You’ll need approximately 4 medium zucchinis for this combo recipe. If you plan on making both, shred all your zuchinni first and take out a heaping cup for the muffins and set aside. My future self will be thanking me for this discovery when my garden is growing wild with produce!
Zuchinni Pizza Casserole and Zuchinni muffins. I purchase a 3 lb. package of ground beef and split it into 5 – 1/2 lbs. I had enough time to do this between the zuchinni de-juicing and the first 10 minutes of it baking. This particular recipe left me with half an onion and half a green pepper which I also sealed up. I already have a tasty plan for those, so stay tuned for a future post!
Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- .5 pound ground beef
- 1/2 chopped onion
- Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes to taste
- 1 can (8 ounces) Italian tomato sauce
- 1/2 medium green or sweet red pepper, chopped
- Preheat oven to 400°. Place zucchini in colander; sprinkle with salt. Let stand 10 minutes, then squeeze out moisture.
- Combine zucchini with eggs, garlic, parmesan and half the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into a greased 9×9-in. or 2-qt. baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, breaking meat into crumbles; season to taste. Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add green pepper. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes longer.
If you’re making muffins, grab that heaping cup of shredded zuchinni you set aside and scroll down.
*Also keep in mind to drop your oven temp to 350°F after you pull the casserole*
Zuchinni Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- ½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix egg, apple sauce, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.
- Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Enjoy these muffins for dessert or breakfast! They’re absolutely fantastic!
I only put walnuts in a few of our muffins so there were no choking hazards for our 1 year old, consider skipping them if you have a child younger than 4. They can be a choking hazard for young children, largely due to children’s inability to grind food properly.
Elevating Balance 