This easy baked zucchini parmesan recipe is made with oven roasted zucchini layered in a casserole with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce in the Italian parmigiana style. It's vegetarian, low carb, gluten-free! No breadcrumbs, no dredging, NO FRYING!
It's the summertime dilemma: an avalanche of zucchini and what to do with it? I mean, let's be real, you can only make so much bread with it. So how about this recipe for baked zucchini parmesan casserole (otherwise known as zucchini parmigiana) to the rescue!
There are no breadcrumbs or breading, so it's a gluten-free recipe. We're baking the zucchini in the oven, so no frying, either! We'll layer it with gooey cheese, and have a nice homemade garlicky tomato sauce, too, so it tastes like Italian sunshine.
If you like this idea, try my eggplant lasagna recipe that's made with oven roasted eggplant layered with melty cheeses!
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Zucchini parmesan recipe ingredients
This ingredient list includes what you need to make a quick tomato sauce from scratch, but you can absolutely make zucchini parmigiana with jarred marinara sauce.
- Zucchini: Choose small to medium zucchini. The bigger they get, the more seeds they have, and we don't want that. We need them to hold up to the oven roasting.
- Smoked mozzarella cheese: This adds to the roasted flavor of the dish. It has just a hint of smokiness, and it complements the crushed red pepper in the sauce. You can find smoked mozzarella at Whole Foods, if you can't find it anywhere, just use regular whole milk mozzarella.
- Parmesan cheese: Well, you know I will always tell you to use REAL parmesan cheese, it's just so much more flavorful. It's worth the investment.
- San Marzano tomatoes: Again, use the real thing here. San Marzano tomatoes have a distinct sweetness to them and they taste like Italian sunshine. Don't fall for imposters. There will be a certification on the label, so look for that. My favorite brand is Cento.
- Fresh basil: I like to use just a few basil leaves in one layer—not every layer—to add freshness. But you can add more if you like.
- Garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper and salt: This is all you need to give the sauce its incredible flavor.
How to make baked zucchini parmesan (zucchini parmigiana)
Recipe adapted from The Italian Table, by Elizabeth Minchilli.
Before you start:
I've written this up so that you can multitask while making this recipe. Grate the cheese while the zucchini drains, make the sauce while the zucchini roasts, etc. So it may seem like I'm going back and forth between things, but if you do it this way, it will be stress-free and take less time.
Step 1: Slice and salt/drain the zucchini
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a good chef's knife to slice the zucchini into planks about ยผ inch thick.
Place the zucchini slices in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt so that all slices are coated. Allow to sit in the bowl for about 30 minutes. The salt is going to pull a lot of water out of the zucchini which will prevent the final product from being watery.
After 30 minutes, the zucchini slices will have released a lot of water, and they should be kind of flappy and pliable. Lay them out flat on a clean dish towel, then lay another clean dish towel on top to blot dry.
Step 2: Grate the cheese and chop the garlic
While the zucchini drains, grate the parmesan and mozzarella on the small holes of a box grater. Chop the garlic finely.
Step 3: Roast the zucchini
Place the zucchini into a large, DRY bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt so that all of it is coated.
Place the zucchini on the parchment-lined baking sheets, but not too close together. We want them to roast, not steam.
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Roast the zucchini in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until they start to get golden brown in spots and seem to have given up most of their water. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 400 degrees F.
Step 4: Make the tomato sauce
While the zucchini roasts, make the sauce. If using store bought sauce, skip to step 5.
Empty the tomatoes into a large mixing bowl and crush them by hand. Remove any stem ends from the tops of the tomatoes, as they won't break down while the sauce simmers.
Add the olive oil to a large, deep pan over medium heat. I used my Lodge enamel cast iron casserole dish. Once it begins to shimmer, add the chopped garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir frequently for 1 - 2 minutes, just until the garlic becomes fragrant and begins to soften.
Disclosure: I am a member of the Lodge Blogger Network. The pan shown was provided to me free of charge. All opinions are my own.
Add the crushed tomatoes and salt to the pan, stir all the ingredients together and turn the heat up to medium high. Fill the tomato can about ยผ full with water and swish it around then add that to the sauce as well. Once it gets to a bubbly simmer, turn the heat back to medium and stir frequently, preferably with a wooden spoon, for about 20 minutes.
Step 5: Layer the zucchini parmesan in a casserole dish
Now for the fun layering part!
Layer 1: Put โ of the sauce in the bottom of a 9" x 13" casserole dish, add โ of the zucchini on top as you would lasagna noodles, then add ยผ cup of parmesan, then ยฝ of the smoked mozzarella and a few basil leaves.
Layer 2: sauce, zucchini, ยผ cup of parmesan, all of the remaining mozzarella.
