Creamy Cheesy Carrot Casserole

Creamy Cheesy Carrot Casserole… I feel like that is a tongue twister of “c” words!

This is a recipe my husband brought into our marriage. His mom made it (and still makes it) all the time.  It is such an incredible side dish to almost any meal. I can honestly say, this is a hubby favorite :)

I made it for our dinner the other week and he literally had a smile from ear to ear.  The next day he came home from work and said, “Where is that carrot casserole, I have been thinking about it all day long and couldn’t wait to get home to eat it!”  I LOVE when my husband loves what I cook.  I know your family will absolutely love this recipe, too.  My picky kids both ate this right up!

My mother-in-law serves this dish for their Thanksgiving feast so if you are already trying to plan ahead for your menu,  (I know its next month, but if your anything like me, planning ahead for family get togethers is a must :) ) definitely give this one a go!  It is a huge hit with everyone!

4.5 from 2 reviews
Creamy Cheesy Carrot Casserole
 
The recipe is a family favorite! We absolutely LOVE it!
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Ingredients
  • 3 cups peeled and sliced carrots cooked to al dente
  • ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1¼ tsp. dry mustard
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • ¼ tsp. celery salt
  • 6-7 slices white bread
  • 8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
  1. MAKE WHITE SAUCE: In a large sauce pan, melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir to combine. Once you have your roux, add half and half and stir constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in salt, onion powder, dry mustard, pepper and celery salt.
  2. In a 9x13 pan, layer peeled and sliced carrots, then white sauce, then evenly sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over white sauce.
  3. Place slices of white bread in blender and blend until it turns into bread crumbs.
  4. In a skillet, heat 3 Tbsp. of butter and then sauté bread crumbs in the butter until golden in color.
  5. Evenly sprinkle bread crumbs over shredded cheese on the casserole.
  6. Cover casserole with foil and Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes

Enjoy!

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: casserole, dinner, side-dish

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Comments

  1. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel

    I've never heard of a carrot casserole before but this looks insanely good! Need to try this one for a Thanksgiving twist.

  2. Corey @ Family Fresh Meals

    DUDE!!! This is totally going to be on our table this weekend...... and next week, and the week after that! Heck, I could eat this everyday!!! YUM!

  3. sally @ sallys baking addiction

    Nikki... carrots are my fave veggie! but i've never made a casserole with them as the star ingredient. Sometimes I really wonder... why haven't I ever thought of that??

  4. Corinne

    This is a favorite at all our family get togethers - there's never enough!

  5. Clair B

    O M G that looks amazing. I am making that for Thanksgiving dinner. I have been looking for new veggie side dish. Thanks for the share. :)

  6. Becky

    So wonderful to meet you Nikki! Hope we can stay in touch in the blogging world! I loved seeing more pictures of your beautiful family on here :) Also, your recipes look fantastic... I must try this creamy carrot casserole!! Have a great day.

  7. Michelle at Faith, Trust, & Pixie Dust

    Hi Nikki, Just discovering you. What a beautiful blog! Can't wait to try some of these beautiful recipes. Happy to be following through Google+.

    Warmly, Michelle

  8. Ala

    What a wonderful vegetarian alternative to bring to the Thanksgiving table--I'm always looking for something veggie-friendly that doesn't involve lasagna noodles (not that I don't love lasagna, but it's always *the* token herbivore dish), and this one will really hit the spot. Thank you for sharing!

  9. Kim

    This looks delish! Do you think you would miss the dry mustard if you left it out? My husband is allergic to mustard, so I don't want to try the recipe if leaving it out would really effect the outcome. Thanks!

  10. Charul @ Tadka Masala

    Can I substitute half and half with milk or maybe cream? We don't get half and half in India.

    1. Veronica

      Half and Half is just equal parts cream and milk. You could substitute one cup of milk and one cup of cream for the half and half. Or you can just use milk; I've never made a white sauce with anything but milk. Good luck!

  11. thegoodiegirl

    I was asked to bring a veggie to Thanksgiving this weekend - and I was thinking carrots - this is a great idea! I would never have thought to make a carrot casserole, but it looks fabulous!

  12. Cathy Norrie

    Hi Nikki,

    Thanksgiving for the upper part of North America i.e. Canada, is THIS weekend, so your recipe is just in time! Thanks for that. And now you can put "Canadian Thanksgiving" on your calendar for next year too (your Canadian readers would appreciate it) :)

    Thanks to you (and Your mother-in-law) for a great recipe!

