Vegan Squash Casserole

Healthy squash casserole is so easy to make and so flavorful. This dairy free squash casserole is made with tender squash, rich, creamy sauce and a crunchy cracker topping that is a great side dish for dinner or as a side to your holiday meals.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy squash casserole, vegan squash casserole, vegan zucchini yellow squash casserole

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 35

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 282kcal

Author Samantha Rowland

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion
3-4 medium zucchini
3-4 medium yellow summer squash
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 cup gluten free crackers

Dairy Free Sauce

2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp. tahini
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425F.
Chop the onion, slice the squash into 1/4 inch slices.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with olive oil or avocado oil spray. Add onion and cook 3-4 minutes.
Add 1/2 of the sliced squash to the skillet with the onions along with 1/4 tsp salt. Stir occasionally, cooking 7-10 minutes.
After 7-10 minutes, spoon the vegetables out of the skillet into the 9X13 casserole dish.
Spray the skillet with olive oil or avocado oil and add the rest of the squash and 1/4 tsp salt to the skillet. Stir occasionally and cook 7-10 minutes.
While the squash is cooking, rinse and drain the white beans. Add the rinsed beans to a high speed blender with the rest of the dairy free sauce. Blend on high 30 seconds - 1 minute.
After the squash is done cooking, spoon the rest to the casserole dish. Pour the dairy free sauce over the cooked vegetables and stir well.
Crush the crackers and sprinkle them over top of the vegetables.
Bake in 425F oven for 15 minutes.

Notes

Top tips

Use any of your favorite summer squash in this recipe for vegan squash casserole. You can use zucchini, yellow summer squash or patty pan squash or a combination of any of these.
Be sure to cut the squash to a similar thickness to ensure they cook evenly. You want to cut the squash to about ¼ inch thickness. I don’t recommend a mandoline for this because it will actually cut the squash too thin.
Sauté the squash for 7-10 minutes first before assembling the dish, to ensure the casserole doesn't get watery when cooking. Summer squash and zucchini squash have a lot of water in the squash which if it’s not cooked out in advance, it will seep out in the casserole. Also the casserole will take longer to cook (40-50 minutes, covered) to get the squash soft in the oven.
The sauce will look thin when you are mixing up the dish. However, it will thicken as it cooks in the oven.

What else can you use instead of crackers for topping?

Breadcrumbs (panko or regular breadcrumbs)
Almond flour breadcrumbs (1 cup almond flour + 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt)
Crushed up cereal like Chex rice cereal

Storing leftovers

Fridge: Store leftover summer squash casserole in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. You can make this up to 2 days in advance (wait to put the cracker topping on until right before serving). Bake in a 425 oven for 20 minutes, cold from the fridge.
Freezer: You can freeze zucchini squash casserole for up to 3 months. Be sure to wrap the casserole dish in plastic wrap and foil before freezing. Defrost in the fridge overnight or cook through in the oven at 350F for 45-50 minutes until completely warmed through.

Nutrition