Tonight I made a squash casserole based on Rachel Ray’s Calabacitas Casserole. I think a lot of her vegetarian recipes rely on cheese for flavor, but this squash casserole is good even without the cheese. It’s basically sautéed squash and tomatoes with polenta on top. I added beans to make it extra filling.

Vegan Squash Casserole

Here’s what I made:

• olive oil
• 2 cups corn kernels, defrosted
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 14 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 16 ounce can pinto beans
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Salt and pepper
• 16-ounce tubes prepared polenta, sliced into 1/2″ rounds
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a large, oven-proof pan, sauté corn, garlic and jalepenos in olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
3. Add zucchini, squash and onion. Cook vegetables until tender.
4. Add tomatoes, beans and chili powder. Heat through and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Layer polenta over vegetable mixture. Drizzle olive oil over the polenta and pop into the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

Vegan Squash Casserole

See all my vegan recipes →