casserole

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A dish made by cooking meat, vegetables, or other food slowly in liquid in a deep covered container.

   Grammar: Countable when you mean a particular dish: a chicken casserole. Uncountable when you mean the food in general: We had casserole for dinner.

   Patterns

   • a chicken/beef/vegetable casserole
   • make/prepare a casserole
   • casserole of something

   She made a chicken casserole with carrots and potatoes.

   We ate casserole for dinner on cold evenings.

   This beef casserole needs another hour in the oven.

2. 2nouncountable

   A deep, heavy cooking pot with a lid, used for slow cooking in an oven.

   Grammar: A physical object you can buy, wash, or put in the oven.

   Patterns

   • a casserole dish
   • in a casserole
   • cover the casserole

   Put the mixture into a large casserole and bake for two hours.

   She lifted the lid off the casserole.

   I need a new casserole with a tight-fitting lid.

Word forms

Common combinations

casserole dish

Grease a casserole dish before adding the ingredients.

chicken casserole

Chicken casserole is a favorite family meal.

casserole recipe

This casserole recipe uses only five ingredients.

bake a casserole

Bake the casserole at 180°C for one hour.

casserole lid

The casserole lid has a small steam hole.

Synonyms and how they differ

stew

A stew is similar but usually cooked on top of the stove and has more liquid; a casserole is typically baked in the oven.

hotpot

A hotpot is a British term for a meat and vegetable dish cooked slowly in a covered pot, often with a layer of potatoes on top.

Word family

casserole verb

To cook something as a casserole (rare).

Commonly confused: casserole or casserole?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “casserole”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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