Zucchini Ground Beef Taco Casserole is so delicious with its zucchini and cheese crust topped with a flavorful taco meat mixture and gooey melted cheese. Bonus: this is a family-friendly gluten-free, low carb, and keto taco casserole. Perfect, right? Let's make it.
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You'll ❤️ This Taco Casserole Recipe
Use Up That Zucchini
Got lots of zucchini growing in your garden? I do! In fact, I accidentally let a zucchini grow too large, so I used it in this recipe, and it made the perfect 4 cups of shredded zucchini.
FYI: The zucchini and cheese crust is delicious and adds amazing flavor! 🙂
Make Ahead
You can make this casserole ahead of time by baking and freezing it, or you can assemble it and keep it in the fridge the day before you want to bake this. You can also bake the casserole and eat it for several days for lunch.
Family-Friendly
This is a perfect casserole if you are a mixed-diet household. While this is a low-carb and keto-friendly recipe, it should work for almost everyone in your house, whether they are following a ketogenic diet or not. This will make your life easier.
Low Carb Keto Taco Casserole
With 37.3 grams of fat and only 4.2 grams of net carbs, this is a perfect keto dinner idea I love that this casserole is so satisfying and filling - and I'm not left wanting more after dinner! 🙂
🥘 What You'll Need
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this taco casserole recipe:
Fresh Zucchini - this recipe is great for using up all that zucchini in the garden.
Salt
Eggs
Pepper Jack Cheese - adding pepper jack cheese gives it a little more spice.
Cheddar Cheese - if you can, always fresh grate your cheese for best melting.
Ground Beef - I used 80/20 but you can go with any percentage you prefer.
Taco Seasoning - I use my own homemade taco seasoning recipe since it's so much healthier than store-bought packets.
Sour Cream - use lowfat or nonfat if you want to cut some calories and fat.
Salsa - use any brand and spice level that you like.
Optional - taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomato, green onion, olives, and sliced avocado.
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
🔪 How To Make It
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making this taco casserole recipe:
Make and Bake The Zucchini Crust
Preheat the oven to 400ºF
Drain shredded zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture.
In a large bowl, combine zucchini, eggs, half of the cheddar, and pepper jack cheese.
Spray a 13 x 9" baking dish with nonstick spray. Press mixture into the bottom of the dish and bake for 20 minutes.
Prepare Taco Meat
In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water. Cook until liquid is absorbed.
Add sour cream and salsa to the taco beef mixture and stir until combined.
Assemble Casserole
Spread the meat mixture evenly over the top of the zucchini crust. Top with the remaining half of the cheeses.
Bake Casserole
Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, approximately 20 minutes.
🥗 How To Serve
Here are a few ways to serve this low-carb and keto taco casserole recipe:
Top with your favorite taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomato, green onion, olives, and sliced avocado.
Serve with extra sour cream salsa and side of tortilla chips.
Mexican-style meal idea! Serve your taco bake with a side of Authentic Refried Beans and a fresh green salad with Avocado Dressing.
Make it vegan - the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian
💭 Top Tips
- Always use freshly grated cheese. Pre-grated cheese that comes from packages is coated to keep it from sticking. This coating also prevents the cheese from melting.
- Make sure that you've thoroughly removed the moisture from the zucchini. Sprinkling the salt over the zucchini while it sits draws out the moisture. Use your hands to gently squeeze the zucchini to wring the moisture out. If it still seems moist you can dab the zucchini with a paper towel.
❓FAQs
How can I lower the fat in this recipe?
You can lower the fat in this recipe by using lower-fat cheeses and by substituting a fat-free sour cream for regular sour cream. You can also use leaner ground beef or substitute a lower fat ground turkey or chicken. Enjoy!
Can I freeze it?
Yes, this taco bake is freezable! Bake and cool the casserole. Cover and freeze. To reheat, partially thaw the casserole overnight in your refrigerator. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to baking.
Note that if you have topped the casserole with fresh vegetables such as shredded lettuce, tomato, and green onion, these cannot be frozen. You will need to remove it before freezing.
Bake the casserole (uncovered) at 350º for 30 minutes or until heated through.
How long will taco casserole keep in the refrigerator?
