Despite yellow squash being a summer vegetable, I always think of squash casserole as a fall dish. It might have something to do with the fact that squash casserole is a requirement on my Thanksgiving table. Regardless of the time of year, it’s a great side for just about any menu.
Now, I’ve shared a squash casserole recipe with y’all before, but I figure you can never have too much of a good thing, so here’s another!
My other recipe forgoes the “cream of” soup and has some bacon in the mix, too. This version swaps the eggs and sour cream for a blend of cream of chicken and mushroom soup (keep reading for more on this pantry staple) and sour cream. And while I love both of them, I really love the creamy, velvety texture of this version.
When it comes to squash, there has to be onions. And when there is squash and onions, there’s got to be some smoky bacon flavor, too – kinda like my Old School Squash and Onions. So, we start by sautéing our squash and onions in some bacon grease. If you don’t have any bacon grease, you can use butter. But the bacon grease is best. Seriously.
Now there are a couple of other things I do differently with this version that need to be mentioned…
The first is draining the squash after it’s been cooked. Summer squash is something like 95% water and all that water can make for a soggy casserole. Cooking it will bring that water out, so draining it is a little insurance policy against a waterlogged dish. Is it required? Nope. Should you do it? Yep.
The other ingredient that’s notably missing in this version is eggs. The eggs help to boost the amount of protein in this dish and help to hold the ingredients together a bit. The thing is, egg in a dish like this can result in a bit of a curdled texture that I find a little off-putting. I tested the recipe with eggs and it works just fine. You can add in two eggs if you wish. I just found the texture of the sauce in the casserole much more pleasant without the eggs when using the “cream of” soup.
Now let’s talk about this soup…
One of my favorite things to have in the arsenal when it comes to casseroles is a can of Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup. Now this confuses folks sometimes because they’ve either never heard of it or they think I’m talking about a can of each. Nope. It’s one can that’s cream of chicken and mushroom all in one. And it’s delicious! It gives you great chicken flavor and savory mushroom flavor all together. I almost always use it when a recipe calls for one or the other.
You should have no trouble finding it in your local grocery store right with the other condensed soups. That said, if you can’t get your hands on it, one can of either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom will work.
Recipe Card
Ultimate Cheesy Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yellow squash, thinly sliced (about 1/4-inch thick)
- 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons bacon grease (or butter)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken and mushroom condensed soup (see note)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- About 30 buttery crackers, crushed (like Ritz)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- Add the bacon grease to a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted add the onions and squash. Season with the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, but not mushy – about 10 minutes. Drain the squash mixture well in a colander to remove excess liquid.
- In a large bowl, stir together the undiluted cream of chicken and mushroom soup, sour cream, and cheese. Fold in the drained squash mixture. Spread into the prepared dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the crushed crackers with the butter until the cracker crumbs are coated. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
I love this recipe, and will be making it for holiday cooking this year!
Thanks, Fay!
Love squash this is wonderful. I even made a trip to WalMart to get the combo soup. I’m not a regular Walmart shopper I hate self check out. I had never heard or seen any so picked up several cans to keep on hand love your recipes.
Thanks, Dottie! i really think it makes a difference! Enjoy!
This looks great!
Could you please post the link mentioned here? I can’t find it. Thanks!
“This isn’t a can of cream of mushroom and a can of cream of chicken. It’s one can that is cream of chicken and mushroom. Be sure to read the blog post about this pantry staple. “
https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/cream-of-chicken-mushroom-soup/
I have a wonderful recipe for stuffed squash that calls for 1 pound of cooked sausage. I think sausage will be great in this beautiful recipe, too!
That sounds great!
Fantastic dish I buy pre cooked bacon so no grease ,I did find bacon grease at the supermarket and it smelled so good . Thanks for the fantastic dish, AND A NICE STORY !!!
Perfect!
i have made a similiar recipe by adding shredded carrots. we love it!
Yum!
Yum!! I’ve made this exactly the same way except I use cream of celery soup, ..this the only way I will eat squash 🙌
Sounds good to me!
Love this recipe it so easy to make. My family loves it also I will have to make a bigger pan next time
That’s a good problem to have. So glad everyone enjoyed it!
I made this tonight for dinner. Everyone loved it. Thanks for another great recipe!
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
Are you saying one can cream of chicken and one of cream of mushroom?
Joan, our Walmart carries a canned soup that is both cream of mushroom and chicken. I guess you could use half of a cream of mushroom and half a can of cream of chicken if you do not have that certain flavor available. You could also just use a can of cream of chicken or a can of cream of mushroom, whichever you prefer!
This looks delicious, but my oldest does not care for Ritz crackers. Can you suggest a replacement?
Thanks!
You could use panko bread crumbs or another cracker like Town House.
Right at the top of the page is a button that says jump to recipe. Then you can skip all the comments. Too bad there wasnt a “skip stupid ass mean hateful comment ” button so i wouldn’t have to have read your disrespectful comment. Stacey i think you’re awesome…
Wonderful! Had something similar at a restaurant in Atlanta and wanted to duplicate at home. Thanks
Hope you enjoy it!!
Delicious! Thanks for all the time you took to share this recipe. Keep doing you! God bless.
Thanks so much, Char! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This is the only squash recipe that I have been successful in getting my husband to eat. Being the self-proclaimed meat and potatoes ONLY kinda guy, that really is saying something.Thanks for helping me get yet another veggie introduced to his palate. 🙂
My daughter also says it rocked. Yes. Yes it did!
Sweet! So glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!
I have a recipe like your without the cheddar cheese,
Yum!!
I can see why this sort of dish winds up on your Thanksgiving table! Nice work!
Thanks so much, Jeff!
If you don’t have the one can of soup can you use the two separated cans?
You can use 1 cream of chicken or 1 cream of mushroom or half of each or, if you want it really saucy, you can use one whole can of each.
I make nine like this too. It is delicious.I love your recipies…..thank you!
Thanks, Dale!
Why do u ppl feel like WASTING EVERYONE’S TIME with your memories and stupid opinions? I don’t care how your Nana, meemaw, or anyone else took you to pick the squash and how the sun streamed thru the trees, blah. blah. BLAH. NO ONE CARES! WHY CANT ANYONE JUST SHARE THE DAMNED RECIPE? Seriously. I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t have exorborant amounts of time to help these ppl w their maturation.
Thanks for nothing! I couldn’t even make it to the recipe and I’m about to crucify you in my review.
You are NOT as interesting as you think.
Sheesh. Shut up.
And yet, here you are taking the time to complain about having to scroll for a free recipe. Cool story, bro. Just hit that “Jump to Recipe” and keep being your awesome self.
The recipe looks delicious and I’m going to try it, but I just wanted to tell you how I appreciate how well you handled the heckler who could have just scrolled down or jumped to the recipe from the top! Classic and classy!
Ha! Thanks, Veronica! It’s a hazard of the job, I suppose. 🙂
Hey, Scrooge! Just click Jump to Recipe! Some of us like to read the stories because it reminds us of our own Moms or Grandmas. Just chill, please!
That was about as rude as you can get.. you do not have to read it Love… or even LOOK AT IT… But you did.. even took time put of YOUR DAY to write a hateful comment..
Lol sooooo
Cockran, you are a loser!