Need a quick and easy dinner that kids will love? Try zucchini pizza! Yes, zucchini pizza. Even the picky eater in our family loves this recipe.
I first shared the recipe for my zucchini pizza back in August of 2009. That was when my 6 foot 6 inch, seventeen year old, son was seven and still much shorter than me.
A lot has changed in the last ten years. Blogging and social media has changed a lot. My two girls are now in college and my little boy is now basically a man. I can’t believe how quickly the years go.
One of the things that hasn’t changed in ten years is our love of zucchini pizza. I made it last week for the first time in awhile and my daughter and husband both decided that I need to make it more often.
I have a few readers that might remember this recipe from way back in 2009. If you have been following along on my kitchen adventures since 2009, thank you!
I know I have a lot of new readers, that know nothing about zucchini pizza, so I decided it was time to share it again.
Don’t let the title discourage you from making this. The crust is not just zucchini. It has all kinds of delicious things in it, including cheese. I shared this recipe way back before keto, zucchini, and cauliflower noodles and crusts were popular.
This recipe is gluten free, but it is not meant to fit a certain diet or need. It is just a delicious recipe and a fun way to get your kids to eat more vegetables.
Now for my son’s thoughts from back when he was seven. 🙂
This time of year I am always looking for new zucchini recipes. My family gets tired of seeing zucchini over and over. My friend told me about an old Taste of Home recipe that was in a cookbook we both have.
I thought it sounded like a fun, easy, and frugal dinner idea and decided to give it a try.
The first time I made this “pizza” my family did not know what to think. The recipe calls it pizza, but it is not really like a real pizza. This is how the conversation with my son went the first time we had this.
While I was making dinner my son asked, “What is for dinner, mom?”
I said, “Zucchini Pizza”
He said, “Ok” and ran off.
Then at dinner he looked at it and said, “Mom, you said we were having pizza!”
I said, “We are, zucchini pizza.”
He said, “But you said we were having PIZZA.”
I said, “This is called zucchini pizza.”
Then during the meal he kept saying, “But if this is pizza, where is the crust?”
He finished eating dinner and said, “Mom, this is good, but it is not pizza!”
So, this dinner is really good, but if you serve it to your family you might want to rename it. Otherwise you might be having a similar conversation about this not quite being the same as real pizza.
Now for the recipe!
Zucchini Pizza
Zucchini Pizza is a quick and easy kid friendly dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded peeled zucchini, drained and squeezed dry
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1-1/2 cups spaghetti or marinara type sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine zucchini, rice, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and eggs until well combined.
- Press mixture into a greased 15-in. x 11-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
- Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is set and lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, brown ground beef and onion until meat is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain off any fat.
- Add spaghetti sauce to meat and mix well.
- Spoon beef mixture over crust.
- Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.
- Let set/cool 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
As long as all your ingredients, like the sauce, are gluten free this is an easy gluten free dinner.
First posted August 2009. Updated August 2019.
I wonder if Zucchini PIE or TART would get the same type of non-believing comments
O o o! Finally one I know something about that I can leave a comment! *giggle*
I have made zucchini pizza. I recomend making the crust out of Zucchini only. Shred it, drain and dry it, press it into a circle, prepare as regular pizza. Worked fine and we had no questions.
Another idea for zucchini that I love is to shred it, saute it in olive oil with garlic and tomatos and use it as an alternative layer in lasagna. I generally replace the cheese layer with the vegetables. Our entire family loves it!
I served this last week and the family enjoyed this very much. The only thing I did different was add less cheese to the crust and 1/2 cup of lowfat ricotta. We were low on cheddar. But it turned out yummy all the same.
That looks sooo yummy! Great use of the zuke.
Oh, my goodness! I made this for my family tonight and we all LOVED it! Even my one-year-old son gobbled it right up. Thank you for all the great recipes!
@Amanda, I am so glad you liked this. My kids love it too. It is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini.
I was thinking Zucchini Lasagna and then I read Anne’s comment about how she incorporates lasagna noodles, and it’s going to have to be tried here…since I have two huge zucchinis on my counter! Thanks for the idea.
I found you through Premeditated Leftovers today.
@Rebecca in Colorado, I am so glad that you found my site. We love this recipe. I hope that you enjoy it also.
This may be a silly question, but what’s the best way to squeeze the zucchini dry? {We made this a few months ago and LOVED it, but it took me a long time to get all the pieces together, so I’m hoping I can figure out quick ways to get it done faster!}
Thanks!
@SarahKL @ the Ooey Gooey Daily News, I usually just put the zuch. in a colander or strainer and press down on it, this works pretty well. You can also use a kitchen towel and squeeze it out in that, but I find that way messy. I hope that helps!
YUM! This sounds super. I think I’m going to try it sometime
As soon as I saw Zucchini Pizza, on your planner I simply had to link over to see what this was all about. Brilliant! Can’t wait to try it. Winter here so courgettes (what zucchini’s are called in NZ) are a little too expensive right now but will pin it for summer … 🙂
It looks like lasagna. Would it be fair to call it such? Gonna try this. It’s hard to find a good GF crust! (Well, a cheap GF crust anyways.)
I would say call it whatever will make your family want to eat it. 🙂 I love this recipe because it is so easy and it is gluten free. I really think you could use other toppings for this and have it be really good on the crust. I hope you enjoy it!
I do not have the size pan you call for. Would you use a 9×13 or a “cookie” sheet?
Yes, you can use a different pan the crust will just be a different thickness. If you use a 9×13 I might do it in a 9×13 and an 8×8 or something like that. It might be too thick to make all of it in just one 9×13. Or any cookie sheet type pan should work as well.
Hi. I made this tonight and I, and my 2 1/2 year old, loved it too. Getting him to eat veggies isn’t always easy so this made me happy! I used some different meats, added peppers, and topped the whole thing with chopped tomatoes and olive tapenade. Yum!
I also made your no bake chocolate cheesecake this week too. Before this I never met a no bake cheesecake I liked. I can’t say that anymore. I used 2 dark chocolate bars and mixed fat free and reduced fat cream cheeses and did 2/3 the recipe on a prepared graham cracker crust. You made a believer out of me. Thanks!
Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed both the zucchini pizza and the cheesecake. Both are favorites at our house and I love hearing that others enjoy them also.
this was so good!!! Family enjoyed and had most of items while using from the pantry this week!! thanks for recipe!