An easy side dish that pairs beautifully with just about any family meal! The garlic parmesan zucchini casserole features fresh shredded veggies, garlic, and onion baked with three types of cheese and finished with a buttery, crispy, Parmesan breadcrumb topping.
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If you have a ton of fresh zucchini, check out some of our other favorite zucchini recipes, such as sauteed zucchini, this easy snickerdoodle zucchini bread, a batch of one-bowl zucchini muffins, and a loaf of zucchini bread!
How to Make Zucchini Casserole | 1-Minute Video
easy, delicious and a good low carb veggie dish. I added a heavy splash of hot sauce and some freshly grated nutmeg to balance all the cheese. this recipe is a keeper
– Sheba
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy. If you can stir together some simple ingredients, then you can make this easy zucchini casserole recipe. With about 15 minutes of prep time, the dish is ready for the oven!
- Flavorful. On its own, zucchini can be a very neutral, bland vegetable. This casserole is anything but boring, however! The veggies are seasoned with plenty of garlic, three different types of cheese, and a crunchy, buttery topping.
- Versatile. The zucchini casserole works well as a vegetarian entree, but also serves as a delicious side side for almost any main course. Offer it with your Easter or Christmas ham, alongside a Thanksgiving smoked turkey breast, with marinated grilled shrimp, or with grilled bbq chicken breast, grilled pork chops, and grilled hamburgers throughout the summer months.
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for an easy zucchini casserole. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Zucchini: this freshly-grated veggie is the star of the show! You’ll need a total of 4 cups grated, which is equivalent to approximately 3 ½ medium zucchinis. I use a handheld box grater to shred my zucchini, but you can also put it through a food processor if you prefer. There’s no need to peel the zucchini.
- Salt: enhances the flavors in the dish and helps to draw out moisture from the zucchini so that you don’t end up with a watery casserole.
- Onion and garlic: for more flavor. I use sweet onion, but yellow onion or white onion both work fine.
- Eggs: give the casserole structure.
- Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and sharp cheddar cheese: three different types of grated cheese add a variety of flavors to the casserole. You can substitute with an equal amount of any of your favorite cheeses — or stick to just mozzarella or just cheddar. Other good options include Monterey Jack, Colby, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Gruyere, Swiss, and Gouda cheese.
- Panko breadcrumbs and melted butter: combine the panko bread crumbs with the Parmesan and melted butter to form the crispy, golden brown topping. You can easily make this zucchini casserole gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs. If you want to add a little more fiber and nutrition to the dish, use whole wheat breadcrumbs (which are not gluten-free).
Directions
This old fashioned zucchini casserole is an easy recipe to take advantage of an abundance of fresh summer veggies. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Place the zucchini in a colander, sprinkle it with salt, and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes (this will help draw out some of the water so that the zucchini doesn’t make your casserole watery). After 10 minutes, squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini. A dish towel works really well to wring out all of that excess water.
- Combine the drained zucchini, onion, garlic, eggs, some of the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese in a small, greased baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Make the topping by combining melted butter with breadcrumbs and additional Parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the zucchini mixture and return the pan to the oven.
- Bake for about 5-10 more minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and the top is golden brown and crispy.
- Garnish the dish with fresh herbs (such as chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil, or fresh thyme) or with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a bright burst of color and flavor.
Serving Suggestions
This versatile casserole pairs nicely with just about any meat, seafood, or pasta. We love the cheesy zucchini casserole alongside grilled salmon or grilled scallops, with crispy fried chicken, grilled chicken, or baked chicken thighs, maple Dijon chicken, with marinated pork tenderloin, alongside a Southern meatloaf, with cozy stuffed shells, this turkey Sloppy Joes recipe, with pasta and marinara sauce, a tomato sandwich, or with a veggie pizza. Then, add a strawberry jello salad or easy banana pudding for dessert.
I made this last night for 8 guys who were working on my house. I doubled the recipe and you would have thought that it was the best thing these guys have ever eaten. It was all devoured by the end of the meal! Definitely going to make this again!
– JJ
Preparation and Storage Tips
Store leftover zucchini casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven just until warmed through, or warm individual servings in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, or until heated through.
