Comfort meets healthy in Chicken Zucchini Casserole with layers of shredded chicken, zucchini noodle sheets and easy homemade sauce. Loaded with fiber, vegetables, and protein, this will be a weeknight dinner favorite.
Other zucchini recipes on our summer menu include zucchini roll ups, zucchini lasagna and zucchini tomato bake!
I make this chicken zucchini casserole during July and August months when I have garden fresh zucchini.
If you have zucchini and chicken in your fridge, you need to make this summertime dinner. Plus check out these other 45 healthy zucchini recipes!
This zucchini noodle recipe might not be considered the easiest baked chicken and zucchini recipe but I don’t care. I love to throw everything together and see what happens, accompanied by a glass of wine, of course!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
What I like about this chicken zucchini casserole is that its ingredients are versatile and you can use what you have on hand. Just look at all this cheesy veggie goodness!
Cooked chicken layered in between sheets of low carb zucchini noodles along with an easy homemade enchilada sauce. You will love this no noodle version of my traditional Instant Pot lasagna.
Be sure to check out my crazy popular Tex Mex chicken and zucchini recipe for other south of the border dinners!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ingredients for this zucchini chicken casserole are relatively simple with a combination of fresh and pantry items.
- Zucchini: If you happen to have giant garden zucchini, just slice it in thin rounds.
- Chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts or ground chicken: Any type of cooked poultry works.
- Tomato sauce: Regular plain one. Just make sure it’s low sodium.
- Cheese: Tex Mex, Colby or any yellow cheese works.
- Simple spices: Cumin, garlic powder, jalapeno or use chili powder, taco seasoning, fajita seasoning, cayenne to taste. All works.
- Quinoa : We sprinkle a little bit of dry and uncooked quinoa at the bottom of baking dish to help absorb moisture. No matter how hard we try to get rid of extra liquid in zucchini, it still releases more during baking. We are talking about vegetable that is 90% water.
How to Make Chicken Zucchini Casserole
It may look like a lot of steps, but time flies by when making this Mexican chicken zucchini lasagna!
Salt zucchini: In 9 x 13 baking dish, place sliced zucchini in a single layer and sprinkle with salt, repeating with remaining zucchini. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Salt will pull away moisture from zucchini making less watery chicken and zucchini casserole.
Cook chicken: Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning and use tongs toss to coat. Preheat large skillet on medium heat, swirl oil to coat and add chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until white edges appear, turn and cook for 5 more minutes or until cooked through.
Transfer to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks. Set aside.
Make homemade sauce: In a medium bowl, add tomato sauce, taco seasoning, jalapeno, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper; stir to combine and set aside.
Pat zucchini dry: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pat dry each zucchini layer with paper towels transferring to another dish (plate).
You want to absorb moisture between each zucchini layer as much as possible.
Assemble casserole: Wipe dry the baking dish, spread a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce and sprinkle with quinoa.
Continue casserole layers: Place sliced zucchini overlapping a bit to create a single layer. Top with 1/3 of shredded chicken, then a bit of cheese (reserving a bit more than half for the top) and 1/3 of enchilada sauce
Inside layers of zucchini don’t have to look perfect.
Repeat layers: Until you run out of ingredients finishing with a layer of zucchini, topped with a bit of tomato sauce, then sprinkling with remaining cheese.
Bake casserole: Bake covered with aluminum foil or silicone lid for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes before slicing. Cut into 8 slices and serve hot.
Tips for Success
- Summer squash: You can use zucchini squash or yellow summer squash in this casserole. Or both! Eating the rainbow is so much fun!
- Zucchini noodles: For even thickness, use a mandoline or grater with slicing blade. I highly recommend to wear cut resistant gloves.
- No quinoa?: You can skip if have none or use breadcrumbs.
- Chicken: Any leftover chicken works, I often use grilled chicken recipe or Instant Pot chicken breast.
Can You Make Ahead Chicken Zucchini Casserole?
You can make chicken and zucchini noodles ahead. Meal prep, assemble and refrigerate tightly covered for up to 24 hours.
Meat is cooked, so it is safe. Then bake as per recipe.
Can You Freeze This Casserole?
You cannot freeze it. Not ahead, nor the leftovers. Zucchini is 90% water. When defrosted casserole will release so much water, your vegetables will be almost non-existent.
It is a good idea to freeze shredded zucchini in portions for baking healthy zucchini bread in January, for example.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Chicken and zucchini noodle casserole leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. It is one of those foods like borscht that tastes better the next day.
Make sure container has a tight lid and I always prefer glass to plastic for health and taste reasons.
Serving Suggestions
Chicken zucchini casserole recipe is low carb dinner on its own.
If you are more hungry than that or live with 3 hungry boys like I do, here are great healthy accompaniments to scoop up all the bake’s juices and sauces:
- Grains: Like whole grain brown rice or quinoa.
