Easy Baked Zucchini Parmesan
Zucchini Parmesan is an easy baked zucchini casserole that is the perfect Italian side dish or main course. Fast and Easy and so cheesy. Easy Baked Zucchini Parmesan will become your family’s new favourite.
As I continue with my quest for cooking, baking, sauteing, or anything else I can think of to use all the zucchini that will soon be taking over my kitchen, I can’t wait to share this recipe for cheesy baked zucchini with you.
I have to admit, it might just be one of the best, next to of course stuffed zucchini flowers that are absolutely out of this world. It’s one of the best things about summer food.
I was inspired to make this dish after my two daughters and I went for a little walk in a beautiful town called Nemi, which is close by to the small town where we live.
There are many reasons for which I love Nemi, the view is breathtaking, the cappuccino and cornetto (croissant) are so yummy, but most of all it is not nearly as hot there as the town where we live is. It’s nice to have a cool break once in a while.
So anywhere I can go to get cool I will go and feeling refreshed after our visit I decided it wouldn’t hurt to turn on the oven to make some baked zucchini. With lots of cheese, of course.
Ingredients
This such a simple recipe and a great way to showcase fresh zucchini. I am overrun with zucchini right now, but if you want to use another kind of summer squash you can. Or a mix of the green squash and yellow squash would make a pretty dish, too.
- Small zucchini: Look for small zucchini and avoid the big, giant ones. Small ones are more tender – the big ones are often more stringy and dry.
- Salt: Brings out the flavour in everything.
- Flour: Used to coat the zucchini to keep it from becoming too soggy and watery.
- Shredded firm mozzarella: You could also use gruyere or fontina cheese, you decide.
- Freshly grated Parmigiano: Try to grate your own rather than using packaged grated, the flavour is so much better.
- Freshly chopped Parsley: I love the taste of Italian parsley and zucchini.
- Pancetta: Sometimes I had chopped pancetta between the layers it is the perfect contrast with the zucchini.
What is authentic Parmigiano?
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is authentic or DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta which means Protected Designation of Origin), and Parmesan cheese is just an imitation of Parmigiano Reggiano. Reggiano is always made in Italy, while Parmesan can be made anywhere, there are no restrictions on using the name Parmesan. And don’t forget a less expensive but also a DOP choice is Parmigiano Grana Padano.
And, yes, you only need 6-7 ingredients for this recipe. It’s the best kind of summer dish that doesn’t take a long time to prep. I also love that the zucchini doesn’t turn mushy like other recipes I’ve seen and tried.
Recipe Steps
Shred the cheese and mix the parmesan cheese with the chopped parsley. Set aside.
Slice the zucchini lengthwise into strips that are not too thick. Place them in a large bowl and toss them with the salt, let sit then drain but do not rinse. Paper towel dry the zucchini to remove as much excess moisture as possible. These steps are important because the salt and towel drying will draw out the excess liquid in the zucchini. That’s what keeps it from turning mushy in the oven.
Place the flour in a shallow dish and dredge each zucchini slice in it. Now you can assemble the casserole which is similar to making a zucchini lasagna. Place some zucchini slices in an even layer in a prepared baking dish. If using pancetta then top some on the zucchini, sprinkle some of the mozzarella cheese and Parmigiano on top.
Add another layer of each repeating this process until you’ve used up the ingredients. I make 3-4 layers.
Bake the casserole. Let it stand at room temperature for five minutes before slicing and serving.
I don’t love the heat of summer but I am more than willing to turn on the oven for this delicious cheesy zucchini bake. The zucchini is cooked just long enough and the cheese – oh how I love melted cheese! Five minutes under the broiler just gives it that perfect baked cheesy topping.
More Ways to Use Zucchini
Maybe you’re looking for more ideas? I have a lot more recipes for you to try, here are a few you might like, too.
This Italian dish I hope will become a regular summer favourite in your home too. Buon Appetito!
Easy Baked Zucchini Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3-4 small tender zucchini (300 grams)
- 1½-2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ cups shredded firm mozzarella*
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmigiano
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley chopped
- ¼-½ cup pancetta chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius), lightly grease with olive oil a small to medium baking pan. I used an 8×6 inch (20×15 cm) baking dish and I made 4 layers.
- Shred the cheese and mix the parmigiano with the chopped parsley. Set aside.
- Slice the zucchini lengthwise into strips that are not too thick. Place them in a large bowl and toss them with the salt. Let sit for 20 minutes then drain but do not rinse. Then paper towel dry the zucchini to remove as much excess moisture as possible. These steps are important because the salt and towel drying will draw out the excess liquid in the zucchini. That’s what keeps it from turning mushy in the oven.
- Place the flour in a shallow dish and dredge each zucchini slice in it.
