A low carb, gluten-free casserole with zucchini, sausage, egg and cheese.Perfect for an easy keto breakfast or dinner. Grain-free too.
My idea of convenience food has change drastically since I became low carb and gluten-free. I was never much for processed, pre-packaged food as it was, but now many other convenient food items are off-limits to me. Pasta is no longer an option, and the grad student dinner of champions, the old bagel and cream cheese, is not in my current repertoire. And those companies out there, coming up with easy-to-make meals for busy families? Some of them might be creating some gluten-free options, but gluten-free AND low carb is simply not on their radar. We are still the fringe, I am afraid. So beyond opening a can of tuna and eating it straight out of the can with a fork, convenience food doesn’t really exist for me.
I make the vast majority of my family’s food from scratch and the amount of time I spend in the kitchen has increased tenfold, maybe more. Granted, I have the luxury of time to spend in the kitchen because it’s now my job and I work from home. But even so, there are times when I am in desperate need of a quick meal to throw together that still meets my stringent ideas of healthy. Enter the Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Bake -which, quite honestly, I made for dinner the first time. Breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast, it hardly matters. This does take 40 minutes in the oven, but beyond the baking time, it doesn’t take much to throw together. Browning the sausage is maybe 7 minutes, grating the zucchini on a box grater takes 2. Beat the cream cheese with the eggs (and if you forget to soften your cream cheese, you can pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds), whisk in some coconut flour, stir in the zucchini and sausage, sprinkle the cheese, pop it in the oven, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax. Or if it’s morning, pour yourself a cup of coffee and relax.
This also works well as a make-ahead meal. We had it for Christmas morning and I cooked it the day before. We simply warmed it in a 300F oven for 20 or 30 minutes and it was ready to go by the time my kids had finished opening their stockings. And it makes a fantastic low carb hand-held meal while on a long car trip too. I took some with me on my 10 hour drive to and from Maine to drop my kids with their cousins after Christmas. That may not be everyone’s idea of convenience food, but it certainly is mine!
For the Zucchini Sausage Breakfast Bake Recipe, please check out A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine.
Looking for more delicious casseroles? Check out this Spiralized Zucchini Casserole with Red Peppers, Spinach and Artichokes.
Karen says
I needed to halve this recipe because I only had half the amount of sausage called for, so I ended up making them as muffins. They came out great! I was able to get eleven muffins with half the recipe. Also, I used sweet Italian sausage instead of hot.
Evelyn Hunter says
Since I’m a vegetarian , I plan to use vegetarian sausage in the recipe, it should work,
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Carolyn Knapp says
What is your fav brand of veggie sausage? Thanks
Anna says
The first time I made this, it became an instant family hit. I’ve made it three or four times so far, using different sausages and cheeses, and the family gobbles it up each and every time. Goes without saying that this recipe is in regular rotation in our house. Thank you, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it. It’s in regular rotation at our house too and is my go-to brunch recipe when I have to take something to a brunch.
Sharon says
Can you give the nutritional info? I did not see any specifics with regard to carbs and calories.
Carolyn says
If you click through to the recipe on A Sweet Life, you will see it at the bottom: Serves:
12
Nutrition Info:
344 Calories; 27g Fat (71.2% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 236mg Cholesterol; 736mg Sodium.
– See more at: http://asweetlife.org/recipes/zucchini-sausage-breakfast-bake/#sthash.xZ0ocHoz.dpuf
Terry S says
They left out the carb count but the fiber count is there.
Eva says
Do you think coconut cream would be a good sub for the cream cheese? Or better to just leave it out all together to make it dairy free (I think cream cheese was the only dairy–can’t remember for sure now)?
Carolyn says
I’ve never used coconut cream so I am unsure of the consistency but I can’t see why not. This recipe would be quite forgiving in that regard. There is also cheese on top but you could leave that off.
Eva says
Awesome! Thanks!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
I love make-ahead breakfasts. It’s so nice to wake up and remember that I can have a hot yummy meal in 20 minutes!
Susan Pelter says
This looks delish and I will be trying it. On the fast food front, there is a chain here in Florida called Pollo Tropical where you can go through the drive-through and get mojo pork or rotisserie chicken and veggies, including green beans and yummy marinated tomatoes. You have to exercise some willpower not to order the yuca or black beans and rice, but the food is delish, low-carb, and sure beats the chemical-laden junk you get at most fast food places.
