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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 290 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
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Before we switched to a whole food, plant-based diet, one of our favorite holiday dishes was a squash casserole Brian’s mom used to make a lot. Although squash is one of the main ingredients, it was not exactly the most healthy dish. I thought it would be fun to try to recreate our own version and personally, I think it turned out great!
The casserole is topped with a stuffing/dressing, so of course we started out with a spice blend to replicate those flavors. We ended up with an amazing combination of poultry seasoning, thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, black pepper and nutmeg.
The most difficult part of this dish to re-create was definitely the “sauce.” The original recipe calls for cream of chicken soup and sour cream. We recently started experimenting with silken tofu, so we thought we’d give that a try.
Along with the tofu, the final sauce includes red lentils and cashews to help thicken it, along with Better Than Bouillon for a really nice flavor. We like to make the sauce the day before and let it thicken up in the refrigerator over night. Just try not to eat all of it because this sauce is TASTY!
The casserole is packed with yellow squash, zucchini, onion, carrot and garlic.
We needed something to top it with, and since the original recipe uses stuffing/dressing, we decided to create our own version without the butter.
We used Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread and flavored it with some of the delicious seasoning mix before topping our casserole.
Check out the video here and get the full recipe below.
Squash Casserole (Vegan, Oil-Free, Plant-Based)
Ingredients
- For the Seasoning Mix:
- – 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning
- – 2 tsp thyme
- – 2 tsp sage
- – 1 tsp rosemary
- – 1 tsp marjoram
- – 1/4 tsp pepper (finely ground)
- – A dash of nutmeg
- For the Sauce**:
- – 1 cup water
- – 3 tsp Better Than Bouillon
- – 1/4 cup red lentils, rinsed
- – 1/4 cup cashews (raw, unsalted)
- – 1 x 12oz package silken soft tofu
- – 1/3 of seasoning mix (approx. 2 tsp)
- **We recommend preparing the sauce at least one day in advance and refrigerating overnight to let it thicken.
- For the Veggie Mixture:
- – 2.5lbs squash (combination of yellow + zucchini), cut into approx. 8mm thick slices
- – 1 large yellow onion, diced into 1 inch cubes
- – 2 cups shredded carrots
- – 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- – 1/3 of seasoning mix (approx. 2 tsp)
- For the Topping:
- – 4 slices of sprouted grain bread (like Ezekiel 4:9)
- – 2 Tbsp hot water
- – 1/4 tsp Better Than Bouillon
- – 1/3 of seasoning mix (approx. 2 tsp)
Directions
- Seasoning Mix:
- Measure all of the spices into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- OPTIONAL – Pour mixture into a spice grinder and pulse just a few times to break down the pieces a bit. Do not over-grind. You don’t want a really fine powder.
- Divide the seasoning mix into three equal portions (approx. 2 tsp each).
- Sauce (we recommend that you make this the day before so you can let it thicken in the refrigerator overnight):
- Measure 1 cup of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
- Add in Better Than Bouillon, red lentils and cashews.
- Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (covered) for about 10 minutes to soften lentils and cashews.
- Pour the lentils, cashews and all of their liquid into a blender. NOTE: Be sure to check your blender’s instruction manual to see if it can handle blending hot liquids. A high speed blender like a Vitamix can, but a lot of regular blenders cannot. If yours can’t, let the mixture cool before blending.
- Add the entire package of tofu and one of your three portions of seasoning mix (approx. 2 tsp) to the blender as well.
- Blend on high speed until smooth, about one minute. Immediately pour into a two cup container. You might end up with a bit extra, which can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Refrigerate overnight to thicken.
- Veggie Mixture:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Fill a large stock pot with approximately 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil. We use a 12 quart stock pot.
- Add sliced squash, diced onions, shredded carrots and minced garlic to the stock pot. Make sure they are completely covered and return to a boil.
- Boil covered for 10 minutes.
- Drain veggies into a colander in the sink and let sit for at least 10 minutes, draining off as much liquid as you can.
