Reuben Casserole
This Reuben Casserole is like a huge reuben sandwich for a crowd! Layers of rye bread, pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a special sauce!
A DELICIOUS PASTRAMI CASSEROLE
One of my family’s favorite sandwiches are reuben sandwiches. They love them! But it can be time consuming to make each individual sandwich, right? So why not just make one big Reuben Casserole. All the same flavors, served warm and easy to slice up and serve!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
You can use sliced corned beef or pastrami. I prefer pastrami but use your favorite.
Make sure you drain the sauerkraut real well. You don’t want any excess juices making it soggy.
Use dark or light rye bread. Both work just fine with this recipe.
Don’t forget the caraway seeds. They really do make this recipe! If you really don’t want to use them, you can omit them, but it won’t be the same.
You bet! If you don’t need as many servings, you can simply cut this recipe as written in half. You’ll need a smaller baking dish and you will most likely need to cut back on the baking time.
Store leftover Reuben Sandwich Casserole covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. The longer it sits, the higher the risk of getting soggy.
If you don’t have an 11×7-inch baking dish you can use a 9×13-inch dish but the casserole will just be thinner. You also may not need to cook it in the oven quite as long.
Sure thing. Just transfer to a freezer safe container or freezer safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- rye bread – you can use dark or light. We like both but sometimes stores only carry one or the other.
- thinly sliced pastrami or corned beef – this is a wonderful recipe for that leftover St. Patricks Day corned beef!
- sauerkraut – make sure you drain it well or it will make this casserole soggy.
- shredded Swiss cheese – if you don’t enjoy Swiss cheese, you can use provolone or even mozzarella.
- caraway seeds – I think the caraway seeds really make this casserole special but you can leave them out if you don’t like them.
- chopped dill pickles – I suppose you could also use a dill pickle relish just don’t get too carried away with spreading it on.
- thousand island dressing – you could also use Russian dressing.
HOW TO MAKE REUBEN CASSEROLE:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray 11×7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Please note the photos below make the baking dish look larger than it is. It is not a larger baking dish – it is only an 11×7-inch dish. Take four slices of rye bread and cut them into 2-inch cubes. Spread cubed bread into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place remaining slices of rye bread into food processor and pulse into fine breadcrumbs and set aside.
Cover evenly with half of the pastrami. Then evenly top with drained sauerkraut. Note: press down on the layers as you go.
Followed by chopped pickles and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds. Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese on top of the previous layer.
Next, top with remaining pastrami. Continue to push down the layers as you go. Sprinkle remaining 2 cups Swiss cheese and 1 tsp. caraway seeds on top of pastrami. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, thousand island dressing and mustard. Pour mixture evenly over the casserole.
Top with breadcrumbs. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Reuben Sliders
- Reuben Dip
- Reuben Egg Rolls
- Polish Casserole for Two
- Instant Pot Corned Beef
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Quick Sauerkraut
Originally published: March 2017
Updated photos and republished: February 2024
Reuben Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 slices rye bread (dark or light), divided use
- 1 pound thinly sliced pastrami or corned beef, divided use
- 14.5 ounce can or jar sauerkraut, drained well
- 4 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided use
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, divided use
- 1 cup chopped dill pickles
- 1 cup milk
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- ⅓ cup thousand island dressing
- ¼ cup yellow mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray 11×7 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Take four slices of rye bread and cut them into 2-inch cubes.
- Place remaining slices of rye bread into food processor and pulse into fine breadcrumbs and set aside.
- Spread cubed bread into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Cover evenly with half of the pastrami.
- Then evenly top with drained sauerkraut, chopped pickles and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds.
- Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese on top of sauerkraut layer.
- Next, top with remaining pastrami. Push down on all the layers to help compact it a bit.
- Sprinkle remaining 2 cups Swiss cheese and 1 teaspoon caraway seeds on top of pastrami.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, thousand island dressing and mustard.
- Pour mixture evenly over the casserole.
- Top with breadcrumbs.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Scrumptious! I will be making this again and again. Thank you for this awesome recipe. I’d give you 10 stars if I could.
