8 Lazy Dump and Bake Dinners for Busy Weeknights

Some nights I want a hot dinner and I don’t want to stand at the stove for one minute of it.

That’s what a casserole dish is for.

I’ll admit my definition of dump and bake is a little generous, so I’ve marked the few that need one quick step before they go in the oven.

The rest really are open, pour, stir and walk away.

1. Lazy Ravioli Lasagna

Frozen cheese ravioli replace the noodles here, so there’s nothing to boil.

They’re layered with marinara, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan, plus Italian sausage cooked with onion and garlic.

That sausage is the one stovetop step, and you can skip it completely by using a jar of meat sauce.

About an hour and fifteen minutes total, mostly oven time, for six servings.

Let it rest ten minutes before cutting or the layers slide apart.

2. Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole

Frozen meatballs, dry pasta, a jar of marinara and two cups of water go into one dish, and the pasta cooks in the sauce while it bakes.

Mozzarella melts over the top.

It’s ten minutes of work and a little over an hour in the oven, and it feeds six.

Stir everything well before it goes in so no dry pasta pokes out above the liquid, or those pieces stay hard.

A pinch of red pepper flakes in the sauce is optional and very good.

3. Pizza Pasta Bake

Pizza pasta is what you make when half the family wants pizza and the other half wants pasta.

Pasta gets tossed in a quick tomato sauce with garlic and marjoram, then topped with mozzarella and pepperoni or salami and baked until the cheese bubbles.

This one needs the pasta boiled first, and the sauce comes together while the water heats.

About thirty-five minutes, four servings.

Pull the pasta a couple of minutes early, since it keeps cooking in the oven.

4. Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Enchiladas without the rolling, layered like a lasagna with flour tortillas.

Shredded chicken, refried beans, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, jalapeño and onion go between the tortillas, with cheddar and Monterey Jack on every layer.

The recipe cooks the chicken first, but shredded rotisserie chicken turns it into a pure assembly job.

About forty-five minutes, six servings.

Top each square with sour cream and green onion.

5. Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Buffalo chicken dip, but as dinner.

Penne gets mixed with shredded cooked chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce and plenty of shredded cheese, then baked until bubbly.

The pasta needs boiling first, and the recipe is written for leftover or rotisserie chicken, so that’s the only step.

Thirty-five minutes total for eight servings.

Use Frank’s RedHot or a similar cayenne sauce, and start with less if kids are eating it.

6. French Onion Chicken and Rice

This is the truest dump and bake on the list, with five minutes of prep and no precooking at all.

Uncooked white rice, cream of chicken soup, water and a packet of onion soup mix get stirred together in the baking dish with raw chicken tenderloins.

Gruyère melts over the top, which is where the French onion part comes in.

It bakes for about eighty minutes and serves six.

Keep it tightly covered with foil, because the rice cooks in the steam and won’t soften if the steam escapes.

7. Tater Tot Casserole

This version sneaks cottage cheese and sour cream into the filling, which makes it creamier and adds protein.

Ground beef with onion and garlic gets mixed with green beans, corn, a can of condensed soup and Worcestershire, then topped with cheddar and frozen tater tots.

Browning the beef is the one stovetop step.

About an hour, eight servings.

Line the tots up in neat rows with a little space between them so they crisp all the way around.

8. Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Four ingredients, and one of them is leftover chicken.

Cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, prepared stuffing and cheddar get layered in one dish and baked until bubbly.

Ten minutes of prep and forty minutes total, six servings.

A rotisserie chicken works well here, and so does leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

The stuffing crisps on top and stays soft where it meets the filling, so you get both textures in every scoop.

Tips for Dump and Bake Dinners

Uncooked pasta and rice need enough liquid to cook in, so don’t cut back the water or broth a recipe calls for.

Cover the dish tightly with foil for the first part of baking to trap steam, then uncover it so the top can brown.

Glass dishes heat more slowly than metal ones, so add a few minutes if that’s what you use.

Let any casserole rest for ten minutes before serving, because it firms up and cuts cleanly.

Notes on Making Them Ahead

The casseroles made with already cooked pasta can be assembled the night before and kept covered in the fridge.

Add ten to fifteen minutes to the baking time when the dish goes into the oven cold.

Don’t assemble the uncooked rice or pasta versions ahead, since the starch soaks up the liquid overnight and bakes up gummy.

Leftovers keep three to four days and reheat well, covered, in the oven or microwave.