This Vegan Zucchini Tomato Casserole is the best summer side dish ever. No cheese, no cream, no beef, no eggs in this vegan casserole, but it is bursting into flavors. Even vegetable haters gobble it up and ask for more!
This zucchini tomato casserole is one of my favorite summer dishes. You will need such a light dish when the temperature is high and this underrated vegetable is in season. I promise, it is not boring at all although there is no cream, no cheese or any kind of meat in this casserole. It is vegan and totally a skinny zucchini recipe bursting into summer flavors. If you are into this kind of dishes, go check out our top 6 Vegan Zucchini Recipes too!
You might think that it is one of those “tasteless” vegan dishes if you are one of those who add cheese or cream in everything to make it tasty. I’m quite sure that this summer casserole will become one of the dishes you make often because it is incredibly scrumptious and the recipe couldn’t be easier.
There is another zucchini casserole recipe on the blog named Shredded Zucchini Casserole, which has become one of the most popular recipes on Give Recipe. Please check it out if you like your zucchini with cheese and on the sweeter side. But if you love tart and spicy dishes, keep reading this one. I would suggest that you try both recipes this summer and decide on your favorite.
What's in this zucchini tomato casserole?
Fresh summer tomatoes make dishes tastier and the amazing taste of this zucchini tomato casserole is mainly coming from summer tomatoes. But they are not alone. Green onions, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and spices come together and create one of the yummiest skinny dishes ever.
Unlike winter casseroles which are mostly heavy and warming, this zucchini and tomato casserole gives you a feeling of refreshment thanks to the tangy tomatoes, herbs and lemon. Vegetables get sweet when roasted, so zucchini gives a very nice sweetness to the casserole and there becomes the perfect balance of flavors. Finally, garlic and spices make a great touch and the casserole becomes addictive for everyone. It is so good that there will probably be no leftovers, but if there is, you don’t need to heat it. It tastes even better when cold.
Also check out our Vegan Cauliflower Bake With Tomato Sauce.
How to make zucchini and tomato casserole recipe
The recipe is quite straightforward. Slice zucchinis thinly. In a separate bowl combine pureed tomatoes, mashed garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, chopped parsley, green onion, salt, chili powder and ground black pepper. Pour it over zucchini slices and combine them well. I do it with my one hand to make sure all zucchini slices are coated with the sauce.
Transfer them into a large baking dish and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until the top gets golden. It is better to use a large shallow baking dish so that you can put them in a thin layer. The zucchini slices get mushy if you just pile them in a small and deep dish.
Other Vegan Zucchini Recipes You Might Like
- Smoky Zucchini Baba Ghanoush - Little Ferraro Kitchen
- Unstuffed Zucchini Casserole - Give Recipe
- Vegan Zucchini Chocolate Bread - Give Recipe
- Vegan Zucchini Tomato Gratin - Turnip The Oven
- Zucchini with Olive Oil - Give Recipe
This is an easy to make casserole and makes a great side dish on special occasions like Thanksgiving. I have some more suggestions for your Thanksgiving menu.
More Recipe Ideas For Thanksgiving
- Vegetarian Cabbage Casserole In Oven
- No Yeast Bread Rolls
- Soft Dinner Rolls
- Spinach Eggs
- Cauliflower Curry Salad
- Green Bean Casserole Healthy
- Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole
- Cheesy Mashed Potato Recipe
Vegan Tomato Zucchini Casserole
No cheese, no cream, no beef, no egg in this casserole, but it is bursting into summer flavors. This is an addictive zucchini casserole even for vegetable haters!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
- 3 large zucchinis, (1 pound) thinly sliced
- 3 large tomatoes, pureed (makes 2 cups)
- 6 cloves garlic, mashed
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 1 lemon, squeezed
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder, Mexican or another type
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- Mix pureed tomato, garlic, parsley, green onions, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and spices in a medium bowl.
- Put zucchini slices in a large bowl and pour the pureed tomato mixture over them. Stir well using your hand so that each zucchini slice is coated with the red sauce.
- Transfer them in a large baking dish so that the layer is not very thick. Bake for about 45 minutes or the top gets golden.
