Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake

October 20, 2009 · Filed Under Friday Foodie Fix, Slightly Indulgent, chicken, dairy free, easy, entree, gluten free, recipe 

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays (go visit now … mini-pumpkin spice cheesecakes, Amazon gift card giveaway, and many more wonderful recipes), Friday Foodie Fix–Chicken (check it out … 25 great chicken recipes so far!), and What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free? (Linda’s weekly roundup–always a great mix of recipes).

Chicken Zucchini Dish

I’ve been making this Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake a lot lately. Doesn’t it look delicious? It’s my main dish version of the side/vegetarian dish that Ali (The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen) made a while back. When I saw her recipe for Zucchini Bake, with almond flour and olive oil combined for a ricotta-type taste, I decided to make it for our subsequent support group meeting. Everyone loved it—whether dairy free or not.

A few nights later, dinnertime was approaching and I had no idea what I was going to cook. Yep, that’s right … I don’t always plan my dinners. I’m not the type who runs out to the grocery store though, because as much as I love food, I hate going to the grocery store. So I shopped in my freezer and refrigerator. I looked in the freezer for any meat or fish item that I could cook quickly. I pulled out some chicken tenderloins—basically boneless chicken breasts cut into smaller slivers for quicker cooking. I had no idea how I’d prepare them at the time. Then, the refrigerator yielded the following items that seemed like the makings of a dinner: a few zucchini left from my purchase to make Ali’s recipe, a little pizza sauce left in a jar from one of my flourless pizzas, and some grated cheese that remained from making tacos. There were more onions in the pantry. Suddenly, the idea for this casserole dish was born. Mr. GFE was only slightly surprised that I’d pulled a rabbit out of hat, so to speak. The man is spoiled. He’s come to expect great things from me when I just throw some things together. Most of the time that works out …

When Son came home from college recently to pick up some items, we were both at work. He found the last of the Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake leftovers. He called me at work and started talking animatedly about the dish. I wasn’t sure at first if he liked it or hated it. He was using some of his generation’s lingo, which made no sense to me. Oh, no, I thought. There were onions in the dish and he doesn’t really like onions. I hesitantly asked for a translation on his terms, i.e., if he liked it, and he replied, “It’s awesome, Mom.” He added, “You know how much I love zucchini.” He added that he didn’t mind the onions, because the combination of flavors tasted so good and the onion flavor was “not too strong.” Success!

You can replace the almond flour with some bread crumbs if you like. I don’t use gluten free bread crumbs often, but when I do I normally just toast some Van’s gluten-free waffles and use my mini-chopper to grind them into crumbs the size I want. Van’s is one of the few gluten-free specialty items I use upon occasion. I very rarely eat them as waffles any more. I started to make my sister’s crab casserole for a holiday meal a few years back and discovered I was out of gluten-free bread crumbs. The only gluten-free bread I had of any type was Van’s waffles. So, I substituted my “waffle breadcrumbs” and everyone said the casserole was better than ever. Now I don’t worry with buying gluten-free bread crumbs, most of which I don’t care for, and all of which are pretty darned expensive. Van’s waffles are much more reasonable and you can make as many bread crumbs as you like in just a minute or two.

If you eat dairy, you can also replace the almond flour with some Parmesan cheese or even skip the almond flour AND olive oil and use some actual ricotta cheese. Some tomato slices in the mix would be very tasty, too. Be creative and use what you have on hand. Note that while it looks like I used a whole lot of cheese as topping, I actually used very little. If you add the cheese to any dish towards the end of the cooking time, you can use a lot less and it will still be soft and delicate, so to speak. If you top the chicken with a little more almond flour versus cheese for a dairy-free version, you may want to place the dish under the broiler a minute or two to ensure adequate browning.
 
Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

extra virgin olive oil, about ¼ cup in total
2 – 3 zucchinis, sliced
1 large onion, sliced and cut into crescent pieces (either sweet or yellow will work)
blanched almond flour, about ½ cup in total
seasoning of your choice (I used pizza seasoning, which is similar to Italian seasoning, but a little zestier), about one tablespoon
chicken tenderloins (as much as you like)
sauce of your choice (e.g., pizza, marinara), about 1/3 cup
grated cheese of your choice, if desired, about 1/3 cup (or more if you like) OR a little more almond flour for dairy-free version

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish (or similar).

Add layer of zucchini (half of what you have sliced).

Add layer of onions and sprinkle with seasoning.

Sprinkle almond flour over the onions. (A couple of tablespoons will work.)

Repeat layering once (or until your ingredients are used up).

Top with chicken tenderloins.

Spoon sauce over tenderloins evenly. Drizzle a little more olive oil over sauce-covered chicken.

Chicken Zucchini Bake

After 30 minutes of baking, sprinkle cheese (or a little more almond flour) over sauce-covered chicken. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until done. Note: If you use almond flour as topping on the sauce-covered chicken, you may want to put dish under broiler for a minute or two to ensure browning.

Chicken Zucchini Bake Pan

Adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

Now your dinner is complete … all in one dish. Savor!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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Comments

29 Responses to “Cheesy Chicken Zucchini Bake”

  1. SnoWhite on October 20th, 2009 7:29 am

    That looks really tasty! I’d have to use another flour in place of the almond (since I’m allergic to nuts), but i think that should be an easy change. Yummy!

    Reply
    • Raye Ann on October 20th, 2009 12:59 pm

      I am allergic to dairy and my nephew is allergic to nuts. A lot of the time I use ground sesame seed or sesame mill with a pinch of salt for my cheese sub. Since I have never really been able to find sesame mill I make it myself using a coffee grinder.

      Reply
      • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:15 pm

        Hey, Raye Ann–Welcome to gfe! Thanks so much for sharing that tip on using sesame seed or mill and using a coffee grinder! That’s two tips in one—very helpful for all who need dairy-free and nut-free alternatives. If you try your substitution in this recipe, please let us know how it turns out. :-)

        Hope to see you here at gfe again—thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
        Shirley

        Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:05 pm

      SnoWhite–Hi there! If you do dairy, you could use some dairy. Otherwise, I think you might be able to make a white sauce using non-dairy milk. Here’s a recipe for non-dairy Alfredo sauce that got good reviews and might be worth a try. I’m sure google would turn up some more. Also, Kelly at The Spunky Coconut makes a lot of non-dairy sauces that are super creamy using cashews.

      Hope that helps!
      Shirley

      Reply
  2. H.Peter on October 20th, 2009 7:38 am

    An excellent combination. And it does look delicious. Parmesan for me.

    Chicken Tenderloin. I gotta remember that one.

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:08 pm

      H.Peter–Glad you like the looks of this one! Parmesan is a really good choice to use when layering the zucchini and onions. :-) I think they came up wiht the name chicken tenderloin because it just sounds so much more appealing than say something like skinny pieces of chicken breasts. ;-) The smaller pieces are really great in this recipe. Just make some chicken tenderloins of your own using kitchen shears and boneless chicken breasts. ;-)

      Thanks!
      Shirley

      Reply
  3. Jennifer R. on October 20th, 2009 12:43 pm

    Shirley, that does look yummy!! I bet if you lived closer to Wegman’s, you would enjoy going to the grocery store (I sure do!!). Yesterday, they were out of organic kale, and I talked to someone in the produce department and he would put in a special order for me. I will pick up tonight (while Kyle is at soccer practice). Love that service! (Guess I should wait to see if it’s actually in before I rave too much about Wegman’s).

    Hope you are having fun at the POM tour! I’ve seen your picture on another blog — LOL!!

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:12 pm

      Hey, Jennifer–I don’t know … I have a hard time parting with large sums of money and negotiating tons of people and parking shortages, too. LOL I’m so glad they put in a special order for you … I like that kind of customer service!! Instead of our produce assistants who don’t even know what figs are. ;-)

      LOL on seeing me elsewhere … I’ll upload some pics to Facebook later perhaps. :-) This has been an incredible experience! Today we flew over the orchards, toured the orchards and picked pomegranates, etc. Just very cool. Great folks!

