My mother would prepare this dish using the abundant zucchini and tomatoes from our garden. It’s the casserole I like best.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked white rice
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound pork sausage
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 cup diced fresh tomato
- 4 cups cubed zucchini squash
- 2 (4 ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1 (8 ounce) package processed cheese food, cubed
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine the rice and water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until evenly browned. Drain excess grease. Stir in zucchini and tomatoes, and cook until tender. Stir in rice, mushrooms, and cheese. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Spread into a 9×13 inch baking dish, or a 2 quart casserole dish.
- Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned and bubbly.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 305 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 17 g |
| Cholesterol | 55 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 989 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 20 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Delicious! I’ll make it again, but I’ll try using fresh mushrooms sauteed in garlic butter instead.
To make weeknight prep even easier, you could cook your rice and cube your zucchini the day before, or the morning that you plan to serve. I don’t care for canned mushrooms, so I sautéed some fresh. If I make this again, I think I’ll cut my tomatoes a bit larger, since they totally cooked down. I tasted before this went into the oven, and I then stirred in some crushed red pepper flakes to kick up the flavor. One word of caution about the timing. Basically, when this goes into the oven, everything is cooked, cheese is melted, so I don’t think you need an hour to cook this. I checked at 30 minutes, it was bubbling and starting to get pretty brown, so I took it out then. I think an hour may have burned it and dried it out. This certainly falls into the comfort food category, and we thought it was pretty good. Just check periodically to be sure you don’t overcook it.
Very tasty! I had mild italian sausage on hand, and added some fennel and red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit. The sausage tends to overpower, so I will add more zucchini next time
I made a few changes based on some of the reviews and what I had on hand. Used mild Italian ground sausage, canned tomatoes with garlic, fresh mushrooms, and Colby Jack cheese. Doubled the rice. Only cooked for 30 minutes. I loved it but hubby thought it was okay. I’ll be making it again!!
I added spinach, kale, yellow pepper, garlic, basil, onion powder, and aged Gouda on top.
I’ve made this twice so far, first as written was a 3.5, but I am not a fan of the overwhelming processed cheese flavor. However in order to keep the creamy factor, some should remain. Instead of 8 oz though, I reduced to 4 and subbed shredded cheddar for the rest of the cheese. Otherwise it’s a delicious recipe.
I used a combination of sharp cheddar and mozzarella. I also used mild Italian sausage.
Just finished making this & it was really good! I used hot sausage to give it some bite and used a can of Italian diced tomatoes instead a fresh tomato because I didn’t have fresh. I also added more rice & instead of Velveeta, I used a 5 cheese Italian blend (again, because I had it on hand). And I didn’t bother with the oven, but followed another’s suggestion & used the stove. This really hit the spot!
My husband said it’s amazing and my daughter said it’s phenomenal! I used a whole onion and 2 large cloves of garlic, 1/2 pound spicy and 1/2 pound regular sausage. I also used brown rice, fresh mushrooms, a couple extra tomatoes and cheddar cheese on top. Instead of dumping the extra liquid from the extra tomatoes and veggies as others did, I added a small amount of corn starch to thicken it up.
Made as per listed, used less sausage as it was what I had. Have a friend who is gluten & hoof animal free due to tick bite…going to make this for her & substitute shrimp… think this is good without any protein for anyone who is vegetarian. update 7/11/19 made this without any protein as a side dish, used a bag of mixed Mexican cheeses that I had on hand…lovely. will be making this again, great way to use a large zucchini that lay hidden at bottom of plant & can be changed to meet ones family likes
Made as written. As written it’s 3 stars. Made again and it was delicious because I added less rice and 1pack of Town House crackers as well as sautéed garlic and real cheese (mozzarella and parmesan)
Oh my goodness, this was delicious. The only changes I made was pressing 2 garlic cloves in with the sausage and onions and substituting 8oz shredded sharp cheddar for the processed cheese. It was an immediate favorite!!! Thank you!
Loved everything about it! All my favorite veggies! It actually didn’t take me long to prep, and I baked it for 15 minutes at 400 instead to speed things up. Some changes I made was use mild Jimmy Dean’s sausage for some spicy goodness, used shredded sharp cheddar cheese instead of blocks of cheese, and topped it off with French’s fried onion – delicious!
A keeper. Family loved it didn’t change a thing.
I used browned ground elk and swapped out grated cheese, fresh chopped mushrooms and brown rice for the listed ingredients. It was delicious and even better reheated the next day!
Casserole was great. Did substitute fresh mushrooms for the canned. Not a favorite of canned. Baked at 350 for about 30 minutes as I was short on time. Will make this again.
This is delicious! I did make a few changes. I use noodles/pasta, fresh mushrooms, chopped garlic, a jalapeno and cheddar cheese. I also don’t bake it, I just stir fry veggies into the cooked sausage. It’s fresh, light and delicious! Some would say I should post it as a new recipe, but I need to give Mandy the credit. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad I found this recipe–helped me use up all that zucchini my neighbor gave me from her garden! I had Italian sausage on hand, so I used that, used shredded mozzarella for the processed cheese, and served it with grated Parmesan on top. I did omit the salt, pepper, and oregano, because I figured the Italian sausage had enough. Super yummy! Thank you for sharing!
I was surprised at how great this was even with all the good reviews. I used brown rice because that’s what I had; one cup instead of 1/2 as per others’ advice. I used a red bell pepper in place of tomato because I suspected that would solve the problem of too much liquid that other reviewers had, without affecting the overall taste, and I had no issue with too much watery-ness (made that word up.) I threw the chopped red bell in with the sausage and onion. I also added a some mozzarella to the top. My husband and all four kids gobbled this up, which is rare. Definitely will be making again.
Absolutely delicious! I added 1/2 cup of pine nuts and garlic. I also used cubed Monterey Jack cheese. It’s a first time favorite. (Also topped with more cheese if desired!!).
I was looking for something lighter than my usual sausage casserole…this is it! I made a few changes…I used both squash and zucchini (since i only had a little of each), did not use mushrooms, swapped out the processed cheese for cream cheese, and used a can of Italian style tomatoes. I used seasoned salt and garlic to season. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes and it was delicious!! This will be going in my arsenal of recipes.