Garden Zucchini Squash Casserole 🌱 Fresh zucchini, yellow squash and ripe red tomatoes topped with toasted Italian breadcrumbs & vegan parmesan create this easy, healthy & colorfully delicious dish! GF and oil-free options.
A lot of us have been inspired to plant home vegetable gardens. If you're like me, you may have included zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes to your list of must-have veggies. Not only are they nutritious and easy to use in so many recipes - they also tend to grow in abundance! Ever run out of ideas how to use them? This dish is ideal for showcasing the goodness of those great veggies!
I love putting together this vibrant, vitamin-rich and scrumptious veggie casserole. It's so pretty, it's as great to look at as it is to eat! The bright combo of fresh zucchini and yellow squash with juicy ripe tomatoes makes the perfect side dish with any pasta, rice, potato, or tofu entree.
★★★★★ This was so delicious!! You must try it 😀 ... All my favorite veggies in one - love it!! I also made the macaroni salad - two big thumbs up. Cannot wait to try the other recipes. Mildred
Table of Contents
This easy garden zucchini squash casserole is similar to a traditional French Ratatouille - a stewed vegetable dish which often includes eggplant, bell peppers, crushed tomatoes and herbs. This recipe is a simplified version - celebrating the flavors and textures of the squash and tomatoes.
🌱 Why we love this recipe
- It's so easy to prepare!
- Looks, smells, and tastes delicious!
- Requires just a few simple ingredients
- Perfect for entertaining and is so beautiful on a table
- Great way to use up extra zucchini from the garden!
Ingredients
What goes into a garden zucchini squash casserole?
This is such a simple dish to put together, but it looks so gorgeous, you would think you spent a lot of time preparing it! Here's all you'll need:
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Tomatoes - large ripe tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil - (see FAQ's below for oil-free version)
- Italian seasoning - or a combo of dried oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Italian Panko breadcrumbs - (use gluten-free, if needed)
- Vegan parmesan - grate-able vegan parm or homemade diner-style
- Fresh basil
🥕 See the printable recipe below for quantities and complete details
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º
- Thoroughly wash zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes.
- Slice in thin rounds (about ⅓" thick)
- Pour a small amount of olive oil in the bottom of a medium size or 7" x 11" baking dish. Spread around to coat bottom of dish.
- Begin stacking the veggies on end, in rows, staggering the colors. I find it easiest to tip the dish slightly on end while layering.
- Next, drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the veggies.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Cover top of veggies with Italian Panko breadcrumbs and grated vegan parmesan or you can make your own tasty homemade parm with this easy recipe!
- Cover pan with foil. I prefer to place a layer of parchment paper between the food and the foil.
- Bake at 400º for 20 minutes. Remove foil/parchment and continue baking for 10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs turn golden brown and juice is bubbling in the bottom of the dish.
- Allow casserole to sit 5 - 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle fresh basil over top and enjoy!
🌱 Serving suggestions
This very versatile vegan garden zucchini squash casserole can be enjoyed year-round. It's great to serve at spring and summer potluck parties and makes a beautiful veggie side dish on any Thanksgiving table. We love pairing it with:
🌱 FAQ's
If you prefer not to use oil, drizzle 3 tablespoons (or more) of vegetable broth over the veggies to add moisture.
It's easy to adjust the ingredients to prepare this without gluten. Simply use gluten-free breadcrumbs or omit the breadcrumbs entirely. Be sure the vegan cheese you use is also gluten-free.
Love zucchini? You might like to try these delish dishes!
If you love this recipe ★★★★★ please be sure to rate it below! Sharing your experience lets me know that you enjoyed it and will help other readers decide if they should give the recipe a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Garden Zucchini Squash Casserole
Equipment
- Knife
- Parchment paper
- aluminum foil
- medium ovenproof baking dish
Ingredients
- 2-3 medium zucchini washed & sliced ⅓" thick rounds
- 2-3 medium yellow squash washed & sliced ⅓" thick rounds
- 3-4 medium tomatoes washed & sliced ⅓" thick rounds
- 2 tablespoon olive oil oil free option - replace oil with 3+ tablespoon vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoon sea salt coarse
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ½ C breadcrumbs Italian Panko style (use gluten-free if needed)
- 3 tablespoon vegan parmesan grated or homemade
- 2 tablespoon basil fresh - chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Coat bottom of baking dish with a small amount of olive oil
- Stack zucchini, yellow squash, and tomato slices on end (staggering in order) in rows, filling the pan.
- Sprinkle veggies with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper
- Drizzle remaining olive oil over top of veggies
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs and grated vegan parmesan over all
- Cover with parchment and foil (layer parchment between food and foil)
- Bake at 400° for 20 minutes covered
- Uncover and continue baking for 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown and juices are bubbling in bottom of pan.
- Remove from oven. Allow casserole to sit for 5 - 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped basil before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
JC says
Delicious! I added a little red bell pepper to the layering, and sprinkled with parmesan cheese (not vegan). Will make again!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
ooh, the addition of red bell pepper sounds delish! Thank you for sharing!🥕
mildred potash says
This was so delicious!! You must try it 😀 .. All my favorite veggies in one love it!! I also made the macaroni salad to big thumbs up. Cannot wait to try the other recipes.
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
I'm so happy you love this recipe. It is one of my favorites and always gets a lot of attention when I serve it to guests. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with it!💚🥕
Andrea Barclay says
I made this dish and we thought it was delicious! It was very easy and I cooked it in my outdoor grill. We served it with some rice and that’s all we needed for supper.
I’ve been checking out some more recipes on this site and they look great; can’t wait to try them! Thank you!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Andrea, I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I've made it many times but never tried cooking it on a grill - what a great idea! I'm definitely going to now. Thanks so much for sharing! 💚🥕
Carol says
Garden Squash Casserole. I made this tonight and added corn kernels on top and a few baby yukon gold mini potators. Instead of basil I added chopped green onion before serving. Delicious!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Yum! Carol, I've added potato slices before, but never corn or green onions. What a great & colorful idea. I bet it was delish! Thanks a bunch 🥕 for sharing!
Lisa Hagelthorn says
We are long-term vegetarians who turned vegan some years ago. We are so glad we learned the truth and became vegan. We tried your recipe last night and it was delicious! The sauce from all the veggies was so good! We made it with vegan parmesan and we are so glad we did! It is both delicious and super healthy. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Lisa, I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I love making the Garden Squash Casserole often & never tire of it. I feel the same as you. Becoming vegan was the best decision I ever made (with the exception of marrying my vegan hubby). Thanks a bunch for your kind words and for being vegan! 🥕
Elizabeth says
Yum!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Thank you Elizabeth! I hope you give it a try . . . it's delish! 🥕