The BEST Salmon Casserole Recipe (Takes Just 10 Minutes To Prep)

This salmon casserole is filled with so much deliciousness. It combines tender, flakey salmon with a rich and creamy filling, melty cheese, and buttery, crunchy Ritz crackers. How delicious does that sound?! This casserole isn't just super tasty though, it's also super easy to make. In fact, just 10 minutes is all it takes to prep and then the oven does 

The Best Salmon Casserole

This salmon casserole is by far one of my all-time favorite salmon recipes. It's an irresistible combination of flavors and textures, and it'll just make you want to savor each and every bite.

Honestly, once you get a taste of this stuff, you'll wonder why you didn't make this salmon casserole sooner. I mean, it has just the right amount of seasoning, veggies, and salmon in each and every bite. Then, the creamy soup base, melty cheese, and baked buttery Ritza crackers add some textural depth - and even more flavor - to complete the casserole.

Plus, as I already mentioned, this salmon casserole recipe is just so, so quick and easy to make too! You literally just mix all of the ingredients together, then add 'em to a casserole dish and bake 'em! Sounds pretty simple right? That's because it is.

By the way, if you're looking for another tasty casserole recipe to make for dinner, you have to give this shrimp casserole and seafood casserole a try sometime. They're two more of my favorite seafood casserole recipes, and my family loves them too.

Ingredients

Now, another thing I love about this recipe is that it's made with such simple, fresh ingredients. And, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you have most - if not all - of them at your house already.

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make this salmon casserole:

• 8 oz. small shell pasta, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 carrot, shredded
• ½ cup cream of celery soup (or cream of mushroom soup)
• 1 tbsp. Dill
• ½ cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ½ cup minced onions
• ¾ lbs. Salmon, cooked (or canned salmon, drained)
• ¾ cups Ritz crackers
• ¼ cup Butter, melted

Not too shabby, eh?

By the way, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make this poppy seed chicken casserole, this cream cheese dip, or this creamy salmon pasta recipe. So, if you end up with some extras, put 'em to good use and give one of those recipes a shot.

Ingredient Substitutions and Modifications

Now, of course, I think this recipe turns out best when you use all of the ingredients I listed above. However, that doesn't mean you can't make a few changes to make this salmon casserole uniquely yours.

Change Up The Filling

To start, the cream of celery soup can be substituted with condensed cream of mushroom soup instead. Honestly though, any creamy condensed soup will work in the casserole filling.

As for the greek yogurt, if you don't have any on hand, you can substitute it with an equal amount of sour cream or softened cream cheese for an even richer result.

Now, this recipe calls for small shell pasta, but if you prefer to use a different noodle, that's fine. With that said though, I suggest using a noodle that holds sauce well - elbow macaroni or rotini are 2 good choices. By the way, if you have any leftover pasta shells, you can use them to make this chicken cordon bleu casserole next!

Also, if you want, you can substitute the pasta for cooked rice. It's not one of my favorite substitutions to make, but if you're in a pinch it'll work fine.

Use Different Cheeses

As for the shredded cheese, instead of cheddar cheese, you can use mozzarella cheese. You can even use a blend of both mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese and add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top of the casserole to add even more dimension to the flavors.

Use Fresh Salmon or Leftover Salmon

This recipe calls for cooked salmon, so it's a great way to use up any leftover salmon. Of course, you can cook fresh salmon before starting to build this casserole, but if you have leftovers or even canned salmon, you'll save time. If you used canned salmon, this is guaranteed to be one of the best canned salmon recipes you'll ever have.

By the way, if you're a fan of seafood casseroles, you can substitute the salmon with some canned tuna and make a tuna casserole out of this recipe instead. And if you like tuna, then you have to give this tuna noodle casserole a try sometime.

How to Make Salmon Casserole

When I mentioned earlier that this salmon casserole recipe is super easy to follow, I wasn't kidding. There are only 3 steps in this recipe, and every single one of them is a breeze.

And, again, just 10 minutes of prep work is all you'll need to invest to make it. The oven will do all of the heavy lifting after that.

Anyway, let's not waste any more time and get cooking!

Step 1: Mix the Ingredients

First things first, you'll want to preheat your oven to 350°F (180ºC). Then, using nonstick cooking spray or butter, lightly grease a medium-sized casserole dish, and set it aside.

Next, in a large bowl, you'll want to add the cooked pasta, cream of celery soup - or cream of mushroom soup -, greek yogurt, shredded carrots, frozen peas, minced onions, dill, cooked salmon, and half of the cheddar cheese. Then, give all of these ingredients a good mix until they combine.

Step 2: Make The Ritz Cracker Crumble

Now it's time to make the crunchy element of this casserole - the Ritz cracker crumble. So, to make it, you're going to crush the Ritz crackers in a resealable bag with a rolling pin. Then, you'll want to melt the butter in the microwave and add the crushed crackers to it along with the remaining cheese. Once you've got those added to the bowl, you'll want to mix until all the ingredients are combined and crumbly.

Step 3: Build and Bake The Casserole

Ok, now that the salmon filling and cracker topping are good to go, you can transfer all of the salmon filling to the prepared baking dish. Then, after you've done that you'll want to top the mixture with the crushed crackers and bake the casserole for about 20 minutes - or until the crackers on top have lightly browned.

Finally, when it's done, you can serve this seafood casserole by itself, or with any desired side dishes you like - these mashed potatoes and these candied carrots are a few of our favorites to put out next to it. Enjoy!

How to Store Salmon Casserole

This salmon casserole recipe will make about 4-6 servings, depending on how big of portions you dish out. And it's so delicious I doubt you'll have any leftovers because everyone will probably go in for seconds or thirds. But, if you do have leftovers, this salmon casserole stores quite well.

So, to store your leftovers you'll just want to tranfer 'em to an airtight container and keep 'em in the fridge. Stored like this the salmon casserole will stay good for 3-4 days. 

How to Reheat Salmon Casserole

This salmon casserole is actually delicious cold right out of the fridge. I know it might sound weird to eat it that way, but it's kind of like cold pasta salad - I think it's just delicious.

With that said though, if you want to reheat it, it's best to reheat it slowly in the oven. So, to do that, I recommend transferring your leftovers to a baking dish and baking 'em for 15 minutes at 300°F - or until they're warm.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make the best salmon casserole recipe ever!

I know I'm biased, but there's honestly no better salmon casserole out there. Atleast not one that I've tried.

I mean, this one just has tons of tender meaty salmon, creamy yummy deliciousness, and a crispy crunchy topping that's to die for. It's tough to beat all of that. The fact that it's so easy to make too is just an added bonus.

Anyway, this salmon recipe has become a family favorite in our house, and I have a feeling your family will love it too.

As always, if you like give this recipe a try, leave a comment below and let us know how it went! 

More Casserole Recipes

If you're looking for more quick and easy casserole recipes to make we've got you covered. We've been making a ton on the blog lately.

Here are some reader favorites:

• Beef enchilada casserole
• Chili cornbread casserole
• Vegetable casserole
• Buffalo chicken casserole
• John Wayne casserole

Also, be sure to check out our YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram pages for even more deliciousness. We post new recipes on them every single day.

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