This Easy Cheesy Keto Zucchini Gratin has become a staple in our house! It’s cheesy and creamy, super easy to throw together, and the perfect low carb side dish for your keto diet!
When Mr. Hungry decided to join me on keto recently to drop a few pounds after our carb heavy trip to the states in October, I had mixed feelings about it. He said he was doing it to lose weight and support me in my keto efforts, but as you wives know – that usually means more work for us. “What can I eat?” “I’m starving, do we have any snacks?” “Did you eat all the bacon again?” (Yes, yes I did.)
Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Hungry does more than his fair share around the house, but cooking is mostly my department. And that would be fine – except he hates 90% or more of the things I love to eat on keto.
So while I would be perfectly happy throwing some Better than Potatoes Cheesy Cauliflower Puree in a bowl for myself and calling it dinner (which I do a lot) – he won’t touch anything that has cauliflower in it with a 10 foot pole.
Or broccoli, or spinach, or pretty much any vegetable that isn’t potatoes. Which makes it really hard to make keto friendly meals that he’ll actually eat.
Zucchini is on the list of less offensive but not his favorite (i.e. “I don’t love it, but it doesn’t make me want to kill myself”) vegetables that I sometimes sneak in there.
Those of you with picky eaters in the family know the struggle. Whether it’s finicky kids or veggie phobic spouses, making something that everybody will eat and like is a challenge sometimes.
I find that to be true of keto side dishes most of all. Who doesn’t love a good steak or roasted chicken? But coming up with tasty low carb veggie side dishes that go with those main courses night after night can be a problem.
So when this Easy Cheesy Keto Zucchini Gratin went down and everybody liked it – I mentally high fived myself and made it a regular thing. You’re going to want to do the same when you try it!
I used pepper jack cheese the first few times and we love the mild heat that it adds – but if you prefer cheddar I tried that too and it’s also delicious.
In fact, I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with almost any cheese in this keto zucchini gratin – so you do you, it’s all good. ?
Any timely keto dinner goes on the table and nobody is whining or complaining??? That’s a win my friends – and I’ll take it! ?
Easy Cheesy Keto Zucchini Gratin Recipe Video ??
Easy Cheesy Zucchini Gratin – Low Carb & Keto
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 46 minutes
- Total Time: 56 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
This Easy Cheesy Zucchini Gratin has become a staple in our house! It’s cheesy and creamy, super easy to throw together, and the perfect low carb side dish for your keto diet!
Ingredients
- 4 cups sliced raw zucchini
- 1 small onion, peeled and sliced thin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).
- Grease a 9×9 or equivalent oven proof pan.
- Overlap 1/3 of the zucchini and onion slices in the pan, then season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
- Repeat two more times until you have three layers and have used up all of the zucchini, onions, and shredded cheese.
- Combine the garlic powder, butter, heavy cream, and xanthan gum in a microwave safe dish.
- Heat for one minute or until the butter has melted. Whisk until smooth.
- Gently pour the butter and cream mixture over the zucchini layers.
- Bake at 375 degrees (F) for about 45 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened and the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Depending on your zucchini, you may find it takes longer to cook in order to get your sauce to reduce. If you find it very watery after the 45 minutes, lower the oven temp to 350 and cook it another 10 minutes or so.
- Category: Low Carb Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 x 3 square
- Calories: 230
- Fat: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 3g net
- Protein: 8g
Keywords: keto, side dishes, zucchini, easy, low carb, Atkins, vegetarian, gratin
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I’m sure I posted how much I love this recipe before, but on the off chance I didn’t – LOVE IT. So easy to throw together and goes so well with a simple protein. I read a suggestion above about using Gruyere cheese which sounded wonderful. Will have to try that variation. Other than that, it is perfection whether making a small casserole or larger one for company.
Thanks Patricia, this is still one of my go to side dishes also!
Hi. I have a cows milk allergy, what could I substitute for the heavy cream?
