This easy Sausage Squash Casserole recipe is the perfect vegetable side dish to serve at your holiday potluck, family reunion, or backyard bbq! The sausage is optional but to me it sets it apart from all other squash and zucchini squash casserole recipes. Make it with yellow or zucchini squash or a mixture of both!
Mom always made this sausage and squash bake with yellow squash, dried parsley and oregano from her garden in Arkansas. I love to make it with a combination of yellow and zucchini squash and fresh herbs.
This is one of my favorite comfort foods. Another is Southern Fried Yellow Squash. Both are super easy to make.
I like to mix it up and add a little color by using zucchini for half the amount of squash but use what you have or what you like.
Fresh herbs straight from the garden is the way to go in the summer! She dried her own oregano by hanging it in bundles and crushed what she needed throughout the winter.
Can I make it without sausage?
Yes, but the sausage makes it different than other squash casserole recipes. I could eat it as a main dish casserole for a light lunch!
If you are already making my Sausage Cornbread Dressing Cups for Thanksgiving you might want to omit the sausage and throw in another squash.
I recently made a couple of changes to this Sausage Squash Casserole recipe and made a Keto version option.
Videos
Check out these video links to ABC 33/40's Talk of Alabama and WBRC Fox6 Good Day Alabama.
I share a ton of kitchen shortcuts as well as explain how to adapt my Sausage Squash Casserole recipe if you are following the Ketogenic diet. Click on these links above or pic below to watch.
I'm sad I forgot to get a pic with Mike Dubberly and Janice Rogers for the Good Day Alabama video.
Keto summer squash casserole
For the Keto version, I took out the breadcrumbs (carbs) and added shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese. Since milk has sugar in it (more carbs) I replaced it with whipping cream. Voila! Keto-friendly.
The pound of breakfast sausage in it already meets the criteria.
I also love to make this summer squash sausage casserole with lean venison sausage during the winter months.
My husband and son are hunters so we always have it in the freezer. See my Community page to read about their nonprofit Outdoor Ability Foundation.
Tips:
When you drain the sausage, don't throw it out. Keep it to sautee those veggies in. Keto diet or not, that's a good practice to add a little flavor to a summertime harvest of vegetables.
Variations and substituions
- Squash casserole with Ritz crackers- Crushed buttery crackers or saltine crackers can easily be used in place of the breadcrumbs.
- Cheese- This sausage and squash casserole is flexible when it comes to the cheese. I often use whatever I have on hand in addition to Parmesan like Cheddar, gouda, pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, Romano, or pre-shredded blends like Italian and Mexcian cheeses.
How to use fresh herbs in this recipe?
If you have a garden or been to the farmers market lately, you are probably looking for new squash recipes to try. I grew up eating this recipe. We used dried herbs and the oregano flavor reminded me of pizza so I used to call it pizza squash casserole.
For more ideas on Cooking with Fresh Herbs I have a whole blog post on it!
I use fresh oregano from my garden until the frost gets it. Fresh herbs can always be substituted for dried herbs; the ratio is 3:1 fresh to dried. Here in Alabama, the frost is just around the corner, so, I'll be picking my oregano and thyme and storing it in the refrigerator for Thanksgiving dishes.
To keep the leaves from turning dark, make sure the leaves are dry. Wrap the bottom of the stems in a damp paper towel and place the whole "bouquet" in a large zip-top bag. They will last for several weeks. Basil will not last as long as oregano, thyme, and rosemary. I pick Rosemary from the bush all Winter.
I'm in love with these (green is my favorite color) foldable silicone trivets. They fold up so I keep them in my kitchen drawer. This casserole came straight from the oven to the trivet. I have three of them and use them almost daily.
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Sausage Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 1-pound package breakfast sausage (sometimes I just use half the pound package)
- 3 medium yellow or zucchini squash sliced (about 4 cups)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk, half and half or whipping cream
- 1 clove garlic minced or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs or 1/2 cup toasted fresh breadcrumbs*
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, Cheddar, or Colby Jack cheese plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring to crumble the sausage as it cooks, until browned; drain and discard drippings.
- Steam the squash in the microwave by placing it in a large microwave-safe glass bowl; add 2 tablespoon water. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH for 3 minutes. Carefully remove the plastic wrap and drain any water in the bowl.
- To avoid washing a second bowl, push squash to one side of the bowl. In the other side of the bowl, whisk together eggs; gradually add milk. Toss egg mixture and squash together. Add garlic and remaining ingredients and stir together gently.
- Spoon squash mixture into a greased 11/2-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and browned around the edges.
