Casserole is fully woven into my DNA (The other strand is “loaf”). Having grown up in Midwest-adjacent Pennsylvania on canned tuna and egg noodles smothered in creamy, canned mushroom soup, I’m like—give me all the 9 x 13-inch foods. But it turns out that a well-loved baking dish equals cozy comfort across the globe.
Stanley Tucci’s 4-Ingredient Casserole—made with just potatoes, zucchini, marinara, and Parmesan—feels like a dish your Italian grandma used to make, even if you’re not Italian. Simple ingredients offer a big bang for your buck, and roasted, pan-fried crispy bits make vegetables (jazz hands) veggie-fabulous.
While I have a lot of casserole experience, I was still surprised at how tasty this bake was and how it kept the party going as repurposed meals all week. (Hot tip: It makes a lot, and it goes with everything. You’ll never have to cook again.)
Tucci says this recipe derives from his family’s eggplant Parm, but to me, it was less of a recipe and more of a musing for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Luckily, I can translate Tucci’s semi-instructional messaging.
My years spent working as an actor in Hollywood—grinding through theater, workshops, auditions, “practicing my Oscars acceptance speech,” and awkward headshot sessions—have led to this moment: The zucchini just wants to be seen by the potatoes and your favorite brand of marinara. Your motivation is hunger. Your obstacle is keeping wheel-shaped vegetables from rolling onto the floor. And your slo-mo hero shot is landing dinner on the table. Boom. That’s a wrap.
Simply Recipes / Lauren Bair
How I Make Stanley Tucci’s 4-Ingredient Casserole
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grab four large potatoes, four zucchini, a jar of marinara (I used Carbone), and a wedge of Parm. Slice your veggies into rounds, toss the zucchini in EVOO, salt, and pepper, and roast it for 20 minutes until it looks toasty. As the zucchini is cooking, pan-fry your potatoes in a little olive oil with salt until tender.
Post-zucchini, turn your oven down to 350°F. Layer your cooked potatoes and zucchini into a lightly-oiled 9 x 13-inch baking dish, and cover with marinara and grated Parmesan. Then, bake it for about 15 minutes or until bubbly.
I could handle oven-roasting zucchini in a single layer, but pan-frying potato rounds in batches was making me question my life choices. Since this dish isn’t going on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Scalloped Potatoes, I recommend frying hash brown-style spuds if you’re someone who has other stuff to do. Or you can roast the potatoes alongside the zucchini (no one will know the difference once everything is blanketed with cheese).
You could assemble this dish like lasagna, but I went for three-layer bean dip vibes, and did all potatoes, all zucchini, the sauce, and then shredded Parm to cover the dish (I interpreted that suggestion as being enough cheese to hear Bing Crosby sing “White Christmas”). A finishing salt, a little hot sauce, a dab of chili crisp—you do you—and you’ll really be on a ‘role: a casserole. (Sorry, but I had to.)
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