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Grandma's Best Casserole
(69 Votes)
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- SERVES
- 8
- COOK TIME
- 35 Min
One of our Test Kitchen team members always raves about how much she loved going to her grandmother's house for Sunday dinner. One of her favorite side dishes was always a creamy veggie and pasta casserole. So, inspired by this memory-making dish, we came up with this recipe for Grandma’s Best Casserole.
What You'll Need:
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 (8-ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 (10-3/4-ounce) cans condensed cheese soup
- 8 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled
What To Do:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain, return to pot, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter; sauté onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms 6 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Add vegetable mixture and remaining ingredients to spaghetti; mix well.
- Place mixture in prepared casserole dish, cover, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.
Notes
- Casseroles are a favorite around here, both for their easiness and their comfort. Our Test Kitchen has a lot of great recipes for casseroles, so we're sharing some of our favorites: Amish Country Casserole and Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, but check out our website for lots more!
- If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out Easy Pasta Bake Recipes: 24 Ultimate Pasta Casseroles. Plus, we bet you'll also love Classic Old-Fashioned Recipes: 42 Old-Fashioned Dinner Recipes, Dessert Recipes, and More.
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reimerosa 9915225
Dec 18, 2017
This sounds really good, but my husband doesn't eat cheese! Would cream of chicken or cream of mushroom work? I might make it just for me with cheese ).
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Test Kitchen Team
Dec 19, 2017
Cream of chicken or mushroom will definitely work! Enjoy! :)
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sweetrose46 2500098
Feb 13, 2016
I am so surprised at how grumpy every one is. Kindness will spread like wild fire when used!!! The Mister Food staff work very hard to bring us all kinds of different types of recipes, not all of them are going to be liked by all of us. When I find a recipe I don't care for I go to another one. All the recipes I have tried have been good. Some of them I go by the recipe, some of them I change to my taste. As for this recipe I am going to try it leaving the bacon out as I don't eat pork, I will replace it with something else and I am sure it will be very good.
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littlemac
Sep 17, 2015
We loved it. Tweeked it by adding garlic to the saut, a can of mild Rotel tomatoes, drained, and salt and pepper. Didn't have the soup so used a can of meal Starter Cheese sauce
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conniekillgrove 5365590
Sep 12, 2015
If I do decide to make this again I would use fresh garlic and top with Cheddar cheese and saute tomatoes. It needs someting, maybe that would work or try making with chicken instead of bacon. I agree not much flavor. Could use salt and pepper.
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erin 4481385
Sep 12, 2015
I chose to try this recipe because of the cheese soup--sounded interesting to me. Good choice! I used rotini instead of the spaghetti (made sure not to overcook it) and added extra veggies since I had them in my garden (kids will eat any vegetable if cheese is involved). I put the pasta into my crockpot instead of the oven to keep it hot so it was ready to eat before all of the kids evening activities. Thanks Mr. Food!
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mteddybp 2474876
Sep 10, 2015
I don't like to complain but the picture on the recipe is not a full picture like always. I know it's not my printer so it has to be something wrong on your end. Grandmas' recipe all that printed of the picture was the casserole dish...
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db2429
Jan 26, 2015
How much sodium is in this per serving please?
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shorannecuddeford 2994109
Jun 23, 2014
How many calories in this dish per serving please
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cabriola 1248759
Jun 23, 2014
This was great. I have never used the cheddar soup in cooking but this was a great addition.
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larrylike 9779057
Nov 23, 2013
I made something like this only I mixed in a jar of pizza sauce then toped it with mozzarella cheese. Great stuff! didn't use chicken broth.
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Member 2983866
Nov 10, 2013
I totally agree with "cooking rite". doesn't all that chicken broth make the pre-cooked spaghetti mushy????
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gjh
Sep 19, 2013
sounds delicious....I think it would also make a great side dish....
