This Chicken Zucchini Casserole may become your favorite zucchini recipe. It's an easy low-carb recipe for busy weeknight dinners.
Chicken Zucchini Casserole
My son loves these types of one-pan dinners. They're delicious and full of veggies, like my chicken zucchini boats, zucchini casserole, and parmesan zucchini slices.
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Chicken Zucchini Casserole Ingredients
- Fresh zucchini, also called courgettes, is the main star ingredient and, in my opinion, the best veggie to pair with chicken.
- Garlic powder - The essential aromatic you can’t forget in almost every savory dish.
- Carrot - Adds a little pop of color, texture, and sweet taste, and it tastes superb in combination with chicken zucchini.
- Lean ground chicken - This can be substituted with skillet-browned and chopped skinless boneless chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, or leftover chicken.
- Italian herbs - These herbs make a simple casserole taste fabulous! But they are not essential. If you don't have them, the casserole will still taste great with salt and pepper.
- Shredded cheese - Once done, top the bake generously with cheese! However, it's personal preference; you can also use only ¾ cups or less, depending on the size of your baking dish.
- Related: How To Store Zucchini
Zucchini has numerous health benefits and a soft, delicate texture. I love to use in stuffings, patties, fritters, muffins, cakes, and quick breads.
🥒 READ ALSO: 55 Best Zucchini Recipes
How To Make Chicken Zucchini Casserole Step By Step Photos
- Prep zucchini. In a medium bowl, grate the zucchini and add 1 teaspoon of salt, set aside for 10-15 min to drain off the excess water.
- Remove the excess water using a strainer and spoon or wrap the zucchini in a thin kitchen towel and squeeze tight to get rid of the water.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13 or slightly smaller baking dish, spray with cooking oil, and transfer the mixture into the dish.
- Mix the filling. Once done, gather all the ingredients (except cheese and sour cream) in a large mixing bowl and stir with a spatula or hands until combined.
- Add sour cream. Even out the top with a spatula and layer the sour cream.
- Bake the chicken zucchini casserole for 35 minutes.
- Add cheese and bake again. Remove from the oven and add the cheese; bake again for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve! Garnish with parsley, scallions, or bacon and freshly cracked black pepper.
For a complete meal, we like to serve it with plain cabbage salad, mashed potatoes, or tomato basil mozzarella salad.
🥒 Read also: 18 Types of Zucchini You Didn't Know About
Tips For The Best Chicken Zucchini Casserole
- Sour cream - Adjust the amount of sour cream based on your casserole dish size to cover the entire area as per the recipe. The sour cream is primarily for flavor, not to create a thick sauce, so add more if desired.
- This chicken casserole is made with lots of fresh veggies and ground chicken.
- The smaller the casserole dish, the thicker the chicken zucchini casserole will be. Oval baking dishes work well.
- Extra vegetables - carrots and zucchini add just the right amount of moisture to the casserole. Still, you can also add small amounts of sauteed mushrooms, chopped bell pepper, chopped broccoli florets, corn, peas, and marinated, drained artichoke hearts.
What To Serve With Chicken Zucchini Casserole
- Grains: lime cilantro rice, yellow rice, quinoa.
- Potatoes: fries, mashed potatoes, smashed potatoes.
- Bread: crusty garlic bread or garlic toast.
- Salads: light and quick (tomato onion salad, green goddess salad or Mediterranean cucumber salad).
Freezing And Storing Leftovers
- To Store. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
- To Reheat. When reheating, please return it to the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, optionally adding extra cheese, and bake for a few minutes until thoroughly warmed.
Can I Use Rotisserie Chicken?
Indeed, although it will change the recipe's nutritional content.
- To prepare it, remove and discard the skin, then meticulously separate the meat from the bones, discarding any cartilage.
- Use your hands to pull the chicken apart, dicing the chicken breasts and shredding the remaining meat. Leftover roast chicken can also be used as an alternative.
What to Do with Leftover Zucchini
- Make Zucchini Bread or Muffins - try my chocolate zucchini oatmeal muffins.
- Add to Soups and Stews: Chop it up and toss it into soups or stews.
- Create Zucchini Noodles: Use a spiralizer to make noodles.
- Stir-Fry: Add it to a vegetable stir-fry.
- Grill or Roast: Cook it as a side dish or make baked zucchini slices.
- Air fry: try crispy air fryer zucchini fries and breaded zucchini chips.
- Make Fritters: Mix with eggs, flour, and seasonings to make chicken fritters, or zucchini corn fritters.
- Freeze It: Chop or grate and freeze for later use.
