Yellow Squash Casserole from the Black Eyed Pea Restaurant

Experience the warmth of Southern home-style cooking with this beloved recreation of Black Eyed Pea’s signature Yellow Squash Casserole. This comforting side dish transforms humble yellow summer squash into a rich, creamy casserole topped with golden breadcrumbs that create the perfect textural contrast. Despite its name, this restaurant chain’s most requested recipe contains no black-eyed peas – just pure, buttery squash goodness that has been winning over families for decades.

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What makes the Black Eyed Pea Squash Casserole so good?

Classic home-style comfort food is hearty, filling, and tastes delicious!

This wonderful side dish is slightly sweet and has a crispy bread crumb crust, encouraging even the pickiest kids to try it. The casserole pairs well with chicken or turkey and is impressive enough for a holiday to get together yet easy enough for a midweek meal.

If you can’t find yellow squash or happen to have a lot of regular, green zucchinis on hand, feel free to use them in addition to or instead of yellow squash.

How to Select the Best Yellow Squash or Zucchini

When there are so few ingredients in a recipe, each significantly influences how the dish turns out. If you don’t use yellow squash regularly, finding good ones can be a bit of a problem. You can use these hints to help:

1. The best yellow squashes for this dish are small and tender, which tend to be sweet. Ones over 6 inches taste milder and are a better choice for recipes that don’t focus exclusively on squash.
2. Look for a yellow squash without any nicks or scratches. Any naturally occurring bumps you find are okay and won’t affect the flavor of your dish.
3. Firm and dense is ideal. If you pick up a yellow squash and it’s surprisingly heavier than you expected, you are holding a high-quality vegetable in your hand.
4. Before buying a squash, take a look at both ends. Hard, cracking stops indicate the farmer harvested it too late. Please put it back and choose another one.

Ingredients

• Yellow squash – The star ingredient that provides natural sweetness and creamy texture when cooked
• Large eggs – Bind the casserole and add richness while helping achieve proper consistency
• Breadcrumbs – Create structure in the casserole and provide the signature crispy topping
• Butter – Adds essential richness and helps create the golden, flavorful crust
• Sugar – Enhances the natural sweetness of the squash without overwhelming it
• Yellow onion – Provides subtle savory depth that balances the sweetness
• Black pepper – Adds gentle heat and complexity to round out flavors
• Salt – Essential for bringing out all the natural flavors

How to Make Yellow Squash Casserole

1. Cut the tips off the squash and cut each squash into pieces.
2. Place squash into a large saucepan with enough water to cover.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until tender.
4. Drain squash in a colander and mash to remove excess liquid. Return the squash to the pan.

5. Add beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, butter, sugar, salt, onion, and pepper. Stir to combine.

6. Place the mixture into a greased casserole dish.
7. Sprinkle a light layer of breadcrumbs on top.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

This tasty baked yellow squash casserole goes great with ham, roast beef, fried chicken, and turkey.

Tips for Making and Reheating a Yellow Squash Casserole

• Avoid overcooking the squash. Don’t keep the water boiling throughout the entire cooking process. Add the squash to cold water and rapidly bring the water to a hard boil before immediately turning down the temperature to a simmer. Remove the squash from the pot when the pieces are fork-tender, approximately 8 – 10 minutes.
• Mash carefully. Use a potato masher or the back of a serving fork to break up the squash lightly. You aren’t trying for the smoothness of mashed potatoes but rather the consistency of mashed potatoes.
• Reheat in the oven. One of the best parts of this casserole is the crusty topping, and warming up leftovers in the microwave results in soggy cracker crumbs. Instead, take the Yellow Squash Casserole out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature while preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

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Storage & Reheating Instructions

• Refrigerator Storage: Store covered in refrigerator for up to 4 days for best quality
• Freezing Option: Can freeze up to 3 months, though the texture may be slightly different after thawing
• Reheating Method: Bring to room temperature, cover with foil, and reheat at 325°F for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 minutes more

Favorite Side Dish Recipes

• Cooked Carrots
• Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
• Fried Mush
• Green Bean Bundles
• Homemade Coleslaw
• How to Cook Black Beans
• Roasted Red Potatoes
• Steamed Green Beans

Popular Casserole Recipes

• Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
• Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
• Chili Relleno Casserole
• Tater Tot Casserole with Ground Beef

Check out my easy vegetable side dish recipes and the best casserole recipes here on CopyKat!