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gremlin258 6010779
Sep 16, 2013
I made this yesterday, even cutting the recipe in half made a lot for the three of us. I added cooked carrots and cauliflower and left out the bell pepper, but it cooked perfectly and hubby loved it! Also added a bit more cheddar cheese to the top right before removing from oven. An easy, good tasting dish I'll be making again.
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JANETLH2008 1530323
Sep 16, 2013
Is the cheese soup added in as is, or as mixed according to the back of the soup can?
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Test Kitchen Team
Sep 16, 2013
For this recipe, you add the soup as-is, do not prepare it according to the directions on the can. Thank you!
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cooking rite
Sep 15, 2013
This seems like a lot of liquid for pre-cooked spaghetti, yet the photo doesn't look saucy. Is that much actually absorbed during baking?
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whosyournana 9622226
May 27, 2014
spaghetti will soak up more liquid as it bakes in oven.
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lynnlizardbutt 9298642
Sep 15, 2013
I didn't care much for this recipe. I thought it lacked flavor in my opinion. I love most all of the recipes on this site though
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larrylike 9779057
Sep 14, 2013
It sounds alot like baked spahgetti except for the meat. Sounds good May try it.
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iwarner 8289863
Sep 14, 2013
I agree! This is a friendly site. If a mistake was made in the title of a recipe or the recipe itself, then it can be handled politely. Mr. Food was a great man & we all loved his contributions to make our cooking a little better, a little easier. We owe it to him to at be polite & respectful on his site. We should be able to ask questions without coming across as obnoxious. I didn't know they were working on getting the nutritional values vk31mk, that's good to know. I can see how that would be helpful to people who are on special diets or diabetics. To the Mr. Food Staff: I would like to thank you for continuing Mr. Food's tradition & sending us recipes ongoing. I know this is quite a bit of work for you, but most of us appreciate you very much! Have a blessed day!!
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jsm42 2250298
Jun 07, 2014
I could not have said this any better myself. Thank you for your polite review. Some people are so picky about everything.
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orphie31 8892100
Aug 10, 2015
I agree , it is a great site for recipes ,don't be so knit-pikky, after all it is free so just enjoy!!
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pm49 3186042
May 04, 2013
I made this for my adult sisters. They loved it. We sat around after dinner thinking of different things to add, like Italian sausage, polish sausage, chicken, broccoli, cilantro, black olives, grape tomatoes, or squash. Add one or more of these to original recipe to change it up. We added Italian bread sliced and butter on the side to complete the meal.
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sharonmurray 1934097
Mar 15, 2013
This was simply delicious!!! Can't wait to make it again, which will be very soon.
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ellaruth
Feb 17, 2013
Please reread this recipe. It does not call for chicken....
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magnoliasouth
Feb 23, 2013
I think originally the title said chicken, but has since been fixed.
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ilion54 6922911
Feb 16, 2013
where's the chicken
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NoNoNannette
May 04, 2013
Please reread this recipe. It does not call for chicken, just chicken BROTH
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koehnb1 9680092
Feb 16, 2013
Where is the chicken that is supposed to go in this casserole? How much? I'm planning to use turkey!
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grannyblu
Feb 17, 2013
There is No chicken in this recipe where does it say chicken??? It plainly states a veggie and pasta casserole You are confusng this recipe with the chicken casserole
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NoNoNannette
May 04, 2013
Please reread this recipe. It does not call for chicken, just chicken BROTH
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Retta Jo
Feb 16, 2013
Is there any way that the nutritional value of the recipes can be included for us Weight Watchers...Fat, Carbs, Fiber and Protein content....would be very helpful...
