The Best Casserole Dishes for Your Most Comforting Meals

Final Verdict

A tight-fitting lid and safe in every oven make the durable Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Covered Baker (view at WIlliams Sonoma) our top casserole dish. If you're looking for the most affordable or best glass casserole dish, the Pyrex Easy Grab 3-Quart Glass Oblong Baking Dish with Red Plastic Lid (view at Amazon) is your best bet.

What Are the Other Options?

Made In Rectangular Baking Dish (view at Made In): This 9x13-inch ceramic baking dish has a lot in common with our best overall pick. It is very well-built and oven-safe up to 650 degrees. But the pan is shallower than the Le Creuset option and doesn’t have a lid, which limits its versatility a bit. Food cooks evenly in the dish and is easy to remove, as the glazed ceramic surface is nonstick. It’s also dishwasher safe, though it takes up a lot of space. While the dish is certainly beautiful and comes in several nice color options, it ultimately was not differentiated enough from the other top picks on our list. 

OXO Good Grips Glass Baking Dish (view at Amazon): OXO's take on the glass casserole dish is durable and was easy to clean when I baked some cheese onto it. Its lid fits extremely well and is high-quality. But ultimately, it wasn't better than the Pyrex Easy Grab pan. The most dangerous part of making a casserole is when you have to grab the hot pan out of the oven. With this, the handles are fairly narrow, which can make it hard to grasp well. A large pot holder might get into the food if it curls over the handle into the dish.

How We Tested

Our tester and writer Lizzy Briskin sifted through dozens of highly-rated casserole dishes, closely looking at consumer reviews and available manufacturer information, to choose her top picks. We then purchased these products for Lizzy so she could put them to the test in her home kitchen. She filled each with water to see exactly how much volume it held, baked a favorite dish in it—allowing the cheese to bake on if she could—to examine how it performed with heat distribution, and noted how easy or difficult they were to clean.

After testing, Lizzy submitted feedback about what she liked and didn’t like about each dish and rated each one on the following features: Design, Durability, Heating Capacity, Ease of Cleaning, and Overall Value. Learn more about how we test products.

What to Look for When Buying a Casserole Dish

Material

The most common materials used for baking dishes are sturdy and heatproof. They include stainless steel, stoneware, and glass. Each material has its pros and cons. Metal is very heat-resistant and won’t shatter, chip, or crack. It can also often be used on the stovetop, including induction burners. However, stainless baking dishes are not usually nonstick and can be more difficult to clean than enameled dishes. 

Stoneware baking dishes are often coated with a nonstick finish that makes them easier to cook with and clean. However, they're also heavier and can break if dropped or chip from a metal utensil or scrub brush. Stoneware maintains heat very well and evenly, which makes them more reliable for long-cooked casseroles and braised dishes. 

Glass is also easy to clean and has the added benefit of letting you see exactly what’s happening during cooking from all angles. However, most glass baking dishes are not broiler-friendly. Some are also sensitive to major changes in temperature and can only be used in a preheated oven. 

Capacity

Baking dishes come in a wide range of sizes, so you’ll be able to find one that suits your household needs. Three to 5-quart casserole pans are a great middle ground. An extra-large 5-quart dish is great for roasting whole birds and other large-format dishes. For some recipes, a deeper casserole pan with 4-inch or higher sides can come in hand. In particular, if you’re braising meat or making a soup or stew. On the other hand, more shallow baking dishes generally have more surface area for melting cheese on lasagna or crisping up the breadcrumb topping on mac and cheese.  

Maintenance

Before buying a new baking dish, it’s best to read the manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance. While many baking dishes are technically dishwasher-safe, some are recommended for handwashing only. More delicate materials like glass-enameled stoneware, for example, have to be handled carefully and the dishwasher may erode the nonstick finish. Other surfaces can be scratched or chipped with a hard scrub brush. 

"When it comes to maintaining my casserole dishes/roasting pans, I never put them in the dishwasher," says Jessica Woodford. "Just because a product is dishwasher-safe doesn’t necessarily mean it should be cleaned via dishwasher. I like to soak mine for a little bit and then I use a nonabrasive sponge to get rid of any little fond or bits of food left in the pan. For those really tough bits that won’t come off, I make a solution of baking soda white vinegar and warm water."

FAQs

Can you use a casserole dish for roasting? 

Absolutely. A casserole dish does much more than baking casseroles. You can use any of the dishes on this list to roast up veggies, meat, or seafood. Deeper dishes will trap more steam and moisture inside, so you may not get the same caramelized edges on your roasted sweet potato fries as you’d get using a shallow baking sheet. But this can be a benefit if you’re roasting up juicy chicken or a side of salmon. 

How do you prevent a glass casserole dish from shattering?

The best way to prevent your glass baking dish from shattering is to not expose it to extreme temperature changes. For example, you never want to put a dish directly from the freezer into a hot oven. And make sure that your oven is preheated before you place the dish inside. Give your dish time to warm up!

Why Trust Simply Recipes?

We thoroughly research the top products on the market to identify the best tools, appliances, and gadgets for home cooks. From tried-and-true brands to up-and-coming newcomers worth paying attention to, we stay in the loop about all things kitchen-related so you never miss a bite. 

All of the products in this article were tested and reviewed by Lizzy Briskin, a chef, food writer, and recipe developer who loves a great one-pan meal. 

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