Paula Deen’s Squash Casserole
A classic southern dish for good reason.
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Squash casserole is a southern staple and we all know that southern staples are Paula Deen’s culinary wheelhouse, so who better to turn to when you need a go-to recipe for such a classic? Her Squash Casserole is everything you want it to be – full of tender squash flavor, but also delightfully creamy and cheesy with an irresistibly crispy cracker crumb topping. It’s classically delicious and easy to make too!
Paula’s casserole doesn’t involve creating any kind of sauce, just a few ingredients and a few simple steps to bring it all together. You start by sautéing some yellow squash in olive oil for a good long while until it has broken down completely. Once it’s tender and almost saucy on its own, you set it aside and work on sautéing some onions in the same pan.
Both of those get mixed with some sour cream and three kinds of cheese. (See? No sauce to build, but plenty creamy and cheesy.)
And then of course the pièce de résistance is the cracker crumb topping that blankets the whole dish. Paula doesn’t alter those crumbs at all, no tossing them with melted butter or any such thing; they just get crumbled over the casserole and baked until they’re golden brown.
It’s the perfect combination of flavors and textures – comfortingly creamy and cheesy, soft and tender most of the way through but kicked up with a crunchy, buttery topping. It’s not fancy, it’s not particularly ground-breaking, it’s just a simple and comforting classic done right.
Paula Deen's Squash Casserole
Yield(s): Serves 6
20m prep time
30m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 6 cups yellow squash, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 cup butter crackers, crushed
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a casserole dish with butter. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil. Add squash and saute until it has broken down completely, 15-20 minutes.
- Line a colander with a clean paper towel and place squash on top. Squeeze out any excess moisture.
- In same skillet, melt butter. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Remove to a large bowl. Add squash, sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Gruyere, cheddar, and mozzarella and stir to combine.
- Transfer to serving dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Sugar and Spice.