Okay, so the name Million Dollar Zucchini Skillet is a little dramatic, but I had to figure out a way to set this recipe apart from other zucchini skillet recipes.
Don’t get me wrong. All of the zucchini skillet recipes I’ve posted are good, but this one–THIS ONE is the BEST! Simple things like using fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes, and finely chopping some celery in with the onion, garlic and carrot, really make this dish sing.
In fact, we loved it so much we made it three nights in a row. My oldest now claims it as his third favorite dinner. Chimichangas are his first, and Baked Teriyaki Chicken is his second. He kind of cracks me up. His top two are a little fancy, and then there’s Zucchini Skillet. It’s like the nerdy kid that somehow managed to make a name for himself with the cool kids.
If you like skillet recipes, try these:
- The Best Skillet Potatoes with Cheese and Bacon
- Zucchini Taco Skillet
- Kielbasa Rice and Veggie Skillet
- Chicken Taco and Rice Skillet Dinner
- Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet with Kielbasa
- Chicken Zucchini Skillet with Cannellini Beans
This dinner is naturally gluten-free. Also, for those who don’t do dairy, if you skip the cheese on top, it is also dairy-free. With that said, if dairy isn’t a problem for you, I strongly suggest lots of cheese on top. YUM!!!!
If you have a spiralizer, this recipe works great with spiralized zucchini, too. My sister-in-law gave me this one for Christmas. The kids love to use it. It’s a very simple design and easy to use and clean.
I know I’ve mentioned a time or two in the past that I love to cook. That is still true, but the older my kids get, the older and more tired I get, which makes preparing dinner feel more overwhelming than it ever has in the past. I used to love the time it took to prep dinner. It was relaxing for me. Now it just makes me anxious, especially if I know I have three million things to do and to get people places.
One way I’m working through this slump and doing my best to still put homemade meals on the table is by having go-to skillet, crockpot, and “throw-it-together and toss-it-in-the-oven for two hours” kind of meals. Basically, the only time I make a meal that causes me to have to be in the kitchen prepping for more than 20-30 minutes is on Sunday or special occasions.
One of my favorite shortcuts for this Million Dollar Zucchini Skillet is my food processor. It chops up the vegetables in no time and allows me to sneak more vegetables into our meals. 🙂 My food processor is part of a Ninja Blender System I bought myself for our wedding anniversary 2 years ago. I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It is a permanent fixture on our counter because I (we) use it so much. It has the food processor attachment, a blender, and a magic bullet nutra-blender attachment.
Without a food processor, I would have to finely chop or grate all of the veggies in this recipe. A task that would take at least 15-20 minutes. But with the Ninja, I just throw them all in, hit the magic button, and ten seconds later everything is in tiny almost unrecognizable (once cooked) pieces. It’s so great!
My Ninja is worth its weight in gold. It has been used almost every day, if not multiple times a day since I bought it. Cooking is fun and quicker when you have the right tools. Do yourself a favor! If you don’t already have some kind of food processor, make it a priority to get one. You’ll be so happy you did. My sister had one like this before she caved and got a Ninja like mine. It worked great and is a great option if you don’t have the space for a big one.
By the way, this is not a sponsored post. I just love my Ninja.
I got off on a little food processor tangent. Can’t help it. I’m becoming more and more passionate about making dinner prep as quick and painless as possible.
how to make million dollar zucchini skillet
- Cut your zucchini’s lengthwise down the middle and slice 1/4-inch-thick pieces into half-moon shapes.
- Pour olive oil into a large, deep skillet. Add Italian Sausage and cook over medium-high heat until browned.
- Place celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in the food processor.
- Process into very small pieces, pea-size or smaller. If you don’t have a processor, grate or finely dice them.
- Add the finely chopped or processed veggies to the skillet. Mix well.
- Add diced tomatoes, rice, water, brown sugar, salt, basil, parsley, and oregano. Mix well.
- Add zucchini pieces and mix. Get as much of the mixture under the liquid as possible. Bring to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until zucchini is tender and rice is cooked.
- Remove from heat. Remove lid and sprinkle with cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt.
Tips for making Million Dollar Zucchini Skillet
- Remove casings from Italian sausage.
- Use a food processor to finely chop veggies.
- For best flavor, use fired roasted diced tomatoes.
- After sprinkling the mixture with cheese, place the lid back on the skillet to melt the cheese faster.
