I’m a great pizza lover. Have I mentioned that before?
In fact, one time when my previous office mates and I were hanging out together, Marvin said, “hey guys, you ever noticed that whenever we go out we always order pizza and nachos?” It dawned upon the rest of us that he was right, but this is the kind of thing you just ignore because you’re perfectly content with the way things are.
So, with my fondness for pizza, I was delighted to come across a recipe for a zucchini pizza casserole. It’s not pizza-pizza and don’t expect it to be, but the good thing is it has cups of veggies in it and does taste like pizza. Whatever you want in a pizza, you can also put in this dish (pepperoni, anyone?).
Okay, let the pizza loving begin!
Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 500 g shredded zucchini
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 40 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 230 g shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 120 g shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 450 g ground bee
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 480 ml pizza sauce
- 1 medium green pepper, chopped
- 70 g black olives, sliced
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Place zucchini in a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes and then squeeze out moisture.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, parmesan cheese, and half of the mozzarella (115 g) and cheddar (60 g) cheeses.
- Mix zucchini and egg/cheese mixture.
- Press into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the zucchini is baking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown ground beef and onions. Drain grease. Stir in the pizza sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over the baked zucchini crust.
- Top with the remaining cheeses. Sprinkle with green pepper and black olives. Bake for another 5 minutes.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Oh, and before I forget, this recipe is also gluten-free! You can also make your own sauce using tomato sauce, basil, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper.
I’ve heard that a Mexican zucchini pizza casserole is also wonderful — simply add Mexican seasonings and beans. Or you can also substitute ground beef with Italian turkey sausage or chicken sausage.
Mind you, this recipe has a lot of cheese in it. Somebody I knew used this recipe but cut down on the cheese; she said it was still lovely. A matter of preference, clearly, as I like mine with lots of cheeses on it.
Does this sound yummy to you?
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