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 that 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 Sundays 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 a 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 zucchinis 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 the 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 the 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.
Chef’s Tools:
More Amazing Zucchini Recipes
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 lb 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 zucchinis 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 25-30 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.
This is delicious!!! We loved the recipe. Definitely a keeper!!! It is also good for the summer when there’s a lot of fresh veggies to use.
Yes! So glad you liked it Louise!
Do you have nutrition facts for this recipe?
All time favorite! Everyone always gobbles it up. #augustgiveaway
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!
How do you know how to make this in the instant pot? Can you share how you did it?
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!
Great dish! Made it tonight and it’s very tasty. 😊 My one question is do you drain the fat from the meat or no? Thanks!
Hi Jane, I don’t drain the fat, but it would be totally fine if you wanted to do that after browning it and before adding the remaining ingredients.
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. 🙂
I’m going to try this using cauliflower instead of the rice….
Great idea!
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!
These recipe is excellent. I made it in my pressure cooker. I only added 2 cups of water instead of 1. My Husband loved it to. It’s a sure winner.
That’s awesome, glad to know it worked in the pressure cooker!
I only know how to use my instant pot with a recipe. How do you know how to cook this in the pressure cooker?
I hardly ever cook anymore. But I made this last night. It was yummy. But so much food for two of us, so I froze the leftovers. I’ll see how that works out. 😊
#julygiveaway
So glad I came across this recipe! My fridge is over flowing with zucchini waiting to be used. #julygiveaway
I made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it!!! We grow a big vegetable garden every year so I am always looking for new recipes to use my vegetables in. This is a keeper!! I will definitely be making it again and again!! I shared the recipe with some friends.
Yay! I LOVE hearing this Carol! This is definitely a favorite at our house too!
This is sooooo easy and very delicious. The kids love it too! It’s a winner. #julygiveaway
Made this for my husband and I last night and we loved it! We both went for seconds! Definitely making this again. #augustgiveaway
Yay! I love hearing that Kaylie!
#augustgiveaway
One of our favorites! Been making this every summer for the last few years. Even my little girls gobble it up! #augustgiveaways
This looks so good! What a great way to use up a bunch of zucchini and have a nutrient dense dinner!
Thank you! I love that it uses so much zucchini too!
Thanks for sharing! Does it reheat well?
You’re welcome, and yes, it reheats really well.
Loved this recipe, but made it with long grain brown rice and the rice just wouldn’t cook through! Next time I will cook it separately.
Oh yes, the darn brown rice just takes so long to cook. Cooking it first is a good idea if you prefer the brown rice.
This was so good! And easy! Thank you so much for the recipe! I used cualiflower rice instead of regular rice. I probably didn’t need to add the cup of water, so I won’t do that the next time. Cuz of course the cualiflower rice doesn’t swell. So there was alot of liquid! A big hit though!! Making it again!!!❤️
Awesome! Great idea with the cauliflower rice, I love the idea of adding another veggie to this delicious skillet. Definitely a family fave, so glad you found the recipe and liked it!
This really is the Million Dollar Zucchini Recipe! We absolutely loved it! The flavors just pop and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s going in to my Family Cookbook (I will give you the credit for sure.) Thank you and good job!
Awesome! I love hearing that Mitzie!
Very tasty recipe! Will definitely have again! I do like my casseroles chunky so I chopped the vegetables instead of using the food processor and I used 8 oz of ziti pasta (cooked separately and added at the end to simmer a bit) instead of rice. Other than that I followed the recipe closely. It turned out great!
Yum, sounds delicious Jane!
I used turkey Italian sausage, brown minute rice and more water to make sure the brown rice cooked. It was delicious and a perfect dish to freeze in small portions for my in-laws.
Yum! Sounds delicious and healthy! So glad you liked the recipe and it is an easy meal for you to prep for your in-laws.
Can you use cauliflower rice instead of white rice?
yes, but you won’t need to add the water and it will cook much faster, so you would need to add the zucchini and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes before adding the cauliflower rice.
We had some zucchini that I needed to use and hadn’t planned what to fix for dinner. I didn’t have carrots or celery and just canned diced tomatoes. I used a spicy sausage that was from a wild pig that a friend gave us. It was very good. Will make again. Simple, easy and delicious.
Awesome! Glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite ways to use zucchini!
Do you leave the juice in from the tomatoes or drain?
Hi Lucy, leave the juice in.
Favorite! This meal is one of my favorites during squash and zucchini season. My boyfriend loves it and always asks me to make it when it’s been awhile.
Awesome! It’s one of my favorites too!