Delicious have to save this one!!
Awesome! I never really cared for a Reuben Sandwich but this casserole is to die for! I used corned beef. Just freaking incredible.
Yay! Thanks so much Sheryl!
Everyone who has tasted this reuben casserole has absolutely loved. 5 plus stars.
If I make it again, I will chop the cornbeef or pastrami, and I would prepare it in a 9×12 dish, and up the ingredients to fit the size.
Made this twice in a week, i think that speaks how good this is.
My husband & I loved your Baked Rueben Casserole.
I have made a few different versions of this recipe and yours is hands down the absolute best! I will never make any other recipe again! Thank you!
Delicious and quick!
Thanks so much Barbara!
So so so yummy
Yay!! Thank you so much Mary Beth!!
I love Reubens,, but can’t do Rye bread. Would this be good with sourdough?
Can this be a freezer meal? If so, would you cook it before or after freezing?
Hi Nealy, I think it could be although I haven’t tried it. My best guess would be to wrap it up well and freeze before cooking. Then add a few minutes onto the cooking time when you’re ready to make.
I have frozen it several times and every time it’s as good as the first time I had it. I don’t think you can ruin the meal. It’s amazing!
Thank you Don!
Really Liked this Recipe. The “Sauce” you mix and pour on at the end bakes up really nicely. Definitely will be making it again.
Any way to make this low carb but still as yummy?
I made this last night and it was so good my husband and I had seconds, and I don’t care for Reuben sandwiches! The only difference was that I used corned beef sliced med-thin from the deli, and slices of provolone cheese instead of swiss. I ran out of provolone so one layer was Muenster cheese. It baked for about an hour, as I had used a glass baking dish and only had the oven @325. Also I only had a tiny can of sauerkraut but it worked out beautifully. It was easy to make. And yummy!
Hi Nancy! That is SO funny! I don’t really care for Reuben sandwiches either but I really liked this too! So happy to hear you loved it. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Will be keeping this one, and may never make a sandwich Reuben again. ????
Hi Lynn! Thanks so much for the feedback. I definitely appreciate it!! So glad you liked this recipe 🙂
Recipe is great and was a family hit! I smoked the corn beef on a green egg first. We liked the pickles in the sauerkraut. Delicious.
Do you pre-cook the corned beef?
I don’t have a food processor. Would a blender work or should I ready made bread crumbs/panko?
Linda, a blender should work 🙂 You just want to make sure the blades are sharp.
I had a similier recipe but it was made with corn beef and the top was mashed potatoes. Can’t find it anywhere. Have you heard of this recipe? if so, can you repost?
What kind of mustard is used? Prepared? Yellow or Dijon? Can dry mustard be used? How much?
Hi Maren, not sure if you can see in my photo above but I used regular yellow. However if you have a preference for dijon or brown mustard, feel free to use those. I have never tried this with dry mustard. 🙂
I love Reuben’s and do not eat meat but have made sandwiches using portebella mushrooms for the corned beef/pastrami.
That is what i did with this casserole. I did saute the ‘rooms first and pressed them with a paper towel so they would not release any extra moisture. I used a 16 ounce and 1-8 ounce of sliced portebella’s. Just enough for the two layers for the best baked reuben casserole!!!
Sounds YUM ! Think I will try Bread/ Butter pickles instead
This is an amazing casserole !!
Followed recipe exactly as written and it came out perfectly, just like the photo.
If you’re a Reuben lover and a casserole fan, this recipe is for you. This tastes just like a Reuben and is delicious.
Now I have a go to recipe for left over corned beef.
Thank you for the recipe, this ones a keeper for sure!
Can this be made in a crock pot?
I’ve never tried it but if you do, please let me know how it turns out for you!
I’ve made this 2 times with pastrami and corned beef added a little horseradish sauce to my homemade thousand island dressing. Always double recipe to take to church, just changed it up tonight made a Rachael casserole with turkey breast I had left over.. Personally I like Rachael better. Haven’t eaten yet but I imagine it will be excellent as the other 2 times it got rave reviews..
Yay!! Thanks so much Linda!!