Butternut squash, bacon and cheese make an easy side dish for a weeknight or a holiday spread. Make at the last minute or make ahead! Squash casserole is a simple and flexible veggie side dish that will convert even (many) squash skeptics into squash eaters.
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Squash is a vegetable (fruit, really, but is seems more like a vegetable!) that can take on different flavors really well. To put it less politely, it doesn’t have a great taste all on its own. It needs some help. Bacon and cheese are definitely helpers!
While cinnamon and sugar are popular ways to make the poor squash more appealing, I find a savory approach quite tasty. The butternut squash has a natural sweetness that works well with cinnamon and its fall friends (like in egg free GAPS-ish squash pancakes), but that same sweetness countered with cheese and bacon is totally different.
It is hard to go too far wrong with cheese and bacon, after all. I have been accused of bribing people into eating squash with this recipe. The truth is that I am also bribing myself! Squash is not really a preferred food for me, either, but this is good.
As nourishing and inexpensive as a butternut squash is, it makes sense to include it now and then!
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Health Benefits of Butternut Squash
- potassium (many benefits, including heart health and blood pressure regulation)
- beta carotene (anti-oxidant, good for eye health and inflammation)
- fiber (gut, heart, and blood sugar benefits)
- Vitamins A and C (many benefits, including immune health)
- good quality, filling carbohydrate (even beneficial for diabetics)
- read more about why squash is good for us here
How to Make Squash Casserole
Cook your squash. In the winter, I often stick a whole squash in the oven with some other dish so it is ready when I want to use it. I refrigerate and use it within a few days.
In the summer, I don’t like to use the oven very much, so I prefer to cook it in the slow cooker until it is slightly soft. The picture shows the slow cooker method; the end is cut off because it didn’t fit the crock. If your squash fits your cooker, there is no need to cut the end off!
After cooking, cool the squash at least enough to handle, then slice in half. Remove the seeds and the skin.
Slice into crescent slices or smaller. Put them into a baking dish, such as an 8″ square pan.
Stir together the sour cream and seasonings. You can also add extra cheese at this point.
Stir the sour cream mixture into the squash and smooth out in the dish. Top with shredded cheese and bake about 20 minutes at 350° F, or until the mixture is bubbling and the cheese melted.
Top with chopped bacon and green onions. Cool a bit before serving.
Bacon and Cheese Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 C sour cream or cultured cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp paprika (or smoked paprika if not on GAPS)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 C shredded cheese
- 3-4 strips chopped, cooked bacon
- 1/2 C chopped green onion
Instructions
- First, cook your squash. You can bake it in the oven whole on a baking sheet for 45 minutes or so at 350° F or you can cook it in a slow cooker for a couple of hours on high until it is soft. (The exact time will vary considerably depending on the size of the squash. Baking the squash ahead of time while something else is in the oven is ideal in cool weather, and the slow cooker is good in warm weather.)
- After the squash is cooked, cool it and slice lengthwise so you have two halves. Remove the skin and seeds. Slice crosswise into crescent-like slices. Put the slices into a baking dish, such as an 8" square pan.
- In a small bowl, mix sour cream and all the seasonings together. (If you want to add extra cheese or bacon, do that now.)
- Gently fold the mixture into the squash slices. Top with the shredded cheese.
- Bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Top with bacon and green onions. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Make Squash Casserole Your Way
- Extra cheese is usually a good idea. Mix some into the squash, plus the cheese on top.
- The same can be said for bacon– extra bacon mixed into the squash will only improve the outcome.
- If you are following the GAPS diet, be sure you use GAPS sour cream and cheese that is GAPS approved– I like cheddar for this recipe. Gouda is also good!
- If you are not on GAPS, smoked paprika adds extra flavor and enhances the bacon vibe. If on GAPS, smoked isn’t your best option.
- Sometimes I add cooked onion. Caramelized onions would make it even better!
- This recipe works well made ahead, such as for Thanksgiving. You can assemble the whole thing minus the bacon and green onion, then bake when you are ready. I have done this one ahead and baked it after taking the turkey out of the oven, since it requires only a short baking time.