All Time Favorite: Grandma’s Lil Smokies Casserole
Grandma’s Lil Smokies Casserole is one of my family’s favorite dishes. Apparently it’s a popular dish with many other families as well!
You’ll love this recipe’s simplicity – some basic ingredients, that you may already have in your pantry, and a few steps to make this satisfying meal.
We like this dish as an alternative to macaroni and cheese, which we love and eat on a weekly basis…but this is a nice change with the more savory flavors. Try this lil smokies casserole and you’ll see what I mean.
I know 1/4 cup of parsley flakes sounds like a lot. You’ll be surprised to find that’s not even half of a typical container from the spice shelf. All I can say is that the people who package spices sure do pack a lot of flakes into those little jars and bottles!
[bctt tweet=”Just like grandma used to make! This Lil Smokies and Macaroni recipe is a family favorite. ” username=”ApronFreeCook”]
This old fashioned recipe is one that I pulled from my grandmother’s recipe box. When she passed away, her recipe box was given to my mother, who handed it on to me. I really appreciate the treasures in that box!
If you have a recipe box that’s been handed down, you know what I mean. I’m sure you’ve found all sorts of great recipes, tried and true in that box.
My dad often told the story about this casserole, as one of the few dishes my grandmother made from “scratch” as most of her cooking involved boxes, cans and mixes. A few years ago, I made this casserole in honor of my father’s birthday, and I’m glad I did.
He enjoyed the meal and we had a good visit. The bittersweet note to that story, is that he passed away before celebrating another birthday.
Lesson learned – celebrate each day and savor the meals and the moments that you have! Those moments become memories to cling to!
Do you love vintage cookbooks? See some that I have available for you to add to your collection here.
Lil Smokies Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Macaroni, Parsley, Sharp Cheese, and Smokie Links
White Cream Sauce Ingredients
Butter, All purpose flour, Salt, and Milk
Recipe Instructions
Cook macaroni. Layer the macaroni, smokie links and cheddar cheese in dish. Make the white cream sauce. Pour into casserole dish over macaroni, smokies, and cheese.Bake and Serve.
Approximate Nutrition Information:
Servings per Recipe: 12, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340, Total Fat: 22g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 640mg, Total Carbs: 21g, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 4g, Protein: 14g.
Step by Step Photos
Gather the ingredients for this recipe.
Start with the main ingredients, begin by cooking the pasta. By the way, if you don’t have elbow macaroni and you do have small shells, or twists, you may certainly substitute the pasta shape you have on hand.
Then make your white cream sauce.
When it’s time to eat, your family will love this casserole!
Grandma's Lil Smokies Casserole with Macaroni
One of my dad's favorite dishes, this vintage recipe from Grandma's kitchen is a family pleaser!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Macaroni
- ¼ cup Parsley
- ½ lb Sharp Cheese
- 12 ounce Smokie Links
White Cream Sauce Ingredients
- 4 TB Butter
- 4 TB All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 cup Milk
Instructions
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Cook macaroni. Drain.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Cut the smokie links into 1/2 inch bits.
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Cut the cheddar cheese into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces.
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Layer the macaroni, smokie links and cheddar cheese in a 9x13 baking dish.
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Make the white cream sauce.
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Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, add dash white pepper.
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Add milk all at once. Cook quickly, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and bubbles.
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Pour into casserole dish over macaroni, smokies, and cheese.
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Sprinkle top with buttered bread crumbs.
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Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until heated through.
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Made this tonight and it was a hit! I’m 7 months pregnant, made it home later than usual and was so glad I decided to add this to the menu this week. I actually had every ingredient without buying a single thing. It was a quick delicious meal. I had a little velveeta I needed to get rid of so I added that in. The guys loved it-a tiny bit too much for me. I used hot n spicy bread crumbs and Tony’s chacheres to season for a small kick.
So glad to hear your family loved this recipe as much as mind does! My grandma loved it because the ingredients were easy to find. Like you, I generally have them on hand. Here’s to family favorites and many more happy meals!
ps – congrats on the new baby-on-the-way!
How is this Grandma’s Casserole? All it is is Macaroni and cheese with little smokies who hasn’t done this before, this type of recipe has been around for years, nothing really new. Most call it Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Little Smokies.
Not even going to bother with it, it’s not much different than mine.
SCV,
I’m sorry you’re not impressed. If you read the recipe, I mentioned that it was “my grandma’s” recipe and one that “my dad” loved.
Don’t bother with it and next time, don’t bother adding a mean comment on the page.
Eat your own recipe and enjoy!
Noel
Some people’s kids never got their face slapped for saying mean things. Who names their kid Scv anyway. Weirdos. Anywho, I’m going to whip this little dish up right away for my daughter and me tonight. Thanks for sharing.
Tim,
Thanks for your support!
I’d love to hear how your daughter likes this dish.
Noel
That comment was rude.
This is a great recipe. I’m glad you posted this because I was looking for something other than lil smokies and BBQ sauce. Definitely my girls favorite casserole and I have a picky eater! Thanks.
Anna,
Thanks for letting me know how much your family love this recipe. It certainly is different that that “most popular” method for Lil Smokies!
Noel
Forgot the 5 stars!
Awww, thanks for popping back to add the stars!
Best,
Noel
I made it for my family and it was great. Very easy to make. It’s very similar to mac and cheese but I have never made homemade mac and cheese without first mixing the cheese into the white sauce and then adding it all to the macaroni. This way of adding the cheese and the white sauce separately worked fantastic and saved a lot of time. Thanks for the great recipe!
Mark,
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad you found this recipe to your liking!
Noel
It would have been nice to have the nutritional value of this meal added.
Larry, I have tried to add nutritional info to many of my recipes. However, some of the older posts do not include that information. Especially recipes from my grandma, frankly, she was more worried about feeding kids something than the calorie content.
You are welcome to take the ingredients list and plug it into a nutrition calculator.
Noel
This was delicious! I had everything I needed to make this.. Yes, it’s like homemade Mac and cheese, but better.. Loved it! Good to feed a crowd, affordable too!