Notes
Nutrition
Honor
I've read this multiple times and can't find where you add the breadcrumbs in?
gritsandgouda
Sure! No worries at all. In step 3, it says "add garlic and remaining ingredients". The breadcrumbs are one of those remaining ingredients in the list. I hope you will give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Jeanette
Have you ever added onion? I made a similar recipe over 30 years ago but lost the recipe and it included onion. Your recipe is the closest I’ve seen to the ingredients I remember being in the one I made. It was so very good and definitely a comfort food. I will let you know how this one turns out for us!
gritsandgouda
I haven't added onion to this recipe but I do in my Easy Yellow Squash casserole recipe. But sliced or chopped onion would still taste great and easily stirred in this recipe. Yes, please do let me know how it turns out!
Jimmy Gann
Kathleen I made this and it was awesome!!!! Never thought to add sausage. Brilliant!!!! I used smoked chicken sausage links I got at Publix and wow. Thanks for this great recipe.
gritsandgouda
I love the idea of using chicken sausage! Hope you are doing well. It's great to hear from you and thank you so much for following my blog!
Jeana Siffles
When I was in high-school this recipe was in any Area magazine that the power company sent out. Just the other day I thought I need to see if I can find that recipe on the internet and here it is. Thank you so much for posting this.
gritsandgouda
I'm so glad you found my version of this recipe! I love to use either/or or both yellow and zucchini squash. My mom always used herbs she grew and dried herself. I used to think it tasted like pizza because of her dried herbs. Such good memories. So glad you can recreate your fond memories of it, now, too!
mary banks
I guess turkey sausage would work as well? My husband had a heart attack recently, and I'm always looking for low-fat/low-sodium meals!
Kathleen
Absolutely! Turkey sausage is a terrific substitute! You can also just omit the sausage.
Trish
Hey Miss Kathleen! Just saw your recipe as I’m always looking for new ideas for the bounty of my garden. We live very much farm/field to table. My Daddy & did live in Ozark. I grew up devouring momma’s fried squash for as long as the good Lord provided each year. I now live in the PNW….quite a change, but I always have a garden, freezers full of PNW bounty of wild game, game birds, berries & the biggest fish we can catch! Anyways….my question is that I’ve quite a few vacuumed sealed frozen yellow & green squash….I know they’re best used in casseroles & stews. Just had an elk stew that was Dee….licious! So…can I use my frozen bounty for this and if so, what tips might you have? I have herbs year round and good there. Great tip I too use wrapping bouquets and bagging them for fridge.
Not posted anywhere but folks round here refer to me as “Trish the dish”… not cuz this 62yo is all that…but because I have brain banked from moms and granny’s as well as garden, fishin’ & huntin’ tips from daddy and Grandaddy. I like your Southern Style and I too have done event planning, weddings, theme dinners and hubby can make the claim he never eats the same thing in 90 days!! And travels the world so I always plate with presentation…every night.
Kinda proud of it and post pics on FB.
Thanks for your time…hope to hear back soon! Have a blessed day😇
gritsandgouda
Hey Trish the Dish! You've got a lot going on and sounds like you have fun doing it! Yes, you absolutely can use frozen squash in this recipe. It actually can be considered a shortcut because you wouldn't have to steam the squash, just drain it first. Wow! 90 days without repeating the same meal? That's impressive! Thank you for following my Southern shortcut recipes.
Deanna A Loden
I've made this several times. I actually use sage sausage and I also add chopped onion. It's delicious!
gritsandgouda
I love the idea of adding onion and using sage sausage! Onions add flavor to everything, right! So glad you are loving this casserole recipe.
Camille Wiley
Made this for dinner tonight after making the Squash Lemon blueberry muffins this morning. I bet you can tell I have a lot of squash coming in from the garden right now. The Sausage summer squash casserole was a great option for offering squash to the family in a different more exciting way. The recipe was very quick, simple and oh so tasty. Thank you for the great recipes.
gritsandgouda
Yay for lots of squash coming on in your garden! And thank you so much for letting me know you loved the recipe and giving it a 5 star rating!
Deanna Loden
I made this today. I used sage sausage and I added onion. Really good! We had it as our main dish with fried green tomatoes.
gritsandgouda
Oh! What a perfect combination for a summer supper! My mom always uses sage sausage, too. If she can't find it, she sprinkles in a little dried sage. Thank you for sharing. So glad you loved the casserole.
patricia whitley
i don't have bread crumbs how about ritz crackers instead?
gritsandgouda
Absolutely! They will be great on this squash casserole! I have even crumbled up potato chips before!
patricia whitley
so funny i was about to add the crackers and just found your response. thanks for the quick answer. God Bless your home
gritsandgouda
Thank you so much!
Ruby Rutledge Huling
Can this be made ahead of time or can it be frozen to bake for later?
Kathleen
The answer is YES to both questions! You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it for several days before baking. You can also bake, cool, and refrigerate it a few days before serving. Just reheat in the oven at 350F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Lastly, you can freeze it unbaked or baked. You can let it thaw completely before baking or reheating or pop it in the oven frozen, covered, for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until thoroughly heated. Hope this helps!