Is there a zucchini hater in your family? Give this Cheesy Zucchini Casserole a try and see how it disappears fast. Shredded zucchini baked in oven with layers of mozzarella and a mixture made with an egg, yogurt and very little flour.
You will be surprised by the simplicity of this recipe! You won’t believe this is one of the best low calorie casseroles. It is so GOOD that you don’t need to be on diet to make it. Believe it or not, you don’t need lots of butter or heavy cream to make a tasty zucchini recipe. Skinny can be tasty too! I promise. So what do we need?
Ingredients For Vegetarian Zucchini Casserole
This casserole is made of layers with the following:
- Shredded zucchini
- Grated mozzarella
- Yogurt sauce made with thick yogurt, one tablespoon of flour and an egg.
Tip: If you are using dark green zucchinis just like the ones in the picture above, we recommend that you peel all or most of the skin. It gives a bitter taste otherwise.
How To Make Low-Calorie Zucchini Casserole
- Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Lightly brush a small baking pan with olive oil or use a cooking spray for this and put it aside.
- First, grate zucchinis and squeeze it as much as you can. Use your hands for this. Take a handful of zucchini and squeeze it in your hands firmly. Measure three cups of squeezed zucchini and put it aside.
- Next, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1 cup thick yogurt, one egg and one tablespoon of flour until smooth.
- Now sprinkle salt and pepper on the zucchini and mix it with your hand so that it is coated evenly.
- Then, make the layers: 1)Place half of the zucchini in the pan, gently press on it with the backside of a spoon. 2)Sprinkle half of the grated mozzarella over it. 3)Then pour half of the yogurt sauce all over it. 4)Place the remaining zucchini over the sauce. 5)And pour the remaining yogurt sauce.
- Bake it for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on the top and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Serve warm as a side dish or a vegetarian meal. Optionally you can garnish it with fresh herbs when serving.
Is This A Gluten-Free Casserole Recipe?
No, it is not because we used one tablespoon of all purpose flour in the yogurt sauce for some consistency. But you can use a gluten-free flour of your choice like rice flour or corn meal or any other gluten-free flour on hand. Yogurt will do the work, so it really doesn’t matter. You can also check out our list of 15 Gluten Free Zucchini Recipes post if you’d like to see more options. Oh and for those who are into baking, Michelle of My Gluten Free Kitchen prepared a great list of 30+ Gluten-Free Recipes For Baking With Zucchini. I’m sure there is something for you, go visit her post!
Is This A Keto Zucchini Cheese Casserole?
Well, almost. As long as you ignore the carb from that little amount of all purpose flour. If you want to customize this dish for a keto diet, an alternative type of flour is recommended like almond flour or coconut flour. Also you can increase the amount of cheese as well.
Can I Add Chicken Or Ground Beef?
Yes, you can. If you have leftover chicken, chop it into pieces and add it as a separate layer on zucchini. Just don’t use raw chicken as it will release juice and destroy the texture of the casserole. The same is true for beef. Cook it beforehand, then place over the zucchini and continue with the cheese and yogurt sauce.
Can I Prepare It Ahead Of Time And Then Bake?
It is not a good idea to make it ahead of time because zucchini is such a juicy vegetable that it releases water as it waits. The best thing is to prepare it and bake immediately. On the other hand, you can bake it for the first 30 minutes and keep it in the fridge. Then you can sprinkle the cheese on the top and reheat it for 5-7 minutes.
Can You Freeze This Zucchini Cheese Casserole?
No, this is not recommended due to the structure of zucchini. It might get soggy after it is thawed and reheated.
More Zucchini Casserole Recipes
- Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa Casserole
- Zucchini Tomato Casserole (Vegan)
- Zucchini Rice Casserole
- Skinny Zucchini Casserole
More Zucchini Recipes
- Turkish Rice and Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini
- Zucchini Fritters from Give Recipe
- Cheesy Zucchini Rice
- Zucchini Pie Recipe from The View From Great Island
- Lemon Dill Shrimp Zucchini Noodle Recipe from Wonky Wonderful
If you are following Give Recipe for a while, you might have realized that we’ve shared LOTS of zucchini recipes since we began this blog. If you are a zucchini lover, just write ‘zucchini’ in the search box on the sidebar and find our 30+ zucchini recipes. Ok you can start with our readers’ all time favorite Chocolate and Yogurt Zucchini Bread if you are a chocolate lover and not after a low calorie recipe.
As always: If you make this recipe–or any recipes on Give Recipe–let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
See our other casserole recipe videos here:
Baked Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
Vegetarian zucchini casserole made with zucchini, yogurt sauce and mozzarella. Super light, super tasty.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup thick plain yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or flour of your choice
- 3 cups zucchini, grated and squeezed well (measured after squeezing)
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Lightly brush a 9-inch round baking pan (or 8×8 square pan) with olive oil or use a cooking spray for this and put it aside.
- Grate zucchinis. We use 4 but the number will vary because not all zucchinis are same size. Squeeze the grated zucchini well şn your hands and measure 3 cups.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg and flour until you have a smooth mixture.
- Sprinkle salt and black pepper on squeezed zucchini and mix with your hands so that it is coated evenly.
