Is everyone still drowning in zucchini out there? If you’re looking for a low-carb (no-carb?), filled with veggies, use-up-your-zucchini meal that fills tummies and pleases tastebuds, you’re at the right post. This may well be our favorite summer meal, and I love it because it’s so healthy and easy to make.
I also have some great memories of my two-year-old son slicing zucchini with his cheese slicer that looks like a meat cleaver. (See this post for a photo!) Buddy Boy completely did the zucchini job himself two years ago. …If only I could get him to help me in the kitchen like that now! (“Mom, can I go outside and play with my friends?”)
You’ll want to find a tasty sausage for this recipe, and use a spaghetti sauce that you know your family likes. Those two ingredients are the star players and change the flavor dramatically. We used some good pastured pork sausage this summer, but in the past I have used cheap ground turkey and made it into sausage like this.
Sausage Zucchini Bake
1 pound sausage, mild or spicy ($1-$3)
1 chopped onion ($0.30)
1 chopped green pepper ($0.33-$1)
1-3 cloves garlic, crushed ($0.20)
1-2 large zucchini, sliced (free-$0.60)
1 jar spaghetti sauce or 3 c. homemade ($1 or less)
1 Tbs fresh basil, chopped (a few cents)
1-2 Roma tomatoes, sliced (free-$0.75)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ($1.50)
Parmesan cheese
Super Foods: 4, 5 if you use turkey
Cost: $5-8
Brown sausage. Saute onion, pepper and garlic (add last) with the meat
(in olive oil? See this post for research!).
Pour a little spaghetti sauce in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Layer 1-2 large sliced zucchinis on top.
*Note: If you want to make sure the zucchini gets soft, you can optionally parboil it for a few minutes before layering in the pan. I skip that step because I hate making more dishes! Also, the dish will be pretty watery at the end if you use raw zukes, so either parboil, roast on a cookie sheet, or slice/shred and salt the zucchini and drain well before layering.
Mix the remaining spaghetti sauce in a large bowl with the sauteed meat and veggies and the fresh basil.
Pour overtop the zucchini.
Layer sliced tomatoes (they don’t have to be Romas, but those are prettier) on top, then cover with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15-30 minutes longer, until the cheese is browned and the sides are bubbling. Since I’m learning so much about the dangers of aluminum, I chose to tent the aluminum foil so it didn’t really touch the cheese, like so:
You can also put parchment paper under the foil so it doesn’t touch the food OR simply invert a cookie sheet over the baking dish. If you roasted your zucchini, use the same cookie sheet as the “lid” here. 
Not perhaps the most photogenic meal, especially if you don’t take the time to get the extra moisture out of the zukes first…but one of the most delicious recipes I have!
Challenge yourself to get as many ingredients as you can from your Farmer’s Market or your garden! Just another reason to love this dish.
Find the ultimate list of zucchini recipes at The Finer Things in Life.
It was a tough choice, but I chose this as my Favorite Recipe for Life as MOM’s Ultimate Recipe Swap today. There are so many good ones!
Other Great Summer Recipes:
- Jamaican Meat Marinade
- Summer Fruit Dips
- Homemade Guacamole
- California Chicken Wraps
- Pasta Salad Variations: Traditional, Pizza, Spicy Red Pepper and Greek
- Sausage, Beans and Kale Soup
I’m pleased to link up with:
- Zucchini In-Season Recipe Swap at at Tammy’s Recipes,
- Food Roots at Nourishing Days
- Healthy Helpings at the Krazy Kitchen
- This week’s Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
- Friday Feasts at MomTrends
- Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
- Ann Kroeker’s Food on Fridays
- Share my Recipe Sunday at Organize with Sandy
- Mouthwatering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale
- Make it from Scratch Carnival
- Progressive Dinner: Main Dish at Stolen Moments
I’d love to see more of you! Sign up for an email subscription or grab my reader feed.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Looks yummy! Just a casual question . . . if you use a cookie sheet over the top, would condensation form and end up dripping out in your oven? Probably wouldn’t make near the mess I’m imagining, though. And I’m looking forward to learning how to clean my oven by your standards! (Especially since I can’t get it to lock to self clean, and who wants to use those awful chemicals?!?)
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I wonder? I don’t know if there would be any more of a problem than with my casserole dishes that actually HAVE lids. I suppose you’re thinking on the overhanging part that might hit the bottom of the oven, but water shouldn’t make a mess or a stink if it does drip. I’ll have to find out next time I get the ol’ oven on!
You’re the second or third person to mention the oven cleaning, so although I was going to put that off until January, perhaps I’ll get it in at the end of this month!
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looks great to me!
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The amount of carbs will depend on what sauce you use. Most spaghetti sauces have loads of sugar. Be careful.
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Katie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Good call. Best option, of course, would be to make your own with local tomatoes. We can’t all get away with that, though! Thanks for pointing out a good label-reading warning.
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I found you through The Krazy Kitchen.
Love Zucchini (I usually saute mine, first), and this sausage zucchini bake will be just right for my family too. Thanks.
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What a wonderful and economical meal. Can’t wait to try it. I hope you are having a wonderful day.
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What a great idea. I too, have many zucchini to use and be creative with.
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Looks great! Will have to try when I am the lucky recipient of friends’ zucchini largesse!
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Food on Fridays: Blueberry Coffee Cake « // Aug 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm
[...] Stewardship (Sausage Zucchini Bake–many ingredients from Farmers’ [...]
That looks attractive, healthy and creative. Oh, and delicious!
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I love zucchini in all it’s forms. Thanks for this recipe. I love the combination of sausage and zucchini.