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koehnb1 9680092
Feb 16, 2013
I think that is an excellent idea! It is always a good idea to include that in recipes submitted! Oh, and for those who oppose the idea, what seems to be the problem??? Your responses were very snippy-
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grannyblu
Feb 17, 2013
IN order to post any comment or reply about any of these recipes you MUST FIRST sign up and join,of course this is after you have reviewed the recipes & this website to see if you liked this website well enough to join.. so you knew right from the start there are no nutritional values. so why did you join???. We like things just as they are MR Food's website is for easy fast and tasty dishes the whole family will enjoy and actually eat.. If you must have nutritional values on all your recipes go to lightand tasty.com
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vk31mk 8935178
Jun 21, 2013
I found on MR Food's website a video about the new show's Episode 1 answering viewers questions. The first one addressed is nutritional values for their recipes. They are working on this issue and will soon have this available on the website. They have a lot of recipes to evaluate, so be patient. You can view the video at http://www.mrfood.com/Kitchen-Basics/Q-and-A-with-the-Test-Kitchen-Episode-1 To "grannyblu": If you can't be polite in your reply, then don't reply. No one wants to read "snippy" replies. This is a recipe site. Try to be helpful to people who aren't as experienced with recipes.
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faneftj 7128568
Jan 27, 2013
What can I use instead of mushrooms? Many recipes call for them and I cannot eat them.
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jnewman 6364969
Jan 29, 2013
I use black olives instead of mushrooms.
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Dawn 5077626
Jan 22, 2013
This is an extremely versatile recipe, like so many other on this site. I bet you could use Ramen noodles in this just as effectively, change up the soup flavor, meat, add vege's... be creative!
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dak72560 9091413
Jan 21, 2013
I don't think I'm lookin' at the same recipe, "cubed chicken"? I've looked at the recipe several times and I cannot find any cubed chicken. The recipe I'm looking at for Grandma's Casserole has chicken broth but I didn't see chicken but the one above does call for 8 oz. of bacon. I think cubed chicken would be a good addition. Even though I was a rather recent fan of Mr. Food, I never saw any indication that he was a vegetarian. Surely you jest.
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Bets Kitchen
Nov 26, 2012
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I thought for sure, since our Beloved Mr. Food has bassed (may he R.I.P.) that people would STOP complaining about the recipes !!!!! If you don't like them, don't use this site !!!!!!! Anyone with comman sence, can know you can tweek them with whatever you want. Be Nice Or Keep Your Comments To Yourself !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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dlita13 5413221
Dec 17, 2012
AGREED! AND my pet peeve - those to whom the nutritional values are "so important" yet they won't learn to figure out the values for themselves - or better yet, go to a site where the extra info is "spoon fed" to them!
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riley123
Oct 20, 2012
I made this yesterday for dinner and it was delicious. I definitely will be making this again. In regards to the cheese soup, I'm not a fan but when I try a recipe for the first time I do stick with the original ingredients. With the chicken broth, buttery veggies and everything else, I honestly couldn't tell that cheese soup had been used. This dish really has great flavor.
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dkitchen
Sep 24, 2012
Very good casserole. My only comment is to mix together the broth and soup before adding to the pasta. This will make it easier to combine all the ingredients.
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motrailrider 0805832
Sep 16, 2012
I made this today. I added black beans, tomato, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli because we love all our veggies. I used a can of cream of ckn soup, the chicken broth but left out the cheese soup. I will toss it in Alfredo when it is done baking. Also, I baked the chicken in strips with Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Everything else was the same as the above recipe - it is a keeper!
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tetrevm 9269131
Sep 11, 2012
in the video where's the chicken?
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Jimbo Knows
Sep 24, 2012
Mr Food is a vegetarian so he left the chicken out.
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jkajihiro 8297124
Oct 16, 2012
That's what I said! He totally left out the chicken...
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ChristinesPantry 6681386
Jan 21, 2013
Chicken is not listed in the ingredients list, that's probably why you did see chicken in the video.
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bonniehoffman 8194574
Sep 10, 2012
Looks like everyone has had a BAD DAY!
