Our Favorite Casserole, Gluten & Dairy Free

When Hubby said he needed to go dairy free there was one recipe I immediately thought about and worried over how I'd still be able to make it. Afterall it is referred to as the favorite casserole in the house and whenever I ask my boy what he wants for dinner this is it. I make sure I only ask that question when I'm planning to make it.




It took me a few tries to get it as close in taste as it's dairy version, the last version was way too tangy and my boy was not happy. With some tweaks I made it again last night and the boy cleaned his plate, I took that as a thumbs up on getting it correct. So here it is, our favorite caserole gluten and dairy free.


Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner


1 pkg GF & DF Mac & "Cheese"*
1/2 to 1 lb ground beef or buffalo
1/2 C chopped onion
2 C frozen corn
2/3 C ketchup
1/4 C water
1/4 t garlic powder
1 C shredded dairy free cheddar cheese**

Prepare the mac & cheese as directed on the package. In a large skillet brown the meat, onion, and garlic powder then stir in the corn, ketchup, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes or until the corn the crisp tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheese. Add the mac & cheese to the meat mixture and mix well, cook another couple minutes or until it's heated through.

*The best GF/DF mac & cheese (according to my tastes) is Namaste Foods Say Cheez. It has a bit of a tang to it so I've omitted the mustard from this version of the casserole. You can find it at Rosauer's and Oak Street.

**I haven't been too impressed with the dairy free cheese I've found in the area, I hate that it doesn't melt. I used Daiya vegan "cheese" for this recipe and it's fantastic, I'm so thankful to all the bloggers out there that have raved about it. The Daiya cheese melts wonderfully (with quesadilla's, pizza, etc) and I'm glad I ordered it. Yup I had to order it. I can't find it in our area and Daiya's store locater states it's only sold at ZPizza in Billings for the state of Montana. I did order in bulk through Vegan Essentials and it wasn't cheap but it was worth the money. I froze it in 2 C bags and I don't have to use a lot in the recipes to get the cheesiness I want. It reminds both Hubby and I of nacho cheese with the flavor, yum!

Turkey Potato Casserole

I like turkey leftovers for the casserole options out there, I'm not a huge fan of turkey sandwiches though. I've pulled apart my leftover turkey and froze it in 2 cup bags; it makes it easy to pop out of the freezer for a delicious casserole. This one is Hubby's favorite and it's simple to throw together if you have leftover mashed potatoes. Instant potatoes will also work for the topping.

There are a few GF canned mushroom soups out there, some of them cause me to react digestively to the preservatives in them but the Walnut Acres soup didn't give me any problems. The only place I've seen this is Oak Street Natural Market, I haven't really looked for it anywhere else. It's not as thick as some of the other GF cream of mushroom soups so try the different brands and see which one you like best. I know Healthy Valley makes a GF soup and you can find it at most grocery stores.

Turkey Potato Casserole
Adapted from All Recipes


2 C cooked turkey, shredded
1 onion, chopped
2 cans green beans, drained
1 can GF cream of mushroom soup
16 oz cheddar cheese, shredded - use Daiya for a DF option
4 C prepared mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a 9x13 baking dish layer the turkey evenly on the bottom. Top with the onion and green beans. Pour the soup over the beans and sprinkle 4 oz cheese on top. Mix together the mashed potatoes and 8 oz of cheese then spread over the casserole and seal the edges.

Bake for 40 minutes or until heated through. Top with the remaining 4 oz of cheese and bake until it's melted.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

I’m on a Brussels sprouts roll, well I just needed to use up the second half of my bag. The other weekend my IL’s were visiting and we had a roast so I decided to make Brussels sprouts for a side, there were already potatoes, carrots, etc with the roast so if someone didn’t want to try them they still had vegetable options. This was a really easy dish to throw together and I made it ahead of time and put it in the fridge until I was ready to bake it. The dish wasn’t bitter at all (I think boiling them helped with this) and had a nice flavor. My FIL said he hasn’t had Brussels sprouts since he was 6 and he really liked them, even told my MIL that he’d eat them if she made them like that. Hubby ate his standard 1 and the kids swapped rolls on me. My boy ate all of his and asked what they were saying he liked them but my girl wouldn’t touch hers. I just can’t win but I won’t give up!

Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Adapted from All Recipes

1 pound Brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed and cut in half
3 slices bacon
Salt & pepper to taste
½ C heavy cream
¼ C shredded cheddar cheese
¼ C GF bread crumbs
¼ C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F and lightly grease an 11”x7” baking dish, or just use a 2 quart dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the Brussels sprouts. Cook uncovered until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain. Immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold then drain well.

While the sprouts are boiling fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp then break into small pieces. Add the sprouts to the bacon grease and season with pepper while tossing to evenly coat. Put the sprouts in the baking dish and pour the cream evenly over them (I did add a little bit more cream than it called for). Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top then top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 25 minutes, top with bacon crumbs and serve.

Turkey Tetrazzini

It's time for a recipe.

Here’s another casserole and this one is a favorite of mine. It’s great for leftover turkey but also really good with leftover chicken. I like to buy the rotisserie chicken from Costco (gluten and MSG free) just so I can have leftovers to make this casserole. I didn’t know what the kids would think of this but they have gobbled it up each time it’s in front of them so it’s a winner at our house. This recipe does make a lot so I always freeze half of it.

Turkey Tetrazzini
Adapted from Allrecipes

16 oz gluten free spaghetti noodles (I use Tinkyada)
½ C butter
½ C GF flour (I used Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Flour)
3 C chicken or vegetable broth (make sure it’s GF)
2 C milk
1 2/3 C grated Parmesan Cheese
4 C chopped and cooked turkey or chicken
2 cans peas
1 C croutons or bread crumbs


Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, lightly salted with 1 T of Olive Oil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain and put in the baking dish.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in the flour. Mix in the chicken broth and milk. Cook and stir until it comes to a boil then stir in 1/3 C Parmesan cheese and remove from heat.

Mix the chicken broth mixture, turkey, and peas with the spaghetti. Top with croutons and the remaining cheese. Bake for 45 min or until its bubbly throughout. You can make this ahead and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it, you’ll want to bake it about 1 hour if you do that.

I like to use fresh Parmesan mixed in the casserole and grated Parmesan for the topping.