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great recipe for my moms favorite vegie
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Yum, that looks so great. I just came in from the garden and I am probably a few weeks away from having enough zucchini from the garden to make this. But, I will bookmark the recipe for sure. Who knows, maybe I will buy some zucchini at the farmers market and make this sooner!
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Thanks for sharing. We’re sharing peanut butter ideas and Elvis stories at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. I hope you will come join us. Or, join us for Crock Pot Wednesdays. Mister Linky will be ready for that on Tuesday.
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I just made this for my family tonight, and they loved it. Even my 18 mos. old, who’s currently going through a picky phase, inhaled it. This is definitely a winner!
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Wow! That sounds delicious!!! YUMMY!
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Another great zucchini recipe! Thanks! DH picked 9 more today.
~Liz
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My Finds Online » 15 Unique Zucchini Recipes // Aug 20, 2009 at 10:05 am
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake – Oh My! Definitely not figure friendly,it’s loaded with a pound of sausage, spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese. Looks heavenly. [...]
Wow! Look at all the posts for this recipe. I just assembled mine with zucchini from the market … I’m sure it will be wonderful!
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Wow! That looks divine! Can’t wait for summer to come around again so I can have yummy fresh zucchini.
.-= Vanderbilt Wife´s last blog ..Bloggy Progressive DInner: Entrees to Entertain WIth =-.
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I loved seeing the various stages as this dish came together- looks just lovely! And anything with all that melted cheese on top ranks high on my list.
.-= JessieLeigh´s last blog ..Introducing Cereal! =-.
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Looks delish! I will have to try it. I have a recipe that layers Zucchini, ham and cheese, along with some salt and Italian spices and optional tomato and onion. I love it, so I’m excited to try this one as well. My zucchini plants have just begun producing!
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Just stopping by from Tasty Tuesday. This looks like a great recipe. Always looking for something to use the zucchini I grow in my garden on. I might have to give this a try.
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Saturday Link Love: Edition 4 // Jul 17, 2010 at 5:03 am
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake [...]
This was really tasty but I was disappointed at how it “fell apart”. I set it up like a lasagna but didn’t scoop out of the pan very well. We will make this again but next time I’ll add noodles to thicken it up
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Great Zucchini and Squash Recipes « Simple Organized Living // Aug 20, 2010 at 10:14 pm
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake — Kitchen Stewardship [...]
This sounds fabulous! I wonder if it would be less watery if the squash were shredded and the moisture squeezed out before baking? Just might try it!
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Katie, I followed your link from your FB comment this afternoon. Recipe looks yummy! I have a couple of suggestions for you:
1) Use a piece of parchment paper under the foil to prevent its touching the food at all. My nutritionist gave me this tip.
2) Try salting the zucchini and let it sit for a while to “Weep out” the extra water, to keep it from being so watery.
And of course I’d have to use less cheese on top. Just because we’re not supposed to eat it.
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Katie Reply:
August 8th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Renee,
Katie
I’ll have to update the post with the watery-reducing suggestions – thanks!
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My Weekly Menu Plan 8/7/2011 | The Purposed Heart // Aug 7, 2011 at 7:54 pm
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake – Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies, and this dish from Kitchen Stewardship makes great use of it’s abundance. I’m actually getting really hungry just thinking about this one right now! [...]
I’m seeing lots of comments about the wateriness already, but here’s another suggestion:
I was recently making something with zucchini and eggplant. They suggested roasting the veggies on a cookie sheet before putting them in the casserole to eliminate some of the wateriness. Maybe you could try that, then use the sheet for a cover. You’ll have to wash it anyway.
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Katie Reply:
August 8th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Thanks, Lisa – I’ll update the post w/your suggestions! : ) Katie
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I made this on Sunday and it was delicious! EVERYONE loved it! Thanks for all your great recipes!
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Made this for supper tonight and it was SOOO yummy! I took the time to salt, drain, rinse and dry the zucchini beforehand, but it was STILL super watery. I just carefully poured a lot of the liquid out of the pan until I was happy with it. Careful not to dump the casserole into the sink though!
I used homemade sausage and homemade sauce and will definitely be making it again, especially with how cheap zucchini is right now.
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This is kind of like a moussaka
I like to grill the zuc (or eggplant) in a pan with just a drop of olive oil, the veg cut into long thin slices, instead of circles. The grilling gets a lot of the water out. I also use feta instead of mozzarella. The tomato sauce gets seasoned with nutmeg and cinnamon.
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I thickened my sauce with tomato paste and didn’t have any watery issues
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My Weekly Menu Plan 8/14/2011 | The Purposed Heart // Aug 14, 2011 at 9:12 pm
[...] Sausage Zucchini Bake, Fresh Corn on the [...]
Meal Plan Monday {9.19.11} | More Than Mundane // Sep 19, 2011 at 8:06 am
[...] Tuesday-Tangy Otsu Noodle Salad from the Nourishing Salads for All Seasons Cookbook. Wednesday-Sausage Zucchini Bake Thursday-Leftovers Friday-Thai Salad with Spicy Dressing (The dressing doesn’t have to be [...]
Meal Plan Monday {10.10.11} | More Than Mundane // Oct 10, 2011 at 9:50 am
[...] for last week). Saturday-PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps (originally planned for last week). Sunday-Sausage Zucchini Bake (a new favorite around [...]
Will it freeze well?
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Katie Reply:
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Sara,
Katie
You know, I’ve never tried freezing this one. Zucchini tends to get really watery once thawed, so maybe not? I would recommend freezing the meat/peppers/sauce mixture separately and just put it together when you need it.
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