      Shirley

      Reply
  4. Diane-The WHOLE Gang on October 20th, 2009 1:18 pm

    YUM!!! This looks so good. I wonder how different it would taste without the cheese. That cheese looks so amazing. It makes me want to eat cheese. Now I have to go find chicken in my freezer too. I might have to make this for lunch. Thank you for sharing it on Friday Foodie Fix!

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:18 pm

      Diane–No, no cheese for you … remember how it makes you feel (and know I can identify with that … hence less cheese here). Try one of the substitutions offered in these comments … Raye Ann’s sesame see or mill cheese sub or the non-dairy Alfredo sauce as topping in place of the cheese. And, please let us know if it works out for you. Oh, now that I’m re-reading your comment, maybe you already tried it … hmmm, let us know.

      Shirley

      Reply
  5. Linda on October 20th, 2009 2:33 pm

    This sounds really yummy! I’m sure it is something my family will like. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:19 pm

      Hey Linda–Thanks so much. :-) I hope your family will like it. Not too many ingredients, but a great combo and very easy!

      Shirley

      Reply
  6. Nance on October 20th, 2009 4:25 pm

    Looks positively terrific. I’ll sub in AP flour–I’m sure it will be the same, right?

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:21 pm

      Hey Nance–Subbing AP flour works great for baking recipes (like treats), but in this recipe, I’d just substitute some Parmesan or Romano cheese since you eat dairy. I bet that would be really tasty! The topping cheese can be any kind … cheddar, a Jack combo, etc.

      Shirley

      Reply
  7. Lauren on October 20th, 2009 6:05 pm

    Okay – Yum. I need some zucchini now, please =D.

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 20th, 2009 9:22 pm

      Hi Lauren!–Go get some zucchini from a friend’s garden or in your closest produce section. ;-) Enjoy!

      Shirley

      Reply
  8. Alisa - Frugal Foodie on October 20th, 2009 9:36 pm

    Oh yum! I am all about almond flour and nuts in general lately :)

    Reply
  9. Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free on October 21st, 2009 11:33 am

    This looks so yummy – it’s chilly and raining in Dallas today and this looks like great comfort food – even though it’s so darn good for you.

    I love your creative GFE recipes – always winners. Thanks so much for linking to Slightly Indulgent Mondays!

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 23rd, 2009 11:09 pm

      Amy–I was glad I flew out a day later from CA, so I didn’t have to fly through DFW in the rain. I don’t much like flying in anything other than clear skies. Rain is great for comfort food like you said though.

      Thanks for the gfe love! ;-) I’ve been loving Slightly Indulgent Mondays and I’m really looking forward to the Holiday Food Fest in November and December. :-)

      Shirley

      Reply
  10. christina on October 22nd, 2009 12:48 am

    This looks really great! I don’t like going to the grocery store either. But I’ve joined a co-op, Azure Standard, that delivers my groceries and health food items once a month. I’m loving that!

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 23rd, 2009 11:14 pm

      Christina–Hey there! Oh my goodness, I am so soooo jealous regarding your grocery and health food delivery! Of course, you love it, lucky girl. :-) But, I want that, too … wanngggggg ….

      Shirley

      Reply
  11. Jenn/CinnamonQuill on October 22nd, 2009 10:53 am

    I’ve got to try baking zucchini like this!

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 23rd, 2009 11:23 pm

      Hey Jenn–Yes, you should … I think you’d really love it! :-)

      Shirley

      Reply
  12. Brian on October 22nd, 2009 12:11 pm

    This looks great! I’m always in search of a new way to make chicken interesting. I’ll have to try this. Thanks Shirley.

    Reply
    • Shirley on October 23rd, 2009 11:26 pm

      Hey Brian!–Thanks so much. I agree … I’m always on the lookout for new chicken recipes. I’m glad I was “in a bind” and both necessity and remembering Ali’s recipe allowed me to come up with this dish. It has so many variations, too. ;-)

      Shirley

      Reply

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