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. Â 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. Â “What can I eat?” Â “I’m starving, do we have any snacks?” Â “Did you eat all the bacon again?” Â (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. Â 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. Â ?
Any timely keto dinner goes on the table and nobody is whining or complaining??? Â That’s a win my friends – and I’ll take it! Â ?
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
- Category: Low Carb Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
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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Kelley says
Zucchini was not done even after 45 minutes on 375 and my oven runs hot. You may want to steam or par boil. Cheese is always good.
★★
Steven says
You could try slicing the zucchini thinner – I sliced mine very thin with a sharp knife (42 slices on the one I counted) and they were all cooked through.
★★★★★
Julie Rochlin says
Could you use raw egg instead of xanthan gum. Thereby adding some protein and if so, would it be one or two eggs?
Mellissa Sevigny says
It will change the texture to more of a custard but yes you could probably mix some egg into the cream mixture before pouring. Two should do it.
Angie James says
Could I mix in yellow squash? I don’t have enough zucchini for the recipe. Would it turn out the same?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, that would work!
Shawnie says
Hi – what is the fiber g or Total Carbs for this meal. Im sure you have that info, otherwise you couldn’t calculate net carbs. Why didn’t you put it in for us Total Carb counters? :)
Thanks –
Sylvia says
This is a wonderful zucchini recipe. I didn’t have enough pepper jack cheese so I added cheddar and it turned out great. It was easy to put together and my husband loved it and had two helpings. This is definitely going to be a weekly dish for all the summer zucchini we have in the garden. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Sylvia – so happy it was a hit with both you and the hubby!
Jen says
Easy to make and so delicious. Used an Italian blend of cheeses and it came out like an Alfredo! I’ve never loved zucchini more than this dish. It’s in my regular rotation and can’t wait to try other veggies.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
High praise, Jen, thanks so much!
DURELL GRIFFIN says
Um… xanthan gum??? I’m sorry if this is a silly question but what is it? Where do you get it? What does it do, and is it necessary to make this recipe?
stephanie says
Baking isle…i believe its a thickener that is keto/low carb friendly. In my neck of the woods its right under/near the yeast
DURELL GRIFFIN says
Thanks so much!
Stephanie says
This recipe was SO good, and I don’t really even care for zucchini! This will definitely be my new go-to side dish for parties!
★★★★★
Stacy says
This may be my new favorite vegetable recipe. My husband had 3 helpings. This I had never happened with a vegetable. I had a huge bag of cheese left from our vacation. It was Mexican 4 cheese and it still worked wonderfully.
★★★★★
Scott Newhouse says
I am veggie challenged as well but this stuff rocked. I can see eating this once a week for sure
★★★★★
Patricia says
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.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Patricia, this is still one of my go to side dishes also!
Alicia says
Hi. I have a cows milk allergy, what could I substitute for the heavy cream?
Dan says
Full fat coconut milk or heavy coconut cream
Jenna says
Two questions,
• How thick are your slices? ¼ inch? Thinner?
• How much does 4 cups of sliced zucchini weigh?
Dawn says
I use my food processor to slice the zucchini. It works perfect and I would not do it any other way! 😊