Small Home Gazette, Winter 2023

History Brief: Hotdish—A Minnesota Icon

“A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers.”*

Thrifty one-dish meals became popular during WWI. To help feed soldiers, people back home were asked to conserve, and hotdishes were a way to stretch a pound of meat.    

The first written record of a hotdish recipe is credited to Mrs. C.W. Anderson, who submitted her recipe to a 1930 cookbook compiled by the Grace Lutheran Ladies Aid, Mankato, Minnesota. Labelled simply “Hot Dish,” the recipe called for hamburger, onion, celery, canned peas and tomato soup, and Creamettes—all to be stirred together and baked. (Creamettes elbow macaroni was sold by the Minnesota Macaroni Co. beginning in 1912.)    

When Campbell’s introduced Cream of Mushroom soup in 1934, it became the go-to hotdish base. Tater Tots, chow mein noodles and crushed potato chips were to follow as crispy topping choices.    

A hotdish may be a generic form of a casserole unique to Minnesota cuisine but, during a Minnesota winter, there is nothing tastier or more full of memories than a good old hotdish.

* From How to Talk Minnesotan by Howard Mohr, 2013.