Zucchini ground beef casserole is a one-dish, kid-friendly meal that uses up some of that fresh garden produce. It is beefy, cheesy, and delicious! A great dish to make ahead, and keep in the fridge for a day or so.
I keep it mild for my kiddos, but you can sure use some spice in there, if you like. A good dash of cayenne or hot sauce would take it up a notch!
Quick look at the recipe
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 30 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⌛ Total Time: 1 hour
- 🍽️ Servings: 8
- 🔥 Calories: 435 kcal
- 🌞 Perfect for working moms, quick weeknight or weekend dinners
- ✅ Difficulty: Easy
- 🍳 Serving Suggestions: Serve with tasty Cheesy Italian Breadsticks and a simple Tomato, Cucumber and Onion salad.
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Key Ingredients
Zucchini. I like the smaller zucchini, because the big ones get too seedy inside. But if you have a large zucchini, just scrape out the seeds, peel, and slice thin and it still works.
White Rice. I like to make this when I have leftover rice. If I have leftover brown rice, it works great in this recipe. Really, any type of cooked rice works great.
Ground Beef. I use 85% lean, but if you use a cheaper type, just drain the beef very well after frying.
Mushrooms. I use button mushrooms, but I buy the whole ones and slice them thinly.
I like this casserole because I can sneak a bunch of vegetables into my kids without them noticing too much, haha! Especially if you dice them up small.
I also like to make it with leftover rice. If there's a bit less than 2 cups of rice, it's ok. If there is more than 2 cups, just add a bit of sour cream or a splash of milk. You could use leftover taco meat, too.
How to make Zucchini Beef Casserole
First, brown the ground beef. When it is almost done cooking, stir in the vegetables. Continue frying until the veggies are tender, but not mushy.
Next, place the rice, sour cream, cheese and spices into a large mixing bowl, and add the meat and veggies. Stir together well.
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, and spread the zucchini rice mixture into the dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until hot, and the cheese is melted.
Can I use other meat?
Yes, I use any ground meat for this recipe. Deer meat recipes, antelope, elk -- they all work great. I suppose you could use ground turkey, but I haven't tried that yet.
More Zucchini Recipes & Salads
If you tried this ground beef zucchini rice casserole or any other recipe on my website; pull up a chair and tell me how it turned out in the comments below! Don't forget to leave a 🌟 star rating!
Zucchini Beef Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups white rice, prepared
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 medium zucchini sliced
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced
- 16 oz sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Fry the meat in a skillet. When meat is nearly finished, add the zucchini and mushrooms, and continue frying till vegetables are tender.
- In large mixing bowl, place cooked rice, sour cream, 1 cup cheese, chili powder and salt.
- When meat mixture is finished, add to the rice mixture. Stir well.
- Place casserole into a greased, 2 quart baking dish. A 9x13 pan works fine. Top with remaining cup of cheddar cheese.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Notes
Nutrition
You mention cream of chicken soup, is this part of the recipe? Looks delicious, thanks!
Hey! No it isn't!! Thanks for catching that. HAHA! I don't know why I put that in the instructions, I never use cream of chicken soup in this recipe. I will edit the post!
I added a can of cream a mushroom soup and 1/2 the sour cream. Also substituted the white rice for 1/2 califlower and 1/2 brown rice. yum!!
My family loved this recipe. It’s a good way to use up some of those extra zucchini!! I left out mushrooms cause my kids won’t eat them and also added a bit of diced onion(because I didn’t pay attention and thought it called for it). They gobbled it down. Definitely will save and make again.
Great! I love getting some veggies into my family!
Can you omit the rice?
I haven't tried it that way - rice is the 'filler', but I think it would be good without rice, too.
What kind of rice did you use?
I used long grain white rice.