- Serve hot or cold.
Keywords: zucchini recipes, vegan zucchini recipes, zucchini tomato casserole
This post was originally published in 2015 and we are updating it today with additional information.
Nicky says
hi, i haven't tried this yet, it looks great, but I'm watching my weight so i checked the calories and i don't get how it can be 293 Cal/serving. i add it up and there are only less than 600 cal in the whole dish. that would mean less than 150 cal per serving..???
Yusuf says
Hi Nicky,
Thank you so much for asking this. There was a mistake on the nutrition label program. Just corrected it. Thanks again for the heads up!
Nicky says
I'm just cutting up the zucchini as i write. thanks for the quick reply! now that it's half the calories, it sounds even more delicious! 😄
Nicky says
i finally made it and it was amazing! Im a big zucchini fan and i don't think ive ever had zucchini that delicious. (i also added capers to the sauce mix, and so reduced the amount of salt i added)
Yusuf says
So happy to hear that Nicky! Adding capers is a brilliant idea! Will have to give it a try! Thank you for your feedback!
Liz says
I added nutritional yeast for that ‘cheesy’ touch
Magnolia says
I just made this and it was super good!
I added more garlic (because I love it)
And I eyed the spices to my own liking.
This is super delicious and It is phenomenal to dip some bread in the sauce when it’s all cooked together!
Splendid
★★★★★
Yusuf says
Glad you love it Magnolia! Extra garlic is always great!
Kurk says
I liked this recipe, but I think I would only use half the amount of chili powder next time.
Karissa says
Are you supposed to pour the tomato sauce mixture into the pan too or do you take the zucchini’s out of it and put them in there by themselves?
Yusuf says
Hi Karissa! Put them altogether into the pan and bake.
Jess says
Thanks for posting this! I found it looking for a simple vegan zucchini dish so I am very excited to try. I am wondering about the sodium content - I don’t see any added salt - is that number right?
Jaypee says
Thank you for sharing! It was really yummy!
★★★★★
Michelle says
I am so confused. I tried to make this recipe tonight and it didn’t look like this at all. Then, I got to thinking... is that squash in the pictures and not zucchini, like the recipe says!? I mean, it was still good, but I don’t think it was quite right.
Charisse says
What type of vinegar?? White wine vinegar. Apple cider, red wine vinegar or just plain old regular vinegar...
Recipe doesn’t specify and I want to make this soon
Thanks
Yusuf says
Just regular old vinegar.
Kim Southcott says
This recipe is wonderful! Entire family loves it. It's light, flavorful and satisfying. I saute some tofu to make it a meal. Five stars hands-on!
★★★★★
Yusuf says
So glad that your family loved it! Thank you!
Eliz says
I tried this recipe and loved it. It has very fresh taste and a perfect summer meal. As a Turkish ı didn't find it spicy even i added more spice than written.
Monika says
I don’t know what happened but this dish turn my oven into a bloody mess! The meal was tasty ect but I won’t make it again cos it took me like an hour to scrub the oven 🤦♀️
★★★
Kim Southcott says
Omg so good! My garden’s zucchini is coming in almost daily and I will repeat this recipe many times and tell others about it. Love it!
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Hi Kim! I'm so happy to hear that you loved this easy peasy casserole as much as I do. Incredibly tasty, isn't it? Enjoy all the zucchinis in your garden!
Steven Hooper says
Found this recipe while trying to figure out what to do with the massive zucchinis a friend gave me and I’m so thankful that I did! I used sweet onion instead of green onion and cilantro instead of parsley. I baked it in a 9x13 baking dish and layered it thick, baking it for one hour until it bubbled through the center. Was absolutely fantastic. A new favorite. Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Hi Steven! I’m so happy that you loved the recipe and made your own twist on it. Isn’t it a great way to use up the tons of zucchinis? Thanks for your feedback and the rating!
Alexia Brown says
I really want to try this recipe, my grandma gave me a bunch of giant zucchini from her garden, but I’m not a good cook... I think I can make this. My only question is what kind of vinegar do I use? The recipe just calls for “vinegar” but do you recommend Apple Cider Vinegar? White/red vinegar? Thanks in advance!
