{"id":197,"date":"2026-09-23T01:34:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/?p=197"},"modified":"2026-09-23T01:34:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:34:58","slug":"cheesy-tex-mex-zucchini-casserole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/?p=197","title":{"rendered":"Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Casserole"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1.5 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;3 medium zucchini, diced or quartered into bite-sized pieces&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning (or low-sodium Tex-Mex spice blend)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1\/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes (plus extra sliced in half for topping)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1 small yellow onion, diced&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;2 cloves garlic, minced&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1\/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1 1\/2 cups Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar &amp; Monterey Jack), shredded and divided&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;1 tbsp olive oil&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;Salt and black pepper, to taste&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;Fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Instructions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. <strong>Prep Oven:<\/strong> Preheat your oven to 375\u00b0F (190\u00b0C). Lightly grease a 9&#215;13-inch baking dish.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. <strong>Brown the Meat:<\/strong> Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and ground beef (or turkey). Cook for 6\u20138 minutes, breaking it apart, until browned. Drain excess fat.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. <strong>Season &amp; Combine:<\/strong> Stir in the minced garlic, taco seasoning, and diced zucchini. Saut\u00e9 for 3\u20134 minutes until the zucchini begins to soften slightly.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. <strong>Mix Sauce &amp; Cheese:<\/strong> Remove skillet from heat. Stir in the sour cream, diced cherry tomatoes, and 1 cup of the shredded Mexican cheese until combined.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5. <strong>Transfer &amp; Bake:<\/strong> Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining 1\/2 cup of shredded cheese and press halved cherry tomatoes cut-side up across the top.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6. <strong>Bake &amp; Serve:<\/strong> Bake uncovered for 25\u201330 minutes until the casserole is bubbly and the cheese is golden brown. Garnish with fresh cilantro before serving.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Comment <strong>&#8220;Bake&#8221;<\/strong> below if you love easy, low-carb Tex-Mex dinners! \ud83e\uddc0\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd\u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>6 Ingredients &nbsp;1.5 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;3 medium zucchini, diced or quartered into bite-sized pieces&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning (or low-sodium Tex-Mex spice blend)&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;1\/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes (plus extra sliced in half for topping)&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;1 small yellow onion, diced&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;2 cloves garlic, minced&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;1\/2 cup sour cream &#8230; <a title=\"Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Casserole\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/?p=197\" aria-label=\"Read more about Cheesy Tex-Mex Zucchini Casserole\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions\/199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookbook.el-maarifa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}