Philis says
With your experience, do you think butter would work as a substitute for cream cheese? Thanks.
Carolyn says
No, it won’t. Cream cheese is much drier and has less fat than butter. I think you would end up with a soggy, oily mess.
Kathy says
We had this for supper tonight and it exceeded my expectations. I plan on having it for breakfast tomorrow too! Using the basic batter proportions, and retaining the zucchini, I know that we can enjoy numerous variations changing up the cheese and fillings…ham and mushroom for another breakfast rendition, and perhaps ground beef, peppers and salsa for a south west version, pepperoni and peppers for an Italian one…. Yes, this will be our convenience food too. I used the food processor to grate the zucchini and cheese separately, put them aside in bowls, then used the food processor to combine all the other ingredients, then mixed that with the grated zucchini, so the preparation was quite fast, and certainly easy.
Carolyn says
I love hearing that it exceeded expectations! Thanks!
Arthur in the Garden! says
Yummy!
John George says
Where is the recipe?
Carolyn says
Click on the link at the bottom of the post
Susan says
I think we may be lucky that there are few fast food options. The more we cook and bake with real food, the better off we are. That’s why I appreciate the work you do!
Carolyn says
Agreed, Susan!
Lorraine says
Have you tried the bread products from the Great Low Carb Bread Company? They are far superior to the disgusting paleo bread I tried and only 1g net carb per slice. You can buy they direct from their website or through http://www.netrition.com.
Unlike other breads I tried, these toast and grill just like regular bread, although they don’t have a strong taste (the white bread has no taste). They also make bagels in a variety of flavors as well as hamburger buns, onion rolls, and dinner rolls. These are smaller than traditional products, and a bit drier, but work well. Bagels are 16g carbs with 14g fiber for net 2g.
One of the best fast food things I’ve done is order an Arby’s roast beef sandwich to go and switch out the bun for the low carb onion roll.
You can also find low carb tortillas at netrition.com. Besides making my own tacos, I can now order a burrito bowl (chicken, cheese, romaine, and mild salsa) from Chipotle as a filling for my own tortillas. They are 3g net carbs for each tortilla.
Another find was low carb yogurt at King Soopers at 4g net carbs. I’ve checked many grocery stores and it’s the only one with a low carb yogurt product. I eat it with a spoonful of chopped roasted almonds – yum!
I’ve just started learning to make my own low carb baked goods, it’s quite the chemistry experiment, and appreciate the recipes I find here.
Maureen says
Just made it and it is delish. Although I used regular sausage. Chicken to use the hot stuff. 🙂 What kind of coconut flour do you use Carolyn? I am out and looking for a good brand.
Thanks for all your great recipes! Love this site!
Carolyn says
I use Bob’s Red Mill brand.
Sarah G says
Looks good! Is it a bread-y consistency or more like a quiche consistency?
Carolyn says
It’s somewhere between the two, actually. It holds together like bread…it’s almost like an egg strata or a bread pudding.
Corey says
This looks great! Can you substitute other low carb flours for the coconut? I never understand how that works. (Soy or almond?)
Carolyn says
If you want to sub almond flour, I’d use at least a full cup, if not a cup and a quarter. I don’t use soy flour any more so I am really not sure how to sub that in.
Don says
I have substituted with almond when I make this and only use the required 1/2 cup, there are so many variations of this you can do to lower the carbs or to just keep it low carb. We love it!! great breakfast for on the go.
Sarah G says
Ok, thanks!
tea says
” And those companies out there, coming up with easy-to-make meals for busy families? Some of them might be creating some gluten-free options, but gluten-free AND low carb is simply not on their radar. We are still the fringe, I am afraid.”
Isn’t that the frustrating truth?? I find low fat EVERYTHING, nonfat everything, but sugar free or low carb is, even in our good grocery store, an endangered species. I don’t understand it!!!
We have a version of this bake with canned green chilies, pepper jack and spicy Tofurky sausages. Quelle tasty!
Isabelle says
“I find low fat EVERYTHING, nonfat everything, but sugar free or low carb is, even in our good grocery store, an endangered species. I don’t understand it!!!”
I finally understand it – Sugar is cheap!
Carolyn says
And government subsidized!