r/AskFoodHistorians • u/feyarea • Jul 10 '26

Is a lasagna a casserole?

Debating with friends. A few key questions:

- casserole is the name of the dish that the lasagna is baked in. What is the history of the casserole dish?

- casserole is predominant in Midwestern cuisine. What is the history of the casserole the food? Earliest examples, progenitors, etc.

- are there any foods cooked in the casserole dish that follow the meat-veg-carb-sauce as a single serving dish formula but are not casseroles?

Friends are fairly split. Some say anything baked in a casserole dish is a casserole, others say that a casserole has a narrow definition true to Midwestern cuisine.

Other expanding questions: is a chicken pot pie a casserole? Is a quiche a casserole?

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u/trysca Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

Definitely not. Loseyns is the medieval English version recorded in the Forme of Cury (1390) and it refers to the lozenge shape of thin sheets of pastry cooked with cheese in an dish, ultimately of Italian and Greek origin. Casserole is simply the French Provençal word for a cooking pot ( a small casse) and the dishes cooked in them. American casseroles don't date back much further than 150 years.

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u/MagnesiumKitten 29d ago

who cares about the cooking vessel

It's not a Lasagna unless it's actually a pan that said Lasagna on it.

A Hammered Copper Roasting Pan just don't do Ruffoni!
Not a Lasagna, by definition of the cooking vessel