Recipe for egg and cheese casserole with chayote squash and green chiles {vegetarian, gluten-free}
Your holiday weekend guests haven't gone home yet? Same here. They need a good meal before facing the inevitable traffic jams and airport delays. I don't have the heart to feed them one more leftover turkey sandwich, so I'm fortifying my guests for their journeys with an easy energy-laden, protein-rich egg and cheese casserole filled with chayote squash and green chiles. (Or, leftover roasted potatoes and green chiles. Or squash and green chiles. If you still have turkey from Thanksgiving, chop it up and throw that in. Use what you've got.) Chayote is a mild-flavored, green-skinned squash that looks like a pear, and tastes like a patty-pan. Peel and cube it, and give it a quick pre-cook with the other vegetables. This casserole comes together in minutes, and bakes for half an hour, which gives you just enough time to make coffee and toast.
Egg and cheese casserole with chayote squash and green chiles
From the pantry, you'll need: eggs, onion, cooking spray, olive oil, chopped green chiles, cumin, grated cheese.
Inspired by the many breakfast casserole recipes on Kalyn's Kitchen, this dish serves 6.
Ingredients
Cooking spray (canola or olive oil)
1 tsp olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 chayote squash, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 small red bell pepper, diced
10 large eggs
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
4-oz can fire-roasted mild green chopped chiles
2 Tbsp skim milk
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups grated or shredded cheese (I use Sargento reduced-fat shredded Cheddar, from the supermarket, or any leftover shredded cheese from my freezer.)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat the bottom and sides of a casserole dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
In a nonstick frying pan, add the olive oil, onion, chayote and red bell pepper. Sauté over low heat for 3 minutes, or until the squash is cooked through. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, cottage cheese, green chiles, skim milk and cumin. Stir in the grated cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
Bake for 35 minutes, until the casserole is lightly browned and a bit puffy. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before eating.
(Can be made up to one day ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. To reheat, uncover and place in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes.)
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Asparagus, egg and cheese casserole
Egg and cheese casserole with leeks, red pepper and bacon
Egg and cheese breakfast muffins with mushrooms and thyme
Basic breakfast burritos
Corn, green chile, egg and cheese casserole
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Broccoli cheese breakfast casserole, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Sausage breakfast casserole, from Cooking on the Side
Smoked salmon egg casserole with potatoes and dill, from Cookin' Canuck
Sausage apple egg casserole, from $5 Dinners
Zucchini breakfast casserole, from Simply Recipes
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Looks like you're still cooking for a crowd. This would be a delicious way to wrap up the holiday weekend! Hope you've had a great time with family and friends!
Who cares about the guests? I want this for me! LOL, but seriously, this casserole is appealing to all my senses right now and that's by photo alone. ;-)
Thanks, Lydia!
Shirley
I'd love this for breakfast. Hope you're having a wonderful time! I haven't cooked a thing for days, but today I think I must cook something because my brother and his family are coming for dinner.
Thanks for giving me the encouragement to buy and cook a chayote squash. I see them - I thought they were some kind of fruit. Now I will confidently know what to do!
TW, these casseroles are such an easy way to cook for a crowd. It takes just minutes to throw them together, and the whole thing is done in an hour.
Shirley, you're right -- no reason to make this just for guests!
Kalyn, how about a breakfast casserole for dinner?
Carol, chayote squash looks a bit unusual, but really it's so mild and delicious. I have a few recipes here that use it, but you can substitute zucchini if you can't find it.
OK I'm in. I think I'm going to make this with sweet potatoes.
Vanillasugar, sweet potatoes would be great, especially if they're roasted and browned a bit.
You are a wonderful hostess, Lydia. If you keep serving them tasty food like this as your sending them off, you can bet those guests will be knocking on your door again in no time. I know I would!
Cookin' Canuck, you are so sweet! You're right, I know I need to start cutting my guests off, or serving them endless leftovers, so they will go home. (Kidding, of course.) I do feel that I want my guests to leave feeling well taken care of, and making them breakfast is one way to do that.
I didn't have holiday hordes to feed but this is definitely on the next brunch menu!
EB, I love making these egg and cheese casseroles for brunch. They feed a lot of people, and are very easy on the cook. And you can put almost anything in them.