Everyone is going to love this easy Cheesy Zucchini Keto Casserole. This amazing zucchini recipe is made with fresh zucchini, shirataki, cream, and lots of cheese!
It’s a terrific idea to use up all of that wonderful summer zucchini with this easy-baked zucchini casserole dish. I adore this dish since it only calls for a handful of basic ingredients, preserving the flavor of the fresh zucchini, plus it’s keto-friendly!
Yes, everyone in my family adores this gluten-free, low-carb cheesy zucchini casserole. Fresh zucchini, topped with perfectly melted mozzarella cheese and smothered in a thick, creamy cheese made of mexican and cheddar cheese. There’s nothing not to like, right?
Shiratake rice
As I mentioned, I’m using shirataki rice with this recipe instead of the typical white rice because we all know, rice is very high in carbs. incase you’re not familiar with it, Shirataki rice, also known as miracle rice, konjac rice, or konnyaku rice, is a great keto rice substitute. Shirataki rice is flavorless, easy to prepare, low calorie, and high in fiber.
If you are a lover of rice but don’t want the carbs, Shiratake Rice is the best alternative for you!
Ingredients
3 lbs green zucchini shredded
1 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
2 cups cooked shirataki rice
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs large
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup Mexican cheese shredded
1/2 cup green onions chopped plus more for garnish
How to make Cheesy Keto Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter a 9×13 casserole dish and set aside.
Grate zucchini on the large holes and transfer to a colander placed over the sink. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and stir. Let stand for 15 min, then squeeze out the excess moisture with your hands. Transfer drained zucchini to a large mixing bowl.
In a small bowl mix sour cream, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Stir in the eggs and sour cream mixture into the shredded zucchini.
Add cooked shirataki rice, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, and 1 cup of mexican cheese.
Stir in the green onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, minced garlic, paprika and onion powder.
Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish, spread the yogurt over the top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese on top and bake uncovered on the center rack in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Garnish with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and serve.
Health Benefits of Zucchini Keto Casserole
Zucchini being the main ingredient, this casserole has a whole load of health benefits! Zucchini has an amazing amount of vitamins and minerals that we need including the list below. Besides that, it is very high in antioxidants, helps digestion, and can help reduce blood sugar.
It has been shown to increase heart health and even help with vision! I know that I always heard about carrots helping your vision, (which I’ve heard recently was a hoax) but I never knew about zucchini! It also promotes bone health and has anti-cancer effects.
Besides all the actual healthy vitamins and benefits, it’s also loaded with water and has a very low calory composition. This means it can help you feel full while keeping you in your calorie intake for the day. This means you don’t need to feel guilty about grabbing that second helping.
- Vitamin A
- Manganese
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Vitamin K
- Folate
- Copper
- Phosphorus
- Vitamin B6
- Thiamine
How long can I store a Cheesy Keto Casserole
Generally, with casseroles, I suggest storing them for 3-4 days. This is a veggie casserole though so I’ve been safe when I’ve left it in the fridge for about a week. Any longer than that and I think it will stop being so appetizing.
If you decide to cook in bulk I would recommend throwing your extras in the freezer and only keeping in the fridge what you plan to pack for lunches for the week. When you seal a container and place it in the freezer you should be good for about a month or so.
I’d be worried about frost burn if I left it in for much longer than that. When you take it out just make sure to cook it in the oven again. I might even make a marinara sauce for it if I’m reheating it from the freezer.
More Keto Casserole
- Keto Chicken Enchiladas Casserole: Not that I’m biased or anything, but I love my Keto Chicken Enchiladas Casserole.
- Jalapeños, onion, tomato sauce, loads of spice, and fresh cilantro bring a world of flavor to these Keto Enchiladas!
- Use homemade almond flour tortillas to make these Keto Enchiladas from scratch, or use your favorite store-bought low-carb tortillas instead.
- These beauties are not only easy to make, they are also incredibly delicious and, warning, crazy addicting!
Substitutions
Zucchini isn’t always someone’s favorite thing, especially when you have several kids. Inevitably someone is tired of veggies or is just in a stage where they refuse to eat them. If you are encountering these problems you can make just a few small adjustments and make the recipe fresh for all of your picky eaters.
While I am listing lots of different main substitutions below, you can always add to this dish. I prefer to add bacon instead of replacing the zucchini for instance. You can also add pasta or extra rice if it has been in fridge for a few days and it has stop being picked at.
Although if I were to add pasta I would definitely look at one of the meat substitutions below. Personally, I would want a protein heavy dish if I add the pasta.
Chicken
- I have so many recipes for chicken I always have one or two plates of leftover chicken in the fridge. I think there are several chicken recipes that would make great substitutions in a keto bake like this.
- Pan Fried Chicken Thighs – if you want a more “default” chicken then this is your go-to. Still juicy and flavorful but we aren’t going crazy here.
- Crunchy Keto Chicken Tender – my go-to every time I’m having picky eaters is to throw some fried chicken strips at them. This will make sure they are eager to eat the recipe but they are still staying healthy and keto. I’m almost embarrassed to mention how many of these chicken tenders I keep in my fridge at all times. Just in case.
- Slow Cooker Keto Pulled Chicken – if a savory chicken recipe isn’t doing the trick you might as well go with a sweet one. This would be so easy to substitute in the keto casserole that it’s not even funny.
Pork
- I don’t have as many substitutions for pork but I still think that it’s worth mentioning. Pork is pretty cheap and makes for a good substitute in many casseroles for me.
- Keto Pulled Pork – if you don’t have pulled chicken in hand or you just prefer the sweeter and fattier taste of pulled pork this is a very viable alternative for any keto bake.
- Bacon – I prefer to cook my bacon in the oven these days, (hence why I wrote a whole article about it) and I think it goes great in this recipe. It will be less dense than if you have zucchini so I like to put bacon in with the zucchini if I want that bacon flavor.
Beef
- No list of substitutions would be complete without beef. It is more expensive but if you’re in the mood to treat the family or you need some more variety, I have you covered.
- Keto Teriyaki Beef Skewers – obviously you will have to remove the skewers for this but if you have leftover skewers and want to spice the recipe up, the flavors go very well together and make for quite an interesting keto casserole.
- Easy Skillet Keto Meatballs – who doesn’t love some high-quality meatballs? With or without marinara sauce these can make a great addition to the recipe and make it very different than the original keto casseroles.
- Low Carb Meatloaf – Kinda similar to the meatballs but with a very different texture. This will be enough of a change to make the recipe feel completely fresh and make it much higher in protein keto casserole.
Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 lbs green zucchini shredded
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 2 cups cooked shirataki rice
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs large
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup Mexican cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Butter a 9×13 casserole dish and set aside.
- Grate zucchini on the large holes and transfer to a colander placed over the sink. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and stir. Let stand for 15 min, then squeeze out the excess moisture with your hands. Transfer drained zucchini to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl mix sour cream, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
- Stir in the eggs and sour cream mixture into the shredded zucchini.
- Add cooked shirataki rice, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, and 1 cup of mexican cheese.
- Stir in the green onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, minced garlic, paprika and onion powder.
- Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish, spread the yogurt over the top. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese on top and bake uncovered on the center rack in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and serve.