A vegetable and protein-packed breakfast dish, this recipe for cottage cheese zucchini breakfast casserole is a cheesy, fluffy and mouth-watering way to jump-start your day the healthy way!
I debated what to call this recipe for Cottage Cheese Zucchini Breakfast Casserole because putting cottage cheese in the recipe title is going to have a large number of people turning their heads saying, “Immediately no.” Then there’s a collection of cottage cheese die-hards out there who will be psyched. They’re living their glory days with the onslaught of cottage cheese-related content exploding on the internet right now. (Cottage cheese is certainly having a moment online.) And then there’s another group of people, whom I expect would be the majority, who are apathetic toward cottage cheese but happy to make a recipe that tastes good and especially interested in one that tastes extra cheesy with a nice little boost of protein from cottage cheese.
As long as you don’t fall in the “immediately no” category toward cottage cheese (and maybe even if you do because if it’s the texture that bothers you, it melts perfectly into an eggy casserole in this recipe), I think this is a recipe you will love!
Two things inspired this recipe. First, our garden. Who knew the girl with a black thumb who kills just about any indoor plant that crosses the threshold into her home could have a thriving garden!? Our first attempt at a garden this summer was a huge success with our zucchini plants taking top prize and producing the most fruit. The number of zucchini recipes I’ve made over the course of the past two months easy stretches into the double digits.
The second thing I was inspired by when creating this recipe was cottage cheese. My sister and her husband have been incorporating cottage cheese into recipes that often use shredded cheese for years… and with great success! (Their cottage cheese lasagna is incredible.) I took a page out of their book over the past few months and started using cottage cheese in more and more dishes and very quickly realized breakfast casseroles are the perfect place for creamy, protein-packed cottage cheese. It adds a wonderful cheesy flavor to the casserole and boosts the protein, something I’m always happy about since I often don’t naturally gravitate toward protein-rich foods (unless it’s seafood and then heck yes all day every day).
This cottage cheese zucchini casserole is fluffy, cheesy and makes the whole house smell fantastic. If you struggle with incorporating vegetables into your diet, especially in the morning, I love that this casserole feels like a delicious way to jump-start the day on a healthy note. It’s also very much a crowd pleaser (I made it for my family when they stayed with us earlier this summer) and even better when served with sliced avocado on top and fresh strawberries on the side.
Sign me up again and again for this one!
Cottage Cheese Zucchini Breakfast Casserole
Cottage Cheese Zucchini Breakfast Casserole
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 6 large slices 1x
Category: breakfast, vegetarian, casserole
Method: bake
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A vegetable and protein-packed breakfast dish, this recipe for cottage cheese zucchini breakfast casserole is a cheesy, fluffy and mouth-watering way to jump-start your day the healthy way!
- 3 small zucchinis, grated and squeezed a few times in paper towels to remove extra water
- 1 small onion, grated or finely diced
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 7 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Olive oil or cooking spray (for bottom of baking dish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine zucchini and onion in a large bowl. Stir in cottage cheese and eggs, taking care to break up the yolks and stir vigorously until everything is combined.
- In a separate bowl, Stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly pour flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir until the flour mixture is completely incorporated.
- Coat the bottom and sides of a 9×11 pan or casserole dish with olive oil or spray with cooking spray.
- Bake casserole for 50-60 minutes, until the center bounces back when touched lightly and the middle is cooked through. (Do not undercook or you risk a goopier dish!)
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 833mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 222mg
Keywords: cottage cheese zucchini breakfast casserole, breakfast casserole, zucchini breakfast casserole, cottage cheese zucchini casserole, zucchini breakfast casserole
Questions of the Day
Cottage cheese: Yay or nay?
Any favorite cottage cheese recipes to share? Please let me know and/or drop a link below so others can try it out, too!
