply loved and appreciated through the entire Greece, Turkey, Levant, Balkans and the Middle East. It is served as a main course and consists of layers of aubergine (eggplant) and ground or minced lamb meat in a form of a casserole, covered in thick and creamy béchamel sauce and baked until golden.
This kind of preparation is characteristic for Greece, although on some Greek islands, such as Crete and Rhodes, zucchini and potatoes might be added to the aubergine. In the Balkans, moussaka is prepared in Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia: potatoes are used instead of eggplant, and minced lamb meat is replaced with ground beef or pork.
TIME
- Preparation time: 15 min
- Cooking time: 1 h 15 min
- Total time: 1 h 30 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
This South African casserole is made with either beef or lamb and is typically seasoned only with turmeric and curry; however, various recipes call for an array of spices, such as allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Milk-soaked bread is added principally to provide moisture, although nowadays, pork is often added to the meat mixture for extra moisture and flavor.
The recipe gets its sweetness from dried fruits and nuts, such as raisins, sultanas, almonds, and walnuts, as well as apples and dried apricots. Onions are first sautéed and then added to the remaining ingredients and baked. Some chefs choose to also sauté the meat together with the onions — in this case, the final baking time is shorter.
TIME
- Preparation time: 35 min
- Cooking time: 40 min
- Total time: 1 h 25 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
The recipe is courtesy of the Italian Academy of Cuisine. The thing that sets the Pugliese parmigiana apart is that the eggplant slices are coated in eggs and flour and then fried. Besides eggplant, the Pugliese parmigiana has tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmigiano-Reggiano as the main ingredients, as stated in this recipe.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 16 Casserole Recipes” list until April 20, 2025, 9,790 ratings were recorded, of which 5,342 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.