Filed Under: Savory

Layered Zucchini Parmesan

Name: Layered Zucchini Parmesan
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 3 large zucchini, sliced into 1/3-inch coins; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided in half; 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs; salt & freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 cup marinara sauce, homemade or bottled; 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

By Tessa Arias

October 5th, 2010

5 from 11 votes

66 Comments

5 from 11 votes

66 Comments

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It's hot and bubbling, oozing with cheese, and full of the last of summer's mild tasting zucchini.

Yield: 4 -6 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: How could something doused with marinara and sprinkled with cheese not taste absolutely heavenly? Texture: While oven "frying" the zucchini doesn't produce the crispiest results, the texture is still surprisingly crave-able. Ease: Much easier than chicken parmesan or lasagna. Appearance: Any food that has a small, geometrically perfect shape is always going to be pretty. Pros: This is a perfect recipe for sneaking in some vegetables to your life and can easily be adapted to whatever squash or vegetable that's in season. Cons: The recipe involves a 2-step oven process, nothing difficult though. Would I make this again? Yes, but probably with a different squash as the seasons change.

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Lately I’ve been inspired to cut down on my meat intake and increase my vegetable intake. Doing so improves my health, my wallet’s health (meat can get expensive), and the planet’s health. What do I have to lose? I’ll admit that I grew up consuming some type of meat or poultry daily, so it is a bit of a challenge for me to alter my diet like this. I’ve never been the type of person who can survive off salads alone – I prefer something warm and fulfilling. This is where my recipe for zucchini parmesan comes in. Its hot and bubbling, oozing with cheese, and full of the last of summer’s mild tasting zucchini. I ate this for dinner with a side salad and a hunk of crusty bread and completely forgot I had skipped eating meat that day.

5 from 11 votes

How to make

Layered Zucchini Parmesan

Yield: 4 -6 Servings

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

It's hot and bubbling, oozing with cheese, and full of the last of summer's mild tasting zucchini.

Ingredients

3 large zucchini, sliced into 1/3-inch coins
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided in half
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup marinara sauce, homemade or bottled
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Blot zucchini coins with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place zucchini in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil, turning to coat each piece. In a separate bowl, combine half the parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.
2. Dip each zucchini coin into the parmesan mixture, turning to coat and pressing the breading slightly to ensure it sticks. Place breaded zucchini coins in one even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned and crisp.
3. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Coat the bottom of a small baking dish with marinara sauce. Layer one third of the crisp zucchini coins over marinara, overlapping if necessary. Sprinkle zucchini layer with mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Repeat the layers 3 times (or until the zucchini is gone, depending on the size of your baking dish) ending with a sprinkling of cheese.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : American

Recipe by Tessa Arias

Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

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All Comments (76) Questions I Made This (11)

#
Lana — August 3, 2022 at 1:52 am

I first made this with zucchini and it was so tasty . I just made it with Japanese eggplant and it was delicious as well. Great recipe.

Reply
- #
  Kiersten @ Handle the Heat — August 4, 2022 at 1:07 pm
  
  Hi Lana! Yay! So excited to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Sounds delicious with eggplant!
  
  Reply
#
chuck angelo — July 25, 2022 at 6:56 am

can you make and freeze this well?

Reply
- #
  Kiersten @ Handle the Heat — July 27, 2022 at 9:12 am
  
  Hi Chuck! I’m sorry, but we haven’t tried freezing this dish! Please let us know if you give it a try 🙂
  
  Reply
#
Heather — July 17, 2022 at 10:51 am

Excellent dish. Next time I’ll make a double batch.

Reply
- #
  Kiersten @ Handle the Heat — July 19, 2022 at 8:38 am
  
  So excited to hear that, Heather!
  
  Reply
#
Terri — February 4, 2022 at 6:03 pm

Can I make this ahead of time and heat it up before serving.

Reply
- #
  Emily — February 9, 2022 at 11:20 am
  
  Hi Terri! I wouldn’t recommend making this too far in advance as you’ll lose the crispiness of the breaded zucchini.
  
  Reply
#
Rachel — July 25, 2021 at 5:24 pm

Omg!!! This was awesome. You can either bake the zucchini or pan fry before it goes into the oven. Either way it comes out awesome. I had zucchini left over after following the recipe. So I went ahead and pan fried the rest and then combined it all in a dish to bake. You can go wrong with sauce and cheese!! I had a side dish of garlic bread and Greek pasta to top it off. Will do this again

Reply
- #
  Emily @ Handle the Heat — July 26, 2021 at 4:17 pm
  
  Sounds absolutely delicious! So happy you loved this recipe, Rachel!
  
  Reply

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