Bake and Take Recipes (2024)

Tired of preparing dinner each night? Bake and take recipes might be your busy mom solution! Details on how to get a weeks worth of throw in the oven meals for your family. What is a meal train, dinner ideas for neighbors, and hosting a girls night out party with a meal exchange ideas.

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Bake and take can mean one of many things. It can be an opportunity where people get together for a meal exchange. A bake can take can be an easy recipe for a new baby meal train. It can be a meal recipe you for bringing dinner to neighbors who have medical issue or are experiencing tough times.

Whatever the reason, we have the best bake and take recipes for parties, meal trains, neighbors and friends.

Bake and Take Party

Fist let’s address a Bake and Take Party. This is most appropriate when you are not in quarantine. Similar to a cookie exchange, only a meal exchange. Invite 5 to 7 people (too many people can be quite challenging.)

For a meal exchange party, each person brings the same dish x number of times. For example, for five people, each person brings the same meal in five different disposable foil pans. Exchange meals among friends and at the end of the night, go home with five different dinners for your family. This meal exchange can be done by prepping or baking the dish ahead.

Another option for a take and bake party is you bring your ingredients. Together, friends can sip wine and prep five dishes. Each person goes home with a meal prepared that they can make later that week for their family.

Bonus if your final bake and take meals can be frozen for easy prep on a busy night. For for a take and bake recipe exchange party, you will need Freezer Bags and/or Aluminum Disposable Pans.

What is a Meal Train

I meal train is an effective way to organize meal giving to a person or family for births, surgeries, illnesses and during tough times. A friend group or family community comes together to coordinating dropping off a home-made meal for a family who could use help.

If cooking is not an option, alternatively, you could coordinating restaurant delivery (like pizza or a local restaurant) or send a restaurant gift card for the person/family to use at their own time and need.

Bringing Dinner to Neighbors

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s the importance of those in close proximity like immediate family and neighbors. Bake and take recipes are great for neighbors. You can rotate the responsibility of meals, each person assigned a different night of the week. You can also, bless an elderly, sickly or a neighbor in trouble with the gift of a home cooked meal.

Consider hosting a bake and take party for the neighborhood or create a meal train for a neighbor who could a little extra help.

Social Distance Meals

Let’s take bake and take a step further. During quarantine and times of distancing, social distance meals are an option. Again, choose 5 to 7 people and each person is assigned a day.

The social distancing parties can work one of two ways. Let’s use our party of five people again.

Option 1

Each person is assigned a day. On your assigned day, that person prepares (and bakes) five of the same dinners. They drive to five separate houses leaving the dinner on the step or front porch. This gives each party goer five nights of meals, only preparing dinner one night.

Option 2

Similar to a meal train, each person signs up for one day to bless a friend/neighbor in need with a meal. That person is assigned the job of putting a meal on the porch for the calendar date they have scheduled.

Bake and Take Recipe Ideas

For bake and take recipes, it is very important to know allergy and diet restrictions. We looked for easy recipes, casserole dishes, or throw in the oven meals that were free from many common allergies. Before hosting a bake and take party or meal train, get each persons dietary restrictions and any foods for which they may have an allergy.

This easy Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole is a dump recipe you can quickly prepare and bring to a neighbor or friend. | Neighbor Food Blog

FAQs

Can you cook a casserole the day before? ›

One of the advantages of casseroles is that you can cook them in advance. If possible, make your casserole one day ahead and store in the fridge – this intensifies the flavours of the dish. To freeze ahead, cool the cooked casserole, then freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.

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What's the difference between a stew and a casserole? ›

There is little difference between a casserole and a stew. A purist would say that a casserole goes in the oven, heating the dish from all directions, while a stew goes on the stovetop and is heated from the bottom. Another point of difference is a casserole is the name of the pot used for cooking.

What can I cook in my cast iron casserole dish? ›

Some cast iron casserole recipes you can make include:

Braised beef, braised lamb shanks.
Pulled pork, beef short ribs, and other fall-off-the-bone dishes.
Soups, stews, chowders, and chilis like chili con carne.
No-knead bread.
Pot roast with carrots and potatoes.
Slow cooked salsa verde chicken.

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How long to cook an uncooked casserole that has been refrigerated? ›

For example, assemble a vegetable casserole a day in advance, refrigerate and then bake the day of your dinner. Plan 15 to 20 minutes additional heating time for the refrigerated cold casserole.

Is a cast iron casserole dish worth it? ›

Cast iron casserole dishes are real multi-taskers. Thanks to the way the metal evenly distributes and retains heat, you can use them to sear meats, sauté vegetables, slow cook, prepare roast dinners and even bake sourdough.

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What is the most popular casserole dish size? ›

"The standard size of a casserole dish is 9 by 13 inches. However, due to varying shapes, they are often measured by volume, with three quarts being average,” says Contrino. “It is important to note that if a recipe calls only for a casserole dish, it is most likely asking for a 9- by 13-inch rectangular size.

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What is a hot dish instead of a casserole? ›

A hotdish or hot dish is a casserole dish that typically contains a starch, a meat, and a canned or frozen vegetable mixed with canned soup.

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How do you reheat a casserole without drying it out? ›

Add a little water or milk to the top of the it before reheating. Allow the liquid to seep in between the casserole and the baking dish, without overflowing. Cover the top with aluminum foil. The added moisture will get trapped in by the foil and the steam created will moisten a dry casserole.

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How do you store a casserole overnight? ›

Many casseroles seem to improve in flavour if kept overnight (cool them quickly and keep them in a refrigerator, by the way, once they're cold). This means it's quite possible to make two casseroles while the oven is in full swing, and keep one for the next day.

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How do you reheat a precooked casserole? ›

If you baked your casserole ahead of time, simply cover the dish with foil and reheat at 350˚F until heated through. Depending on the type of dish, you may need to add moisture to keep it from drying out, for example, a splash of milk to baked macaroni and cheese.

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How do you store a casserole after cooking? ›

Once the casseroles have cooled in the fridge, cover each dish with a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil. With both layers working together to keep out odors and frost, the casserole will taste fresh for up to three months.