This time of year I need quick and easy to make dinners for my family. We have a busy schedule of late afternoon and evening activities, but I still like to get a homemade dinner on the table most nights. Casseroles are a great solution for this, because they are one dish meals that simplify dinner.
It is also getting near the end of our growing season, so I wanted to make a casserole to use the last of the seasonal vegetables. This casserole uses zucchini, tomatoes, summer squash and eggplant, all of which are at the end of harvest season here.
I thought it would be fun to create a meatball casserole that didn’t include pasta, just because we always have pasta with meatballs and it gets boring!
So this casserole is just vegetables and meat, which makes it perfect for those who want to have a low carb or paleo casserole. And if you aren’t eating low carb then it goes perfectly with a loaf of Italian bread!
Here are some of the things I like to do to make dinner prep easier:
- Make Things Ahead For this recipe I used meatballs I made a few weeks ago and had frozen. It is much easier to make a big batch of meatballs on a weekend, and then I have them when I need them.
- Buy Convenience Foods “ If I don’t even have time to make something like meatballs I just by a bag of frozen ones. There are so many convenience foods that make dinner prep easier but still let you put your own unique touch on the final product.
- Use Versatile Cookware I use aluminum pans with metal handles so they can go from the stove top right into the oven. Sure you could transfer this casserole to a glass baking dish, but why use extra dishes?
Looking for more casserole ideas? Try chile relleno casserole or keto taco casserole for tasty dinner ideas!
Meatball Casserole with Summer Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup zucchini sliced
- 1 1/2 cup yellow squash sliced
- 1 cup eggplant sliced
- 1 small onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper optional
- 2 cup fresh tomatoes sliced
- 12 meatballs thawed if frozen
- 2 Tablespoon fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350, and heat a large oven proof frying pan on medium heat.
- Add 2 T of olive oil and wait for it to melt. Then saute the zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and onion for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, Italian Seasoning, red pepper, salt and pepper and cook for about 1 minute more.
- Stir in the tomatoes, then gently push the meatballs into the vegetable mixture so they don't break.
- Put in the oven and bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.
Notes
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
Thanks for the recipe, we have a TON (and I mean ton, sigh) of eggplant, cherry tom. and zucchini to find recipes for before they go bad. Not complaining, our garden did fantastic this year, however it is a lot of work preserving, freezing and finding ways to use them.
Okay, I am officially starving now and WANT this… pinning for later so thank you
What a fabulous dish!! I am bookmarking this!! Thanks!
That looks yummy and I love all the veggies in it! Pinning this to try!
that looks super delicious
This looks delicious, almost like a stew but minus the sauce.
I love fixing casseroles. This one looks really good!
I like that. It’s kind of different. We’ve just started really using our crockpot, so I’ll have to save this recipe.
I love crockpots! The flavour thats retained in the dish is always so amazing!
This looks delicious…and so healthy and tasty, too.
This looks so healthy!
My favorite meals are the ones you can throw together! This looks delicious!
Looks delicious and healthy, can’t beat that.
Wow, that looks so very good. I wonder if my picky family would eat it. lol
Mmmm, that looks really tasty!
I love that this includes tons of veggies! Looks yummy!
That looks delicious – I love summer squashes and veggies!