Can You Freeze Grated Zucchini
YES, you can freeze-grated zucchini.
Put the grated zucchini in a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, seal it tightly, label it with the date, and freeze it.
It's excellent for later use in recipes.
Favorite Zucchini Recipes
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Chicken Zucchini Casserole (With Ground Chicken)
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INGREDIENTS
- 11-12 ounce (300 g) ground chicken
- 1 medium egg
- 1 medium carrot , grated
- 1 pound zucchini , grated
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons sour cream, or more as needed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste + for zucchini
- 1 ½ cup Cheddar or Colby Jack Cheese
- 1 teaspoon of Italian herb spice, or a mix of dried oregano, garlic, thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium bowl grate the zucchini and add 1 teaspoon of salt, set aside for 10-15 min to drain off the excess water.1 pound zucchini, ½ teaspoon salt or to taste + for zucchini
- Remove the excess water using a strainer and spoon or wrap the zucchini in a thin kitchen towel (or a special fabric is also available on amazon) and squeeze tight to get rid of the water.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Once done, gather all the ingredients (except cheese and sour cream) in a large mixing bowl and stir with a spatula or hands until combined.1 medium egg, 1 medium carrot, 1 medium yellow onion, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper, 1 teaspoon of Italian herb spice, 11-12 ounce (300 g) ground chicken
- Prepare a 9x13 or slightly smaller baking dish, spray with cooking oil, and transfer the mixture into the dish. Even out the top with a spatula and layer the sour cream on top.3-4 tablespoons sour cream
- Bake the chicken zucchini casserole for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the cheese, bake again for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.1 ½ cup Cheddar or Colby Jack Cheese
- Garnish with parsley, scallions, or bacon and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!
VIDEO
NOTES
- Flavor: Creamy, savory, and mildly tangy flavor profile with earthy notes from zucchini and carrots, all balanced by a delightful cheesy richness.
- To Store: I suggest storing any remaining casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it can be kept fresh for 3 to 4 days. When it's time to reheat, simply place it back in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, optionally adding a bit more cheese, and bake for a few minutes until it's thoroughly warmed.
- To Make Ahead: You have the option to prepare this entire chicken zucchini casserole a day in advance and refrigerate it for reheating later. Alternatively, you can choose to assemble its components separately.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Zucchini Casserole: Frequently Asked Questions
Peeling zucchini is generally unnecessary for baking, especially with fresh young zucchini.
The skin contains nutritional value so keeping it is recommended.
In this zucchini chicken casserole, grated zucchini with the skin on becomes tender during baking, enhancing the dish.
You don't have to salt the zucchini before cooking.
The quickest way is to grate it first, let it sit in a strainer for 10-20 minutes, then wrap it in a thin cloth or towel and squeeze the extra water.
Don't steam or boil the zucchini.
To remove extra water from cut or grated zucchini, wrap it in a piece of cloth and squeeze the water out.
Another way is to sauté the zucchini before cooking, which will also remove most of the extra water.
Yes, zucchini is technically a fruit because it comes from the plant's flower and contains seeds.
You can make many things with zucchini, such as zucchini bread, zucchini noodles, grilled zucchini, stuffed zucchini, and zucchini muffins.
Please read my post above for zucchini recipe inspiration.
Zelda
Can you use fat free sour cream?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
I think it should be fine, but may taste a little dry.
Cynthia
Julia, how many cups of shredded zucchini should we wind up with or how many pounds is a large zucchini?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
1 pound
Patty
Crimini/baby portabella! Yum!
Just made this again today! Back by popular request!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
wohoo thanks so much Patty! This is our very much requested recipe too 🙂
Sharon Henson
I made this for supper and it was delishes
I did not change a thing.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Thank you Sharon, so glad you liked it!
LDahl
This was absolutely delicious! I added 2 frozen blocks of “caramelized” onions and chopped garlic instead of the raw onions. We used a large cup to cut it into circles and had it on garlic bread buns. I would make it again and not add the cheese at the end, but instead a slice of cheese to the bun. It would also be delicious chopped a bit and added to mashed potatoes or noodles for a great cook summer supper.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Hi LDahl! That sound very different and interesting! Thank you so much for sharing!
Annette Starnes
LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this recipe. It came out perfect. WAS NOT LIKE A MEATLOAF.
We have friends coming over for Super Bowl and this will be our dinner and they will love it.
Thank you for creating amazing healthy recipes.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Annette, thank you so much! Your lovely comment made my day! I'm so glad it turned out great!
