Kentucky Southern Squash Casserole – Squash Casserole with Ritz Crackers
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Kentucky Southern Squash Casserole is the perfect way to turn those yellow squash into a family friendly side dish. Starring butter crackers, cream of chicken soup, and cheese, this recipe perfectly combines flavor and texture, and this dish will soon become a summer staple.
Kentucky Southern Squash Casserole Recipe
Every year, our Dad plants a nice garden. It consists of the staples like zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and he then adds a few odds and ends like yellow squash, green peppers or eggplant. I have a nice collection of summer recipes to use up our bounty, and I’m always on the lookout for new all-star recipes that the whole family will enjoy.
Some of my favorite summer recipes include Mom’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread, Sweet and Sour Coleslaw, Crock Pot Cheesy Corn, Scalloped Kohlrabi and Old Fashioned Squash Casserole.
I have added this most delicious cheesy squash casserole to that list. A friend brought it over one evening and called it a Kentucky Squash Casserole…I just call it amazing. We also have a Yellow Squash Casserole made with stuffing mix that is excellent as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I substitute other squash?
Don’t have yellow squash? You can easily swap in zucchini for a new spin on this easy squash casserole.
Can I use different cheese?
The cheese for this cheesy yellow squash casserole comes in the form of shredded cheddar cheese. The easy part is that you could use Colby, or American cheese if that’s what you have. Shred a block of cheese yourself or buy the pre-shredded variety.
How do I prep the yellow squash?
Wash off the outside of the yellow squash and cut off the ends. When dicing up the squash, aim for same-sized pieces so that it cooks consistently. Once it’s boiled, be sure to drain it well. If you do not drain it thoroughly, your casserole may be watery.
What to serve with yellow squash casserole?
Old Fashioned Yellow Squash Casserole is perfect served along your favorite grilled meat like our Grilled Pork Shoulder Steak or Sliced Steak Sandwiches from Farmwife Feeds. A side of easy microwave asparagus or roasted carrots would also go great with this dish.
Can I make this casserole into a main dish?
If you want to make this cheesy squash casserole into a meal, try our Bacon Cheeseburger Squash Casserole recipe which uses this recipe as inspiration.
Favorite Vegetable Casseroles
Does your family love vegetable casseroles as much as mine? My kids love 4 Ingredient Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, Cheesy Zucchini Casserole, Old Fashioned Cabbage Casserole, Old-Fashioned Eggplant Casserole with Cheese and Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole.
Yellow Squash Casserole Ingredients
I truly love this casserole because it takes the modest yellow squash and transforms it into a star. The flavor is cheesy and buttery with the perfect texture coming from crushed butter crackers. I love how almost all vintage casseroles have a crunch from crackers or cornflakes.
- Summer (yellow) squash
- Ritz Crackers (butter crackers)
- Cream of Chicken soup
- Shredded Cheddar cheese
- Butter
- Salt
- Pepper
- Minced Onion
How To Make Cheesy Squash Casserole with cream of chicken soup
For the full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for southern squash casserole recipe, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Boil diced yellow squash; drain well.
- Add the squash back to the pan, and add butter, allowing the butter to melt.
- Add cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper, minced onion and shredded cheese and gently stir.
- Lastly, bake in a 350 degree F oven until golden brown and bubbly.
Equipment
Before you start cooking this tasty, old-fashioned casserole, make sure you have these pantry ingredients and kitchen tools on hand. I really like using a food processor to quickly slice my squash for the casserole.
Notes About Yellow Squash Casserole:
- Boil the diced yellow squash in a large skillet in shallow water for a quick method of cooking.
- Prep cheesy yellow squash casserole in one pan. For example, use a skillet to boil the squash, drain, and then add it back to the same skillet to mix the rest of the ingredients. No need to dirty a bunch of dishes.
- If you are adding the squash back to the same skillet, the residual heat should be enough to melt the butter. If not, go ahead and melt the butter before adding it with the rest of the ingredients.
Old Fashioned Squash Recipes
- Pan Roasted Summer Squash
- Stewed Tomatoes and Squash
- Texas Jalapeño Squash Casserole
- Cheesy Summer Squash and Zucchini Casserole
- Ground Beef Stuffed Squash
Kentucky Southern Squash Casserole – Squash Casserole with Ritz Crackers
Ingredients
- 4 cups yellow squash
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 sleeve butter crackers, crushed
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2 quart or 9×9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Dice yellow squash into 1 inch pieces. Add to a skillet and add water to just cover squash.
- Bring to a boil, and cook until fork tender; drain.
- Return the cooked squash to the skillet, and add the remaining ingredients, starting with the butter allowing it to melt from the heat of the squash. Stir to combine.
- Pour into the prepared dish. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Notes
- Vegetable casseroles are a huge hit in my family. My kids love 4 Ingredient Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, Cheesy Zucchini Casserole, Old Fashioned Cabbage Casserole and Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole.
- Boil the diced yellow squash in a large skillet in shallow water for a quick method of cooking.
- This cheesy yellow squash casserole can all be prepped in one pan. Use a skillet to boil the squash, drain, and then add it back to the same skillet to mix the rest of the ingredients. No need to dirty a bunch of dishes.
- If you are adding the squash back to the same skillet, the residual heat should be enough to melt the butter. If not, go ahead and melt the butter before adding it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Don’t have yellow squash, try swapping in zucchini for a new spin on this easy squash casserole.
- The cheese for this cheesy yellow squash casserole comes in the form of shredded cheddar cheese. The easy part is that you could use Colby, or american cheese if that’s what you have. Shred a block of cheese yourself or buy the pre-shredded variety.
Nutrition
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Can you cook this and then freeze and warm up later?
We’ve never tried freezing this casserole after we’ve cooked it, so we don’t know how it would reheat after being frozen.
I think this is very good. I added sautéed onions instead of onion salt and put some shredded crackers on top. Delicious
Sauteed onions sound like a perfect addition!
do the crackers get mixed in or just on top
They go in with the rest of the ingredients!
I think it’s better to crush your crackers and add some melted butter to the top., then bake. Love crunchy topping!
You can do it either way!
Thank you I am making this for lunch today !
Sooooo goood!!! I substituted saltines because thats all I had and used onion powder formthe same reason..Finally i didnt mix the crackers through it but just on tthe top because I wasnt sure..it was still AMAZING!! THANK YOU!!
I make the whole thing in my cast iron skillet, throw the skillet in the oven, and serve from the skillet. No sense dirtying up extra dishes if you don’t have to.
Great idea!!
I made this for lunch at church today, it turned out great, their wasn’t much left lol, I will definitely be making this again!!! :))
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
I’ve had a lot of folks coming for supper. I quadruple this recipe. We had an abundance of garden squash that needed to be eaten. I added hatch green chilies to it. It was an over the top hit!
Glad it was a hit! Love the addition of the green chilies!
I made this for a lunch at church and it was a hit!! So good.
How long do I boil the squash?
Usually just takes a few minutes depending on the size and cut of the squash. You want the squash to be just fork tender, not overly cooked.
Sounds really good, going to make it for dinner tonight. Question, what is the temp setting for the pan on the stove or do you just eyeball it?
You’ll want it on medium high to get it to a boil and then you can turn it down. After you drain and add back to pan you shouldn’t need to have the burner on as the heat from the squash should melt butter.
This was a excellent recipe and thank you ☺️. I’m not a squash person but will eat this again soon 😊
It’s one of our favorites!