Basic Leftover Casserole
Submitted by Karree
Turn leftover pasta, rice, meat, and vegetables into a bubbling casserole with a quick homemade white sauce. The ultimate fridge-clearing dinner, ready in an hour.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsThis is the recipe for people who hate wasting food. Got leftover pasta? Some cooked chicken? Random vegetables from earlier this week? Throw them all in a baking dish and let a simple white sauce turn yesterday’s odds and ends into tonight’s dinner.
The sauce is a basic roux: butter, flour, and milk cooked until thick. Add cheese if you want it richer. Season however you like.
Pour it over everything, bake uncovered until bubbly and golden on top, and suddenly those sad leftovers look like a meal you planned on purpose.
Variations
- Cheese sauce version: Stir a cup of shredded cheddar, Gruyere, or whatever cheese you have into the hot white sauce until melted.
- Rice base: Swap the pasta for cooked rice. Leftover fried rice or plain steamed rice both work.
- Swap the protein: Use leftover turkey, pork, ham, ground beef, or skip the meat entirely and load up on vegetables.
Pro Tips
- Saute onions or garlic in the butter before adding flour for a more flavorful sauce base.
- Let the casserole rest 10 minutes after baking. It sets up and slices cleaner.
- Top with breadcrumbs tossed in melted butter before baking for a crunchy golden crust.
Ingredients
Directions
Take the pasta or rice, the meat, and the veggies, and dump them into a 9×9 baking dish .
Make the sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.
If you want to sauté the onions or garlic or whatever add-in you’re using, use one more tablespoon butter.
Add the flour and stir until completely mixed into a thick paste.
Add the milk and slowly bring to a boil.
Lower heat and cook just until thick.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Remove the sauce from the heat.
Add cheese if making a cheese sauce.
Stir until melted. Add desired seasonings to taste.
Pour over top of casserole mixture and stir gently until mixed well.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.
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