Mexican taco casserole will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator after it has been baked. This casserole makes GREAT leftovers!
✔️ Related Recipes
Recipes with Zucchini
More zucchini recipes here! 🙂 I don't know about you, but I love to grow zucchini in the garden. When the zucchini plant starts producing - I'm always in need of good zucchini recipes. Over the years, I've developed a few favorites. Here you go:
- Low Carb Chicken Enchiladas
- Quick Stuffed Zucchini Taco Boats
- Baked Zucchini Casserole With Cheese
- Zucchini Carpaccio
- Herb Marinated BBQ Vegetables
More Casserole Recipes
Here are a few more of my favorite casserole recipe you might like to try!
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- EASY Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole
- Parmesan Chicken Casserole
- Reuben Bake With Meatballs
📋 Recipe
Taco Casserole Recipe
A crave-worthy taco casserole with the most delicious zucchini and cheese crust topped with flavorful taco meat and melted cheese. Your family will love it.
Ingredients
- 4 cup zucchini, unpeeled and shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated and divided
- 2 cup cheddar cheese, grated and divided
- 2 poounds ground beef 80/20
- 1 recipe taco seasoning mix or 1 store-bought packet
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup salsa
- Optional: taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomato, green onion, olives and sliced avocado
Instructions
Make and Bake The Crust
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Drain shredded zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture.
- In a large bowl, combine zucchini, eggs, half of cheddar, and pepper jack cheese.
- Spray a 13 x 9" casserole dish with nonstick spray. Press mixture into the bottom of the dish and bake for 20 minutes.
Prepare Taco Meat
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water. Cook until liquid is absorbed.
- Add sour cream and salsa to the meat and stir until combined.
Assemble Casserole
- Spread the meat mixture evenly over the top the zucchini crust. Top with the remaining half of the cheeses.
Bake Casserole
- Bake until cheese is bubbly, approximately 20 minutes.
Notes
Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
TOP TIPS: Ensure you remove as much moisture from the grated zucchini as possible. Sprinkling the salt over the zucchini while it sits draws out the moisture. Use your hands to gently squeeze the zucchini to wring the moisture out. If it still seems moist, you can dab the zucchini with a paper towel.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with your favorite taco toppings, refried beans, and fresh green salad with avocado dressing.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/8 casseroleAmount Per Serving: Calories: 589Total Fat: 37.3gCholesterol: 187.8mgSodium: 854.5mgCarbohydrates: 5gNet Carbohydrates: 4.2gFiber: 0.8gSugar: 1.5gProtein: 36.7g
Zucchini taco casserole is a delicious and healthy ground beef recipe. This taco casserole uses zucchini and cheese for a delicious crust and is topped with a flavorful taco beef mixture mixture and melted cheese! The perfect make-ahead Mexican recipe that is also freezable casserole - makes great leftovers too! Low carb and keto taco casserole recipe. #zucchini #tacos #zucchinirecipe #tacorecipe #tacocasserole #lowcarb #ketogenic #healthyrecipe #tacotuesday #groundbeefrecipe #mexicanrecipe
Sylvia says
Yum! Thank you for a great recipe.
Nancy says
I had pulled this recipe to use up some zucchini, but since we had mexican multiple times this week I decided to make this italian. Ricotta in place of sour cream, mozzarella and gruyere cheeses (what I had on hand), spaghetti sauce in place of salsa and italian seasoning. Basically wanted to try the zucchini crust and overall concept. Turned out very good. I'll definitely try the taco version next time! (I know its annoying when someone rates a recipe but doesn't really follow the recipe, but here I am!! LOL)
Kori says
I LOVE it, great idea!!!! Best comment ever. 🙂 LOL! Thank you for feeling inspired by the recipe to create something new! I'm super happy it turned out!! When you try the taco casserole version be sure to let me know what you think!
Sherry says
Excellent!! Cooked crust extra 10 minutes before putting meat mixture on. also used taco sauce instead of salsa (didn't have any on hand). Great use of that extra zucchini!!
Kori says
That's a great idea and sounds delicious! Thank you for trying out the recipe. I totally agree, it is a great way to use up zucchini - that's actually how I came up with this recipe LOL 🙂