Southern squash casserole
Tender yellow squash baked in a creamy cheddar custard under a buttery cracker crust, the Sunday-dinner classic made into a meal.
- 70 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.48 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 lb yellow squash
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar, divided
- 1 cup butter crackers, crushed
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 510 calories, 20 g protein, 26 g carbs and 38 g fat, and costs about $2.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F. the squash into ¼-inch rounds and the onion.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
1 tablespoon butter in a large over medium heat. Add the squash, onion and salt, cover and cook, stirring now and then, until very soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 11 min
Tip the squash into a colander and press down with a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
Dolly’s tip: Squash is mostly water. Pressing it out now is what keeps the casserole creamy instead of soupy.In a large bowl, the eggs, sour cream, 1 cup cheddar and the pepper. the squash.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Rub a 2-quart baking dish with a little butter and spread the squash mixture in it.
the remaining butter and it with the crushed crackers. Scatter the crumbs and the rest of the cheddar over the top.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
until set in the middle and on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Let it sit 5 minutes before serving.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 32 min
Dolly’s tip: Give the dish a gentle shake. If the middle still jiggles like liquid, bake 5 minutes more.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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