Amish Casserole

Casserole recipes from the Amish and PA Dutch

There are few foods as filling and comforting as a good warm casserole.  They’re also great dishes for culinary experimentation–tweak a recipe by adding your own ingredients to the mix. Hearty Amish breakfast casseroles, vegetarian casseroles and even seafood casseroles are among the Pennsylvania German and Amish casserole recipes you’ll find below.

Casserole Dishes

 
 
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AMISH BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

• 1 pound of sausage
• 6 slices of bread
• 1/4 cup of melted margarine or butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 cups of half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook sausage, then drain well.  Place melted butter into a baking pan (size 13 x 9 inches).  Cut bread into small squares (you can leave crusts on or remove them if you prefer).  Spread bread squares over butter in pan, and then spread the sausage over the bread.  Cover bread and sausage with shredded cheddar.  Beat the eggs, mustard, salt, and half-and-half together.  Pour over the ingredients you placed in the baking pan.  Chill for 8 hours, then bake for 40-50 min at 350 degrees. (adapted from Treasured Amish and Mennonite Recipes: 600 Delicious, Down-to-Earth Recipes from Authentic Country Kitchens, by Mennonite Central Committee).

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AMISH HAMBURGER CASSEROLE

• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 1 8 oz. package coooked fine noodles
• 1 c. chopped onions
• 2 10 oz. cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 10 oz. can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 pt. peas
• buttered bread crumbs

Fry onions in a pan in oil.  Add hamburger meat and stir.  When meat and onions are heated up, add in cooked noodles and peas.  Then add all 3 cans of soup.  Next top with buttered bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for half an hour.  Top with cheese, and then bake another 30 minutes.  (Edna Mae Schmucker, adapted from Amish-Country Cookbook, Vol. 1, 2nd edition, by Sue Miller and Bob Miller)

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LIMA BEAN CASSEROLE

• 1 lb- large lima beans
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 2 quarts of cold water
• 1 tbsp. of powdered mustard
• a pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 4 slices of bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup of molasses
• chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup of sour cream

Soak lima beans overnight in a large kettle in cold water.  The following day, add a pinch of baking soda to the beans and bring them to a boil.  Skim off the foam.  Lower the heat and partially cover, then cook lima beans over low heat for 30-45 min (or until beans become tender).  Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Drain beans, and place them in an oiled flat glass baking dish (2-quart capacity).  Using the same kettle you used for the beans, melt butter.  Add molasses and brown sugar to melted butter.  Cook for about 2 min over low heat (until sugar dissolves).  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Stir in sour cream, mustard, onion, pepper, and salt.  Pour this sauce over the lima beans; mix lightly.  Next place the 1-inch bacon pieces on top of the casserole.  Cover casserole and bake for 75-90 minutes (take the cover off after 30 minutes).  The beans should not be cooked too long (there should be a small amount of sauce, but not be too runny).  Garnish lima bean casserole using the chopped parsley. (adapted from Cooking from Quilt Country: Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens, by Marcia Adams and Alexandra Avakian)

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AMISH TUNA CASSEROLE

• 2 c. macaroni
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 4 tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 3/4 cup of cheese

Add macaroni to 2 quarts of water, along with 2 tbsp. salt.  Stir.  Cook for 8 min and then drain.  Do not rinse noodles. Next add 4 tbsp. of margarine or butter plus 1/4 cup of milk.  Add cheese.  Pour into a casserole dish, and blend in the following ingredients:

• 1 6-ounce can of tuna
• 1 cup cooked peas
• 2 tbsp. finely-chopped onions

Bake casserole for 20 min. in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (or until well-heated). Optionally, you may add a diced pepper to the casserole, or extra peas and onions.  (Lizzie Ann Bontrager, adapted from Amish-Country Cookbook, Vol. 1, by Sue Miller and Bob Miller)

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ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup Bisquick (I use Bisquick Three Cheese biscuits in the envelope)
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced]4 eggs
• Dash black pepper

