Zucchini Tomato Bacon Bake – Zucchini Bacon Casserole

Zucchini Tomato Bacon Bake is the a new spin on zucchini casserole.  Chunks of zucchini are baked in a homemade marinara sauce and topped with crispy bacon.  Zucchini Bacon Casserole is the perfect addition to your meal.

Zucchini Tomato Bacon Bake Recipe:

I’m on a zucchini roll right now. It’s the middle of an Indiana summer, and it’s practically coming out of my ears.  I swear my Dad and I both will check the zucchini plant in the morning, and by the afternoon, there’s a gigantic zucchini that came out of nowhere. Do you have that same problem?

This is a regular summer problem. That’s why I mark zucchini recipes in my old cookbooks all year long, and then come back to them in the summer, which is how I found this Tomato Bacon Zucchini Casserole recipe in my Caterin to Charleston Cookbook.  It’s not the exact recipe; I tweaked it to work for me.

 

Zucchini Bacon Casserole

Think of this as a zucchini casserole with marinara sauce – except it’s a homemade marinara sauce which is so much better.  The marinara sauce consists of canned diced tomatoes with Italian herbs and diced onion sautéed in bacon drippings. Can I just say YUM?

And then the grand finale is the bacon bits (where the bacon drippings originated from) sprinkled right over top the casserole before baking.

Italian Zucchini Casserole

I love the Italian spin on this zucchini casserole.  The simple dried basil gives the flavor of a slow-cooked marinara sauce.

Instead of dried basil, fresh basil would be delightful.  Or, swap out dried basil for any other dried herb in your cabinet such as oregano or parsley.

Ingredient List for Zucchini Bacon Casserole

Bacon, cut into small pieces

Onion, diced

Canned tomatoes, undrained

Zucchini, diced

Salt

Black Pepper

Dried Basil

How to Make Baked Zucchini with Bacon:

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a skillet, fry bacon pieces until crisp; remove bacon leaving the drippings in the pan.
3. Sauté onion until tender.
4. Add undrained tomatoes, salt, pepper and dried basil; let simmer for 5 minutes.
5. In a greased baking dish, arrange half the diced zucchini, half the tomato mixture and then repeat. Top with fried bacon.
6. Cover tightly with foil and cook for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Let the zucchini casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving.

For the full instructions and ingredient amounts for zucchini, tomato and bacon casserole, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

Notes About Zucchini Bacon Casserole:

• Regular diced tomatoes can be used instead of the version with Italian herbs or basil, garlic and oregano.  You might want to add some more herbs to the homemade marinara if that’s the case.
• Use white, yellow or purple onions.
• Fresh basil can be used for dried basil.
• Cover this bacon zucchini casserole tightly with aluminum foil before baking to prevent too much browning.
• Let the zucchini casserole rest for 10 minutes or so before serving to allow the juices to reabsorb.
• Bread crumbs could be added over top with the bacon, if desired.

 

More Bacon Recipes:

Ranch Cauliflower Salad

Cheddar Bacon Pea Salad

Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Sour Cream Recipe

Crock Pot Baked Beans with Bacon

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