- Brush the baking pan with little olive oil or use a cooking spray. Place half of the grated zucchini in it for the 1st layer. Top it with half of the mozzarella for the 2nd layer. Then pour and half of the yogurt sauce for the 3rd layer. Put the remaining zucchini on it for the 4th layer. Pour the remaning yogurt sauce over it for the 5th layer.
- Bake it for 35 min until almost golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on the top and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden.
Notes
- You should squeeze the grated zucchini very well. Otherwise, you end up with a watery or soggy casserole.
- You can use your choice of gluten-free flour to make it a gluten-free casserole.
- You can use coconut flour or almond flour to make it even more keto-friendly.
- Freezing is not recommended due to the structure of zucchini.
- If you want to make it ahead of time: Bake it for the first 30 minutes, let it cool and keep in the fridge for the following day. So you will just preheat the oven, sprinkle the cheese over it and bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden.
Keywords: vegetarian casserole, zucchini casserole, cheesy zucchini casserole, zucchini cheese bake, low calorie zucchini casserole, low carb zucchini casserole
I have never eaten this dish. Your recipe seems healthy and easy enough for a newbie like me. Thanks so much.
Btw, love your nutrition factst format, it is easy understand.
★★★★★
Taught my g-daughter this recipe to teach her how to read a recipe and cook it. Came out delicious.
★★★★★
That so tasty. I made this dish yesterday morning following your recipe. After a short while my family and I had a delicious breakfast. I have the question, can I add more eggs to this recipe? Does this affect the taste of this dish? Do you have any good advice for me? Thanks.
★★★★★
What size pan did you use?
★★★★★
I’m making this right now and tried a 9×13. It was too big so I ended up using an 8×8. Perfect size!
I’m a very impatient person so I used a potato ricer to squeeze the grated zucchini. And I baked it in a lasagna Pan so I was able to cut it into serving squares. One serving on Weight Watchers Green Plan comes to 1 smartpoint.
★★★★★
I have made it several times to rave reviews! I want to know if this can be made day before and then baked On the day if you were going to serve it
★★★★★
I added cooked chicken and Italian seasoning. Also, I had pepper jack and cheddar but no mozzarella cheese, and still delicious!
★★★★★
This casserole is truly the best for zucchini fanatics 😍 you did rock the zucchini, Zerrin!
– Natalie
Thank you Natalie! Zucchini is at its best in this recipe. Hope you have a chance to try it.
Good besides the pepper overboard! I would probably do about 1/2 tsp.
I had the same experience
Was way to heavy for me
Sooooo easy and sooooo good! It’s actually still in the oven, but I had a little taste❤️
★★★★★
Hi Amanda! I’m sooo happy to hear that! Enjoy the late summer zucchini!
I made this last night and it’s a new favorite! So much yum. Thanks for sharing it. I can’t wait to make it again.
Hi Lynn! I’m so happy to hear that you loved it! One of our favorite summer dishes. It’s incredibly tasty, isn’t it?
What size baking pan?
This was SUPER delicious! The bomb! Using my new food processor I started with the wrong blade and had two mushed zucchini…changed the blade and added two more with the right consistency. Squeezed the devil out of the salted zucchini and the dish came out perfect in spite of my mistake. That topping was lovely…so delicate. I added a bit of parmesan to give it a little bite. Can’t wait to make it again! I like the idea of adding chard and similar items on hand. Thanks so much!
Hi Nancy! Glad to hear that you love the recipe! We’ve made it several times this summer as well. I’m planning to try this with ground beef and if we love it as much as this one, I’ll share it on the blog too. Cheers!
I can’t figure out if this has been on my “to-do list” for 1 year or 2. No matter. I made it and it was delicious. It also used up the most zucchini of all my saved recipes. (stirred in a clove of grated garlic, some chopped chard, and some herbs. Oh, and some feta.) It’s a keeper!
Does anyone have the nutritional information for this recipe
Have you or anyone else ever made this with spaghetti squash? I cooked a spaghetti squash and want something different to do with it. I made the zucchini version and oh my, it was absolutely delicious. I ate the whole thing in 2 meals. Yum.
★★★★★
Hi Karen! Glad you loved this recipe. We don’t have spaghetti squash here in Turkey so I haven’t had any experience with it. I’d love to hear the result here if you try the recipe with the spaghetti squash. IT might give an idea to others too. Cheers!
This sounds great and I am definitely going to try it! Would like to know what size the casserole dish was? Was thinking I could double the recipe and use a 9×12 size? Also, did you use regular yogurt or greek style?
Thanks!
Hi Nancy, you can definitely double the recipe and a 9×12 is just fine. I used regular plain yogurt. Enjoy!
I just bought a ton of zucchini at my local farmers market here in Bangkok (it’s not always easy to find here, so I buy a lot when I do) and now I’m looking for new zucchini recipes to try 🙂 Will definitely give this one a go. It looks easy and is not loaded down with fat like so many of the other zucchini recipes I’ve discovered. Thanks.
★★★★★
This recipe sounds lovely. I am also in a zucchini frenzy lately. I have 4 large ones in the celler, so I am cooking something with zucchini every other day. Last week I made your baked zucchini with cheese. They were great.