I caved in about a month ago. I let myself buy a spiral vegetable slicer, a kitchen gadget that I had repeatedly told myself I didn’t need. First off, where was I going to store it in our small kitchen, already bursting at the seams? And then what if I didn’t even like the thing? What if all the hype didn’t quite measure up? Then what?!
But after visiting my friend Joanne in NYC this past summer and eating the wonderful raw zucchini salad she served one evening, plus having a convincing conversation with Liz about this crazy zucchini noodle maker contraption, I knew that I needed one. Yes, my spiralizer questioning zoomed quickly from a held-off want to a burning need in one lovely New York City visit. And you know what? I can say that I love my new kitchen gadget. It makes the most awesome textured raw zucchini “noodles” salads. And here, with this Cheesy Zucchini Noodles Bake with Roasted Corn and Red Pepper, I have ventured into placing those noodles in the oven, too. I think my friend Amanda, Queen of Zucchini, would be very proud of how far I’ve come since getting my hands on her newly released cookbook, Smitten with Squash. I’ve truly taken her love of squash to heart!
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The spiralizer is quick to set up and so very easy to use. Our 7 year-old made the zucchini noodles for our first salad a few weeks ago. Did you see her on Instagram? (Just a warning…those blades are super sharp. Kids need supervision!)
I like to cut the zucchini in half before placing it on the spiralizer, so the noodle strands aren’t so long. It only takes a few minutes to run half a dozen zucchini through this machine.
One thing I’ve learned since we’ve been eating more raw zucchini is that it is full of moisture. If you make a raw zucchini salad one day and plan to eat any leftovers the following day, it turns a bit watery. So I knew I needed to address that issue when creating this cheesy zucchini noodles bake. I didn’t want a watery mess coming out of the oven. I found various ways of remedying this online, but in the end I used Amanda’s method from her recipe Zucchini Cauliflower Summer Gratin, found in Smitten with Squash. Basically, she lightly salts the zucchini and places it in a colander. The salt draws out the water in the zucchini, and the excess liquid gets squeezed out by hand.
All the while this cheesy veggie dish was in the oven, I kept a close eye on the bit of liquid bubbling around the edges, hoping it would get absorbed into the rest of the dish. It all came together so wonderfully, I can’t even explain it. The house smelled awesome enough to get everyone stopping by the kitchen to ask what was for supper. And you know how much we love our meat around here. Well, this was all I served at our family meal, with glasses of cold milk. And I received not one complaint. Only requests for more. Everyone loved this cheese-filled dish of end-of-summer vegetable yum. AND. The leftovers the following day weren’t even watery. Woohoo!!
Cheesy Zucchini Noodles Bake with Roasted Corn and Red Pepper
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. zucchini about 4 large zucchini
- 1.5 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 large red bell pepper diced
- ½ of a large yellow onion diced
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 2 large ears of sweet corn kernels cut from the cob
- ¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
- 3 large eggs
- 1 T. half and half
- 2 T. melted butter
- ½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 oz. shredded Mexican cheese blend divided
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly spray a 9″ x 9″ pan and set aside.
- Cut off the ends of the zucchini and then cut each one’s length in half (this makes the noodles a bit more manageable, not so long). Using a vegetable spiralizer, make zucchini noodles, catching the noodles with a large pan. Spread the noodles out on the pan and then sprinkle evenly with the salt. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the zucchini bake.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, dry roast the diced pepper and onion. Do not add oil or butter to the pan. Spread the pepper and onion evenly in the pan and let sit for a few minutes without stirring. You want to achieve some char. Then stir and let sit again, for about 7 minutes total, or until pepper and onion are softened and lightly charred. Transfer to a very large bowl. Then add the garlic and corn kernels to the same skillet. Dry roast these in the same manner, for about 5 minutes total. Remove to the very large bowl and add the chopped parsley.
