Casserole is an easy dish to make, source of one-tray serve all type of things. This grain-free casserole feature zucchini noodles along with flavorful ground beef, tomato pasta sauce and a variety of spices & herbs.
As always, lightly saute ground beef beforehand with Italian seasoning mix and garlic to give it that brown and more extra flavor. If you don’t have Italian mix on hand, replace it with some sage, thyme, oregano or similar; then add a bit of salt and ground pepper.
I would typically use unsalted butter to saute ground beef, but olive oil work just as well.
For pasta sauce, a simple tomato puree and herb or store bought jar will be sufficed. However, a homemade tomato pasta sauce definitely yield better flavor, more fresh and bold per say.
Finally, for the shredded cheese, anything would work really. I just use a mixture of colby-jack, cheddar or similar. But to up it a knot, after baking I would add some extra Romano, Parmesan or those imported cheeses.
Flavor will be just fine when consuming this dish alone, sine the zucchini noodle make it quite fulfilling. However, if you don’t mind the grain, go ahead and add extra crumbs or bread slices.
Recipe for Italian Zucchini casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef lean
- 3 zucchini squash
- 4 cups pasta sauce homemade or store bought
- 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning mix
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp butter
- oregano or herb/spice of choice
- ¼ cup shredded cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, prepare a baking dish.
- Wash then slice or cut zucchini into noodle thin strips. Add these to the baking dish.
- Over medium heat, add a spoon of olive oil or butter, stir in crushed garlic till aroma.
- Add ground beef, use a spatula to break large lumps, saute still brown.
- Sprinkle in Italian seasoning mix, stir well.
- Transfer this ground meat over zucchini.
- Lather on pasta sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubble.
- When done, sprinkle with some extra herb, ground pepper and serve.
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