Tea Time with Jo | Squash Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

For the casserole:

-4 medium summer squashes

-1 large onion or 2 small ones (I like Vidalia) 

-4 cloves of garlic

-1/4 cup of premium full fat coconut milk or coconut cream

-Salt, Pepper and Thyme, all to taste 

-2-3 Tbsp of olive oil for cooking

For the crumb topping:

-1/2 cup of almond flour

-2 Tbsp of premium full fat coconut milk or coconut cream

-2 Tbsp of grass fed butter or ghee, melted

-Salt, Pepper, Garlic powder, Oregano and Parsley, a good pinch of each

Steps:

-Chop your summer squash, onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent.

-Add your seasonings and stir to combine. 

-Add the coconut milk or cream and stir until incorporated. 

-While the veggies are sautéing, grease a 9x9 or 8x11 baking dish with butter, ghee, olive or avocado oil.

-Prepare the crumb topping by melting the butter and coconut milk/cream together. Then pour into a small bowl with the almond flour and spices. Mix to combine. The mixture should look almost like dough. It should hold its shape if you pinch it together with your fingers. If too dry, add more butter/coconut milk, if too wet, add more almond flour. 

-Pour your sautéed veggies into the greased baking dish and dot the top with the crumble topping. 

-Bake at 400ºF until the topping is golden brown (15-20min).

-Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Notes: I like to use a combination of yellow squash and zucchini but have made this recipe with all yellow squash or all zucchini, either way is delicious.

I am specifying “premium” coconut milk here as it is richer and has a higher percentage of fat than “classic” coconut milk. This lends to a creamier sauce in the casserole. If you can’t find premium, you can use full fat coconut cream. Regardless of the type you use, give the milk/cream a good stir to incorporate any liquid with the fat, prior to using. Don’t worry, this recipe will not taste like coconut once it is done. 

You can also use any other type of non-dairy milk, or even bone broth, but it will need the addition of some arrowroot starch to make it thicker. 

If you want to keep the recipe vegan, you can just use coconut milk fat/cream to mix in with the almond flour for the crumble. 

I was not raised on squash casserole growing up, so I do not claim that this casserole compares at all to an authentic southern squash casserole. I just wanted to try to find a healthier alternative and came up with this after reading a few recipes. This casserole tastes like Thanksgiving to me (especially if you add a little dried sage to the veggies). So full of flavor, warm and comforting. Perfect for using up squashes from a home garden. 

If you’d like to see how this recipe looks coming out of the oven, check out this IG post. 

Please feel free to share this recipe without anyone you think might enjoy it. I’ve made it multiple times this summer and will likely make it as the veggie side for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!