- Place a large colander inside another bowl or pan and add the zucchini to the colander. Press on the zucchini with a large wooden spoon or spatula (or your hands) to push moisture out of the zucchini. After you have pressed out as much as you can, take a few paper towels and press on the zucchini to remove even more of the moisture. The moisture doesn’t have to be completely removed, but you do want to make a good effort to remove as much as you can. Add the zucchini noodles to the very large bowl. Fold to incorporate all the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, and butter. Stir in the Parmesan and 8 ounces of the shredded Mexican cheese. Pour over the vegetable mixture in the very large bowl and fold to combine thoroughly. Add zucchini mixture to your prepared pan, spreading it out evenly. Then add the remaining 4 ounces of cheese to the top, leaving an inch or two around the edges without cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper. Very lightly spray 1 side of a piece of foil with nonstick spray and loosely tent the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Then turn on the broiler and move the pan so that the cheese is about 6″ below the broiler. Broil until the bake is firmed up and the cheese is blistered. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
I love the flavors with the red pepper and roasted corn in this dish. It is gorgeous.
-Jamie
Thanks, Jamie! :)
Hi, I made this tonight (I love my spirializer too!) and it was really good. A little time consuming but well worth the work. Plus we got all our veggies in for the day! :-) Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you liked this, MaryAnn. It’s fun to have a different veggie side dish that tastes so good!
We just got our veggetti today! Can’t wait to try it out!
Have fun!!
Looks so comforting, and warm!! I have been wanting one of those vegetable cutters for a while — I think I should get one!
Thanks, Sharana! And, yes, I think you should get a spiralizer, too! :)
I need to make this now!
Yes, you do! :)
This is all kinds of brilliant. My family will love this!
Thank you so much, Liren. :)
Zucchini noodles are the best!
Yes. It didn’t take me long to fall in love!
I got a spiralizer last week. So fun. My family would love this recipe too.
Have so much delicious fun with your new kitchen toy! ;)
Like you, I resist new gadgets if at all possible. As a fellow blogger (sometimes food) I figure I shouldn’t be using things most people don’t already own. But I can’t resist this silly tool! So fun and visually appealing as well as quickening cooking I’m sure. Getting kids to eat their vegetables=priceless! I’m already thinking lunch box ideas and grilling fun. Thanks for giving in and sharing this delicious looking casserole. When my gadget gets here, I’m making it!!
It truly is a wonderful gadget to keep us interested in our veggies!
I bet my boys would love this dish! And you may have convinced me about the spiralizer. I, too, have small kitchen, but it sounds like this tool is worth it. Especially since I have 5 beast zucchini sitting on my counter waiting to be used. :)
Now I need to venture outside of zucchini and see what this machine can really do!
Well, you have just convinced me that I too need to purchase a spiralizer!!
Yay!! :)
LOVE this idea! We do not eat wheat and the idea of using the spiralizer is awesome! Can’t wait to get one:))) Of course the Fiesta is wonderful. Who wouldn’t love it:))
I hope you like using it, too!!
Now I have to go find THAT tool for my kitchen. Love the Fiesta ware too!
Ha! Kitchen tools are never ending, but sure do add interest to our meals. I refuse to eat boring meals! :)
I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a spiralizer for months! I’ve been seeing crazy delicious zucchini noodle concoctions everywhere and really think I need to get one.
I surely don’t regret it. Just love that texture for fresh salads, and it’s so pretty!
Loving the use of the in season veggies and yes, isn’t the spiralizer the best!? I love mine!
Oh and that baker is so pretty. Love the color!
Thanks, Tieghan!
Oh I’m SO glad you got one!!!! I’m telling you – aren’t they amazing? Now that you have it you’ll want to come up with new ways to use it, especially right now with all of the late summer produce. I am loving this dish and know my boys would go nuts for it!!
Yes, I know I now need to move beyond the zucchini. Our daughters want to do something with apples. Hmmmmm……..
LOVE, love this. Next summer I’m getting one of those fancy tools. I’d love for dinner tonight! :)
I can definitely imagine you making some gorgeous salads with this machine!
So THAT’S how those ‘noodles’ are made. I had no idea. I planted some zucchini in my flower beds. Much to my dismay I got mold on the leaves. Sniff. I thought it was all over. But this weekend I found one nice size zucchini hiding and waiting for me. Perfect timing with this wonderful recipe! Now I need to get one of those spiral makers.
I hope you give it a try, Carol. Super easy to use and adds so much interesting texture to fresh salads!
Look at you go with the summer squash! This recipe sounds amazing. I never thought of baking “zoodles” – what a great idea. I love my spiralizer too, and this was the first year I worked with it. Long live summer and thank you for the mentions of my book again :) xo
You are so welcome, Amanda. I’ve never eaten so much zucchini! ;)
This is my kind of comfort food and I’m loving that baker, so pretty!
Thank you, Gaby!