More Amazing Zucchini Recipes
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 lbs Italian Sausage, casings removed
- 4 small-medium zucchini or yellow squash (4-6 cups of quartered or halved slices)
- 1 large or two small celery stalks
- 16 baby carrots or 2 small regular carrots, peeled
- ½ of a medium onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
- ½ cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
- 1 cup of water
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp basil
- ½ tsp parsley
- ¼ tsp oregano
- 1-2 cups of Colby Jack or Mozzarella Cheese
- Cut your zucchini's lengthwise down the middle and slice ¼-inch-thick pieces into half-moon shapes. If the zucchinis are larger, slice them lengthwise again. Then, cut into quartered slices. Set aside.
- Pour olive oil into a large, deep skillet. Add Italian Sausage and cook over medium-high heat until browned.
- Place celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in the food processor. Process into very small pieces, pea-size or smaller. If you don't have a processor, grate or finely dice them.
- Add the finely chopped or processed veggies to the skillet.
- Add diced tomatoes, rice, water, brown sugar, salt, basil, parsley, and oregano. Mix well.
- Add zucchini pieces and mix. Get as much of the mixture under the liquid as possible. Bring to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until zucchini is tender and rice is cooked.
- Remove from heat. Remove lid and sprinkle with cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt while you set the table or round everyone up for dinner.
- Enjoy!
More Easy Dinners
Thanks for the recipe. Just made it & it is delicious! I didn’t have rice but quinoa worked great & my husband loves it!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yum! I will have to try it with Quinoa, so glad you like it!
Delicious..do you think noodles would work in place of rice?
That a good idea Susan, I haven’t ever tried it but as long as you only use 8 ounces and 2 cups of water and let it simmer covered for 30 minutes it should work.
Do you have nutrition facts for this recipe?
Great dish and love that it is full of veggies.
Will this freeze?
I’ve never tried it, but there isn’t anything in it that shouldn’t freeze well, so it should work. 🙂
So good! I just made it in my instantpot and it worked so well!! I will definitely make this again.
Awesome! Love hearing that it worked in the instant pot!
I assume the sausage should be crumbles and browned or sliced and browned???
Hi Lola, crumbled and browned.
I made this for my husband, and he thought it was amazing! I am in the process of making it for my daughter and family this evening. I hope they enjoy it as much as we did!
Yay! I love hearing this Anita! I hope they like it too!
Has anyone tried it meatless w quinoa? Wondering if still just as good
I was wondering the same as we are meatless. I would be willing to try it and add mushrooms..( maybe shiitake for flavor or several diff kinds) in place of the sausage w some added spices to kick up what would be missing
Yummy!! Can’t have dairy so I just left it out and substituted the water for veggie broth and it was delicious!!
Awesome! Great call with the veggie broth!
Just made this. Used Italian seasoned ground turkey. Hubs really liked it!
Awesome I love hearing that! I’ll have to try it with the Italian seasoned turkey…great way to make it even healthier!
I wonder what the calorie count would be.
I don’t have that info. You can try entering the ingredients into a site that figures those things for you.
Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Evelyn. 🙂
Is the brown sugar really essential? I try to stay away from to much sugar, diabetic.
No, I just feel like a little sugar always rounds out a tomato based dish. It will be fine if you leave it out.
This was amazing! Even my 16 month old son loved it and we’ve been struggling to get him to eat veggies! So thank you!!
Yay! I absolutely love hearing that Sonja!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I used ground beef instead of Italian sausage. Also added mushrooms. Will be adding this to my dinner recipe rotation!
Yummy those changes sound delicious. I am so glad your loved it! Yay!
Maria!
I have made this meal probably at least 50 times in the last 4 years. My family LOVES it and it freezes beautifully. I always double it and freeze the extra for later.
Here are my tricks I do when I make this:
– I put the carrots, garlic, celery, and onion in a blender. I used to worry about it being “pea sized” instead of “blended” but I made it tonight with blending them and it tasted the same!
– I steam the zucchini and squash while I’m working on the meat. It’s more dishes, but it takes about 20-30 minutes off the total cook time.
-I use microwave packs of rice and quinoa instead of cooking rice. This saves me 10-15 minutes too.
– I mix cheese into it while it’s hot so it melts, but I add a layer of cheese when I freeze it, so I know how much longer it needs in the oven.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I started using it as a newly wed and now my 2 year old daughter ask for seconds THREE TIMES tonight! Thank you again!!
Yay! I am so glad you like this meal! I love hearing your tips and ideas for making it quick and even healthier! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment! I especially love hearing that your little girl loves it! 🙂
We love this recipe! Tonight my son chose it as his birthday dinner! ❤️ It’s got everything we love and it’s easy to adjust if we have less of some things. Thank you!
That makes me so happy! I LOVE that your son chose it for his bday dinner!