The “Best Squash Ever” is a recipe from an old church cookbook of my mother’s. It’s actually called “Best Squash Ever,” I didn’t just make that up, but I do agree with the assessment. This dish is a casserole made from summer squash (although my sister makes a fantastic version with roasted butternut squash, but she doesn’t really use a recipe so I don’t know how to make it). Growing up, my mom used to make this casserole as a side dish for holiday meals and we always gobbled it up. I’ve made this casserole countless times for countless people and it’s always a hit. It’s simple, fast, and inexpensive; it’s also equally yummy as leftovers.
Recently we were swimming in summer squash from our CSA so I made this casserole. By summer squash I mean the yellow crook neck squash (it’s sort of shaped like a skinny pear), but probably any kind of summer squash, including zucchini, could be used in its place.
Best Squash Ever
Servings: 8 generous ones
- 6 medium to large summer squash
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 egg, beaten
- approximately 1 cup bread crumbs, plus a little more for the topping (I usually use the Italian seasonings breadcrumbs, but plain works fine too)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 lb is half of an 8 oz block of cheddar cheese)
- 1/2 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
- dash of Tabasco sauce (or other hot pepper sauce), to taste
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Cut the squash into 1/2″ thick rounds. Boil in salted water until tender, approximately 10 minutes. Drain squash and return to the pot. Mash squash with a masher, add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into a greased casserole dish. The casserole may be made ahead of time up until this point and refrigerated overnight. My mom actually swears it tastes better if you let it hang out in the fridge for a day before you cook it. When you’re ready to cook the casserole, spread a thin layer of breadcrumbs on top of it and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.
Boiled squash
Mashed squash
Best Squash Ever
Well, we also have squash coming out of our ears and I am the only one in our house who loves it so I promise to give this a try. Thanks for the post.
I hope you enjoy the casserole — maybe it will convince some in your house that summer squash is delicious.
makes me feel like asking your mother to get busy and cook some to-day. Kevin
Well, you could always cook it. Now you have the recipe.
What’s more, you can take it to pot-luck meals. If there’s time and an available oven, take it uncooked and bake it there; if not, reheat it (if an oven or microwave is available) or serve it cold.
Give the credit to Trinity Episcopal Church, Swarthmore, PA – you could always write to them and see if there are any copies of the cookbook available (mine is falling to pieces), but I doubt that there are; we compiled it somewhere around 1980, give or take a few years either way, and it was very popular.
I’ve also given it, uncooked, to people who have just had babies on the theory that they can cook it whenever they’d like.
wow Thanks for writing up this recipe–you did email it to me some time ago–it helps to see photos of the process. WE LOVE this! I didn’t realize that this recipe was from your mother –makes it even better….
Hi Tricia, I’ll be sure to bring you some of the casserole next time I make it since you like it so much. I bet we get some more summer squash with our CSA soon.