Make Delicious Zucchini Casserole
It's Healthy and Good!
Want to use up some of that summer produce and make a delicious and healthy vegetable dish? Try my zucchini casserole!
It has very little fat or sodium, is meat-free if you are a vegetarian, uses up some of the most common summer vegetables, and of course, best of all, it tastes great!
It's especially good on a warm summer day, since it can be eaten warm or cool and is light enough not to leave you feeling bogged down in the heat, but filling enough to not leave you hungry.
It's definitely worth a try, and if you're like me, you'll be making it quite often since it's so very good.
Recipe Ingredients
- 3 medium Zucchinis
- 2 medium Tomatoes
- 1 medium Onion
- 1/2 tsp dried Parsley flakes or 1 tsp fresh (optional)
- 1 Tb minced Garlic
- Half a stick of Butter or margarine
- Butter crackers, something like Ritz
- Parmesan Cheese
- Cooking spray or a little margarine or butter
Cut up the Vegetables
Cube the tomatoes, and then slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch slices
Dice the Onion
Dice the onion fairly fine. This recipe cooks fairly fast, so smaller pieces of onions are better.
Vegetables All Cut Up
Vegetables are now all cut up and ready. Set them aside for a moment.
Spray the Casserole Dish
Use an average sized casserole dish and spray the inside well with a cooking spray or rub it with butter.
Get My Favorite Casserole Dish
This casserole is such a handy size, perfect for a dish for a family or couple with a little bit of yummy leftovers.
It washes well, stands up to heavy use, and is just an all-around good dish to have on hand.
It's the casserole dish I use most often in our house.
Layer the Vegetables in the Pan
Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with a single layer of zucchini slices. Overlap them just a little, sort of like shingles, but don't worry too much about precision.
Add Tomatoes and Onions
Sprinkle on some tomatoes and then onions over the zucchini slices.
Add Parsley and Garlic
Sprinkle with parsley flakes and a bit of the minced garlic over the layer of produce.
Dot the Casserole with Butter
Dot with top of that layer butter. Just add a few dollops scattered across the top of the dish.
Add Another Layer
Add another layer of zucchini slices, then tomato, onions, parsley, garlic, and butter, following the same as above.
Keep adding more layers until you've either used up your vegetables or have reached about a 1/2 inch from the top of the dish.
Add Crackers and Cheese
When the vegetables are all layered in the casserole, crumble the Ritz crackers over the top and sprinkle with a liberal amount of Parmesan cheese.
For a slightly naughtier version you can try other types of cheese such as mozzarella or swiss.
Grow Your Own Summer Vegetables
Want to make your own Zucchini Casserole with delicious homegrown vegetables? It tastes so much better and it makes this a wonderful and healthy treat!
Grow Zucchini
Zucchini is one of the best plants you can add to your garden and they start well from seeds.
I always tell people that if they are only going to plant a few things, zucchini should be one of them.
Grow Tomatoes
Tomatoes taste so much better when grown in the garden. Store-bought fruit is lacking in flavor and vitamins in comparison.
They're fairly easy to grow and even grow well in containers, so make a great beginning plant for the garden.
Grow Onions
Many people are surprised by how easy it is to grow onions and how little work they take.
Onions naturally repel most pests, so are great at growing in the average garden, plus they help protect other garden plants from bugs as well.
They grow so well, most of the time I just plant them and forget them until it's time to harvest some fresh produce.
Cover the Zucchini Casserole
Place the lid on the Zucchini Casserole or cover with foil.
Bake the Zucchini Dish
Put the Zucchini Casserole in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked through and tender.
Test the Tenderness of the Zucchini
Test the tenderness of the zucchini to see if it is done enough. It should be fairly tender and fall apart when you stab it.
Toast the Top of the Casserole
When the zucchini is tender remove the cover of the casserole and cook for an additional 5 minutes to toast the top. You just want a slight brown tinge to the cracker and cheese topping.
Yummy and Ready to Eat
Serve with a Side Salad
Serving the zucchini dish with a side salad will give you even more servings of fresh vegetables.
Serving the Zucchini Casserole
At super time on a warm summer day, zucchini casserole, served warm or cool, with a side salad or with bread, is a lovely dish to eat, especially sitting on the patio with a glass of iced tea.
Ingredients
- 3 med Zucchinis
- 2 med Tomatoes
- 1 med Onion
- Half a stick Butter or Margarine
- 1/4 cup Butter Crackers like Ritz, crushed
- 1 Tbsp. Garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried Parsley flakes or 1 tsp fresh (optional)
- 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
- Cooking spray or a little extra margarine or butter
Instructions
- Cut up the vegetables. Cube the tomatoes, and then slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch slices. Dice the onion.
- Choose an average sized casserole dish and spray the inside well with a cooking spray or rub it with butter.
- Place one layer of vegetables inside the casserole dish. Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with zucchini slices, then sprinkle on some tomatoes. Add a sprinkling of onions.
- Top the vegetables with a dusting of parsley flakes and a bit of the minced garlic, then dot with butter.
- Add another layer of zucchini slices, tomatoes, onions, parsley, garlic, and butter.
- Keep adding layers until you've either used up your vegetables or have reached about a 1/2 inch from the top of the dish.
- When the vegetables are all layered, crumble the Ritz crackers over the top and sprinkle with a liberal amount of Parmesan cheese.
- Place a lid or foil over the Zucchini Casserole.
- Bake the Zucchini Casserole in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked through.
- Near the end of the cooking time, test the tenderness of the vegetables with a fork. When a fork easily pierces all the vegetables, remove the casserole cover and cook an additional 5 minutes to toast the top.
- Serve warm or cold with a side salad, some french bread, and some ice tea.
What Do You Think?
Enjoy Even More Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini is such a wonderful vegetable to use, luckily there are tons of recipes to chose from to serve these delicious veggies!
What's Your Opinion?
What do you think of this Zucchini recipe and zucchini in general? Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment down below and let us know!
© 2010 Alisha Vargas
