One of my absolute favorite ways to eat vegetables is in a gratin. A bit of cheese and breadcrumbs on top, maybe a creamy sauce underneath and then the fresh flavor of vegetable to cut the richness. I do it at all times of year with different vegetables. In late fall, I love Brussels sprouts gratin. Now, at the very end of summer when there are zucchinis in abundance everywhere, I do it with zucchini.
You can do it with zucchini alone or you can add in some other vegetables. For today’s recipe I’ve added summer squash, grape tomatoes, and lots of garlic. So good.
This gratin is light and fresh tasting, even though it does have cream in it. The reason is that only a small amount of cream is used. This isn’t a gratin where the vegetables are drowning in sauce, more, they’re lightly coated. This allows the flavor of the vegetables to really be the star.
Making Zucchini Gratin
You actually won’t believe how easy this gratin is to make. You toss the vegetables with flour, salt, pepper ,and cream. The vegetable mixture goes into an oven safe dish, I like to use 10 inch glass pie plate. A casesrole would work as well. You want the vegetables to be in a fairly shallow layer such that most of them are touching the base of the baking dish, but some are doubled up.
What’s extra lovely about this dish is that you don’t need very much cream. What happens is that the liquid from the squash gets released as the veggies cook. It mixes with the flour that has been dusted around it all and also with the bit of cream to create a sauce.
It’s not a lot of sauce, just a bit. But when you scoop it onto your plate, there’s enough that it’s clinging to all of the vegetables, and there’s some left on your plate as well, so if you have some bread get ready to sop that bit up!
Before baking the gratin, you also top it with a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, shredded Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. That browns on top while the veggies and sauce cook below.
Bake it uncovered until the zucchini and summer squash are fork tender, the breadcrumbs are browned, and you can hear some sizzling or bubbling from the bit of sauce in the dish. It takes 20-25 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
More Zucchini Love
If you’re a zucchini lover, you’ll also want to check out my recipe for zucchini and feta cheese bites and also this handy guide for how to cook zucchini that isn’t mushy.
Want to learn more about zucchini? Check out this article over on TheCookful.
Enjoy!
Christine xo
Podcast Episode About Making Zucchini Gratin
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this gratin, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Zucchini Gratin
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
It’s zucchini season. I’m jumping in with a zucchini gratin that’s loaded with garlic and some nice cheesy breadcrumbs. Care to jump in with me?
Ingredients
- 2 medium summer squash (about 6 oz. each)
- 2 medium zucchini (about 6 oz. each)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Trim the ends off of the zucchini and squash. Slice them into 1/4 inch slices.
- In a large bowl, toss the slices with the grape tomatoes, garlic, flour, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Stir.
- Add the whipping cream and stir well. Transfer vegetable mix to a 10 inch pie plate. Use a spatula to scrape in all of the liquid.
- In a separate bowl, rub the panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together to shorten the cheese strands. Stir in the olive oil and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt until all crumbs are moistened. Sprinkle the crumbs over the veggies.
- Bake until the topping is brown, the veggies are fork-tender but not mushy, and the sauce is making a bubbling sound, 20-25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
This post originally appeared in June 2014 and was revised and republished in May 2021.
Sharlyn says
Hi Chrsitine — This recipe looks so great! I write for ParentMap.com and would love to include this idea in a roundup article of Farmer’s Market Recipes. We would describe the recipe in our own words, and link back/credit your site for the recipe and use one image. Would you be OK with this?
Christine Pittman says
Hi Sharlyn, Yes that would be fine. Thanks!
Karen D says
This looks great! How I wish it were summer again… picked my last zucchini yesterday… hard frost last night.
Worldgrrl says
Oh my goodness, this was such a winner! I needed to whip up something fun and fresh for a pool party, and when I brought this lovely creation, everyone thought I am a serious foodie! I’ll let them go on with that fantasy . . . I doubled the garlic because that’s what I do, but the recipe really was as easy as it looks. Thank you Ms. Christine!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Worldgrrl! I am delighted that you made the recipe and that you and your friends enjoyed it. (I almost always double the garlic in recipes too. You can never have too much!). Thanks for the comment telling me how it went. You made my day!
Kay says
Do you have the nutritional information on this recipe? Fat, carbs, fiber, protein in grams? It looks delicious!
Adrienne says
That looks so good!
jan poole says
this looks wonderful, is the temp suppose to be 450? It is in the oven as we write.
Christine Pittman says
Jan, I didn’t get to you while it was still cooking. So sorry. But yes, 450 is correct. The idea is to get the breadcrumbs really brown and the sauce bubbling without cooking the veggies so long that they turn to mush. So high heat. Do let me know how you liked it and have a great week!
addie | culicurious says
This looks delicious, Christine! :) I love gratins, especially when they are so veggie-centric. Gonna try this one!
★★★★★
Sylvie | Gourmande in the Kitchen says
My great-grandparents had an impressive garden as well and I remember how much I loved running through it and seeing what was ready to pick when I was a kid. One of these days I hope to have the space to have a garden even a fraction of what they had!
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy says
Wow. This looks amazing!! My parents grew zucchini in their garden a few years in a row and it was the same story – zucchini in everything we ate and everywhere you looked, lol! This Zucchini Gratin looks so delicious – definitely making this! Pinned!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thanks Jen. Gotta say, I do miss all that zucchini just a few steps away. But I don’t think I could handle the overload.
Katerina says
The perfect summery meal Christine! Pinned as well!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thanks Katerina!
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite says
We love squash and zucchini. This the perfect side dish for our family.
Christine Pittman says
Meagan, you’re so lucky! My kids won’t eat it. I keep trying though. And until they change their minds, more for us!
Dandi D says
This is just perfect for our supper as I am just now getting some zucchini and squash from our garden.
Christine Pittman says
Dandi, How fantastic! Let me know how you all like it.
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
Love it Christine, I have all those ingredients in my garden right now! This is so happening ASAP!
Christine Pittman says
Krista, You’re so lucky to have all these ingredients growing away. I wish I had a green thumb!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I love zucchini, but I have never made it into a gratin! Adding cheese, cream and panko is a definite way to get my hubby to eat his veggies without groaning about it! Pinned!
Christine Pittman says
Taylor, So happy you like the idea. I admit that the cream, cheese, etc. makes it a bit decadent but I promise that there’s not much of any of it!!
Kelly says
I made this last night and for some reason the veggies didn’t seem to cook well (were still hard) and it wasn’t very bubbly/juicy. I’m wondering if it should be in a different kind of dish or maybe more liquid needs to be added? Just didn’t seem like normal gratins I’ve made. In your photo it looks like there is a lot of liquid. Did you add more than the three tbs of cream? Mine definitely did not bubble up. I cooked it another 20 minutes and still didn’t come out right. I Still ate it and the flavor was good. Just not sure how to get it like the photo and to cook the veggies better. Thoughts?