Two questions,
• How thick are your slices? ¼ inch? Thinner?
• How much does 4 cups of sliced zucchini weigh?
This is delicious and completely satisfies my desire for potatoes au gratin. I use gruyere cheese instead of jack. Same carbs, mmmmmmm taste. Cheesy and rich. Mix the xanthan gum into the whipping cream with a fork before putting it in the microwave. Makes it less clumpy when you whisk it later.
★★★★★
This was AMAZING! I made it for Mother’s Day dinner and everyone raved about it…even my non-zucchini loving family members :-)
★★★★★
I doubled this recipe. It was delicious, as everyone has said. It wasn’t exactly too watery—more like too much liquid cream. I didn’t realize this until I spooned into it at the table and so didn’t cook it the extra time; will do this next time. Has anyone tried adding a couple of beaten eggs to make it more ‘custard-y’? Seems to me this would thicken it up. Quick answer would be much appreciated as I have guests coming for dinner Saturday and would love to make it for them.
I just made it and had it with my dinner and it was divine! Loads more for the next few days yum!
★★★★★
great recipe. i shared this in keto new zealand facebook page. and credited your website. I used mince zucchini using food processor and placed in tea towel to get rid of excess water. then baked as per recipe
What other veggies would you consider aside from zucchini? I love it but not a household fave by any means.
Gorgeous! Great replacement for potato gratin!
★★★★★
I have just found your recipe and as I live alone I usually try and make things that I can also freeze. Do htis recipe freeze well?
Thanks for a great little recipe! Easy and delicious! Will be making this regularly.
★★★★★
Loved this! I didn’t have xanathan gum so I used the same quantity of guar gum and it came out great. Next time I might use just a pinch more to make the sauce a little thicker, but the consistency was still very good. I made sure to choose very firm zucchini and didn’t have any issues with this being watery. Thanks for the easy recipe!
★★★★★
This looks so good! I love zucchini ? I’m new to low-carb and don’t have any xanthyn gum. Is there a substitute or can it be omitted?
You don’t need it. I’ve made this 20 times at least and never used it. Delicious.
★★★★★
Subbed pepper jack cheese for Parmesan & cheddar. Crumbled bacon on top. ?
Such a great dish that can be turned into a whole meal! I simply did 1.5x the liquid part of the recipe and added 1 1/3 lb (Costco) package of cooked ground beef. I made sure to sweat the zucchini and onion, which lowered the final cook time to 30 minutes. I layered the ground beef right over the onion layers and added parmesan cheese with the cheddar. I baked it in a greased 9×13 dish for 30 minutes. Thanks for the delicious recipe!!!
★★★★★
Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing your version with us!
I loved this recipe. I added some mozzarella cheese and oregano on the top layer and it was so delicious. :)
Gonna try this recipe with japanese eggplant as we have a ton from our garden. Eggplant and zukes are both used in lasagna recipes, so I hope this will be as good as other reviews
I never do reviews, but I was so pleasantly surprised at how delicious this was I had to share! I highly recommend. I will definitely make this again and again. I followed the recipe as stated.
★★★★★
Oh my goodness! This was absolutely delicious ! Made it when we had family come in town last minute for the day ! I subbed out pepper jack for gruyere cheeses. I also added 3/4 cup heavy cream. Baked it for the full 45 minutes then let it sit in turned off oven for additional 20. Came out perfect ! It was a huge hit with our guests who tend to turn their heads at alternative side dishes from traditional . One happened to be a 78 yr old man that has NEVER tasted zucchini because “it looked funny “. He went back for seconds ?? Although he claimed he was only eating it because in the south you eat whatever is cooked for you when you’re a guest ?. Either way, it is now in our regular rotation and thank you for such a great recipe !