Mix and port into a greased casserole bowl or square brownie pan and bake at 350 F. for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Great for breakfast! (adapted from Valerie’s Views, The Vendor, August 10, 2010)

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SQUASH CASSEROLE

• 6 cups squash (cubed)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 8-ounce package of herbed stuffing mix

Cover onion and squash in water, and cook for 5 min, then drain.  Mix the carrots, soup, and sour cream in a separate bowl.  Fold gently into the onion-squash mixture.  In a separate bowl stir the stuffing and butter together, then spoon half of the stuffing into a baking dish (size 12 x 7-inch).  Spread the squash mix over the stuffing.   Add another layer using the remaining stuffing over the squash.  Bake for half an hour at 350 degrees.  (adapted from The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook: Plainly Delicious Recipes from the Simple Life, by Georgia Varozza).

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 EGGPLANT CASSEROLE

• 2 peeled eggplants
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium green pepper
• 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup broken Saltine crackers
• 4 tbsp melted butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper (coarsely-ground)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop or slice pepper, onion, and eggplant.  Put vegetables in a saucepan (3-qt) with water and salt.  Cover; cook over medium heat until eggplant is clear (approx. 5 min).  Drain well. Butter a baking dish or pan (2 quart capacity) well.  Layer the vegetables, crackers and cheese in the dish or pan.  Sprinkle with the black pepper.  Drip melted butter on top, then bake for half an hour (until eggplant casserole is golden brown).  Serves: 6 to 8.  (adapted from Classic Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking: 300 Classic Homemade Hand-Me-Down Favorites by Betty Groff).

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HAM & NOODLE CASSEROLE

• 2 ½ cups diced ham
• 8 ounces egg noodles (cooked and drained)
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/3 cup diced green pepper
• 2 tablespoons diced yellow onion
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can cream of celery soup

Lightly mix ingredients until they are well-blended. Put in a 2 quart greased casserole dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top, if desired. Bake at 375 degree for 30 minutes. (adapted from Cooking & Such magazine, Winter 2011-2012)

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EASY HAM & NOODLE CASSEROLE

• ½ lb. noodles
• 1½ cups cooked ham, diced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1½ cups milk

Cook noodles in salted boiling water until soft. Pour into colander, drain and wash. Into a well greased casserole put alternate layers of noodles and ham. Beat eggs with the milk and pour over noodles and ham. Set casserole in pan of hot water and bake in moderate oven (350-f) for 30 minutes.

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OYSTER NOODLE CASSEROLE

• 1 pint oysters, drained
• 8-ounce pkg. thin egg noodles (cooked & drained)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp minced onions
• 1 tbsp green pepper (finely minced)
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. celery salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp hot red pepper sauce
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add minced pepper and onion, and saute until the onion takes on a golden color.  Whisk in the flour.  Allow mixture to bubble up in the center of the pan. Add milk and whisk until smooth.  Then cook until mixture thickens.  Stir in hot pepper sauce, nutmeg, celery salt, parsley, and black pepper.  Remove from the heat.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a souffle dish (2 quart capacity).  Add half the noodles to the dish.  Next add the oysters, followed by the rest of the noodles.  Pour sauce over everything.  Use a fork or other utensil to make sure sauce drips through to all layers.
To make the topping, you’ll need:

• paprika
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• about 25 round rye crackers (crush to equal 1 cup)

Mix together butter and crackers in a bowl.  Sprinkle this on top of the casserole.  Dust with paprika.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min (until the top is browned and bubbly-looking).  Remove, cover with foil or a towel.  Let it sit for 10 min before serving.  (adapted from New Recipes from Quilt Country: More Food & Folkways from the Amish and Mennonites, by Marcia Adams).

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Zucchini Hamburger Casserole: Lynn Gardner/flickr
Unless otherwise noted, recipes adapted from Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking.

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