Squash Casserole Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Paula Deen's squash casserole? ›

In separate medium size skillet, sauté the sliced onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and, using a large bowl, add squash, onions, sour cream, Paula Deen's House Seasoning and sharp cheddar cheese. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Salting and sautéing the squash before baking helps to remove excess moisture and prevents the casserole from becoming watery. Cream cheese and sour cream lend the filling richness and tang. Tossing crushed crackers with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano results in a satisfying and crunchy topping.

The Southern classic combines fresh squash and onion with a creamy sauce and a crunchy cracker-Cheddar cheese topping. Whether you serve this squash casserole as a flavorful side or a veggie-centric main dish, everyone will be begging you to make it again and again for family gatherings, potlucks, and holidays.

HELPFUL TIP: You can get about 4 cups of cubed butternut squash from 1 (2-pound) squash. Use a heavy vegetable peeler to peel the squash and then remove the pulp and seeds before chopping into cubes.

In a large bowl mix the cubed squash, garlic cloves and ginger with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the spice mix. Season with salt and pepper and scatter in a single layer in a roasting tray. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes until tender all the way through.

Putting it cut-side down creates a sort-of steam chamber for the flesh, helping it cook faster and retain moisture (no dried out squash here!). If you've added oil to the flesh before cooking, it will brown nicely where it's in contact with the sheet pan.

To prevent your squash casserole from being too watery, it's important to get as much liquid out of the squash during the initial cooking process as possible. Straining the squash helps to remove excess water that leaches out of the cooked squash, and it cools the squash before it is added to the casserole.

To prevent a soupy casserole, be sure to fully thaw any frozen vegetables in a colander over a bowl, and pat dry, squeeze excess moisture out of greens like spinach or chard, and quickly precook watery fresh vegetables like onions, mushrooms or squashes just until they release their moisture.

Pro Tip: Avoid Dry Casserole.

The best way to prevent it from drying out is to add a little bit of water, around ¼ cup, to the top of it. Allow the water to seep between the food and the sides of the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil to seal in the moisture.

In the United States, a casserole or hot dish is typically a baked food with three main components: pieces of meat (such as chicken or ground meat) or fish (such as tuna) or other protein (such as beans or tofu), various chopped or canned vegetables (such as green beans or peas), and a starchy binder (such as flour, ...

What squash is best for baking? ›

Hubbard Squash

Its dry flesh is fine-grained, orange, and sweet, and it's best baked or boiled. The thick skin on a hubbard squash can be extremely hard and difficult to peel; on the plus side, that means it can keep for a very long time (up to eight months), and makes it well suited to stuffing and baking.

Not every single casserole has all of them, but as a rule of thumb, here's what to look for: a starch, a binding agent or sauce, and a protein or vegetable. Many casseroles also have both vegetables and proteins, as well as a crunchy element to give some textural contrast, and cheese.

You need 2 cups of grated zucchini for the recipe, so you will need about 3 small zucchini, 2 medium zucchini, or 1 large zucchini.

Helpful squash equivalents:

1/3 to 1/2 pound raw unpeeled squash = 1 serving. 1 pound peeled squash = 1 cup cooked, mashed. 2-1/2 pounds whole squash = 2-3/4 to 3 cups pureed. 1 pound trimmed squash = 2 cups cooked pieces.

We do not recommend canning summer squash or zucchini. We recommend preserving summer squash or zucchini by pickling or freezing. Summer squash is good for you. It is low in calories and many varieties provide vitamin C, potassium and, if the skin is eaten, beta carotene.

Paula Deen (born January 19, 1947, Albany, Georgia, U.S.) is an American chef who popularized the cuisine of the American South through restaurants, cookbooks, and television programs.