How can I make a casserole cook faster?

January 29, 2018 3:04 PM

I goofed and put a casserole that takes 1.5 hours in the oven 1 hour before dinner time. Is there a reliable way to speed it up a little, e.g., throw it in the microwave for 10 minutes to heat the whole thing up before putting it in the oven for an reduced cooking time?

Obviously it's a little late for this particular casserole but this isn't the first time I've made this mistake so I'm asking for the future.

posted by Tehhund to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

If you have a sufficient quantity of ramekins you can speed up cooking by using smaller container, since the edges of the ramekin are closer to the heat. Cupcakes cook more quickly than cakes.

This means that your casserole wouldn’t be as pretty as if you left it in the larger dish for cooking.

Another tip is figure out what the internal temperature is that indicates your casserole is done. Get a thermometer with a wire that you can set to alarm when the casserole reaches desired temperature. You might be surprised how quickly (or slowly) that happens.

My other tip is to augment with a ‘first course’ so that the delayed casserole doesn’t cause as big a disruption. So if you would serve a casserole with sides of broccoli and carrots, get those veggies plated and start feeding people ASAP. (I’m imagining a world worth small children on schedules, but this could also be true of dinner parties or adults with early bed times/after dinner plans). If you weren’t planning to serve the casserole with side dishes (one of casseroles best benefits is being potentially a one pot meal!), create an appetizer. Could just be olives, or chunks of cheese, or salad, or orange wedges, you don’t actually have to cook something.

I’d also probably turn up the temperature of the oven from 350 to 375, because I live on the edge.
posted by bilabial at 3:14 PM on January 29, 2018 [3 favorites]

It depends a lot on the ingredients, but you can try covering it (if it's not) and cooking at 25 degrees higher. You may need a little extra moisture if you do that.

Really, this is all driven by the longest-cooking ingredient in the casserole. If it's got dry pasta you can soak it in warm water for 20 minutes or microwave in water for about the stovetop time on the package first and it'll cut your needed cook time a lot - half or more. If all your ingredients are cooked, you just need to get it heated through. If there's a vegetable that needs to cook through and soften just microwave that until it's al dente.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:15 PM on January 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

If you're upping the heat, put aluminum foil on the top of the casserole for the last half of the cooking time. That way the top of the casserole won't get burned.
posted by Elly Vortex at 4:28 PM on January 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

What bilabial said. Cook to temperature, not to time. This way you can up the cooking temperature and monitor the the internal temp as well. Eventually you'll come up with the best temp setting vs. time.
posted by Splunge at 4:33 PM on January 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

Can you eat the corners of the dish for this meal, and let the middle cook longer, to serve as leftovers tomorrow? The corners cook faster because the heat comes at them from more sides.

Caveat: maybe don't do this if the recipe involves raw meat... probably better not to take chances with regards to how far in the "cooked" part extends.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 6:08 PM on January 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Update: I did a little experiment and it worked. I had a box of Tony Chachere's jambalaya and noticed that the microwave & oven directions were identical except the microwave took half as much time. So I put the casserole (mostly rice, water, condensed soup, and already-cooked meat) in the microwave for 10 minutes, counted that as the first 20 minutes of oven time, and then finished it in the oven. It came out just right and I saved 10 minutes. Next time I'm going to use the microwave exclusively and see how it goes
posted by Tehhund at 6:30 PM on January 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

Heating up in the microwave and finishing in the oven (if at all) is how many mid-range restaurants prepare lasagna. So you're just emulating Chef Mike.
posted by batter_my_heart at 7:50 PM on January 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

When you finish a microwaved casserole in the oven, you'll probably have the best results if you put it in uncovered, and broil it for about 5 minutes (or maybe a few mins longer, but keep an eye on it).

Broiling means concentrated heat from above, which will make the top more brown and crispy than baking (heat from below) will.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:06 PM on January 29, 2018 [3 favorites]