Name: Easy Zucchini Casserole
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 3 giant zucchinis; 1 large onion; 1 packet firm tofu; Tamari soy sauce u0026 ketjap manis (or use regular soy sauce); Handful of cashew nuts for sprinkle into the casserole (optional); 3 cloves garlic; Salt; Olive oil; Nutritional yeast; 1 small cup raw unsalted cashews; Approx. 1/2 litre unsweetened plant milk; Juice from half a lemon (to taste); 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar (to taste); Salt

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Ok so you’ve got a glut of zucchini coming from the garden and you just don’t know what to do with them anymore. I mean how can you use 3 huge zucchinis in one recipe? Well, this easy zucchini casserole recipe is one scrumptious solution.

And if you love zucchini as much as I do, you’ll love this grilled summer vegetable salad and also these 9 easy zucchini recipes.

Making the Zucchini Casserole

Step One – The Cashew Nut Sauce

Grind one cup of cashews with salt, lemon juice and apple cider and half a litre of plant milk.

Serving of cashew nuts — One serving of cashew nuts for making cashew nut sauce

I use unsweetened soy milk because it’s the one I have available in the shops here, but any will do, as long as it isn’t sweet.

Start by blending the cashews with a little plant milk, then add more milk until you have a smooth, sauce consistency.

Finally the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Taste the sauce and adjust the lemon, vinegar and salt to taste.

See the complete recipe along with its variations over on this cashew nut sauce recipe.

Step Two – The Tofu for Zucchini Casserole

Sliced zucchini and marinated tofu — Marinated tofu

Take a packet of firm tofu and pat and squeeze with kitchen paper to remove the excess liquid. Finely slice, and then cut into squares and place in a bowl.

Pour over some tamari soy sauce and some ketjap manis, enough so that when stirred, all the tofu has turned a dark brown colour but isn’t swimming in soy sauce.

A little at the bottom of the bowl in inevitable and won’t be wasted as you can pour it on top when you add the tofu to the casserole.

Set aside while you prepare the zucchini.

Step Three – Preparing the Zucchini

Slice the zucchini lengthwise and keep the slices thin, but not slithers. Each slice is around 50mm wide. They don’t have to be exact. but roughly the same size as each other.

Thinly sliced zucchini in olive oil and garlic marinade — Slice the zucchini thin, but not too thin

Place some of the zucchini slices into a dish and pour over a little olive oil.

Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and spread some of the chopped garlic on top.

Sprinkle with salt and stir well. Repeat until all the zucchini is in the garlic oil mix and lightly coated with salt.

Step Four – Assembling the Zucchini Casserole

Take a large casserole dish and place two layers of zucchini slices in garlic and olive oil across the bottom of the dish, roughly up to almost half way of the dish.

Chop 1 onion into half rings and place on top of the zucchini. Sprinkle a few cashews on top.

Next, take the sauce and pour it over, leaving about 1/3 for the final topping. Spread the sauce with a spoon and then place the tofu pieces across the top of the casserole.

Zucchini coated in garlic oil — Layers of zucchini with garlic & olive oil

Onion layer in zucchini casserole — Layers of zucchini with garlic & olive oil

Use a spatula to flatten the whole lot down. Continue by placing the remaining zucchini in layers on top of the tofu until you’ve used up all the zucchini. At this point I also scoop out the remaining garlic bits and distribute over the top.

Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle plenty of nutritional yeast on top. You can prepare this in advance or cook it immediately, whichever suits best.

Bake in the oven at 200ºc for 45 minutes or until brown and crunchy on top.

Close up of zucchini casserole — Delicious!

Fun Facts About Zucchini . . .

Zucchini and courgette are the same thing. The name zucchini comes from the Italian word and the name courgette is from French.

Zucchini is a type of summer squash which is picked before it matures. Botanically, it’s a fruit!

The size of zucchinis varies enormously. The largest zucchini on record (Guinness book of records) was 2.52 metres long! So be very wary of following a specific number of zucchinis in a recipe! This easy zucchini casserole, for example, used just 3 homegrown zucchini – but their size can’t be compared to the shop zucchini, which tend to be picked very small.

Zucchinis are low in calories and rich in potassium and vitamin C (and more), and contains health-promoting antioxidants, especially in the skin.

Zucchinis are high in water & soluble fibre, which can be helpful in combating constipation and easing IBS symptoms and may also help to stabilise blood sugar and insulin levels.

The flowers of the zucchini are edible and are often served stuffed or deep fried!