After making numerous adjustments to different recipes, I created this hot Southwest chicken dish. In my home, it has grown to be a true favorite. also easily adaptable to your preferred level of spice. Addition of additional vegetables or peppers makes it simple to modify to your taste. When preparing additional chicken meals, cook it in advance to save time. Serve with any additional toppings of your choosing, such as sour cream, guacamole, sliced avocados, sliced black olives, or anything else you prefer!
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 large zucchini, sliced
- 8 egg whites, divided
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.
- Mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, and oregano together in a medium shallow bowl. Set aside 2/3 cup for the topping.
- Whisk 2 egg whites in a small bowl. Dip zucchini slices into egg whites, then press into bread crumb mixture to coat both sides. Arrange coated slices on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven; leave the oven on.
- Mix ricotta, parsley, and remaining 6 egg whites together in a bowl. Spread 1/2 of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Layer with 1/2 of the zucchini slices, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once more, then top with remaining bread crumb mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 238 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 29 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1015 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used one large zucchini. (16 inches in length). That was plenty. I have a mandolin type of slicer that I use for pickles, so I used this to get very thin slices of zucchini. I did not use 8 eggs, I used 5. I used one 15 oz carton of ricotta (not 3 cups). I added 3/4 lb of cooked Italian sausage to the sauce, as my husband doesn’t like vegetarian dishes. I thought that this was very good, but this recipe is too large for a retired couple. Next time I will only create 1/2 the recipe. The leftovers were really good as well. Great way to use zucchini!
I’ve done this 2 ways. Baked the zucchini as it says in this recipe. I’ve also fried the breaded zucchini. Both delicious, obviously the fried version is tastier. I use mozzarella instead of ricotta or cottage cheese. Stick to a traditional lasagna style recipe. Add in my own amount of basil and parsley and I make my own sauce.
easy, perfect, and healthier than a lasagna with noodles. There is no frying and the low fat cheese made it healthier however, i think it would be better with not using the low fat cheese!!!
AWESOME recipe! So yummy. I made it and halved the recipe because I’m the only one in my family that will eat it, and the only modification I did was used whole egg, instead of whites. So I used 2 eggs for the zucchinis, and 2 eggs in the ricotta mixture. It was perfect and SO YUMMY! A little longer than 15 min to prep, but worth it! Thank you!
Wow, sooo good. Unfortunately, I halved the recipe since we never had it before so didn’t know how it would be liked. Boy, it was loved. I followed instruction fully, except used whole eggs. Wasn’t soggy at all. New favourite!
Very tasty
This recipe was delicious, and was a great way to use up our large garden zucchini. Even my husband, who said he is tired of zucchini, liked this dish. I used 4 whole eggs, instead of the egg whites, and otherwise followed the recipe. I wasn’t sure if I should slice the zucchini into circular slices, or slice it lengthwise. Since I was using a long, fat zucchini (about 17″long), I made large circular cuts. Next time I will try slicing lengthwise. I do recommend not skipping the breading step. It adds flavor, and helps prevent the soupiness a few people complained about. My zucchini parmigiana was not soupy at all. The flavors in this dish worked well together. I froze half, and look forward to enjoying the remainder of it in the Winter when we will miss our abundance of garden zucchini!
This was excellent definitely a keeper. Mine was not soggy like some reviews complained of. I did bake the slices slightly longer then called for. They were browned nicely. Baked the 45 minutes and let sit ten. Will make this again.
This was a great recipe & one a cook can customize easily. I used garden zucchini & herbs which resulted in a fresh, flavorful dish.
Made half the recipe, as it is hubby and myself. Followed this recipe as written. It was very good, and hubby said “There’s nothing wrong with this dish!” as he was on his way for seconds.
too much work for not enough outcome
This was ok, but it is workable. I think i will do away with the breadcrumbs all together next time. I also sauteed onion and garlic in oilve oil and added them to the layers. I love zucchini and onions together so that was just a personal preference. I will try again without all the bread crumb prep.
This was absolutely delicious. My husband said it is his favourite zucchini dish ever, and my daughter wanted to make sure there would be leftovers to eat later. The only change I made was to use whole eggs instead of egg whites – 1 for the egg wash and 4 added to the ricotta filling. Thanks for a great recipe!
Everyone has their own way of making eggplant parm or lasagna but this recipe is a good stepping stone to making it yours. I didn’t measure anything but did use all the ingredients listed. With all the zucchini that’s growing in the garden this was a delish way to use it. Thank you!
This was a nice alternative to a traditional lasagna, however it was somewhat bland. The only changes I made were to use my own homemade marinara sauce and to cut the recipe in half. I followed all other directions. I felt there was too much ricotta adding weight to the lasagna. This was a time intensive recipe that I think will not be repeated in my home. BF and I both added additional spices at the table (I added hot pepper flakes, he added frank’s hot sauce.) I’ll stick with the cooking light version of zucchini parmesan.
This was a nice alternative to a traditional lasagna, however it was somewhat bland. The only changes I made were to use my own homemade marinara sauce and to cut the recipe in half. I followed all other directions. I felt there was too much ricotta adding weight to the lasagna. This was a time intensive recipe that I think will not be repeated in my home. BF and I both added additional spices at the table (I added hot pepper flakes, he added frank’s hot sauce.) I’ll stick with the cooking light version of zucchini parmesan.
Very good. Mike made it as is and is was great!
Very good. Mike made it as is and is was great!
I substituted cottage cheese for ricotta…everything fat free..whole grain bread crumbs (next time I will us half) and it was really good. Will do again.
Don’t know what the benefit of breading and cooking the zucchini first is. Will not do it again, just will cook in a pan with a little olive oil. Need to double all spices. Added 2 tsp. garlic to ricotta and cheese mixutre. Will make again with major tweaking.
Wow, I really liked this! I did get in a hurry and screw up (didn’t mix the parm & spices in with the dry bread crumbs to dip the zucchini), so I ended up mixing that in with the egg and ricotta. It still turned out amazing.