You can freeze the leftovers; however, this is not my preference because the zucchini will hold a lot of water, negatively impacting the texture and taste when thawed.
Recipe Variations
- Use a combination of yellow squash and zucchini, or replace all of the zucchini with yellow summer squash. Shredded carrots would also be a nice addition.
- To serve a larger family, double all of the ingredients and bake the casserole in a larger dish. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the total cooking time, but the rest of the instructions remain the same.
- Toss the breadcrumbs with olive oil instead of melted butter for a slightly different flavor.
- Add some ground black pepper or crushed red pepper for a zestier kick. Italian seasoning would also be a nice addition to the filling.
- For a tasty twist, try adding coarsely grated zucchini to this dump-and-bake vegetable casserole with rice.
Made this tonight, it is awesome, love It! Will keep this recipe for future use.
– Karen
More Zucchini Casserole Recipes
Zucchini Pie
50 minutes mins
Chicken Zucchini Casserole
55 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups grated zucchini (I used about 3.5 medium zucchinis)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup finely minced or grated onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus an additional 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 1 ½-quart baking dish; set aside.
- Place zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and allow to sit for about 10 minutes (this will help draw out some of the water from the zucchini). After 10 minutes, squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini. TIP: In order to make sure that you get most of the water out of the zucchini (and avoid a runny casserole), wrap the zucchini in a dish towel. Squeeze it and wring it out multiple times while it's in the towel — you will be shocked by how much liquid comes out!
- In a large bowl, combine zucchini, onion, garlic, eggs, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese. Gently press the mixture evenly into the prepared dish.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour melted butter over breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Stir until completely combined.
- After 20 minutes, remove zucchini from the oven. Sprinkle buttered breadcrumbs over the zucchini and return the dish to the oven. Continue baking for about 5-10 more minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy.
Notes
- I use a handheld box grater to shred my zucchini, but you can also put it through a food processor if you prefer.
- Add some ground black pepper or crushed red pepper for a zestier kick. Italian seasoning would also be a nice addition to the filling.
- Garnish the dish with fresh herbs (such as chopped fresh parsley) for a bright burst of color and flavor.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in February, 2017. It was updated in June, 2024.
Husband loved this, and it was easy to make. My zucchini was drained very well but if I were to change anything I’d add something to make texture less like mashed potatoes ( baby food)
It’s a texture thing for me, any ideas?
Hi, Tan! I’m not sure that I totally understand. Zucchini is always going to be soft when it’s cooked, unless you just parboil or quickly cook it on the stovetop in a skillet. If you don’t like that texture, there’s not a whole lot that you can change in this particular recipe. Did you grate it coarsely, rather than using the fine side of a box grater? The coarser the shred, the less “mushy” it will be. I don’t typically find that it has a texture like mashed potatoes. You can usually get that grated texture in the finished dish. I hope that helps, and I’m glad that your husband enjoyed it! 🙂
Instead of grating the Zucchini, you could just dice or slice it in big chunks and it will definitely be less mushy for you. It’ll leave some crunch. My dad has the same issues with zucchini lol…
I loved this receipe! My dog needed out in the middle of the night and I cleaned up the leftover casserole just standing at the counter eating it. Thanks for this receipe. It was great.
Linda
Oh, good! I’m so glad that it proved to be the perfect midnight snack, too. 🙂 Thanks, Linda!
Fantastic! Made this today to use up extra zucchini and fell in love with it. Added 1 c cooked rice and only did half the cheese for my taste. Variations of cheese and herbs make this my sort of recipe. I’m making it agin next week to go with Easter lunch. Great recipe!!!
Wonderful! I bet it was great with the added rice, Cindy. Thanks for your note!
Just out of the oven. Smells divine. Hoping it tastes as good.
Now, about your web site. I realize you’ve abandoned a legal career (kudos from a mostly retired environmental lawyer on that) and ads support the site; but the pop-ups constantly slowed and clogged the site, and interfered with my cooking. Plus, I like to play music while I cook, and the constant video pop-ups kept interrupting the Spotify stream. As good as the recipe was, I would hesitate to use the site again due to the aggravating traffic. There needs to be a limit on the volume of commercial stuff being thrown out. Even now it blankets this page, making it hard to concentrate (which of course is the whole idea). Rest assured I would never purchase anything from an intrusive web advertiser. I suspect many others hold the line in the same way.
