Garden Zucchini Pizza Casserole
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This is another recipe from the great arsenal that my grandma has saved over the years. This particular recipe notes that it came from Ann, who is my grandma’s cousin. I love that so many of those old recipes take full advantage of the vast bounty that came out of their gardens. And as anyone who has ever grown zucchini knows, towards the end of summer the zucchini takes off. As a result, my grandma has oodles of zucchini recipes, which I have enjoyed sharing with you throughout the summer. This last one is a delicious fusion of a vegetarian pizza and vegetarian lasagna.
You first start off with a “crust” that is made up of shredded zucchini, eggs and cheese. It bakes up like a thin little souffle.
While it’s in the oven you saute some vegetables and stir in tomato sauce.
Spread that mixture on top of the “crust” and then top with more cheese and give it a final bake.
A delicious cross between a pizza, casserole and lasagna. A great way to get those fresh summer veggies into your next meal. It may not be the prettiest dish to photograph, but it sure is delicious!
One year ago: Lemon Bars
Two years ago: Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes
Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
For the "Crust":
4 cups shredded zucchini
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, lightly beatenFor the Toppings:
1 pound ground beef*
1 cup chopped green pepper
½ chopped onion
2 small cans mushroom stems & pieces
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
15-oz can tomato sauce
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheeseDirections:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Sprinkle the shredded zucchini with the salt and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain well until dry (I squeeze my zucchini out in a clean kitchen towel).
3. Stir together the zucchini, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses and the eggs. Once combined, spread the mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until set and golden brown in spots.
4. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef along with the onions and pepper until the beef is cooked through and the vegetables are soft. Stir in the mushrooms, garlic powder and dried oregano. Let simmer together for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the tomato sauce.
5. Spoon the filling onto the prepared zucchini "crust" and top with the shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Return to the oven for an additional 10 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
*Note: Ground beef is optional. It's in the original recipe, but I made this without it because my sister is a vegetarian. If you do make it with the beef, the filling will be thicker and set up a little more, sort of like a high lasagna.
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looks great! must make it!!!!
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Do you think I can use something else besides eggs in the crust?
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 9:20 am
I’ve never tried it with anything else. Do you have an allergy, or…?
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Your grandmother’s recipe sounds delicious. I love the simplicity of it too…a great way to get your veggies!
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Love this idea! Yum!
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This looks great. How much and what kind of tomato sauce do you use?
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 9:19 am
Hi Hannah, So sorry I forgot the quantity, I will edit that now. It’s a 15-oz can. Brand doesn’t matter; I usually buy Contadina.
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What an interesting idea and I love how many veggies you can include! I’ll see if I can smuggle it past my boyfriend
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Looks so good, my family loves zucchini so I bet they would love this. I didn’t see how much tomato sauce to use?
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Oops! I will go up and edit that. It’s a 15-oz can.
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What a great recipe from your grandma’s collection! Definitely saving this to make.
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This looks great
and I’m taking it as a coincidence that I just happen to have all of the ingredients on hand…
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This sounds amazing and is such a unique idea!
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I remember the last zuchinni recipe from your grandmother – this looks like another winner, though I’d have to opt for non-canned mushrooms.
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This is such a different recipe – love it! I would try it both ways and I bet it would be good – with the ground beef and without for a meatless option. Great weeknight option!
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this is so creative! i love zucchini on pizza…only makes sense that it would make a great base!
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How timely! This will be what’s for supper tonight! Thanks. Now if you can just help me out with cucumbers I’ll be all set.
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 9:16 am
You could always try the bread and butter pickles! http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/08/25/bread-and-butter-pickles/
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I’ve had this recipe for years (30+)….. I laughed about your comment about not being able to take a good picture. When I first made this recipe as a “new” 20 year old cook(over 30 years ago), I took great pains when serving it to make nice squares so they looked nice on the plate. Then the neighbor stopped over, and I served her a piece… the first thing she did was to take her fork and chop up the whole square, making it look like it just went thru a shredder. I guess the moral of the story is, it doesen’t matter what it looks like…. as long as it tastes good, and this recipe is a winner!!!
I have another recipe that came from the same recipe book (very old), and its for mock apple crumb bars… they use a ton of zucchini, and my zucchini hating brother ate and loved them for years, until we told him they were made with zucchini……let me know if you’d like the recipe, it’s delicious!
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Oooh I would love the recipe for mock apple crumb bars! My mom has a ton of zucchini to use up so I’ve been trying all of my grandma’s, but I’m running out! Thank you!
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Marisa on August 26th, 2011 at 11:41 am
I’m at work, and the recipe is at home, but I’ll forward it as soon as I get home.
It will use up all your zucchini and then some.
