Zucchini and Summer Squash Casserole

5 from 6 votes

Zucchini and Summer Squash Casserole

Cooking the squash in the skillet before assembly and baking adds flavor and more importantly, softens the squash so you can press out some of the moisture before baking. Even though the squash is browned in melted butter, when you press out the moisture, most of the butter goes with it so there's not much in the finished casserole.

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

Total Time1 10

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Casseroles

Servings:

Calories: 321kcal

Author: Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter, plus softened butter for the baking dish
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound zucchini, cut into ½-inch rounds
1 pound yellow squash, cut into ½-inch rounds
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups flaky crackers, such as Ritz, coarsely crushed
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups whole milk
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt- if using table salt, add less
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced thin

Instructions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F degrees. Lightly butter a 13x9-inch or large round (11-inch) baking dish.
Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 chopped onion and 4 minced garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
Melt another Tablespoon butter in the skillet, again over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound zucchini in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and tender, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the zucchini to a colander and let it drain over a plate or in your sink. Melt 1 more Tablespoon of butter and add 1 pound yellow squash in a single layer and cook in the same manner as the zucchini. Add the yellow squash to the zucchini in the colander. Using a rubber spatula, press gently on the squash mixture to remove excess moisture. Stir the squash into the onion mixture and add 1 cup cheddar.
Add 1 cup corn to this mixture.

Cook's Note:

Since the skillet is still warm, I like to toss the corn into it and quickly brown it on medium-high before adding, this adds nice flavor to the corn but is not critical.
Sprinkle 1 cup crackers in the bottom of the baking dish. Top them with the squash mixture.
Whisk 3 eggs in a medium bowl. Add 1 ½ cups milk, 3 Tablespoons basil, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, ½ teaspoon hot sauce and whisk until combined.
Pour the egg mixture evenly over the squash. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheddar over top, arrange 2 thinly sliced tomatoes over the cheese and then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup crackers over the tomatoes.
Bake until the casserole feels set when pressed gently in the center, about 30-35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

Cook's Note:

You can substitute your favorite healthy oil for the butter, but the butter adds better flavor when browning plus remember you're pressing out a lot of it in the colander (do NOT use a butter substitute); I highly recommend using fresh basil and not omitting or substituting with dried, it makes a difference.

Nutrition