Sandy
Hi! Mine is cooking as I type, and it smells delightful! Has anyone tried mixing the sour cream in with the meat/zucchini mixture? Just curious how that would be...
Cynthia
Some ingredients are vague. How many pounds is a large zucchini?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Cynthia for pointing this out, you'll need about 1 pound of zucchini here.
Cecile Mattei
Made this tonight. It was delicious and will be added to our dinner rotation! Ty
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Thank you Cecile, glad you liked the Casserole! Enjoy!!!
Karen
Is this keto friendly?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
hi Karen, I am not sure for Keto.
sue
I love this idea, I'm going to give it a try tonight!
Julia
Thank you, hope you'll enjoy!
Divi
I think I can precook it in the stove as one post suggested then top it with the sour cream and cheese and finish it in the oven till the cheese melts? Zucchini hardly takes much time to cook as the yellow one.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Hi Divi, I haven't tried it this way and not sure why would you need those steps. If you drain the zucchini well as I mentioned, there shouldn't be a lot of ''watery juice'' and zucchini bakes well in the oven at the temperature mentioned.
Alejandra
Oh my gosh this looks so creamy and delicious!! I love the chicken and zucchini combo, I’ve never tried that in a casserole before but now I am craving this!
Julia
Thank you Alejandra, we loved it too!
Natalie
I made a slight variation to the recipe by replacing the Italian seasoning with cumin and smoked paprika, plus three roasted poblano peppers. I can see why a smaller casserole dish would be better because my 9x13 made the casserole a little thin. It was delicious!!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Natalie!
Andrea
This is such a great way to use up zucchini! I love how it incorporates chicken and lots of veggies while the cheesy goodness makes it comfort food.
Julia
I agree, A true comfort meal in one dish, thank you Andrea!
Jacqueline Meldrum
I love the creamy dressing. It is so so tasty!
Julia
Thank you so much Jacqueline!
Tavo
Lovely casserole! Thanks for such a delicious recipe.The family loved it.
Julia
Thank you so much Tavo, glad you liked it!
Kirsten
This recipe looks great. However, my husband is not a fan of sour cream. Is it completely necessary or could we use something else as a substitute?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
I think you could, any vegan substitute would work. However, without that, the flavor is not the same, sour cream (yogurt or cream cheese) adds the necessary moisture and creaminess. Maybe you could add this: https://theyummybowl.com/homemade-condensed-cream-of-chicken-soup/ or canned version , ofcourse. But this won't be that healthy anymore. If you try this Kirsten, please let me know how it tasted 🙂 Thank you so much! Julia
Lynne Bitten
Gonna use this to use the zucchini I have frozen. Will definitely thaw the zucchini and let set before adding to the recipe.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Lynne, I think it should work, let me know!
Jeff
Recipe would definitely be better off if the meat was browned and the onions sauteed beforehand. The sour cream on top split and became watery.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
hi Jeff, sorry that you didn't like the recipe. Other readers have reported great results and without the changes you mentioned.
Georgene
I made this last night for dinner and was very good. I did have to drain the watery juice off when I took it out of oven to put cheese on top. I think my veggies could have cooked awhile longer also. Otherwise it was great! We will make it again real soon.
Julia
Thank you Georgene, I am very glad you liked it!
Marilyn
I made this last night and everyone loved it. I added a little extra sour cream on top and a bell pepper to the mix. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing it.
Julia
Thank you Marilyn, glad you liked it, thank you for leaving a comment!
Patty
Crimini/baby portabella! Yum!
Just made this again today! Back by popular request!
Linda
Made this yesterday following directions exactly. This was not a creamy casserole dish. It was a meatloaf with a lot of veggies in it. The layer of sour cream replaced the ketsup on many meat loaves. The onions were overwhelming and too raw to blend in the mix. Maybe some instructions were left out? Might have been better if ground chicken and chopped onions were sautéed then mixed with remaining veggies and a larger amount of sour cream to make a more casserole like and creamy dish. Won’t make this again.
Julia
Hi Linda, thank you for the feedback, and so sorry this casserole was not to your liking. For me personally, the casserole is more of a one-pot, super easy to make without extra separate cooking. You can fill the casserole dish with anything you like, right? Maybe you were expecting something else from this recipe, sorry for the dissapointment! If you decide on trying this one more time, here are my suggestions:
- Onion. You can use both, white or yellow/brown onion for this recipe, and each time they will vary in taste, this is normal. The casserole is in the oven for 35 minutes and if you cut the onion thin enough or small diced this is more than enough for the onion to soften and give flavor to other ingredients. Maybe use half less?
