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Zucchini Slice! Looking for a delicious, savory zucchini recipe? Then look no further! This classic Aussie dish is easy to make, incredibly yummy and super versatile too. Perfect for breakfast, popped into a lunchbox or served alongside a salad for a simple dinner.
What Is Zucchini Slice?
If you’re wondering what the heck zucchini slice is…no worries! I was first introduced to it when we lived in Australia for a few years (never even heard of it before that!).
Zucchini slice is a classic Australian dish featuring grated zucchini, cheese, bacon and onion in an egg-based batter.
It has a unique texture that’s a little hard to explain. It’s somewhere between a savory zucchini bread and a crustless quiche – soft and fluffy yet firm enough to hold by hand.
Even people who don’t usually enjoy zucchini (like my kids!), tend to love this recipe since the zucchini flavor just disappears in this delicious slice. It’s so good!
Reasons You’ll Love It
There’s so many reasons to love this quintessential Aussie dish…
- It’s easy to make! Simply mix everything together in a bowl, throw in a baking pan and then just let the oven do the work.
- Made from a few simple ingredients.
- Super versatile! This dish can be served hot or cold and is easily customized as well. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, picnics, lunch or a light dinner.
- Fantastic for meal prep! It’s freezes and reheats well.
- It’s kid friendly! Such a delicious way to get kids to eat more veggies (or even picky adults). The zucchini flavor is totally disguised by all the other delicious flavors in this slice. Perfect packed into school lunchboxes too.
- And last but not least…it’s so delicious! It has bacon and cheese in it…need I say more?
Ingredients You’ll Need
Let’s get started! To make this zucchini slice recipe, you will need a few simple ingredients…
- Zucchini: It is a zucchini slice after all so grated zucchini is a must.
- Bacon: Because everything tastes better with bacon!
- Onion: I usually just use a regular cooking onion but red onion is also nice.
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese or any type you like!
- Eggs: Forms the base of the batter. I use large size eggs.
- Flour: This is a very forgiving recipe that allows you to use a variety of different flour types: all purpose, spelt, whole wheat, etc.
- Baking Powder: For some lift and fluffiness.
- Avocado Oil: I prefer using this healthy, neutral tasting oil. However, you could also use olive oil, melted butter or ghee.
- Salt + Pepper: You do get some saltiness from the bacon and cheese but I still find it too bland for my taste without some additional salt.
Detailed ingredient list and directions located in the recipe card below.
What kind of pan should I use?
I use this 8″ x 12″ inch (20cm x 30cm) cake pan. If you’re in Australia, a Lamington pan is perfect.
Don’t worry if your pan/baking dish isn’t exactly this size. I have also used a 9″ x 13″ inch pan too. Just be aware that cooking time may need to be adjusted since the thickness of the zucchini slice will vary with different sized pans.
How To Make Zucchini Slice
Ready to make some? It’s so easy! Simply…
STEP 1: Preheat oven and line pan. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Line baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to make it easy to remove the zucchini slice once cooked.
TIP: Hold the parchment paper in place with some metal binder clips. It makes pouring the batter into the pan so much easier! You can then remove them before baking or leave them as long as they are the metal kind.
STEP 2: Sauté bacon and onion. In a large frying pan, sauté the chopped bacon (no need for oil) over medium heat until starting to brown and the fat renders out. Add the chopped onion and continue cooking until onions are soft and bacon is crisp. Set aside to cool down.
NOTE: In many Australian recipes, the bacon and onion are added to the zucchini slice mixture uncooked. Aussie bacon also tends to be leaner than the strip bacon commonly used in North America. Sure, it’s an added step but I find that the caramelization from frying the bacon and onion takes the flavor up a notch (plus I personally like the texture of cooked bacon better).
STEP 3: Mix everything together. Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and avocado oil and whisk together until smooth. Then add in the grated zucchini, shredded cheese, sautéed bacon/onion mixture and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir through until combined.
TIP: Squeeze out excess water from the zucchini before adding to the batter. Preferably choose the smallest size of zucchini you can since they will have the least water.
STEP 4: Bake. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through (wooden skewer comes out clean) and lightly browned on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares. Enjoy hot or cold!
Ways To Serve
Zucchini slice is delicious warm from the oven but also great cold which makes it such a versatile dish! Here are a few ways to serve it…
- Breakfast or Brunch: Enjoy it as a quick on-the-go breakfast or as part of a beautiful brunch spread.
- Lunchboxes: Makes a great lunchbox option!
- Snack: Great after school snack, to take on the go or any time you’re hungry!
- Lunch and Dinner: Serve it alongside a salad for lunch or a light dinner.
