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Active Time
1 hour
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Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Golden, creamy squash casserole is a classic Southern side dish, found at beloved meat-and- three restaurants and many family potlucks. It’s a fantastic way to use upsummer squash特别是在夏天的高度,当yone’s garden seems to produce way too much—and it’s delicious enough to keep everyone coming back for seconds. This version skips the cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers, and eggs that you find in some squash casserole recipes. Instead, we let the sweet flavor of the vegetables stand out in a simple white sauce made with melted butter and broth, with a bit offlour to thicken everythingand some sour cream to add body. (If you have a bumper crop of zucchini in your garden, you could substitute it for some of the yellow squash.)
The key to keeping a squash casserole from getting watery while it bakes is to precook the veggies in order to remove some of their moisture. While many recipes ask you to sauté the ingredients, we prefer to roast the squash with just a bit of oil and some seasoning. It requires less work than standing over the stove during the prep time and really improves the texture of the finished dish. Then all you have to do is pour everything into acasserole dish, add a topping of breadcrumbs, and bake until the filling is bubbling and the top is crispy and golden brown. Serve the summer squash casserole with pork chops or any dish you’ve made on yoursmoker.
Ingredients
12 servings
Step 1
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and put a large shallow baking pan on rack, then preheat oven to 475°F.
Step 2
Toss one-third of squash with 1 Tbsp. oil, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper in a bowl, then spread in preheated baking pan in 1 layer and roast in oven, stirring once, until tender, 12–15 minutes. Transfer squash to a large bowl. Roast remaining squash in 2 batches in same manner, tossing with 1 Tbsp. oil, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper (per batch) just before roasting and adding to bowl when done.
Step 3
Toss onions and bell peppers with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, remaining ½ tsp. salt, and remaining ½ tsp. pepper in another large bowl, then spread in baking pan and roast, stirring once, until onions are golden, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with squash.
Step 4
Move oven rack to middle position and reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
Step 5
Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a saucepan and remove from heat, then add breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt, tossing to coat breadcrumbs. Spread evenly in cleaned baking pan and bake, without stirring, until pale golden, about 5 minutes.
Step 6
Melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a 3-qt. heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Add broth, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, then whisk in sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over squash mixture and stir gently until combined well.
Step 7
Butter a 13x9" glass or ceramic baking dish (3-qt. capacity), then spread squash mixture evenly into it and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake casserole until golden and bubbling, 15–20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Do Ahead:Casserole (without breadcrumbs) can be assembled 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before sprinkling with breadcrumbs and baking.
Editor’s note:This recipe was originally published in the September 2005 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared on Epicurious in August 2005.Head this way for more of our best casserole recipes →
Resist the temptation to toss together all the squash with the oil, salt, and pepper. If you don’t do it in batches, as noted in the recipe, the salt will draw out too much liquid from the squash waiting to be roasted, and the casserole will be soupy.
Leave a Review
Reviews (18)
Back to TopNice but not fabulous.
Heather
Black Hawk, SD
10/25/2022
This is way too much trouble for a simple casserole!
Suzzanne
Texas
9/19/2022
Great flavors and will definitely make again. I eyeballed 1/8" inch and must have underestimated because my slices were completely tender at 8 minutes with no trace of caramelization. Next time I will test a few slices to ensure they are tender and a little brown. I added some cheese to the sauce, which was delicious but unnecessary.
lavasinvictor
Raleigh, NC
11/25/2016
"Succulent," to say the least.
Mark32459
Florida
7/11/2014
This was cumberson to put together, but I was so glad to find a recipe that did not have cheese in it, that I did it anyway. Very tasty
MarieDame
Carthage MO
7/12/2013
I give the recipe 4 forks - but only as modified. I looked at this recipe and decided it was way too rich, fussy, and time-consuming. But I loved the idea of the roasted squash. So I roasted all the veggies as recommended (with probably a little less oil), then tossed the roasted veggies with a mixture of one cup strained (Greek) yogurt and one cup grated parmesan cheese, spread it in 9x13 inch casserole dish and topped with about 4 oz. grated cheddar. Baked till brown and bubbly. Fabulous and still plenty rich. I've gotten rave reviews everytime I've made it.
CarolineTN
Nashville, TN
8/31/2012
This does taste like a church squash casserole but it's so much better because I know it does not have Campbell's cream of chicken, mushroom, etc. soup. It is time consuming but isn't every recipe that tastes good? Maybe I'm a slow home cook but I think cooking just takes time.
kfoland
Atlanta, GA
9/26/2010
I agree that this recipe is somewhat time consuming, but if you roast the vegetables one day, eat some of them that day, and make the casserole with the left-overs, it doesn't seem so bad. Today I Cracker-Barrelized this recipe by making sawmill gravy instead of the effete veloute sauce. Sawmill gravy is made with bacon drippings, flour, and milk.
shannonstoney
7/13/2010
Forget the breadcrumbs and instead of sour cream, try making a white sauce and adding a cup of shredded gruyere cheese. Then, stir in two well-beaten egg yolks to the cooled sauce. Pour over the roasted veggies and bake the casserole at 375 for about 40 minutes or until set in the middle. This is a staple in our house.
Anonymous
Portland, OR
6/20/2008
Okay. I thought there were way too many breadcrumbs and it was too creamy.
Anonymous
tallahassee, fl
2/1/2008
I also thought that for the outcome, this was a tedious recipe to make. Along the way it seemed like this was going to be well worth the effort. But for me, the creamy oux just didn't pull it all together like I thought it would. Yellow squash is just so good and light with a little fresh ground black pepper and salt. I think that's the way I'm going to go next time.
heatherbbrooks
Raleigh, NC
11/30/2007
Absolutely delicious recipe! While the previous reviewers have given this recipe bad press for the prep time involved, I would have to say that the results are well worth the effort put forth. This is no Tuna Helper casserole. Perhaps those who find fault with the preparation time should stick to preparing Rice-A-Roni. The rich aroma coming out of the kitchen and the succulent flavor of the roasted vegetables speaks well of the time and effort expended in preparation.
Anonymous
Philadelphia, PA
8/6/2007
Wonderful Recipe
williamtomany1
Las Vegas, Nevada
5/24/2006
Tedious prep with roasting all the veggies. There was too much sauce making the end result a little too runny. The flavor was great but I'm not sure it's worth all the work.
Anonymous
Frisco, TX
11/29/2005
This casserole was very tasty and I received many compliments. Its was prety time consuming so I'm not sure I'd make it again. Also, the recipe was just plain wrong with the time to roast. At the given temperature and a 1/8 slice, the squash was done after 8 minutes. Don't even consider leaving it for the time quoted in the recipe.
sbologna
michigan
11/24/2005
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