Crockpot Italian Zucchini Casserole By Kelly Miller • July27,2021 • 17 Comments 100.6K 134 Jump to Recipe Jump to Video This easy Crockpot Italian Zucchini Casserole is a delicious way to use up that zucchini from the garden and get your family eating their veggies! Add this to your zucchini casserole recipes repertoire! If you’re looking for a dinner that uses a whopping 4 cups of chopped zucchini, this is a great one for you! I keep a decent sized veggie garden every summer and despite all the bug issues, we end up with more zucchini than we could ever imagine eating. This dinner is a lifesaver for me!! The really cool thing about this one is the rice cooks right along with everything else in the Crockpot – just use the EXACT measurements of the ingredients and you’ll be good to go. No need to add extra water! What’s in this recipe? Can I use regular rice? No! You’ll need instant rice for this recipe to turn out correctly. Can I leave the green pepper out? Yes, I’ve done that before and it turned out fine. Darn those picky eaters! How to make this recipe: Add cooked ground beef and chopped zucchini to a Crockpot. 3. Add all remaining ingredients, besides cheese. Stir carefully. 4. Cover and cook. 5. Remove lid, add cheese, and keep slow cooking until cheese is melted. 6. Serve! Recipe pro tips: DO NOT lift the lid to check if the rice is done! Heat escapes and it takes a while for the temp to come back up. Store leftovers in individual serving containers in the fridge or freezer. Swap out some of the zucchini for yellow squash if that’s what you have! More recipes you’ll love: Zucchini Soup Cheesy Meatball Stuffed Zucchini Zucchini Parmesan Blueberry Zucchini Bread Carrot Cake Zucchini Bread If you liked this recipe, leave a rating and a comment below this post! Crockpot Italian Zucchini Casserole Crockpot Italian Zucchini Casserole with ground beef, zucchini, rice, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella cheese. 3.74 from 156 votes Print Pin Rate Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanKeyword: recipe for crockpot Italian zucchini casserole Prep Time: 15 minutes minutesCook Time: 4 hours hours Servings: 8 servings Calories: 317kcal Author: Kelly Miller Ingredients▢ 1 lb ground beef cooked and drained▢ 1 green pepper diced▢ 3 zucchini chopped, about 4 cups▢ 24 oz spaghetti sauce▢ 15 oz diced tomatoes undrained▢ 2 cups instant white rice uncooked▢ 1 tsp garlic powder▢ 1 tbsp dried minced onion▢ 1 tsp Italian seasoning▢ 1 cup mozzarella cheese InstructionsDice vegetables while ground beef is browning in pan, drain.Place vegetables, ground beef, and all other ingredients except cheese into the Crockpot.Stir until combined well, cover, and cook on low for 4 hours.Sprinkle cheese over top, cover, and cook an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Video NutritionCalories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 586mg | Potassium: 787mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 731IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 4mg Tried this recipe?Follow me @mostlyhomemademom or tag #MostlyHomemadeMom! 100.6K 134
Jenn says August 26, 2019 at 8:10 pm Glad I read the comments before I added the rice. I didn’t buy instant brown rice. I’m cooking it separately and then I will add it later or just serve the dish over the top of the rice. Reply
Maria says February 5, 2023 at 12:51 pm I substituted quinoa for instant rice and I didn’t have zuccihini so I substituted cauliflower. I prayed over my substitutions and it turned out yummy. Reply
Kate Williamson says September 3, 2019 at 3:49 pm I substituted quinoa for the rice (1 cup vs. 2). It cooked perfectly. Reply
Lauren says October 17, 2019 at 9:34 pm Delicious meal! I did add more sauce though because it was dry. Reply
Carol E. says July 5, 2020 at 8:23 pm I made this for Sunday lunch today. It was easy and DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe! My son also suggested putting chunks of Italian Sausage in there with the ground beef. I think that would taste amazing! Reply
Susan says July 17, 2020 at 12:44 am Delicious!!! Added a can of mushrooms and a little extra water. My husband took one bite and said that it was a make again meal. Reply
Kathleen says August 11, 2021 at 10:33 pm Just put this in my crockpot! I’m trying to be a little healthy…how do you think it would be if I added cauliflower rice instead of the instant rice? I could only find frozen at the store though so I left it out for now… Reply
Kelly Miller says August 12, 2021 at 3:56 pm I would leave the cauliflower rice out of the Crockpot and just serve the zucchini mixture over it. The cauliflower rice would just turn to mush in the Crockpot for that long. Reply
Linda Smith says September 30, 2021 at 7:46 pm Followed recipe exactly and it is dry. Will probably add extra can of diced tomatoes, perhaps some water? Reply
Kelly Miller says September 30, 2021 at 8:28 pm I’m sorry this turned out too dry, did you make sure to use instant rice? Reply
Michele says October 19, 2021 at 12:42 am Perfect way to help use up the abundance of zucchini! I substituted one yellow squash….nice add of color. I am thinking of using more zucchini next time Reply
Donna Lancaster says October 25, 2021 at 6:17 pm Made recipe with frozen rice cauliflower to reduce carbs and was great. Just drained most liquid off can tomatoes as cauliflower does not absorb the liquid like rice does.. was DELICIOUS…. Reply
Julie says November 2, 2021 at 12:47 pm The recipe was easy and tasty set it and forget it . The only addition I made was I added chopped onions. How delicious I’m so glad I received this recipe. My son loved it as well.👍🏽 Reply
Sandy says September 5, 2022 at 7:28 pm Could Parmesan cheese be used instead of mozzarella? Some of family is not crazy about melted cheese that gets stringy. Reply
Kelly Miller says September 6, 2022 at 8:36 pm Yes, that would probably still work in this recipe! Reply