When I’m looking to add a vegetable side to a meal, I often turn to simple casseroles such as corn pudding, broccoli casserole, or this cheesy squash version. A great way to use up all the squash from your summer garden.
Squash Casserole Ingredients
To make squash casserole you will need butter, flour, yellow squash, onion, dried thyme, cream, milk, cheddar cheese, buttery crackers, chives, salt and black pepper. This casserole is perfect for family meals and get-togethers. When I want a hearty casserole, I choose this squash casserole or some of my other side dish favorites like chicken casserole, beef noodle casserole and zucchini casserole.
How Do You Make Squash Casserole?
This recipe starts with sliced yellow squash, which you cook with onions in butter until tender. While the squash is cooking make the creamy sauce. This homemade sauce is a blend of milk and cream that’s seasoned with herbs and spices. Toss the cooked squash in the cream sauce along with plenty of cheddar cheese and everything goes into a baking dish. The finishing touch is a layer of buttered cracker crumbs and more shredded cheese. Bake the casserole, add a sprinkling of fresh chives and you’ll be ready to eat.
Tips For The Perfect Casserole
Traditional Southern squash casseroles often use mayonnaise or sour cream to make the squash creamy. However, I feel that this homemade cream sauce has a ton more flavor. It will be worth it to take a couple extra minutes to make this fantastic sauce. You can make the casserole ahead of time. Just toss the cooked squash in the sauce and cheese, then cover and refrigerate the casserole for up to 6 hours. Add the cracker crumbs and final layer of cheese right before you put the casserole in the oven. This casserole stores well for leftovers. Simply place the remaining casserole in an airtight container in the fridge. It will stay good for up to 3 days. To reheat the casserole, place it in a baking dish and heat it in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until the interior is warm.
Recipe Variations
This casserole is creamy and delicious as-is. However, you can modify the recipe to suit your own taste:
Squash: You can make this casserole with zucchini, chayote, patty pan squash or other summer squash varieties. Cheese: I use cheddar cheese in my squash casserole, but mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese would also work well. Topping: Not a fan of crackers? Try crushed cornflakes, panko breadcrumbs or even crushed potato chips. Protein: Make this dish a main course by adding cooked chicken, cooked ham or even cooked bacon! Herbs: I like the flavor of fresh chives as garnish for this dish, but other great options include parsley, thyme or basil.
This squash casserole is great for summer entertaining, but is also a great addition in the cooler weather months for holidays such as Thanksgiving. That combination of rich creamy squash and crunchy crackers just can’t be beat.
