Buttery Baked Pineapple Gratin
Warm and sweet are the two words that come to mind when you smell this classic buttery baked pineapple gratin or casserole as it comes out of the oven. This version is made without cheese.
What is a Baked Pineapple gratin?
This simple dish is the perfect side to serve along with a baked ham.
It’s a casserole of crushed buttery Ritz crackers, canned pineapple, eggs, sugar, flour and spices that is baked until golden brown. It is slightly sweet and makes a perfect side dish for hams, pork or even baked chicken. Serve it as a dessert as well with a drizzle of caramel or a dollop of whipped cream.
A typical gratin includes cheese, but I find the cheese, which is used in many other recipes, just makes the pineapple greasy. Simple is best.
How to make buttery baked pineapple gratin:
Drain the pineapple, save the juice- you’ll need it next week for my “Sunday at the Masters” Azalea cocktail. Add in three eggs, a pinch of fresh ginger, sugar and a bit of flour. Crush up Ritz crackers and stir it all together, pour into a buttered baking dish , top with addtional buttery crackers and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve alongside ham or pork. So good. So easy.
I like to drizzle a bit of the reserved juice over the baked pineapple when it is still warm from the oven- keeps it moist.
Ingredients in Buttery Baked Pineapple Gratin:
fresh ingredients:
- unsalted butter
- eggs
pantry ingredients:
- canned pineapple tidbits in juice
- ritz crackers
- ginger
- flour
- salt
- sugar
Tips for a great gratin:
- Ritz crackers make the best filling or binder- some recipes use white bread, but the casserole can end up just resembling a bread pudding.
- Drain the pineapple well so the dish is firm and not soggy. Save the juice for a cocktail or another recipe.
- Canned pineapple tidbits are the easiest type of fruit to use. Pineapple rings have to be chopped as do chunk pineapple.
- Be certain the pineapple is packed in juice and not syrup. Syrup is much too sweet.
- Make ahead- make this dish up to 2 days in advance. Chill until needed for baking. Cover tightly with foil and bake just 5 minutes longer or until golden.
- Beat the eggs very well so you do not have scrambled eggs in your gratin.
Other great side dishes to try:
- Blueberry-broccoli salad with honey yogurt dressing
- Green beans with herbs & pine nuts
- Carrot and herb salad
- Pomme Dauphinoise
Equipment needed for this recipe:
Ingredients
- 20 oz pineapple tidbits in juice drained but reserve the juice- 1 can
- 1 unit sleeve of Ritz crackers divided
- 3 unit large eggs beaten
- ½ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 3 TBSP flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Butter a gratin dish or 1 quart casserole . Mix eggs, flour, ginger, sugar, drained pineapple, 4 TBSP of the reserved pineapple juice, salt and butter into a mediuim size bowl. Stir in crumbled crackers, reserving 4-5 crackers for the topping.
- Pour the pineapple mixture into the prepared dish. Top with reserved crumbled crackers.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. While stir warm, pour a few tablespoons of additional pineapple juice over the casserole to moisten.
