Air Fryer Zucchini Casserole

Whip up this air fryer zucchini casserole as a cheesy zucchini casserole to compliment any main dish. The zucchini casserole recipe that mixes up in no time.

If you don’t own an air fryer, then transform into a baked zucchini casserole you can toss in your oven. Either way, this makes a tasty zucchini side dish.

There is so much cheesy goodness in every bite of this cheesy zucchini casserole. It’s also a simple way to get the kids to enjoy and eat more veggies, too! (because when you add cheese, everything just suddenly tastes so much better!)

With a minimal prep time of just 5 minutes, we promise you that this keto zucchini casserole takes no time at all to make.

And after you have your first bite, you’re going to be loving the fact that you have this recipe in your meal planning arsenal.

This zucchini casserole is…

• Keto-friendly
• Fast and simple to make
• Made using just 6 simple ingredients
• Hearty and full of flavor

• Zucchini
• Parmesan cheese
• Heavy cream
• Butter
• Garlic
• Salt

You could also add in some summer squash or swap zucchini and do all summer squash.

How to Make

Step 1: Slice zucchinis into rounds. A mandoline slicer is a great way to get even slices.

Step 2: Add a layer of zucchinis overlapping in rows in a container. We used a small pan for our vegetarian zucchini bake.

Depending on your air fryer will depend how large or small your pan needs to be. Just make sure it is air fryer safe.

Step 3: Keep layering and alternating with parmesan cheese. Do this until your pan is full of zucchini.

Step 4: Mix cream, butter, and garlic in a saucepan on the stove. You will want to mix until it is fully melted. Pour it over the zucchini.

Step 5: Pop in the Air Fryer and cook. Or you can bake in the oven if you would prefer.

Expert Tips

Here are some tips and tricks for making this air fryer zucchini casserole! Cooking zucchini is so easy. We loved this recipe.

• Make certain that you try and cut your zucchini slices all the same length and thickness. This will help them cook up evenly and provide a much better overall texture, too.
• Don’t skimp on the parmesan! It does add a lot of great flavor between all the layers of zucchini.
• Peeling the zucchini is up to you. Some people like to peel them all the way while others leave the outside because it holds them together better. (Just make certain that whatever you decide, you wash and clean off the outside well!)

Use these expert tips to help guide you in making this recipe the first time. We love sharing tips because it’s so simple to get stumped in a recipe and not know what to do!

Variations to Recipe

Even though this is such a simple casserole dish, there are always a few fun variations that you could easily do.

• Try a different type of cheesy besides parmesan cheese. Or have fun and do a mixture of random types of cheese. The more cheese, the better.
• You can also vary up whether or not you want to put parmesan or other types of cheese between every layer or not. These are the options you have!
• You could do a shredded zucchini casserole instead of slices if you prefer.
• Add in some summer squash and do a zucchini squash casserole.
• Feel free to change up the added spices, too. Some people might want to add a bit of heat and spice to this casserole dish and with how simple it is to do, it’s worth a try!

Practical notes

Here are some common questions about about this zucchini parmesan casserole.

What are the health benefits of zucchini?

Eating zucchini is so great for a healthy lifestyle! Improving heart health and adding nutrients to your body are just a few of the great benefits! The more that you can incorporate veggies like zucchinis, the better!

Should you peel zucchini before cooking?

The outside skin of zucchini is actually pretty thin and soft. For this reasoning, many people just opt to leave it on after they clean it well. Again, this is up to you and your preference but leaving the peel on the zucchini would save you time and prep work.

Can you freeze raw zucchini?

You actually can. This is great to know because you don’t want to waste food if you can avoid it. Remember this fact this summer if you have zucchini’s growing like crazy in your garden.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eInstead of giving them all away to your neighbors because you don’t know what else to do with them, you can easily add them to your freezer for later. As long as you prep them, they should last for about 3 months

Can you make zucchini casserole in advance?

You can! If you’re wanting to meal prep a bit and get ahead for the day, you can easily do all the prep work, or a large amount of it the day before. Then when you’re ready to make it, you just have to cook it and that’s it!

How do you get the excess water from the zucchini?

This is actually something to pay attention to. Zucchini tends to be flavorful and juicy so there’s a good chance that there is a lot of water that is being stored inside. And the last thing that you need is to have a watery casserole dish to eat! u003cbru003eu003cbru003eTake your sliced zucchini and sprinkle with salt and then let it sit for 20 minutes. The salt will pull out excess water, leaving you with crispy zucchini.

Here are a few more easy zucchini recipes you might want to try out.

Ingredients

Makes 1 casserole

• 2-3 Zucchini – medium-sized
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash your zucchini thinly. We used a mandoline for slicing the zucchini. You want to slice the zucchini all the same size for even cooking.
2. You want to overlap the zucchini so it kind of stacks on each other.
3. Sprinkle with some of your parmesan cheese. Then you will add another layer of zucchini slices on top, and add more cheese.
4. Now add your third and final layer of zucchini slices and the rest of the parmesan cheese.
5. In a skillet, you will add your butter, garlic, and heavy cream into a skillet. Whisk until melted and it is thickening.
6. Pour the sauce over the zucchini mixture.
7. Place in an air fryer at 375 degrees or in the oven (same temp), and cook until melted. Our casserole took 18 minutes to cook.
8. Once the zucchini casserole is done then allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then serve.

Kitchen notes

You can use summer squash and zucchini, straight summer squash, or just zucchini. We did 3 layers of zucchini but feel free to do however many layers as you would like. The heavy cream and butter add richness to the zucchini casserole that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Store your leftover casserole in the fridge in an airtight container. You will find this zucchini bake does not freeze well as it will soften the zucchini quite a bit.