Southern Cooking- How to Fry Squash & Other Yellow Squash and Zucchini Recipes

Growing up “squash” meant yellow crookneck squash from the garden.  My mom didn’t always have a garden every year, but someone did.  My grandmother, aunts and uncles, and church members knew my mom liked fresh vegetables.  We frequently got calls from friends and relatives about fresh vegetables such as green beans, butter beans, tomatoes, squash or other vegetables.  I don’t think Mom ever bought squash in the grocery store.  I never had zucchini until I was an adult, but enjoy it very much as well. 

Recipes in this hub: 

Fried Squash

Stewed Squash

Squash Casserole

Zucchini and Tomatoes

Zucchini Casserole

4-6 yellow crookneck squash

Flour

Salt

Oil, such as canola oil

1- Pour cooking oil in frying pan to cover the bottom of the pan, at least ¼” deep. Heat oil on medium high.

2- Scrub squash. Cut off ends. Slice squash lengthwise into ¼” to 3/8” thick slices.

3- Lightly salt squash.

4- Place damp squash pieces into flour to coat. I prefer just flour, but you can use a mixture with about 1/3 cornmeal.

5- When oil is hot, place squash slices into pan.

6- Fry on medium high until squash is golden brown and tender, about five minutes on each side.

7- Repeat until all of the squash are fried.

8- Place cooked squash on plate on top of paper towel. Place a layer of towel on top of squash for additional layers, as well as on top of the final layer, to absorb excess oil.

You can also fry zucchini or eggplant. Compared to squash, eggplant seems to soak up a lot of oil when cooking. Whereas I would slice both yellow and green squash lengthwise, I could go either way with eggplant, lengthwise or crosswise.

Although my mom always called this stewed squash, some might say it’s actually more like sautéed squash. At any rate, I love this dish.

6-8 yellow crookneck squash

½ to 1 lb bacon

1 sweet onion, diced

Salt as needed

1- Scrub squash, cut off ends, and cut into chunks. Cover with water in a pan. Cook at a low boil until tender. Drain.

2- Cut ½ to 1 lb of bacon into ¼” to ½” pieces crosswise. You can do this 3-6 pieces of bacon at a time. Fry bacon until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towel.

3- Add chopped onion to bacon drippings. Fry until soft.

4- Add squash and bacon to skillet. Bacon drippings will add salt to the dish, but you may need a bit more salt.

5- Cook on medium for 30 minutes or longer. Squash will “dry off” and “cook down”. Squash and onion will take on a slightly caramelized color.

I haven’t had this one in a while, but just looking at the recipe brought back memories of yumminess. 

1 ½ lb squash

1 medium sweet onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 grated carrot

8 oz sour cream

1 c grated cheddar cheese

1 pkg Pepperidge Farm dressing mix

½ stick butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1- Scrub squash, cut off ends, and cut into chunks. 

2- Peel and dice onion. 

3- Add squash and onion to a pan.  Cover with water and cook at a low boil until tender. 

4- Drain and mash squash and onion. 

5- Add remaining ingredients except butter and ½ pkg of dressing mix. 

6- Pour into greased casserole dish.  Top with remaining dressing mix.  Cut butter into small cubes and distribute over the top. 

7- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

One of the hospitals I worked at when I was an x-ray tech used to make this.  This would have been over 20 years ago, and when I started eating zucchini.  It’s similar to tomatoes and okra.  For that recipe, you can check out habee. 

1 qt of fresh tomatoes, or 2 cans of diced tomatoes

4-6 medium zucchini

Salt

Bacon drippings

1- Scrub zucchini and remove ends.  Cut into thin rounds. 

2- Pour tomatoes into medium saucepan and heat on medium high.  Add salt and bacon drippings.  Cover, reduce to medium and simmer. 

3- As tomatoes become more tender, mash to desired consistency. 

4- Add zucchini and stir to combine.  Cover and continue cooking on medium until zucchini is tender. 

5- Sprinkle with parmesan before serving if desired. 

I first made this when I was in Germany, about 14 years ago.  It may not be Southern-style cooking, but still a good way to eat zucchini, with a moderate amount of fat. 

3 medium zucchini

1 can diced tomatoes

1 medium onion

2-6 cloves garlic

1 red bell pepper

1 c parmesan cheese

salt

1- Scrub zucchini.  Cut off ends and slice into thin rounds. 

2- Grease a 9” X 11” baking dish. 

3- Spread zucchini in baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt. 

4- Cut red pepper into matchstick pieces and distribute evenly over zucchini. 

5- Cut onion into thin rings.  Separate slightly.  Spread over squash and pepper.

6- Mince garlic and spread over vegetables. 

7- Sprinkle ½ c cheese over vegetables. 

8- Pour tomatoes over the top.  Sprinkle remaining cheese. 

9- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour uncovered.  Water will cook out of vegetables, but should mostly dry off again. 

Now, eat your vegetables! 

FAST AND EASY RECIPES:

12 Super Fast, Cheap and Easy Main Dishes

12 Super Fast, Cheap and Easy Pasta Recipes

8 Super Fast, Cheap and Easy Casseroles

Super Fast and Easy Soups, Stews and Chowders

OTHER GREAT RECIPES:

My Very Favorite Vegetable Soup- Almost Like Mom’s

More Soups, Stews and Chowders

Southern Cooking- Grits and Tomato Gravy

Southern Cooking- Baked Macaroni and Cheese and Dunbar Macaroni

My Turkish-Inspired Cuisine- Green Beans and Rice Pilaf

Duke’s Mayonnaise- Secret Weapon for Tasty Southern Dishes

Southern Cooking- Eat Your Vegetables-- Green Beans, Broccoli and Carrots

MOM’S CAKES:

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- German Chocolate Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- Strawberry Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- Red Velvet Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- Japanese Fruit Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- Peter Paul Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- 7-Up Layer Cake

Mom’s Best Layer Cakes- 14 Karat Cake

Mom’s Best Pound Cakes

Cake Frostings

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS:

Thanksgiving Southern Family Feast Recipes

Fruitcake and Christmas Cookie Recipes

Recipes- My Family’s Traditional Christmas Treats

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