Squash Casserole Recipe (2024)

For those who actually enjoy the taste and texture of summer squash, omit the cheese, thinly slice yellow summer squash and green zucchini and add without any pre-cooking. For the sanity of your cardiologist, use milk instead of cream. It's prettier, has a nice gentle "tooth" and will draw rave reviews. Has been a great early autumn dish too served with roast turkey. Good leftovers.

I halved the squash length-wise, dabbed with olive oil, s & p and roasted in a 350º oven until soft. Worked very well and not as watery. Also used the food processor is sequence: bread crumbs; crackers; grated cheese; squash then lastly the cream and eggs. No rinsing out between. Great recipe

Squash casserole was a staple of my southern upbringing, especially during summer when my parents' garden overflowed with yellow squash. I made Julia Reed's casserole as written, except I did not purée the squash. The texture is better when the squash is left sliced. Also, I'd alter the recipe in the future and use half the number of eggs, as my mother did, so the custard doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the squash.

Note for those who haven't read the recipe in full: the squash is boiled not fried! What is sautéed is a standard mix of onion, garlic and a bell pepper.
For a healthier version: cut the butter down to 3 tablespoons (or use part olive oil), use whole wheat bread, milk instead of whipping cream, eliminate sugar. And if you don't like baby food texture, roughly puree the boiled squash to leave some texture.
Or, use Shulman's very similar squash recipe.

I had to crack up at my boyfriend's reaction after I made it for him. He graciously ate 2 helpings and then when I asked for an honest review (bc I had mixed feelings about it) he said, "well, it's kinda like....eating insulation." But he reassured me "if it were served in prison, prisoners would likely be coming up for 2nd and 3rds." I appreciated his honesty! It was a one-time make for me!

Very similar to what I have always cooked, as a Georgia girl. Some readers complained about it being too wet, and the secret to a good squash casserole is to get all of the water out of the squash. I steam the squash, drain it in the colander then the mash it a bit with a fork while still in the colander. I don't purée it, And I don't add cream, and I use half the butter. I use whole-grain crackers, and no breadcrumbs.

I've had the pleasure of tasting this delicious dish at parties given by Julia Reed or her mother Judy. My last experience with the casserole was at a gathering at Julia's home where the spread on the dining table was as colorful and eclectic as the guests gathered round it. When I asked Julia how she had time to cook, host weekend guests AND chair a major fundraiser she said, "Oh Mama made 10 casseroles and drove them down from Greenville (her home nearly 6 hours away)." What a great mama.

I made this for a dinner party last night and it was a big hit. The idea of blanching already mild vegetables made me so sad, tho, that I just shredded them in the food processor, squeezed out as much liquid as I could in a dishtowel and added them to the onions and peppers on the stove once the onions were transparent. This is definitely going on my potluck list!

This is the kind of food that we have been missing for too long. This is definitely make American cooking great again. I was wondering whether you could just use canned squash and jello?

I threw out 80% of the dish, which is something I seldom do. When reviews mentioned "baby food" texture and "insulation", I did not imagine the terrible porridge texture this dish has. I believe “the best squash casserole on the planet Earth” may well have been sarcasm---squash is one of the blandest vegetables on Earth, and the recipe is only about 1/4th squash disguised with other veggies. The taste comes from the peppers, not the squash. But the texture is yucky.

Ritz crackers, sadly, are made with "unethical" palm oil, obtained from destroyed orangutan habitat in SouthEast Asia. Perhaps choose a substitute, please?

This recipe has a 4 star rating with over 700 reviews? Let me start by stating that I am a good experienced cook. I'll add that when I first try a recipe, I do it AS IT IS WRITTEN. I had to ask myself, "Should I serve this in a bowl with a straw?" There's something very wrong here. It's a good thing that there are Ritz Crackers in the recipe as it gave us something to eat with cheese when I threw the casserole down the garbage disposal. ROAST THE SQUASH!

