This Carrot Casserole (with Stove Top stuffing) is a great side dish for Thanksgiving, Easter, or any holiday celebration. I love it because it's unique, delicious and it's two dishes in one! This recipe combines carrots and stuffing in one easy dish and smothered in cheese! But because it uses Stovetop stuffing mix, it's quick and simple to throw together and the melted cheese is the crowning glory!
It's the perfect side for any holiday meal but delicious any time of year. And it pairs perfectly with my Picnic Ham , Old-fashioned Scalloped Potatoes and Old Fashioned Fruit Salad.
🍒Reader Review
"Absolutely loved the recipe. My boyfriend is not a fan of vegetables but ate them two nights in a row as a main course!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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This cheesy carrot casserole recipe is another one of my Auntie Carol's famous veggie recipes that she always makes for holiday family gatherings. Her Green Beans & Mushrooms is my other favorite - it adds a fresh splash of color to your dinner plate, as does this dish.
🥘Ingredient Notes
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Fresh carrots. I recommend NOT using baby carrots.
- Condensed cream of celery soup. This is the best flavored cream soup for this recipe, but you can substitute cream of mushroom soup or make your own 'cream of anything'(jump to #17 in this post)
- Stovetop stuffing mix. You can use turkey or chicken. *I like using the low-sodium, as I find the regular too salty.
- Butter. I use unsalted butter. I don't recommend using salted.
- Onion. You can use white or yellow onion.
- Cheddar cheese. Sharp cheddar cheese is the best!
- Green onions (optional). Green onion or chives make a great garnish and give this dish a pop of color.
📖Variations & Substitutions
This is the perfect side dish for Easter because a lot of people opt to have ham instead of turkey for this holiday dinner. And you don't necessarily want to go to all the trouble to make stuffing for every single holiday meal anyway. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Homemade Stuffing but if I'm not making a turkey, it's really a lot of extra work!
However, for this recipe, you can use:
- Stovetop stuffing or your favorite stuffing recipe or leftover stuffing.
- Regular carrots or baby carrots (although regular carrots taste much better!)
- Low-fat or regular sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese
🔪How to Make Carrot Casserole
Prep: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and spray a small round roaster or casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Step 1: Peel and chop carrots into small pieces.
- Step 2: Cook sliced carrots in boiling water until a fork can easily go through them. Drain carrots.
- Step 3: Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, cook 2 tablespoon of butter and onions in microwave for 2 minutes. *This is a quick way to make sauteed onions
- Step 4: In a small roaster or casserole dish, add soup, cooked carrots. water and stove top stuffing (dry mix) then mix in onion in butter.
- Step 5: Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over the carrot mixture. Top with remaining (3 tbsp) of melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven. Garnish with green onions (optional)
Recipe Tips
- Cut the carrots into a uniform size so that the casserole cooks evenly.
- If you want bubbly cheese with that golden finish, when the casserole is done, turn your oven up to 500 degrees F/260 C for about 3 minutes. But keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn!
- If you want it even cheesier, just bake it in a larger/longer casserole dish or 9x13 pan and add more cheese!
Stove top stuffing is a quick and easy way to make this creamy carrot casserole. You throw it in dry and it cooks to perfection because of the moisture from the other ingredients. And it's a great Easter side dish because carrots just scream Easter!
🥗 Pairing: What to serve with Carrot Casserole
Aside from ham, carrot casserole pairs well with air fryer roast chicken.
If you're looking for Easter Desserts to go with this carrot casserole, then give my Healthy & Light Carrot Cake a try! However, if you don't want to eat carrots for your dessert too and you're looking for something a little more indulgent, then I recommend my Easter Creme Egg Chocolate Swiss Roll or the traditional Pumpkin Pie.
🌡️Storage
Store leftover cheesy carrot casserole in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Make-ahead
I love carrots as an easy side dish with my Easter Dinner. But getting all your dishes prepared for an Easter dinner can be a lot of work, so I prefer to do my preparation in stages. I love this cheesy carrot casserole because it can also be made a couple of days in advance and reheated.
👪 Serving Size
This cheesy carrot casserole recipe makes 8 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
❔ Carrot Casserole FAQ's
You don't have to peel your carrots, but they look nicer if you do. If you prefer not to, just make sure to wash them thoroughly and chop the ends off.
I usually boil my carrots, but you can steam them instead!
So if you're looking for a delicious and cheesy carrot casserole side dish for your holiday dinner, you'll love this recipe!
🥗More Holiday Side Dishes!
Comments & Reviews
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📋 Carrot Casserole (with Stove Top Stuffing) Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked carrots *about 7-8 medium to large carrots
- 10 oz - can condensed cream of celery soup
- ¼ cup water
- 120 g -package of Stovetop stuffing mix
- 5 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup sharp/old cheddar cheese, shredded
Garnish (optional)
- green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F/162 degrees C and spray a small round roaster or casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Peel and chop carrots into small pieces.
- Place carrots in boiling water and cook until a fork can easily go through them. Drain.
- In a microwave safe bowl, cook 2 tablespoon butter and onions in microwave for 2 minutes.
- In a small roaster or casserole dish, add soup, cooked carrots, water and stove top stuffing (dry mix) then mix in onion in melted butter.
- Sprinkle on shredded cheese.
- Top with remaining (3 tbsp) of melted butter.
- Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven. (325 F/163 C)
Garnish (optional)
- Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve warm.
nan
My family does not like cream of celery soup. Any suggestions for a substitute?
Terri Gilson
Hi,
I would suggest cream of mushroom as a substitute, or cream of chicken.
Hope they like those!
Enjoy!
Terri
Bev Mosig
Absolutely loved the recipe. My boyfriend is not a fan of vegetables but ate them two nights in a row as a main course!
Terri Gilson
Hi Bev,
Glad you love it! And WOW - that is a high compliment that your boyfriend loved it that much, especially given he's not a fan of veggies!
Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Terri
Kelly Neil
Oh man, I lovvveeeee StoveTop stuffing! What a fun and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Cynthia
This looks simple to make! My family loves carrots. I will have to save this recipe to try. Looks easy enough to make!
Ayngelina Brogan
This is a great recipe for Easter weekend, and I have 5 lbs of carrots in my fridge.
Wendy
Unlike the other reviews, I actually made this dish. It is rich, salty (yum) and comforting but we found it a bit bland. The green onion garnish at the end is a must. I made it in a 2 quart casserole dish so it had more cheese coverage. Will try fresh garlic, pepper, Mrs. Dash next time.
It's a flexible recipe which is fun. Thank you 😊
Terri Gilson
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Wendy! Great idea to spice it up a bit if you find it a little too bland for your taste 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to share your review!
Terri