Increased my rating to five stars after multiple compliments and requests for the recipe. (I did warn that the website makes it hard to navigate, such that it might make sense to copy the ingredients onto a piece of paper, or maybe copy and paste. Things are just too busy and unstable.). Many thanks! Oh, and I put slices of tomato on top (by request of spouse), and let them cook a bit with the topping at the end. Worked great!
Thank you, Dirk. I always appreciate the feedback!
Hi, since you use frozen onions, have you tried frozen minced garlic? I get it at Walmart. It’s fantastic. I never peal and mince garlic anymore. I just use the frozen. I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell you the brand.
Ruth Trygstad
Ruth
Hi, Ruth! I haven’t tried that, but I’ll definitely look for it. I’ve used the jars of pre-minced garlic from the produce section, but I haven’t noticed the frozen option. Thanks for the tip!
First time making recipe, squeezed zucchini twice.ade it like the recipe. Came out Delicious. I will make thos again.
Awesome! Thanks, Lisa-Marie!
Hi I’m Johnnie Mae, I tried this recipe for the first time. Wanted to try something different from the usual. Went directly by the recipe including the wringing the water out of the squash, didn’t have the 3 cheeses but used what I had,boy did it turn out delicious, thanks for posting your recipe. Will try to show a picture Lisa Marie
Thank you, Johnnie Mae! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
A absolutely delicious!!! Plan on making it again this week!
Thank you, Linda!
Can I make this ahead of time without baking and bake at a later date (2 days)?
Hi, Kasey! Yes, I think that will work fine. Just make sure that you squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible before assembling. 🙂
I had some extra shredded zucchini so I thought I’d try this. Ohhh my, I wish I had alot more for a bigger dish cause this was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make it again soon!
So glad that it was a hit, Tina. Thank you!
This casserole is excellent…my favorite zucchini recipe!!
Thanks, Dolores!
I may try this with spiralized zucchini.
Sounds great! Let us know if it works well!
We have so many zucchini hardly knew what to do with them all. Well this recipe is delicious…it was a great side to go with freshly caught fish and corn on the cob . We love summer.
Thank you, Deborah! We love summer and all the fresh food available as well.
I cut back on garlic and quartered the zucchini. My boyfriend suggested putting cooked sausage down first so I did. Turned out great!
We’re so glad, Sonja! Thanks for sharing.
My husband and I loved this! When I make it again, I will use a shallower and wider dish to have a higher ratio of crunch to zucchini, but the flavor was awesome!
This is an easy and delicious recipe! I have a great tip for drying out the zucchini… a potato ricer, perfect!!
So smart! We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious & so easy to make! I doubled everything in the topping & used Italian flavored panko.
Thanks, Chris. I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
Can this be baked in a baked pie shell instead of a dish?
We haven’t tested it but don’t see why not! Just keep a close eye on it so the crust doesn’t burn.
Hi! Currently waiting for this to come out of my oven and it smells delicious! I was wondering if you could prepare it and freeze it? Then let it thaw and bake, then add the topping, etc. I have a ton of zucchini to use up!
Hi Tatiana,
You can freeze the leftovers, but we don’t recommend doing so if you can avoid it as the texture is often altered once thawed.
This recipe is a family staple every Thanksgiving. I use tromboncini zucchini, onions and garlic from my garden and my family loves it. As a matter of fact, last year I didn’t make it and my guests asked where it was! So Happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy your time with family and friends. Buon appetito!
That makes me so happy to hear, Paola! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
We couldn’t stop eating it… so good. I didn’t have any cheddar on hand so just did 1/2 parm and 1/2 mozzarella. Added the zest of 1/2 a lemon. Broiled the crust for a few minutes in the end and the combination of crispy panko and cheesy zucchini kept us going back for more.
Thank you, Gregory. I’m so glad that it was a hit!