Variations
This recipe is not fussy and easy to customize. Here are a few ideas…
- Add extra veggies: Other shredded or finely diced veggies can also be added. Some options include corn, grated carrot and red bell pepper. Easily adaptable to include whatever you might have in the fridge.
- Use ham: Use diced ham instead of bacon (you wouldn’t need to fry it).
- Use different cheese: Instead of cheddar, you could use tasty (in Australia), goat cheese, gouda, gruyere, parmesan, fontina, etc. You could also sprinkle some cheese on top before baking.
- Make it vegetarian: Leave out the bacon
- Use self raising flour: Substitute the flour and baking powder in the recipe for 1 cup self-raising flour.
- Add herbs or seasoning: Elevate the flavor by adding in chopped herbs or seasonings like garlic powder or your favorite spice mix (sometimes I add some of this homemade bouillon powder).
FAQ
It lasts in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes it does which is why it is also great for meal prep! It lasts for up to 3 months in the freezer. The best way to freeze it is to first portion it out and wrap each individual portion up separately before placing in a freezer bag or container.
Make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the grated zucchini before adding to the batter. Choosing smaller zucchinis is also helpful since they tend to have less water.
All you need is a simple box grater to shred the zucchini and the cheese too. You could also use a food processor with a shredding disc.
Did you try this zucchini slice? I would love to hear about it! Leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram.
Zucchini Slice
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 min
- Yield: 8–12 slices 1x
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Australian
Description
Zucchini Slice! This savoury Aussie dish is easy to make, absolutely delicious and super versatile too. Perfect for a quick on-the-go breakfast, popped into a lunchbox or served alongside a salad for a simple dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or olive oil or melted butter/ghee)
- 375 grams (13 oz) zucchini, grated (approx. 3 cups)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat oven to 350F / 180C and line an 8″ x 12″ inch (20cm x 30cm) cake pan with parchment paper.
- Sauté bacon and onion: In a large frying pan, sauté the chopped bacon over medium heat until the fat renders out and it starts to brown. Add the chopped onion and continue cooking until onions are soft and bacon is crisp. Set aside to cool down.
- Mix batter: Whisk eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add in the flour, baking powder and avocado oil and whisk together until smooth. Then gently stir through the grated zucchini, shredded cheese, sautéed bacon/onion mixture, salt and pepper until combined.
- Bake: Pour mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares. Enjoy hot or cold!
Notes
- Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- What kind of pan to use? I use this 8×12 inch (20×30 cm) cake pan. If you are in Australia, a Lamington pan is perfect. Don’t worry if your pan or baking dish isn’t exactly this size. I have also used a 9×13 inch pan before too. Just note that cooking time and thickness will vary depending on the pan size
- Flour: A variety of different types of flour can be used in this forgiving recipe. I have also tried spelt and whole wheat flour. They all work but whole grain will be a bit more dense.
- Squeeze out zucchini! To avoid a soggy zucchini slice, make sure to squeeze out excess water from the grated zucchini before adding to the batter.
- Variations: This recipe is not fussy and easy to customize. Check out the “Variations” section for some ideas.
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I had a random craving for zucchini slice this week so made this as part of my weekly meal prep. I left the bacon out to make it vegetarian, but used smoked olive oil in place of the avocado oil to replace that smoky flavour. It turned out great!
Smoked olive oil sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great way to use zucchini – always looking (especially savory) because I love the stuff. But the binder clips tip – just priceless! I didn’t think I could love binder clips more than I already do – great idea!
Glad you loved the binder clip tip! I love it too since the parchment paper always seems to have a way of shifting or folding in right when you are in the middle of filling the pan lol.
Never heard of them either but looks delicious and healthy.
It seems to be a well kept Australian secret!
I’ve never heard of zucchini slice before but it looks amazing! And contains bacon haha so definitely a win in this house.
Haha – your house sounds like mine!
Whenever my friends comes back from Aussie they always bring up these weird names for dishes. thanks for this Zucchini slice recipe!
A lot of the terms definitely took me a while to get used to when I lived there!
This zucchini slice is delicious and so easy to make. We love it for breakfast and it was a perfect way to use up the last of my zucchini.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and found a great use for that fresh zucchini!
This looks so delicious and healthy too! I like your tip of using binder clips to keep the parchment paper from falling down, I hate it when that happens! Going to do that next time 🙂
With my luck, the parchment paper always seems to shift when I am in the middle of pouring the batter in. The clips make it so much easier!
These are really tasty and super great for fast breakfasts. Thanks, even my kids like them!
It’s fantastic when you can get extra veggies into the kids! My kids don’t like zucchini but will happily eat this!