Another alternative is to saute the onion first separately on the stovetop, but this will change the whole purpose of an easy casserole dish and is not necessary as the onion will be cooked through if following the instructions. Also depends on the oven.
- Ground chicken is tender and soft enough to place in the casserole and will cook very quickly unlike ground beef for example. I do not recommend cooking the chicken twice like you are suggestions, there will be way less or no nutrients left in it anymore.
- Sour cream. Yes, I agree, you can add more, this is personal taste. Feel free to add an extra 2-3 tbsp if you feel like it. But there is plenty of cheese already in the dish that is even more than I usually add to casseroles. The sour cream is added a little bit for the flavor, not to make it look and taste like a cream sauce.
I hope you still try this again and feel free to let me know how it will go with the changes you've made.
Thank you!
Margo
Made this yesterday night for dinner and surprisingly very creamy and delicious. Thank you for the zucchini idea!
Julia
thank you so much, zucchini and chicken is the best combo we love!
Patty
This recipe is excellent! Even my daughter ate it. We added mushrooms to the recipe. I actually sauteed the onions and the mushrooms before adding everything together. I precooked the ground chicken a little bit also. Ground chicken usually comes in a package of 16 oz so our casserole just had a little bit of extra chicken in it. We put extra cheese on top because we are a cheese family. Make sure you wait the 10 to 15 minutes for all of the water to come out of the zucchini. It was amazing how much water came out of the zucchini when we waited.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
That's so true! Zucchini needs some prep work for sure! And if you do it, it gives the best results!! Mushrooms sounds great, never thought about adding them here, and I am a huge fan of them! Which mushrooms did you use Patty?
Noel
This has an absolutely amazing flavor! I didn’t have any sour cream so I brushed the top with a little butter and I had bell pepper that needed to be used so I added some of that too. Other than that I made it exactly as written. Definitely making this again
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Noel. In my original recipe, I had less sour cream and then doubled it as some readers reported they needed way more of it here. So great to hear that it tastes delicious even without it!
Steve
Should have cooked and seasoned the ground chicken chicken was to bland otherwise not bad
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Steve for sharing!
Christa Herrera
Do I cook the meat first or is it like a meatloaf type of thing?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
There is no reason to cook ground chicken before, it cooks in the casserole with the rest of the ingredients and juices. Hope it helps Christa!
Tyson
Can this be a vegetarian dish can you do it without the ground chicken
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes, I'd use a mix of cooked lentils + beans, quinoa or just cooked lentils. You can use same filling that I used for my veggie enchiladas or vegan tacos. https://theyummybowl.com/vegan-meat-tacos/ or https://theyummybowl.com/vegetarian-enchiladas-with-black-bean-and-sweet-corn/
Marianne Paulsen
Why can't I find a list of Ingredients with their measures?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
The recipe card with this information is always located below the post and before the comments section.
Joyce
Gone thru recipe many times 2 find temp 2 bake. M assuming it's 400°. Same as reheating? Plan 2 try next week as it's on r menu board. Like comments of additional ingredients!!!!!!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes 400 F 🙂
Ginny
Is chicken cooked prior to adding to recipe or does it cook thru in baking process?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes, it has to be ground chicken which fully cooks through in the oven.
Sheri
Sounds delish !!! I'm going to have to try it. Thanks for sharing !!¡
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Sheri!
Danielle
Love this! I used ground turkey, and fresh parsley and basil (in place of Italian seasoning) and of course my abundantly growing zucchini from my garden. Aside from the above stated modifications I followed recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you so much Danielle
Judy Erb
Can you use ground Turkey?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
absolutely!
Jenn Rothschild
Can you use rotisserie chicken?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
You could, but not sure but I think the texture will be dryer. Using minced chicken (uncooked) gives better results and chicken stays juicy and moist.
Rachel
Beware, the ingredients in this recipe are not in the standard order of what you use 1st-last. I missed mixing the seasonings into the zucchini mixture because they were listed after the sour cream.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Rachel, will make adjustments!
Amber
Really enjoyed this recipe. I also sauteed the onions, but otherwise followed the directions. I do wish that the ingredients were in order of appearance.... Almost forgot the Italian seasonings.
John
I've cooked this for tea tonight, replaced the cream with fat free quark. I've made more than my wife and I will eat, does it freeze well or should we eat the rest tomorrow?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes you can freeze it but tastes better when fresh!
Mary
Looks good!
I might make it with rotisserie chicken too.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
yes, you sure can! Thank you Mary!
Rachel
What Temp does the oven need to be at? 350? 400? It isn't posted. It just says bake for 35 mins.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
just updated, it is 400 F