- Pasta: Choose tubular pasta like penne, rigatoni, fusilli or elbow macaroni to scoop up the sauce. Unlike white pasta, whole grain pasta contains fiber, vitamins and nutrients from the bran. Also whole foods pasta like chickpea, lentil, quinoa is great!
- Crusty bread: A chunk of fresh crusty baguette or sourdough dipped and enjoyed with chicken and squash casserole is priceless experience on a hot summer day.
- Potatoes: Serve veggie and meat in sauce zucchini casserole over creamy healthy mashed potatoes. I always do with baked chicken and peppers, the sauce makes the best ‘gravy’.
More Healthy Zucchini Recipes
- Chicken and corn with zucchini
- Ground turkey and zucchini
- Zucchini sticks
- Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes
- Zucchini noodles with chicken
More Healthy Casserole Recipes
- Salsa Fresca chicken bake
- Zucchini potato bake
- Healthy zucchini casserole recipe
- Low carb chicken enchiladas
Chicken Zucchini Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs zucchini cut lengthwise into 1/8″ thick slices
- 1 lb chicken thighs or breasts boneless & skinless
- 28 oz tomato sauce low sodium
- 3 tsp taco seasoning low sodium, divided
- 1 tbsp jalapeno minced
- 2 tsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt + more for zucchini
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp oil for frying
- 1/4 cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups (7 oz) any hard cheese shredded
Instructions
- In 9 x 13 baking dish, place sliced zucchini in a single layer and sprinkle with salt, repeating with remaining zucchini. Set aside for 30 minutes. Salt will pull away moisture from zucchini making less watery chicken and zucchini casserole.
- Sprinkle chicken with 1 tsp taco seasoning and using tongs toss to coat. Preheat large skillet on medium heat, swirl oil to coat and add chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until white edges appear, turn and cook for 5 more minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add tomato sauce, 2 tsp taco seasoning, jalapeno, maple syrup, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper; stir to combine and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pat dry each zucchini layer with paper towels transferring to another dish (plate). You want to absorb moisture between each zucchini layer as much as possible.
- Wipe dry the baking dish, spread a few tablespoons of tomato sauce mixture and sprinkle with quinoa (helps to absorb liquids). Place sliced zucchini overlapping a bit to create a single layer. Top with 1/3 of shredded chicken, then a bit of cheese (reserving a bit more than half for the top) and 1/3 of tomato sauce. Repeat until you run out of ingredients finishing with a layer of zucchini, topped with a bit of tomato sauce, then sprinkled with remaining cheese.
- Bake covered with aluminum foil or silicone lid for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes before slicing. Cut into 8 slices and serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight glass container for up to 5 days.
- Make ahead: Meal prep, assemble and refrigerate tightly covered for up to 24 hours. Meat is cooked, so it is safe. Then bake as per recipe.
- Do not freeze: Not ahead, nor the leftovers.
- Chicken: You can use any cooked chicken.
- Zucchini slices: You can slice zucchini using a mandoline or grater with a slice blade (I highly recommend to wear cut resistant gloves). If you would like a nice weave of zucchini on top, reserve a bit more than for a regular layer.
- Low sodium: If using not low sodium tomato sauce, reduce salt.
Should the chicken be cooked all the way before you shred?
Yes otherwise it won’t shred.
This dish was brilliant! Thank you for this recipe. It was a huge hit with my family!!!
Glad to hear, Jess! And thank you for sharing. Now I am heading over to check out your blog.:)
I am interested to know why you use / add quinoa in this recipe. Thanks
To soak up some of the zucchini juices released during baking.
Can you suggest an alternative to quinoa, and an amount for the substitution?
Breadcrumbs?! 1/2 cup.
try quick frying zucchini in pam and then use as directed.
Yes, you can do that, Grace Ann. But PLEASE do not use toxic PAM! Buy yourself a Misto and spray healthy oils away.:)
Super yummy!!!
Yay!
I made this tonight for the family because I didn’t have much time and had many chicken breast and zucchinis. It was DELICIOUS. Everyone loved it.
We are dairy free so I used Daiya shredded cheese in place of the cheese and added chopped cilantro to the enchilada sauce.
Will make again!
Happy to hear that, Aimee!:)
You can make your own enchilada sauce, like store bought, but way better. Just add 2 TBLS oil, 2 TBLS flour,(cook for one minute) then add 4 TBLS Chili powder to the above sauce recipe. It will make a thicker more traditional sauce.
Thank you, Renee! I will try next time for sure!!!
I love this recipe! I use leftover crock-pot taco chicken for my meat, and this suggestion for the enchilada sauce is spot-on!
OH MY YUM!!! I made this tonight and it was so flavorful and filling. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making this often.
You are welcome, Krista.:)
looking foreward to cooking and eating this
I was wondering is there a reason why you can’t freeze this dish??
Zucchini doesn’t freeze well. It will be mushy, watery and stringy. I personally don’t like it and I’m not picky.