Zerrin says
Hi Alexia! It's really an easy recipe, so I don't think you will have a problem. I use apple cider vinegar, but all types work fine. Enjoy the zucchinis you have!
Mary says
Great recipe!
I am not bored with your many zucchini recipes in fact I am thankful 🙂
I am always looking for new ways to prep these green goodies..
If your garden is healthy, you will be too!!
★★★★
Amber says
Best way to make this dish:
Put on a metal baking sheet with rim and bake at 425 for 25-30 min.
I used regular white onion instead of green and no Mexican pepper. It was amazing!
★★★★
Zerrin says
I'm glad you liked it Amber! Your version sounds great too!
Lexi says
Very disappointed. I tried this exactly as written and it was just not edible. It was extremely spicy. The texture was all funky and overall just bleh.
★
Pat says
I made this last night. Very disappointed. 45 minutes was too long to bake. On about half the pan, the red sauce turned black and I had to scrape what was left of the zucchini to get it out of the pan. Of the part of the sauce that did not burn, that was too thick and salty. I’m trying to figure out how to salvage the rest of the zucchini. I may just attempt to rinse off the sauce and see if that would make it edible. And I don’t understand a prep time of 15 minutes. Washing and cutting all those veggies took me about 40 minutes+. Disappointing, all that time, effort and food, wasted.
★
Ramani says
Pat, on the recipe ingredients it says (one example) "3 large zucchinis thinly sliced" so that means when you have everything sliced and made already then the recipe prep time will be 15 minutes. Almost every recipe is written like this since people want the shortest time to make a dish but that isn't really possible at all.
Sarah says
Could you add squash?
Zerrin says
Hi Sarah, I think squash would be great in this recipe!
Thisisn'tveganyou'readouche says
This isn't VEGAN. Eggs are NOT vegan. You need to educate yourself on what vegan means, you only prove yourself to be ignorant. good job, you wasted my time and now you get to read this.. LIVE cruelty free, Eggs are not needed to bind ANYTHING. LIVE CRUELTY FREE, and don't lie in your recipes to get attention. makes you look like a dipshit.
Zerrin says
Hi, I wish you had read the recipe before writing this comment. This is a true VEGAN casserole recipe with NO eggs. I guess you watched the video below the post and misunderstood. It is a list of our casserole recipe videos, and I put it there to help our readers who are looking for casserole recipes.
Stella says
This is in response to "thisisntveganyoureadouche"...
You sit there calling this poor girl names and insulting her when you're the one who is in the wrong. Before you berate someone and get on your vegan high horse, perhaps you should have all the facts straight.
Katie says
Just made it - it's delicious!
Zerrin says
Happy to hear this Katie!
Meena Bala says
Followed the recipe as given but the puree was more than what it was needed looks like. Even after 40 mins of baking the puree was stagnant in the tray. But the dish tasted good. So next time will try with half of tomato puree.
Zerrin says
Hi Meena, I'm not sure why the puree was more than needed in your case, but I love extra sauce on my zucchini and it wouldn't be a problem for me:)
Patricia says
Hello, I did tomato zucchini recipe, now is in the oven but I am shure that this salad or whatever will delicious!!! I taste before put it in the oven. I think I will love it!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
kevin mcguinness says
I could not stop eating this. The recipe could use a little more detail -- large zucchinis vary greatly in size, -- add approximately how many cups are used. I cooked it longer as the sauce had not set up -- another 20 minutes at 450 degrees. I also used a vahalla onion instead of green (I did not have any). I used sea salt. I added a splash of red wine. I might try two baking sheets instead of one large casserole dish -- it might be ready at original cooking time with that method -- key is sauce should set up .
★★★★★
Sally says
Good to know, Kevin. The two baking sheets sounds like a great idea. Trying tonight.
KalynsKitchen says
Good morning (or make that evening for you!) Just letting you know that I featured this salad in my May round-up of Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes, which was posted this morning. Love the recipe; I hope a lot of my readers will click over here and try it!
Zerrin says
Thank you Kalyn for including my zucchini casserole in your list. Zucchini is never tasteless with this recipe!