This cheesy keto zucchini gratin is an easy, creamy low carb side dish that’s perfect for using up fresh summer zucchini. If you’re looking for a simple keto zucchini recipe that actually gets eaten (even by picky eaters), this is the one!
You can skip the origin story for this easy keto zucchini gratin but using the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
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.
Cue this keto zucchini gratin…
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 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 I made this zucchini gratin, 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 time a keto dinner (complete with vegetables) goes on the table and nobody is whining or complaining?
That’s a win my friends – and I’ll take it!
Let me know in the comments if this zucchini gratin passed the test with your family!
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Easy Keto Zucchini Gratin – Low Carb
- Total Time: 56 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This Easy 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 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon 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.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 46 minutes
- Category: keto side dishes
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 x 3 square
- Calories: 230
- Fat: 20g
- Carbohydrates: 3g net
- Protein: 8g
More Zucchini Recipes You Will Love
If you’re overrun with extra zucchini, here are a few more low carb favorites:
Keto Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes w/ Mocha Frosting
Easy Four Cheese Pesto Zoodles
keto crispy baked zucchini slices – an edible mosaic
To get more fantastic keto recipes, download my super bundle of FIVE e-books for just $19.99!
MARGARET ADAMSON says
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?
Lynda du Cros says
Thanks for a great little recipe! Easy and delicious! Will be making this regularly.
Hannah says
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!
LisaJ says
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?
Brad says
You don’t need it. I’ve made this 20 times at least and never used it. Delicious.
RJ says
Subbed pepper jack cheese for Parmesan & cheddar. Crumbled bacon on top. ?
Shaundra Gutierrez says
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!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing your version with us!
Kathleen says
I loved this recipe. I added some mozzarella cheese and oregano on the top layer and it was so delicious. :)
chris says
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
Amy C. says
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.
Brittany says
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 !