Family Holiday Classic

• The hundreds of consumer reviews estolling the singular virtues of this Campbell's Kitchen "Classic Green Bean Casserole" speak for themselves in marking its rightful place as "The Family Holiday Classic" representative in this "best ever" collection: "Our family tradition"; "A must for every holiday"; "It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it." Compound this praise with the across-the-board testament to its effortless prep, ready adaptability, minute calorie count and, of course, "absolutely deliciousness," and you've got a comprehensively worthy, first-round veggie casserole hall-of-famer. It's the one-two punch of the "secret ingredient" cream of mushroom soup topped off with a crunchy fried onion topping that creates the addictive flavor and texture juxtaposition making this casserole's green beans sing; intensify the creaminess and/or crunchiness by adding melted cheese and/or toasted slivered nuts, respectively.
  
  

Sweet and Savory at Its Best

• Ordinary sweet potatoes are transformed into an extraordinary sweet and savory casserole with the assist of marshmallows.Seiya Kawamoto/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  Sweet potato casserole is another family tradition hallmark, an equal-opportunity favorite at special occasion gatherings. Yet, of its many versions, the marshmallow-topped classic is what makes timeless magic of the sweet potato filling, elevating this casserole to a "best ever" as its genre's "Sweet and Savory" stand-out. In fitting spirit a candy-coated way to serve up your festive table's veggies, this tasty treat has for generations made feasting gatherers of all ages feel warm and toasty inside. The marshmallow layer acts as fluffy white pillowcase for the silky orange potato puree, enhancing its subtle sweetness while distinguishing on the palette its savory notes. Take it from domestic diva extraordinaire Martha Stewart, whose own Kitchen's trademark recipe is generously bedecked with melted marshmallowy goodness. Lighten up Martha's whole milk and butter decadence as you wish, but stick to her marshmallows.
  
  

Comfort Food Combined With Veggies

• Bake your favorite veggies into mac 'n cheese for a veggie casserole for a vitamin-packed comfort food classic.ITStock Free/Polka Dot/Getty Images
  
  Macaroni and cheese is an iconic American coupling pioneer of the nation's comfort food love affair since Thomas Jefferson served it for dinner at the White House. Subsequently, this beloved tradition has been variously re-imagined, including, notably, incorporating vegetables; the result is definitively a "best ever" take on the veggie casserole (if not on mac 'n cheese itself), namely as the superlative "Comfort Food" of its kind. Deceptively simple in concept, the mac 'n cheese veggie casserole is just its titular components combined, but the sum is greater than its parts: the former's warm and bubbly, creamy and chewy essence serves as a bed enveloping your chosen veggies, baked right into the mix. For a prime example, try Country Living's "Roasted Vegetable Mac and Cheese," which actually reinvents the classic broccoli and cheese combo as a novel mac 'n cheese concoction, boosted with both carmelized veggie flavor and health benefits. It's comforting to know, as you indulge, that you're getting in some nutrition, too.
  
  

Best Ever Dinner Party

• Finally, for that rare gem of a vegetable casserole characterized by refined elegance and health value while never skimping on deliciousness, you'll be hard-pressed to find one better than this lush creation, courtesy of Food Network's resident Italian kitchen goddess Giada De Laurentis. Giada's "Tomato Vegetable Casserole" thus claims a niche in its breed's "best ever" grouping, in particular as most "dinner party-worthy" for its at once richly satisfying and sophisticated gourmet quality. Abundant with a plethora of veggies including potatoes, peppers, zucchini, carrots, onions, and of course tomatoes, Giada's is outstanding for highlighting the veggies themselves; indeed, whereas the typical popular recipe masks its veggie constituents in processed cheese, butter or cream, this casserole embraces their clean, fresh tastes, intensified simply with the natural flavor-enhancing combination of olive oil, parmesan and roasting. Plus, it's easy, beautifully presented and smells as divine as it tastes.