Reuben Casserole

Karen B's Note:

This tastes just exactly like a Reuben Sandwich but much easier! You can even make ahead and reheat or put in refrigerator and bake just before serving! This is so good!!!! Also a great potluck dish.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 loaf rye bread (cut into cubes)
• 1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut
• 1 1/2 cups swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup thousand island dressing
• 2 cups corned beef, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, melted

Directions:

1. Put half of the rye bread cubes into a greased sheet cake pan.
2. Top with the sauerkraut.
3. Mix the sour cream and thousand island dressing together and spoon half on top the sauerkraut.
4. Top with 1 cup of the swiss cheese.
5. Top with the corned beef.
6. Top with the rest of the sour cream/dressing mix.
7. Lastly, top with the remainder of the bread cubes and the remainder of the swiss cheese.
8. Drizzle the melted butter over all.
9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
10. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
11. Serve hot.

Reviews

[SloppyJoe]

This was very tasty but I used marble rye and some beautiful very thin-sliced Deli Pastrami instead because that's what I had (which I think actually makes it a Rachel, right?) I always quick saute my Pastrami, just until it starts to shrivel, in a little butter when making the sandwich because I like it better that way. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because DH and I thought the sour cream overpowered the tanginess of the thousand island/kraut flavors. Next time I will reverse the quantities of those two ingredients. Otherwise, very delicious meal and one I wouldn't hesitate serving again.

[The Head Cook]

The recipe did not say whether to drain the sauerkraut or not, so at first I did, but then I was concerned about the casserole being too dry so I added back some of the drained liquid. That was a mistake because it made it too sour. Also, I had slightly toasted my bread before cutting it into cubes because the last time I made a Reuben casserole it was a little too soggy. I liked the ease of preparation, but I want to try it again without the sour cream since that is also "sour" and not one of the ingredients found in a Reuben Sandwich. I would just use more Thousand Island dressing in place of that. I would still toast the bread, though. I cook for an assisted living facility and all the residents seemed to agree that it was more sour than they prefer.

[jbtitans]

After reading the comments from other individuals, I made a few tweaks to the recipe. I used marbled rye bread, cut it into 1/4" cubes and then baked them on a sheet pan at 400 degrees for 10 minutes before using in the casserole. It added firmness to the base of the casserole. I also did not use sour cream (ruins the acidic sauerkraut flavor) and I used Mayo (not Miracle Whip) instead. I used Russian dressing instead of 1000 island. I used 3/4 cups of Russian dressing and 3/4 cups of Mayo and mixed those together. This turned out perfect. It had that true Reuben taste to it.