My favorite dish that my Taiwanese college roommate made was this one. I pressed her for her recipe until she gave it to me. a delicious Asian cuisine that goes well with rice and a vegetable dish, or you may simply serve it as an appetizer with toothpicks. Because it is a recipe that has been passed down via her family, her measurements may not be perfect.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup uncooked long grain white rice
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ pounds zucchini, cubed
- 1 cup sliced green onions
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ cups seeded, chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Combine the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, until rice is tender.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the zucchini, green onions, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with garlic salt, basil, paprika, and oregano. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and 1 cup cheese. Continue to cook and stir until heated through. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
- Bake uncovered 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 266 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 17 g |
| Cholesterol | 40 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 628 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
7/1/2023 – Easy and tasty! Added in some mushrooms and about 1/2 lb chopped boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Kept all seasonings the same, except used only 1 tsp garlic salt. Added only 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar to the dish did the whole thing stovetop. Let people add more cheese as desired. I think this would also be good with ground beef instead of chicken – kind of like stuffed peppers without the peppers. Could also double all seasoning except garlic salt. A keeper for using up summer squash!! 7/2/23 – Made again with variations for a completely different tasting Italian version! Added 1/2 lb Italian sausage, used Italian style diced canned tomatoes, yellow onion instead of green, and skipped the paprika. Upped the garlic to 2 cloves and used only 1 tsp garlic salt. Only had 1 lb. Zucchini, so added in an eggplant and mushrooms. Used 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella in pot, letting people sprinkle shredded Parmesan in bowls. Also subbed 6 oz pasta for the rice. This is such a great recipe! You can use it as a base and experiment to get many tasty, yet different results! Thank you, Debi! 7/15/23 – Best version yet! Added 1 lb lean ground beef, doubled the basil, oregano, and paprika, but kept the garlic salt at 1 and 1/4 tsp. Used yellow onion in place of green and a can of diced tomatoes. My new favorite recipe!
I used 1/4 C cheese in the mix and 1/4 C cheese on top. Fantastic.
I used the recipe as a “guide”. I used all the vegetables I had in my refrigerator. Mushrooms, broccoli, and red pepper in addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe. I used canned diced tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. I used fresh parsley and basil. Very simple and easy recipe. I usually make a cheese sauce but the tomatoes and veggie broth I used made the dish light and tasty.
Make this one with whatever you have! I topped it with bread crumbs tossed in butter.
I made this tonight and my husband and I gave it a 2 thumbs up. Easy to make and lots of flavor. Will definitely make it again.
This recipe is amazing! It’s so delicious and filling and such low in calories it’s definitely a win win. Two thumbs up!
I added hot pepper and changed the cheese to Parmigiano and Regiano. Cooked the whole thing stove top. Amazing!
I tried this Casserole last night for my husband and although I did not make it as written I made several changes to it. I did take the advice of other people and added more seasonings & herbs as well as using yellow onion, green and orange peppers, more garlic, and brown rice that I had on hand. My husband really enjoyed my rendition and said this needs to go in my regular rotation!
When I glanced at this recipe I thought” pretty standard zucchini recipe”, but somehow the balance of spices is perfect and I loved it. I confess I didn’t bake it, though. When I realized melting the cheese was the only reason to use the oven, I opted to let people just sprinkle cheese on their own if they wanted it. It melted just fine that way.
Loved it. Didn’t have fresh tomatoes so used a jar of rotel tomatoes and added bread crumbs to the top. Amazing.
I have been making this casserole for 20 years because it was the only way I could get my kids to eat the abundance of zucchini from my garden. My recipe is much simpler and I add a pound of hamburger and season to the palate of a 10-12 year old. Fresh onions, zucchini and tomatoes make it ideal for summer. People should feel free to take such a recipe and adapt it to your own families taste. One of my favorite seasonings for this is Montreal Steak Seasoning (Cotsco) peps it up just enough but not too much to turn up any kids nose. Great family recipe!!
I liked this, it was refreshing. I used it as a side. I followed the advice of others and doubled the spices (not garlic salt) and reduced cheese to 1 cup. I used olive oil and I added Italian breadcrumbs on top. With the changes, I will make this again and add it to the family recipe book
Family very, very happy! What a great change from the everyday meals. Will make this again for sure, I did not change a thing!
I really liked. I rarely make zucchini dishes.
Loved this!
I love this recipe! It’s perfect as is, but you could also increase the rice to half cup and cook the rice in broth of you like. I also started adding some chopped chicken breast to make it a heartier meal. Great recipe!
Zucchini Herb Casserole by Debi Blair McGinness. Didn’t add tomato. Cooked the 1/2″ pieces of squash in the same pot on top of the chicken broth & uncooked rice. Put half cup chopped onion & the garlic in there, too – actually the onion first – to be sure it was cooked – then the squash & garlic.
I made this with squash and tomatoes from our garden. I added a little extra garlic, pepper and cheese. My carnivorous hubby even loved it. It was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again.
I made this for a friend and her family after her husband passed away suddenly. It was a big hit with her family and mine!
I made it as directed and was disappointed. It was very bland despite all the seasonings.
Looks great and tastes great!!! Only sub/change was sweet onion instead on green.