As to the texture and wetness of this recipe... Most commenters are making this dish with 6 in squash from the farmers market. These squash are tender and moist to begin with and get softer as they age. No gardener ever puts the first squash into a casserole. This dish is for the bone dry and rock hard foot long squash that you get at the end of the season when you are so sick of squash that you don't pick it every day. You have to puree it and it will absorb every single drop of cream

This was delicious but the recipe is a bit too rich. I used 3 tablespoons olive oil instead of 6 tablespoons of butter. Using milk instead if the cream would have been a good idea, as well. I also used whole wheat instead of white as that was what was on hand. Next time, I'll lighten up on the butter and cream and go heavier on the cheese.

Absolutely!

I’m so crazy! I still start every recipe off by simply following it, something about respecting the author. This recipe hit all the buttons for our big gathering. Very fresh tasting and still reminiscent of the old style squash casserole from some old of the folks times. Thank you, Julia Moskin!

This is delicious just as it's presented. I know people want to share how to make it healthier, but unless you eat this dish on a regular basis, the cream and the butter and the cheese aren't going to hurt you. Wonderful side for my Thanksgiving of sides.

I made the recipe as written except I used crumbled cornbread instead of the white bread and crackers. My folks really liked it. I will make this again. I would never have thought of pureeing the squash.

Tasty!

My husband’s allergic to cow milk so I substituted goat yogurt for the cream, Manchego instead of cheddar, and used plant butter. It was delicious! Next time I’m going to try adding corn and green chilies.

This was mushy. We clearly don't share the same opinion of veg that Julia's mom has - we like them. It also made a huge amount, so I had to get creative with leftovers. Ended up using it like polenta, piling sauteed veggies (not mushy) on top. That was ok, but not good enough to make it again. If you're going to try it and you're a small dining group (2-3 people), halve the amount to be on the safe side. Also, used a whole good-sized jalapeño and didn't taste any spice.

Followed instructions, except made sure that squash was *well* drained. Baby food mush, ugh. Lacking flavor. I think perhaps one has to have grown up with this mushy kind of food, to like it.There are enough great ways to cook summer squash - boiling doesn't seem to be one of them.

I haven’t even made this yet but as a lover of squash casseroles, I learned long ago NEVER to boil squash! Maybe steam, possibly roast but don’t add water to an already watery vegetable!

Looking at this recipe, I wonder why not just make traditional wonderful southern squash. Cut up 4 or 5 squash, put in less water than you’d think, steam until soft, then boil off water. Near the end add a splash of half-and-half (milk’s fine), 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter to taste and pepper. Now let the rest of the water boil off.

Don't even think of pureeing the squash. Whole slices!!!

Really yummy casserole! I used half summer squash, half zuccinni because it was what I had on hand, and Cheezits instead of Ritz. I also followed the suggestion of someone on here and grated the squash instead of boiling it and sauteeing it with the other veggies. No cream, so I used half and half and milk. Easy peazy and delicious.

Cut recipe in half and baked 25 minutes in smaller dish, obvi. Had no consistency issues at all! It served perfectly and tasted delicious.

I’ve been making this recipe for years. It’s a holiday splurge, calorie-wise, as my usual way of cooking summer squash is roasting it in the oven with a little olive oil, s p. Now that I’ve seen the video, I realize that I’ve been doing one step incorrectly - but I like it and will continue! I purée all the vegetables. I like the soufflé texture and the flavor. It’s an elegant dish, especially good with red meat.

From reading one of the comments, this dish sounds like a wash. Not preparing this one. Instead, I'm going to take my yellow summer squash, saute it with garlic, throw in tomatoes and herbs, serve that on pasta and top with parmesan cheese or use the lemony squash recipe which sounds really good.

I am a southerner and I've eaten a lot of squash casserole - this is the best I've ever tasted. I blanch and freeze summer squash just so I can enjoy it in the dead of winter.Substitutions can make it healthier without diminishing the richness. The key to this recipe is the jalapeno.