★★★★★
Made this last night with zucchini from my garden, and substituted for the garlic powder 3 cloves of pressed fresh garlic from this year’s crop. Also forgot all about the onion, so have to add that next time. The result was terrific, but my fresh garlic must be way stronger than your powdered… I didn’t have to worry about vampires last night at all!! Next time, 2 cloves, or maybe only 1. Might also try adding some fresh herbs in with it, too, or diced jalapenos.
I, too, had excess moisture issues, even after baking it an extra 20 minutes, but just served it with a slotted spoon and it was fine.
Omg! My favorite dish as of now. I don’t know why but it is unbelievably delicious. My husband made it and said it was too watery so that next time he will try to add almond flour to it. I told him that if he changes anything to it I would divorce him ?
This was amazing!!! So delicious, I almost couldn’t stop eating it! It was perfect exactly the way it was written. Thanks!
★★★★★
I don’t have heavy whipping cream today…but I have canned coconut milk. What do you think of subbing that? Otherwise I will save this recipe for another day!
Personally I think the flavor will be weird since I never combine coconut milk with cheese. But maybe it can work, let us know if you try it.
Question- doyou peel the zucchini before making? Or leave peel on?? Thanks!
No.
Even my picky teenage daughter liked this. My teenage son got thirds and my husband asked if I would make it again. Sounds like a winner for our family!!
★★★★★
I made this today and it is SO GOOD! Like better than I thought it would be. I made it exactly as written except I salted the sliced zukes and left them on paper towels, changing out a few times over a few hours. My garlic powder clumped up on me in the microwave, not sure why. So we’re going on vacation next week and since we’re driving I had this amazing idea to cook/prepare everything ahead of time and freeze it so there’s no huge grocery run or working with a condo’s limited kitchen supplies. I really want to make this and freeze it and I can’t decide if I should bake it, cool it then freeze it or freeze it unbaked. Do you have any thoughts on that?? Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
★★★★★
This was absolutely amazing!! I made it exactly as written. Not watery at all. Very delish!! #keeper!!
★★★★★
This is a solid recipe. :-) It was easy and fast to make and came out delicious. My one critique is that like many other reviewers, there was so. much. water. I tried to head it off by sweating the veggies before baking, as others suggested but there was still a significant amount of water when it came out of the oven, even after giving it an extra 10 minutes of cooking time. That said, although this was a bit soupy the first night, it firmed up in the refrigerator overnight and we enjoyed the leftovers for several days. It is definitely one of those dishes that gets better later (which would make it perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish, since Thanksgiving is all about the leftovers. :-) Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★
I am histamine intolerant and there are few things that taste as indulgent as this fabulous recipe. Important note: due to histamine intolerance I substituted the Pepper Jack cheese for plain shredded mozzarella! This dish was so yummy and satisfying. Thank you for posting it!
★★★★★
Wendydawn I too am histamine intolerant! I have not come across anyone until now who is. Have you figured out all the foods that you cannot tolerate? I am having a rough time figuring out what I CAN eat. Any tips would be appreciated :)
This was very tasty and easy to make. The zucchini was soft and the cheese was crispy. Pepper jack cheese usually gives a good flavor and the family loved it. I’ll be making it again.
★★★★★
I made this tonight, turned out perfect. For the commenters saying it turned out watery, try sweating your onions and zucchini first. I sweat all veggies before making a casserole with them.
How do you sweat veggies?
SAUTE IN PAN UNTIL ALOT OF THE WATER COMES OUT AND THE VEGGIES ARE SOFTENED
Slice and lay it on paper towel, sprinkle salt on them and cover with paper towel. You can let them sit an hrif you want. Makes a big difference. I’ve made this recipe a dozen times now.
★★★★★
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner, and it was FANTASTIC! I layered the veggies and cheese a couple hours ahead and poured in the cream mixture just before baking. I was worried I might have too much liquid due to the prelayering, so I cooked it a little longer and at a higher temp than recommended and it was PERFECT. Thank you for a great husband (and kid) pleasing recipe!