Scalloped Carrots Casserole Recipe
A cookbook my husband gave me as a wedding gift included this recipe—he remembers having the dish as a child at church dinners. Now I make it whenever I need a special vegetable side. It's rich and cheesy even after reheating.
A cookbook my husband gave me as a wedding gift included this recipe—he remembers having the dish as a child at church dinners. Now I make it whenever I need a special vegetable side. It's rich and cheesy even after reheating.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- dash pepper
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 medium carrots sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 4 cups)
- 1/2 cup butter divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 3 slices whole wheat bread cut into small cubes
- Carbohydrate 20.2742614702149 g
- Cholesterol 73.0062500878779 mg
- Fat 27.7447719076495 g
- Fiber 0.931333319433454 g
- Protein 6.98367604617529 g
- Saturated Fat 16.9814627288067 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -6 serving (175g)
- Sodium 408.587500374815 mg
- Sugar 19.3429281507815 g
- Trans Fat 2.20334812745877 g
- Calories 354 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350degrees. Place 1 in. of water in a large saucepan; add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 7-9 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.
- In another saucepan, saute onion in 1/4 cup butter. Stir in flour, salt, mustard, celery salt and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.
- In a greased 11x7-in. baking dish, layer half of the carrots, cheese and white sauce. Repeat layers. Melt remaining butter; toss with bread cubes. Sprinkle over top. Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Operating without a strict kitchen budget requires maximizing pantry staples like root vegetables and dairy to build substantial mass and volume. Slicing root vegetables uniformly to a thickness of one-quarter inch ensures that every piece absorbs heat at the exact same rate during the initial steaming phase. Simmering the sliced carrots for seven to nine minutes yields a crisp-tender interior that will finish cooking entirely inside the oven without turning to mush. Whisking all-purpose flour directly into melted butter and cooked onions creates a roux base, which must boil for two full minutes to eliminate any raw starch taste before cold milk is incorporated slowly to prevent lumps.
Reading Visual Cues for Doneness
Relying on physical appearance and texture indicators replaces the need for a thermometer when evaluating baked casseroles. Bubbling edges and deep golden-brown bread cubes signal that the internal starches have gelatinized and the dairy proteins have set properly. Pulling the baking dish from the 350 degree Fahrenheit oven at the 35-minute mark prevents the cheddar cheese from separating into an oily pool while guaranteeing the sauce remains thick.Equipment Adaptations
Baking pans require specific dimensions to ensure proper depth for layering vegetables and sauces evenly. Substituting a standard square or round baking vessel for the specified 11x7-inch dish alters the height of the layers, requiring a slight adjustment to the baking duration to compensate for denser stacking.
