Summer comes with a lot of great things and one of them is summer squash! It’s a prolific vegetable, to say the least, which is probably why there are so many great recipes out there for using it up. Squash Casserole has been a popular option for decades, because it uses up a ton of squash, yes, but also because it’s creamy and delicious and no one can resist a cracker crumb topping.

What Ingredients Are in Classic Squash Casserole?

It’s not a long ingredients list. You’ll need:

• Yellow squash. About 3 pounds, though more or less will do.
• Butter. Always.
• Onion. A sweet onion, please.
• Eggs.
• Sour cream AND mayo.
• Cheddar cheese. Sharp!
• Butter crackers. Like Ritz.

How Do You Make Classic Squash Casserole?

The oven does most of the work here but you do want to start off on the stovetop in an effort to cook out some of the liquid from the squash first. A good squash casserole isn’t liquidy and this classic version makes sure of that.

Cook down your squash and onion in some butter in a skillet until it’s just tender, which should take about ten minutes. Then, transfer all of that to a colander and let it drain for five minutes or so. It might seem like overkill but it ensures success, so don’t skip it.

Mix that squash with the eggs, mayo, sour cream, and cheese, and get it in a baking dish. Crush up some Ritz crackers, mix them with melted butter and sprinkle those over the top. Then bake!

How Does it Taste?

Because you gently cooked the squash and drained it, it comes out still tasting like squash and not like a mushy unidentifiable vegetable. This has squash flavor — and thanks to that draining step — it’s creamy too. Those pre-cooking and draining steps mean that the creaminess here isn’t diluted at all, so the end result is a casserole that holds together and still has texture. It’s squash casserole done right — with flavor and creamy, cheesy, crunchy goodness.