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I might just faint. That cheese just made me go cross-eyed.
de.lish. in. my. face.
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Wow this this absolutely delicious! Really…I really want to make this. I have some zucchini in my fridge right now waiting for this to happen to them haha
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It may not be the *prettiest* to photograph but it sure turned out one of the most *tempting*
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I think this is dinner tonight thank you!
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Finally a zucchini recipe I have never seen! It looks amazing! I am so going to try it this weekend. YUM!
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This sounds like an “unstuffed zucchini” recipe. Love it! I can’t wait to try. Thanks. Would love to have more of those tried & true zucchini recipes. You can never have enough!
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Michelle,
What’s on the menu for the Steeler’ game?
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Ahh, nothing actually! Not even sure I’ll be able to catch the game. I’m out in the Maryland ‘burbs near DC helping to get my bf packed up and moved, we’re hoping to get out tomorrow before the big storm hits, but have no idea when I’ll be back in the ‘Burgh! What are you making?
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Is there nothing you can’t do?! Very nice!
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Would you be able to make this and freeze or is it too messy for that ? Thanks.
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Michelle on August 26th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Hi Eddie, I definitely think you could freeze this, it’s the perfect type of candidate for such a thing
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What a cool recipe! I am so loving zucchini right now and the idea of a pizza/casserole/lasagna sounds pretty darn good to me!!
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I just made this for dinner and I LOVE it! I knew I would make it as soon as I saw it this morning…I’ve been trying to decide what to do with some zucchini that was on it’s last leg and this was perfect. I used fresh mushrooms and just added them at the same time as the onions and pepper(I used a red pepper). Thanks =)
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Looks great. Sounds perfect for summer
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As promised Michelle…
Zucchini Squares (mock apple crumb bars)
8 cups zucchini (peeled, seeded, cubed)
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon numeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Cook zucchini, lemon juice and sugar together, covered until tender. Remove from heat add spices and cool
Crust
3 sticks butter or margerine
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
Mix flour and sugar and cut in butter/margerine. Put half of the mixture into 9 x 13″ greased pan and pat down. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 – 15 minutes until light golden in color. Poour colled succhini mixture over crust, crumble remaining mixture over top, sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees 40 – 50 minutes until golden brown.
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Michelle on August 28th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it sounds delicious!
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This looks so good! I have some zucchini I need to use up and am so happy I found your site. Thanks for sharing! I will definitely be back!
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I used to work in a tea room (I live in UK) and used to make loads of Courgette Bread (our name for Zucchini in England ) It was very popular love your recipe
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Can you use fresh mushrooms in recipe dont know if I can get canned mushrooms in UK. Just cook them down in butter or oil?
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Michelle on August 28th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Hi Debbi, Absolutely! You could do them in either butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer to cook them down. Or, you could throw them in with the peppers and onion.
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Debbi on August 29th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Ok thanks Michelle Ill let you know how it goes
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Wow, this looks incredible! Can’t wait to make it!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com
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I am blown away by this the “crust” is such a goo idea
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This looks awesome! Grandmothers have the best recipes, don’t they?
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Wow that looks delicious! I’ve got to try that recipe.
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hi michelle, it looks so yummyy i am saving it and will make it on the weekend.
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I started grating yellow zucchini into omelets. No one knows it’s there. :p
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This sounds like a top-notch combo of foods I love. The crust alone (zucchini, eggs and cheese) would make me happy. The entire dish sounds absolutely yummy. But then again, I love veggies. I think this would be a great way to get them into people (like my kid) who don’t.
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Sounds delicious! I like that it’s in layers rather than just all mixed and stirred together!
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Thanks for the recipe!!! It was absolutely delicious!!! I have a somewhat (although usually willing to ‘try it’ husband) and he was quite skeptical at first. But after dinner he told me it was VERY good!!!
This will definitely be a recipe to keep for future use again.
Thanks again.
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Thank you so much for this recipe, it was delicious! My neighbor gave me a huge zucchini and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it until I found this recipe. I made a few minor changes, I used an orange sweet pepper (I don’t like green peppers), fresh baby portobellos because I love them (they added great texture too), and more oregano and garlic powder to add even more flavor to the sauce. I will definitely make this recipe again!
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Do you think adding spaghetti squash to the crust mixture would work? I have a bunch of them and am trying to think of creative ways to use them. Faux lasagna in a bowl can only be eaten so many times…
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Michelle on September 22nd, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Hi Nicole, I do think that would work, love the creativity!
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Totally making this. Sounds delicious!
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This has become a staple in my home. We are not vegetarian, but I do prefer this meat free. I use fresh mushrooms and add banana peppers as I assemble it, it’s out of this world. Thank you for sharing.
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