Layer 3: zucchini, sauce, remaining parmesan.
Step 6: Bake the zucchini parmigiana
Place the zucchini parmesan in the oven (400 degrees F) and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is beginning to turn golden brown. Let stand 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
Expert tips
- I highly recommend grating your own cheese: Once grated, cheese starts to lose moisture and the texture changes. You'll also pay less if you grate it yourself.
- Do NOT skip salting and draining the zucchini: This is so important! If you don't do this beforehand, you'll end up with very watery zucchini parmigiana and that would be very sad.
- Yes, you still need to salt the zucchini again before you roast it: You're wiping off most of the other salt when you blot between the dish towels.
- Use a wooden spoon to stir the sauce: It makes it easier for you to break apart the tomatoes as you stir. You have more surface area and more control.
No breadcrumbs, no breading, no frying!
In the United States, when we think of zucchini 'parmigiana', we all Italians are coating it in flour and breadcrumbs and frying it, not something you bake before layering. But in Italy, that's not necessarily true, it varies by region.
In many cases, the vegetables are simply pan fried in olive oil (or in this case baked) without breadcrumbs and then layered with cheese. Sometimes there is sauce, sometimes there is not.
More Italian zucchini recipes
More Italian recipes with zucchini from the summer garden!
- If you've still got more zucchini, but you just can't stand the thought of cooking, how about a Raw Zucchini Salad? Sounds like a plan!
- Creamy Zucchini Pasta is made with mascarpone cheese, which complements the subtle sweetness of that garden-fresh zucchini!
- A Zucchini Frittata is just about the easiest summer dinner ever.
Zucchini parmesan is a gluten-free casserole recipe that's perfect for summer!
- No breadcrumbs, breading, or frying, so it's a much easier recipe.
- Zucchini is sliced and oven-roasted, then layered in a casserole like lasagna!
- A great way to use all that zucchini from your summer garden!
- Can be served as a vegetarian main dish, or a side dish with grilled meats or fish.
- Make the tomato sauce ahead, or just use store bought sauce!
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Recipe
Zucchini Parmesan Recipe (Zucchini Parmigiana)
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds zucchini
- 6 oz smoked mozzarella
- 1 ¼ cups parmigiano reggiano cheese (parmesan)
- 28 oz San Marzano tomatoes from one 28 oz can
- ¼ cup olive oil plus more for roasting the zucchini
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for the zucchini
- 1 bunch fresh basil
Instructions
- Note: I've written these instructions so that you can multitask while making this recipe. Grate the cheese while the zucchini drains, make the sauce while the zucchini roasts, etc. So it may seem like I'm going back and forth between things, but if you do it this way, it will be stress-free and take less time.
Prep and roast the zucchini, grate the cheeses
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- After 30 minutes, the zucchini slices will have released a lot of water, and they should be kind of flappy and pliable. Place them on a clean dish towel, then lay another clean dish towel on top to blot dry.
- Place the zucchini into a large, DRY bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt so that all of it is coated. Place the zucchini on the parchment-lined baking sheets, but not too close together. We want them to roast, not steam.
- Roast the zucchini in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until they start to get golden brown in spots and seem to have given up most of their water. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 400 degrees F.
While the zucchini roasts, make the sauce
- Add ยผ cup of olive oil to a large, deep pan over medium heat. Once it begins to shimmer, add the chopped garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir frequently for 1 - 2 minutes, just until the garlic becomes fragrant and begins to soften.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and kosher salt to the pan, stir all the ingredients together, and turn the heat up to medium high. Fill the empty tomato can about ยผ full with water and swish it around to get everything out then add that to the sauce as well. Once it gets to a bubbly simmer, turn the heat back to medium and stir frequently, preferably with a wooden spoon, for about 20 minutes.
Layering the zucchini parmesan
- Layer 2: sauce, zucchini, ¼ cup of parmesan, all of the remaining mozzarella.
- Layer 3: zucchini, sauce, remaining parmesan.
Bake it!
- Place the zucchini parmesan in the oven (400 degrees F) and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is beginning to turn golden brown. Let stand 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You can find smoked mozzarella at Whole Foods.
- I highly recommend grating your own cheese. Once grated, cheese starts to lose moisture and the texture changes. You'll also pay less if you grate it yourself.
- Do NOT skip salting the zucchini and letting the water drain out of it! This is so important! If you don't do this beforehand, you'll end up with very watery zucchini parmesan and that would be very sad.
- Yes, you still need to salt the zucchini again before you roast it. You're wiping off most of the other salt when you blot between the dish towels.
- This recipe is adapted from The Italian Table, by Elizabeth Minchilli
- Be sure to read the post above for more info on how to choose ingredients and make substitutions.
Linda Cummings
Great way to use all that zucchini