    Cath

  13. Kymm

    Who could resist a creamy cheesy anything? This looks fantastic!

  14. Debbie K.

    Hi Nikki,

    I so enjoy your blog and recipes, it's a bright spot for me when going through my email. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this recipe. My son had a project at school and it involved carrots ~ of course I bought way too many and didn't know what to do with all that we have left over. I will be making your mother in laws carrot casserole tomorrow evening, using up all of the carrots, and treating my family to a new dish ~ thanks for coming to my rescue!!

  15. Janie

    This is a fantastic recipe. Found it on one of my friends Pinterest Boards . And I just couldn't wait to make it !

    Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it last night.

    I did lighten it up a little bit by switching out the 1/2 & 1/2 for 2 % Milk. It worked out just fine and it was still creamy & wonderful

    One small suggestion would be to use a smaller sized dish. I found that it took only 5-6 carrots to equal the 3 cups of carrots called for in this recipe.

    Thanks so much for sharing it. And I will be making this one again. Holidays would be Perfect. Just be sure to double the recipe.

    Janie
    Taste Of Home Field Editor

  16. Susan

    This looks delicious. I'm going to make for Thanksgiving. Do you have to par-cook the carrots?

  17. Jeff Barton

    I think I would be more upset if this wasn't at Thanksgiving than Turkey. Seriously....it is yummy. Thanks for the post!

  18. Amanda

    I made this last night and it was GOOD. I made way too much though (hubby doesn't eat veggies so I made it just for me).

  19. Christie - Food Done Light

    Creamy Carrots are calling to me this morning. This would be a fantastic side dish for Thanksgiving too. I must pin it and try it. Thanks for sharing

  20. jill

    Always looking for veggie dishes. How many servings does this make?

  21. Patti T.

    My Mother-in-law made a similar dish and we all loved it. I haven't thought about this since she passed away, I am going to try your recipe, it is different from hers but I think the flavors (forgive me Mom) of yours sounds even better. Thanks for another great recipe..
    P.S. This will be a hubby favorite at our house also!

  22. Patti T.

    I made this recipe and my husband and I loved it!! It really was better than the one my Mother in Law used to make and we loved hers. I was at a Farm Show and picked up some garlic and chive cheese to use in here and it was fantastic.

  23. Michelle

    Anyone ever try to put this together ahead of time and then just bake?

  24. Veronica

    This was very good, but I changed a few things to make it more of a main dish casserole (because I'm lazy and don't like making main AND side dishes for dinner):
    1. I added 1/2 pound diced chicken and 1 cup diced onion that I sauted together with half the salt and all the pepper. I layered them on top of the carrots before adding the sauce (NOTE: I would use 1/2 cup diced onion next time).
    2. I put in the rest of the spices into the white sauce at the same time as the flour. I find it easier to blend it all together if I add all the dry stuff to the butter before adding the liquid.
    3. I left out the celery salt because I don't have any.
    4. I used 6 ounces of medium cheddar cheese and I think next time I will only use 4 ounces.
    5. I used 2% milk instead of the half and half.
    6. I pulverized homemade wheat bread into crumbs in my food processor. The bread crumbs were so good! I thought that I'd leave that step out, but I'm glad I didn't!
    Next time I think I'll add another cup or two of carrots also.
    Thanks for a great base recipe!

  25. Sandra

    This sounds great! I really need more sidedishes that really hit the spot and this sounds like it does! Thanks for sharing it !

  26. Debbie

    I make a carrot casserole for every holiday. Love it, It is called Horseradish Carrot casserole....Google it, it is so yummy !!

  27. Shima

    May i know wat is half and half please?

  28. scott

    4

    Followed recipe. Carrots still very crunchy. Would suggest precooking carrots a little.

  29. Cheryl Chadwick

    I don't have a food processor. Can I use store bought bread crumbs instead of doing the bread crumbs in the processor? If so how much? 1 cup of crumbs or more?

  30. julie

    My husband and I really enjoyed this. Thanks!

  31. Ed Lilly

    This looks great. Has anyone made this ahead of Thanksgiving and frozen it? Trying to get a handle on meal prep, and we have a lot of carrots to use up from our farm share!

    Thanks!

  32. Crystal

    5

    This recipe is incredible! Instead of using breadcrumbs, we used about 2 sleeves of Ritz crackers.
    Honestly, I think this might be my favorite casserole of all time, and I am all about casseroles!
    Thank you so much!!