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curious1
Mar 26, 2015
Very bad from the looks of some of these comments. Jeese
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bakerbabe3
Sep 09, 2012
I tried this recipe last night. After reading all of the ratings, I made a few changes. Instead of the cheese soup, I used cr. of chix. with herbs. Since I had a lot of sharp cheddar cheese in my freezer, I used that also. There is only 2 of us, so I halved the recipe. Thanks for the ratings about the ch. soup of which I did not have. My husband and I both loved it. I will make it again,ake 1/4th the recipe as we had enough for at least 2 more meals each. Has anyone tried to freeze this yet? I would love to try it if it is possible.
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dsrg725 1328830
Sep 09, 2012
It amazes me the comments left on posts for recipes. Good Grief People.... A recipe is only a guide line.... change it up, put in what you like, take out what you dont, make the recipe yours! Quit complaining because it has cheese soup in it....
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pwesleyrp 5805366
Feb 16, 2013
I agree, so many alternatives to canned cheese soup, ie white sauce with any kind of cheese added, or mushroom sauce with cheese added Just use you imagination, it is so easy.
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maper33 0838212
Sep 09, 2012
good night, if you dont want cheese then dont use it. Nobody said you have too.
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nascarhunter185 9985460
Sep 08, 2012
wow..so many negatives..does anyone have good things to say..it's the recipe Mr. Food gave..guess what..it's "great" with the can of cheese soup !!! Thanks Mr. Food
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terrifizer 0406580
Sep 08, 2012
Condensed cheese soup snobs? I'll bet you've raved over an old timey dish at a pot luck with that particular ingredient! Sometimes a touch of cheese is called for, you can add more if you wish, but too many things have become cheese dishes in my opinion. I have a man particularly fond of rice and will try this version with cooked rice and mixed veggies with no mushrooms....sounds good to me.
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chargeog 5197955
Sep 08, 2012
can any of you cook
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pwesleyrp 5805366
Feb 16, 2013
My thoughts exactly, so many great recipes, if you don't like some ingredients, then change them. Use your cooking talents and imagination. My friends love it when I say that I am bringing a new experimental Mr Food recipe to lunch. Sometimes I tweek the recipe to fit my tastes and tastes of my guests. I always get requests for recipe
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grannybklein 3928231
Sep 07, 2012
I agree with the cheese soup. I think you should be able to substitute mushroom soup and grated cheddar cheese. As to how big is a pound--look at the box to see how much is inside. One pound is 16 ounces. A liquid measure , I was told, is "A pint's a pound the world around." I don't think that applies to dry measures. Granny B. Klein 392 8231
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ddeason 7021483
Sep 07, 2012
This recipe is so similar to my Chicken Spagetti recipe I always make. The only difference is the condensed cheese soup which I think is awful. Make this recipe using about two cups of shredded cheddar cheese and use cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup.
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debhemm
Sep 08, 2012
Hi DDeason7021483, could you please post your recipe for the chicken spaghetti, sounds great, would love to try it, thanks, have a good day
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beachsquirrel 8716971
Sep 07, 2012
This recipe sounded pretty good until I got to the condensed cheese soup. I'll pass on this one.
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faith 2001028
Sep 07, 2012
same here. could we use freshly melted cheese or something?
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rayma2000 1750998
Sep 07, 2012
can you freeze this casserole?
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JudyTrudy
Sep 08, 2012
you can if you want to.... I'm not making it so I won't be freezing it.
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margek 0324960
Sep 07, 2012
Your page is EXTREMELY difficult to get to.
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JudyTrudy
Sep 08, 2012
I click the links in the newsletter and it takes me right where I want to go. Does your computer have a bug?
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shirleyanderson 4393331
Sep 07, 2012
I wish you would say the number of cups of cubed chicken instead of the number of pounds. How many cups would be 1.5 pounds?
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bakerbabe3
Sep 09, 2012
I used a food scale with saran on top of it before I put the raw chicken on it. also weighed the spag. this way.
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pwesleyrp 5805366
Feb 16, 2013
doesn't matter, just put in whatever you want - more is better!
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