Baked Italian Zucchini Recipe
This baked Italian zucchini is baked in the oven with marinara and cheese until bubbly and delicious. It is a quick meal that anyone can make and a zucchini recipe that everyone will love.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 5 small zucchini or 3 large ones
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella Try to use fresh if you can but shredded will work too
- 24 ounces marinara sauce homemade (see below for recipe) or jarred sauce
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
- ¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan
Marinara
- 28 ounces San marzano tomatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Yellow onion Finely diced
- 2 cloves Garlic Finely chopped
- 2 Fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Dried oregano
Instructions
Making The Marinara
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add your olive oil and onion and cook until the onions are translucent.1 ½ tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, ½ Yellow onion
- Now add your garlic and cook for one more minute.2 cloves Garlic
- Add your whole canned tomatoes to the pan and with a potato masher (or bottom of a mug) mash down the tomatoes gently until they are mostly broken down and stir the tomatoes into the olive oil mixture well.28 ounces San marzano tomatoes
- Add your salt, oregano and basil and stir then bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.2 Fresh basil leaves, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon Dried oregano
- Taste the sauce for any additional salt.
Making The Italian Zucchini
- Clean and wash your zucchini5 small zucchini
- Pre-heat a grill pan or a grill to medium heat. If you do not have either than pre-heat a large heavy bottom skillet
- Cut your zucchini lengthwise into ½ inch strips
- Drizzle the zucchini with olive oil.3 tablespoon olive oil
- Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and pepper1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
- Once your grill or pan is ready, add your zucchini and cook for about 3 minutes per side.
- Remove your zucchini from the pan and set aside
- Gently heat your marinara sauce on low heat.
- Pre-heat your broiler on high heat
- Grab a large oven safe baking dish
- Scoop ½ cup of your marinara sauce into the baking dish and spread it out evenly24 ounces marinara sauce
- Next, Add your zucchini slices into the dish side by side but not overlapping. You may need 2 baking dishes if your zucchini are larger.
- Now take a tablespoon of your marinara and place on each slice of zucchini and spread it out. Keep doing this until all the zucchini has sauce
- Now cut your mozzarella into thin strips and place over the zucchini. Don't worry too much about neatness here since it all melts8 oz fresh mozzarella
- Next, sprinkle your freshly grated parmesan evenly over top of this¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan
- Once your zucchini are all dressed with sauce and cheese, place the zucchini under the broiler until the cheese melts and is bubbly and just turning brown (about 3-4 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and serve with a side of pasta and the remaining marinara sauce
Notes
Leftovers: This Italian zucchini makes great leftovers. I like to store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat it just allow the dish it is in to come to room temperature then bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
Nutrition
Serving: 11 | Calories: 458kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 2729mg | Potassium: 1594mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1903IU | Vitamin C: 76mg | Calcium: 493mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
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