Zucchini Casserole – Thebigmansworld.com

This zucchini casserole showcases contemporary zucchini baked with an opulent cream sauce, melted cheese, and breadcrumbs in a single straightforward, but downright scrumptious dish. It’s the proper casserole for weeknight dinners or particular events!

Thinly sliced zucchini coated in a creamy and tacky sauce and baked with crispy bread crumbs on high? Depend me in! Also referred to as zucchini gratin, that is the proper recipe to make use of up tons of zucchini or once you want a little bit inexperienced in your plate!

Backyard-fresh zucchini is considerable throughout summer time. Decide up a bunch from the backyard, farmer’s market, or grocery retailer and indulge all summer time lengthy! It’s the very best summer time squash to bake into this casserole.

Desk of Contents

1. Why this recipe works
2. Substances wanted
3. The way to make zucchini casserole
4. Recipe suggestions and tips 
5. Recipe variations
6. What to serve with a zucchini casserole? 
7. Storage directions
8. Extra casseroles and veggie bakes
9. Continuously requested questions
10. Zucchini Casserole

Why this recipe works

• Straightforward and handy. Everytime you want a simple dinner concept that doesn’t require any particular strategies or hard-to-find substances, flip to zucchini squash casserole! Like a squash casserole, that is considered one of our household go-to’s once we want one thing easy, wholesome, and outright scrumptious!
• Very versatile. Get artistic with it! You’ll be able to simply personalize this recipe by utilizing totally different cheeses, herbs and seasonings, seasonal produce, and so forth. 
• Nutritious and scrumptious. This straightforward squash casserole recipe is a healthful meal that’s bursting with the entire wholesome advantages of zucchini, together with a protracted listing of nutritional vitamins and minerals.
• Scrumptious facet or fundamental dish. What I like most about this tacky zucchini bake is that it really works splendidly as a comforting facet dish in addition to a kid-friendly, vegetarian fundamental course!

Substances wanted

This zucchini squash casserole is made with a brief listing of straightforward substances you most likely have already got in your kitchen. That is every part you want: 

• Zucchini. I like to recommend utilizing medium-sized zucchini for this casserole. The bigger zucchinis are inclined to have extra seeds, much less taste, and the next water content material, thus providing you with a bland and soggy casserole. 
• Butter. Melted butter is the wealthy, velvety base for the cream sauce. 
• Flour. To combine with the butter and create a thickening roux.
• Cooking cream. Use heavy cream or entire milk. The fattier the cream/milk, the extra thick and creamy your sauce might be.
• Dry spices. Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper spherical the entire scrumptious flavors collectively.
• Parmesan cheese. Bear in mind to shred the parmesan your self. Freshly shredded cheese all the time tastes and melts the very best, thus providing you with the best-tasting cream sauce.
• Shredded cheese. There aren’t any guidelines on the subject of the cheese! I wish to high this casserole with a mix of shredded cheddar and mozzarella however be at liberty to experiment with gruyere, fontina, gouda, or another favorites.
• Panko breadcrumbs. As soon as toasted, these crunchy breadcrumbs act as a pleasant crispy topping on the casserole.

The way to make zucchini casserole

Salt the zucchini. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and let the surplus moisture sweat out earlier than neatly arranging the slices in a baking dish. 

Make the cream sauce. Soften the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour, letting it cook dinner for 1 minute. Pour within the cooking cream and let the combination thicken earlier than including the spices and parmesan.

Assemble the casserole. Pour the cream sauce over the zucchini, sprinkle with a layer of shredded cheese, and high with the breadcrumbs. 

Bake. Bake till the highest is golden brown. Slice and revel in!

Recipe suggestions and tips 

• At all times salt the zucchini. For those who skip this step then your zucchini casserole might end up soggy! After salting and draining the zucchini, gently blot the slices with a paper towel to absorb the surplus water and salt.
• Don’t overbake! As a result of nobody likes overcooked mushy squash. Solely bake the casserole till the highest is golden and the center is scorching and bubbly.
• Relaxation earlier than serving. Take the casserole out of the oven and set it apart to relaxation for a couple of minutes. It will assist the sauce agency up barely and can make the casserole simpler to slice.

Recipe variations

Ratatouille-inspired: Eat the rainbow by layering much more sliced veggies within the casserole! Identical to ratatouille, you should utilize sliced eggplant, yellow squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion. Maintain the cream sauce or swap it for marinara or pomodoro sauce.

Add bacon or sausage: Sprinkle cooked and crumbled bacon or sausage over the sliced zucchini.

High with cracker crumbs: As a nod to old school zucchini casserole, sprinkle the highest with crushed Ritz crackers as a substitute of breadcrumbs.

Experiment with seasonings: Season the casserole with contemporary or dried Italian herbs, like basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or crimson chili flakes.

Swap the sauce. Attempt utilizing a store-bought creamy sauce, like alfredo, as a substitute of cream sauce to simplify this recipe. 

What to serve with a zucchini casserole? 

You’ll love this casserole each as a fundamental and a facet. When served as a facet dish, the creamy bites of zucchini pair completely with easy, flavorful proteins, resembling smoked rooster, roasted turkey, pork tenderloin, ham, and ribs.

Need it as a fundamental as a substitute? Serve the creamy and comforting casserole with hearty sides, like roasted greens, grains, or a completely loaded salad for a well-balanced vegetarian meal.

Storage directions

To retailer: Retailer the leftovers in a coated baking dish or an hermetic container within the fridge for 3 to five days.

To freeze: Let the baked casserole cool utterly, then retailer the person servings in hermetic containers within the freezer for as much as 6 months. 

To reheat: Add the leftovers to a baking dish coated with foil and reheat in a 400ºF oven for 15 to twenty minutes. Take away the foil and proceed baking till the breadcrumbs are barely crisp once more.

Extra casseroles and veggie bakes

Continuously requested questions