Shipwreck Casserole: The Vintage Mess That Needs To Make A Comeback

A fitting name for a recipe salvaged from the depths of retro cookbooks, shipwreck casserole is one of many vintage ground beef dishes that are no longer common today. However, with modern grocery prices seemingly perpetually on the rise, perhaps this cost-effective fare is poised for a resurgence. Shipwreck casserole tends to pop up in cookbooks dating back to the '30s and follows trends common of Depression-era foods. It focuses on simple, accessible ingredients that nevertheless produce a hearty meal.

Shipwreck casserole has many variations, but ground beef is always a staple. It is often accompanied by a simple blend of potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and herbs like parsley. Some variations include spices like cumin and paprika. While older variations tend to include beans, modern takes sometimes incorporate a layer of cheese. Regardless of the ingredients you choose, shipwreck casserole is an easy recipe.

Simply brown the ground beef and then cook the remaining ingredients with your choice of herbs or spices. From there, layer your casserole like lasagna, alternating between the meat and the filling (if you prefer, you can sprinkle some cheese on top). Cover your casserole and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Low maintenance and filling, this is one of the best casseroles to make for dinner, especially if you've got a family to feed on a budget.

Like many decades-old recipes, the origin of this casserole and its quirky name is murky at best. There may be a very simple explanation for the morbid title; given the dish includes so many ingredients haphazardly arranged, this meal may simply evokes the feeling of debris and chaos associated with a shipwreck. A more interesting but likely apocryphal explanation is that the dish originated in an actual shipwreck. According to lore, passengers grabbed whatever food they could before fleeing the sinking vessel. Later, they assembled the scraps into the very first shipwreck casserole.

Where the recipe originally appeared is unknown, but shipwreck casserole's roots are tied to the concept of getting by on less. A version of the dish appeared in the 1966 republished version of the 1938 "Lookout Cookbook." The book was intended to help forest fire lookout workers stretch out supplies longer as they worked in remote locations without easy access to grocery stores. Shipwreck casserole remains affordable and plenty filling today. That's a major asset at a time in history when Americans are again stressed about food costs. We definitely feel it's an old-fashioned casserole that deserves a second chance.