- Transfer veggies to a large bowl and stir in one of the remaining portions of seasoning mix (approx. 2 tsp).
- Add in 2 cups of the sauce and mix gently until just combined, being careful not to break down the squash too much as you stir.
- Transfer mixture into a 13×9 baking dish.
- Topping:
- Toast your bread and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Place into a medium sized bowl.
- Mix 2 Tbsp hot water with the final portion of the seasoning mix and 1/4 tsp Better Than Bouillon.
- Pour mixture over bread cubes and stir gently to coat.
- Top casserole with bread and bake for 20 minutes!
Makes 6-8 servings. Store in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This is the perfect dish to make for a holiday gathering! You can easily make it a day or two before and then just add the bread topping and bake when you are ready to serve it.
I think this would fool anyone into thinking there must be cream or butter in it! The seasoning mix gives it that amazing smell that reminds me of the holidays.
I actually think the leftovers end up tasting even better after everything has a day or two to meld together. Hopefully you enjoy this one and are able to share it with your friends and family!
Watch the video here & be sure to leave us a comment below if you try it out!
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I really enjoy your channel. Overall it’s well done. Maybe this is just my quirks but I really wish Jessica would not regularly cut Brian off in mid sentence. It seems to happen a lot. I’m sure she’s just trying to be helpful by adding extra information but it comes off as disrespectful. Sorry if this stings but this is literally the only irritation in an otherwise excellent production. Thank you.
Thank you for the feedback. I have SO MUCH going on in my head all of the time, I really try not to do this. I’ll get better over time 🙂
What a gracious response. But if it doesn’t bother Brian, why should it bother “M” who wouldn’t even list his (I’m assuming here) name. You’re awesome Jessica! And I’ll be making this recipe for Thanksgiving.
Oh my gosh! This is “slap yo momma” type of delicious! So so good!!!
Hahaha 🙂
I am a teacher and found you during winter break. I am rapidly going through your videos. I have not seen you using potatoes as an ingredient in your soups or other recipes. Do you? I think using the sauce from the squash casserole would work great as a “scalloped potatoes.”
I hope your vacation was wonderful. Happy New year.
Have you tried to make the “chicken soup” sauce without the cashews? How did that work out? What benefit do the cashews give? My daughter is allergic so I need to find a variation and if you guys have already tried, it will save me the steps. Thanks!
We haven’t tried without the cashews – they give it a nice creaminess. I have heard that you can swap out white beans for cashews, so that might be worth a try!
You guys make this look like it’s SO easy to throw together but I found that not to be true. I’ve just finished making this casserole for a no-added-fat potluck tonight. It looks just like yours. But I found this to be a very complicated recipe. I even marked it up so I could see when to add the seasoning mix, but I still had a hard time, and like you guys, I added the second seasoning mix after I sauced the veggies. I’m thinking if I make it again, I’ll put two seasoning mixes into the sauce. I think the seasonings will be more evenly distributed that way. Thanks so much for all of your how-tos. You’re a great inspiration to me even though I started eating like this in 1999!
I grew up with Squash Casserole as well. Cannot wait to try this!
Only one observation: I was always told not to throw away vegetable cooking water because if you do you are discarding the vitamins along with it, so i will find a way to avoid doing that, probably either using less water and saving it for the broth mixture or microwaving the veggies without water.
Would the sauce freeze well? I was wondering if I could make several batches, freeze them in 1 cup portions and then use as needed.
Brian and Jessica, this recipe is literally The Bomb! Just made it and we all Loved it! You’re right, the sauce is truly amazing. Have you made any more recipes using this sauce as a base?
We did try out a green bean casserole with that sauce! We need to work on that one next!
Just found this recipe. How would this be with a butternut squash instead of the yellow & green ones?
I am looking also looking for a ‘meat’loaf and/or ‘meat’ball recipe. Do you and Brian have any?
Hmmmmm… It would be a totally different texture, so it is hard to say! We do have a “meat”loaf AND “meat”ball recipe that will be coming out in the next few months!!