- First do an even layer of zucchini slices in the prepared baking dish. If using the pancetta then top some on the zucchini, sprinkle ⅓ or ¼ of the mozzarella (depending on how many layers you want to make) on top then finish with ⅓-¼ of the grated parmigiano, add another layer of each repeating this process until you’ve used up the ingredients.
- Bake the casserole for about 25 minutes. Let it stand at room temperature for about five minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
I made this last night for a small dinner with friends. The only thing I changed was NOT adding the flour. It was really delicious and easy to make. A definite addition to my zucchini repertoire! Grazie mille Rosemary!
Hi Margaret, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know about the flour. Take care!
Love this recipe. thank you!!
Just an FYI: Funny and gross
I have to say the multiple number of adds about earwax and rats are kind of creepy while I scrolled through the recipe. 😉
Thank goodness the yummy food pics and recipe outweigh the earwax pics and rats.
Hi Valerie, thanks so much, glad you liked the recipe. Yes I am looking into those ads. Take care!
I have made this recipe a few times and it is fabulous! Question? Can you substitute eggplant on occasion? TIA
Hi Debbie, thanks so much, and yes you could substitute eggplant, make sure to slice thin. Take care have a great week.
Would you have to cook/fry the eggplant first? That’s the PIA part of eggplant Parm!
PS: I love your recipes and would love to go to eat my way thru Italy with you!
Hi Louise, thanks so much, that would be fun! This is actually made with zucchini which you don’t have to cook first. I do have an eggplant parm but I grill the eggplant rather than fry, https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/grilled-eggplant-parmesan/. Take care and have a great weekend!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and it is just so good!
This last time, I made a few changes.
The zucchini I get here (in the US) are bigger than those described , but not big tough ones.
I used 4 approximately 6 inch zucchini. This did yield a considerably larger amount of zucchini (about 1200 grams) so I adjusted the ingredients in the recipe to fit that larger quantity.
I sliced a small onion (thin) and minced 2 cloves of garlic and sauteed them along with the cubed pancetta and 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes in a tablespoon of olive oil. I used the mixture between each layer of zucchini followed by the cheeses for that layer.
Just before the final top layer of cheese, I poured 1/2 cup of light cream over the assembled casserole and followed with the final cheese layer.
Baked at 375 F. for 35-40 minutes til the cheese looked golden and browned at the edges.
The result was good! I’m loving this casserole recipe as written and it easily lends itself to additions you might want to make!
Hi Sandra, thanks so much, so glad you like it and I love how you change it up. Take care.
How thick dhould I dlice the zucchini 1/4 inch??
Or thinner. Would like to make this in the next few days.
Sound delucioys!
Hi Rose, I would cut them a little thinner, not paper thin or pastry thin a little thicker than that. You can kind of see in the first photo. Let me know how it goes.
Absolutely gorgeous
What is the garnish used in this recipe? I’m guessing it’s parsley but just checking. Thought about using basil actually.
Hi Kimberly, yes it is parsley, zucchini and parsley go really well together. Have a great weekend.
I did add some sauteed onions and garlic on the top layer before the final cheese layer and used the basil because that’s what we had in the garden. It was wonderful ! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Kim, thanks and love the additions. So glad you enjoyed it.
I think I combined 3 recipes, at least 2 from this site—maybe 3… I needed a main dish for a picky vegetarian tonight. So I sautéed half a onion and 15 oz of spinach. I put spinach in the.bottom of a Pyrex pan, sprinkled with Parmesanan then layered the salted, drained, rinsed, sliced, zucchini and 1/3 cup Del Grosso Sunday Marinara sauce and drizzled 1 Tblsp of heavy cream over it all and topped with 1 1/3 cup of mozzarella. Baked at 350 for 20 minutes and 375 for 5. Thanks for your good idea’s! It turned out so well that I wanted to capture it to remember.
Thanks Deb, sounds delicious. Have a great Sunday.
This didn’t turn out well for us, sadly. I used our fresh garden zucchini and it wasn’t fully cooked. I couldn’t cook it longer because of having broiled it. And it was horribly dry. I had to throw it away. 🙁
Hi Tina, so sorry to hear that, did you maybe cut your Zucchini too thick? We have been making this recipe (originally from my sister-in-law) for years and it has never turned out too dry. Sorry.
Nemi sounds beautiful!! And I have everything to make this stunning dish. I think we will have it tomorrow night with a big salad!
Hi Kristen, Nemi really is gorgeous, let me know how you like it. Have a great weekend.
The zucchini dish looks delish!
The picture seems to have sauce I didnt see a listing for it just wondering if it should be added.
Thanks
Hi Wendy, what you see is all that amazing cheese and the moisture from the zucchini that gives it the creamy saucy look and taste. 🙂
I needed some new zucchini recipes and this looks perfect!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
it looks delicious!
Hello, thank you I hope you give it a try and let me know.