Everyone loves zucchini. And rightly so. This green vegetable impresses with its sheer endless variety of preparation methods. Among our favorite zucchini dishes are zucchini fritters, roasted zucchini, and of course, zucchini stuffed with ground beef. We have skillfully incorporated the latter into a wonderful zucchini-ground beef casserole.
Zucchini-Ground Beef Casserole: the perfect combination
There are tons of recipes for stuffed zucchini. Our kitchen has also come up with creative ideas for this classic several times. One of them is the following zucchini-ground beef casserole, which not only tastes irresistible but is also a real eye-catcher.
We cut the zucchini into large pieces and hollow them out with a shot glass. Then we fill the center with seasoned ground beef. We fry the insides of the zucchini pieces in a pan with onions and diced tomatoes. Then the filled zucchini are placed upright in the tomato sauce, garnished with cheese sauce, and put in the oven. After 30 minutes, the tasty casserole is ready to serve.
By the way, we can also imagine this recipe working really well with eggplant. You can never really go wrong with vegetables, tomato sauce, ground beef, and cheese sauce. You’ll see, our zucchini-ground beef casserole will put a smile on everyone’s face at the table.
Discover more delicious casserole dishes with us, such as our gorgeous enchilada casserole, tuna noodle casserole with corn or Greek feta bake recipes.
Zucchini-Ground Beef Casserole
Ingredients
For the cheese sauce:
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup shredded gouda or Swiss cheese
- salt & pepper
- nutmeg
For the casserole:
- 4 large zucchini
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small head of garlic roasted (optional)
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 egg
- salt & pepper
For the tomato sauce:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red onion finely diced
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 can (14 oz.) canned diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (convection).
- To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook briefly. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Meanwhile, trim the ends of the zucchini and cut each into three equal pieces. Use a narrow glass to scoop out the inside of the zucchini. Set the zucchini insides aside for later use.
- Combine the ground beef with roasted garlic, shredded cheddar, and an egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
- Fill the zucchini with the ground beef mixture. A freezer bag with a corner snipped, piping bag, or simple spoon will help get the job done.
- To make the tomato sauce, finely chop the reserved zucchini insides and sauté them in olive oil. Add the onions and rosemary and sauté briefly. Add the diced tomatoes and bring to a boil.
- Place the ground beef-stuffed zucchini upright in the hot tomato sauce and top each zucchini piece with a dollop of cheese sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes, let briefly cool, and then enjoy!