Ground Beef Zucchini Casserole
Hearty and nourishing, this ground beef zucchini casserole is feel good comfort food your whole family will love. Deliciously cheesy, high protein and packed with healthy veggies.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa cooked according to package instructions
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup yellow cooking onion diced
- 6 zucchinis approx 2 lbs, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cups low sugar tomato sauce (marinara sauce)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup cottage cheese ricotta cheese will also work
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions
- While the quinoa is cooking- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add ½ of the olive oil (1 tbsp). Once hot, add ground beef, garlic and yellow onions and cook until meat is no longer pink in colour and onions are fragrant and translucent, season with salt and pepper. Drain excess oil and add meat to the casserole dish. Set aside.
- In the same pan (don’t clean it), add the remaining olive oil (1 tbsp). Once hot add sliced zucchini and additional salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until the zucchini is soft.
- To the casserole dish with the meat, add cooked zucchini, spices, cottage cheese, cooked quinoa, tomato sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Stir together using a spatula. Gently spread the contents into an even layer in the dish. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, setting the oven to broil for the final 5 minutes to brown the cheese (25 on regular bake, 5 on broil). Top with fresh basil and serve!
Notes
*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below. However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.
Nutrition
Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 827mg | Potassium: 1304mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1084IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 328mg | Iron: 5mg
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