This zucchini slice is a savoury breakfast recipe made with grated zucchini, bacon, cheese and eggs, using the recipe Mum made when I was growing up. Unlike versions made with oil, hers uses milk, with tomato paste and a stock cube adding extra savoury flavour. I've kept her recipe and added some tips for meal prepping (including storing, freezing and reheating).
Growing up, I wasn't a fan of zucchini. Something about the texture put me off, but I always enjoyed it in Mum's zucchini slice. These days it is one of the vegetables I always have in my fridge and I even hero it in dishes like my tuna zucchini pasta.
When I decided this recipe needed a space on the blog, I asked Mum how she made hers. I did some research and a bit of trial and error to see whether I could improve it, then kept coming back to the exact recipe I grew up with.
There are plenty of similar recipes out there, but what I add is extra information on how to meal prep it and different tips and tricks I've learnt over the years.
TL:DR
- Servings: 6-8 slices
- Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45-55 minutes (depends on dish size)
- Meal prep: Eggs, cheese and bacon provide protein, flour provides carbohydrates, and zucchini and onion add vegetables. Add salad, bread or other sides to suit your appetite.
- Fridge storage: up to 3 days for best texture (layer with paper towel to capture moisture)
- Freezer storage: Up to 3 months, wrapped in individual portions and sealed in a freezer-safe bag or container.
- Reheating: Microwave for speed; air fryer, oven or sandwich press for firmer edges. Heat until steaming hot throughout. Can also be eaten cold!
- Customise: Swap bacon for ham, adjust seasonings to preferences, add different vegetables.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Made for meal prep. Bake once, portion it, and slice for breakfast or lunch for the next few days.
Extra savoury flavour. Tomato paste, a stock cube and herbs add more than the usual egg-and-cheese flavour.
No added oil in the batter. Mum's version uses milk, with richness coming from the eggs, cheese and bacon.
Another way to use zucchini. If you already make my zucchini baked oats, this gives you another way to use zucchini in a different way for breakfast or lunches.
Ingredients
Zucchini. Use 3 cups of grated zucchini, measured before squeezing; smaller zucchini generally have firmer flesh and fewer developed seeds, while oversized zucchini can have a watery, spongy centre that needs extra attention.
Bacon. Chop 3 rashers into small pieces and remove any tough rind (or you can buy already diced bacon); bacon adds savoury flavour and some rendered fat, while ham gives a softer bite and its flavour depends on the variety you use.
Oregano, rosemary, basil, parsley. We always have fresh parsley in the garden and it adds a really nice fresh herby flavour. Oregano gives an earthy flavour, rosemary a woody flavour, and basil a sweeter herbal note. You can adjust quantities depending on your preferences.
Milk. A lot of zucchini slice recipes use vegetable oil. Mum's already used milk, so this wasn't a swap I made for the blog, although it's the sort of adjustment I would have tried for a less oil-heavy version.
In my freezer friendly breakfast burritos, I've found that changing the liquid in the eggs makes a difference after freezing. I found milk less of an issue here because the flour absorbs the liquid so you're not left with the gummy texture you sometimes get from egg-based dishes.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity. See below for substitutions and variations.
Substitutions and Variations
Extra veggies. Replace some of the zucchini with other vegetables rather than adding several extra cups to the batter. If you add too much over the 3-4 cups, the mixture won't hold together as well.
I regularly use shredded carrot, and I remember Mum often adding mushrooms. You could also use finely diced capsicum/bell pepper, corn, peas, red onion, spinach (I recommend frozen spinach that has been thawed with excess moisture removed like I do in my spinach feta frittata).
Self-raising flour. Replace 1 cup of self-raising flour with 1 cup of plain flour plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder, mixed together first. Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda are not interchangeable here.
Milk. Use the same quantity of unsweetened soy milk, which is what I commonly use and is a close match for dairy milk in creaminess and protein. To make the whole slice dairy-free, change the cheese too and check the stock cube ingredients.
Meat. Swap the bacon for a similar amount of chopped ham, or leave it out if you don't have any. For a vegetarian zucchini slice, also use vegetable stock and check that your cheese is suitable.
How to make zucchini slice
Step 1. Wash and coarsely grate the zucchini, then measure 3 cups before squeezing. Lightly squeeze handfuls over the sink or in a clean tea towel until they are no longer dripping; oversized zucchini need more attention, and you can remove a spongy seed centre before grating.
Step 2. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, then whisk in the milk and tomato paste until evenly combined.
Step 3. Add the zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese, self-raising flour, parsley, oregano, rosemary, basil, pepper and finely crumbled stock cube. Add only a small amount of salt if needed, then fold until there are no dry pockets of flour remain.
Step 4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared dish and smooth the top.
Step 5. Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes at 180°C/350°F (this was measured with a batter depth of approx. 4cm), checking earlier if your batter is shallow; the top should be golden, the centre should be set without a liquid wobble, and a knife inserted into the middle should come out without wet batter.
Note - If the top colours before the centre cooks, loosely cover it with foil and continue baking. A smaller dish makes a deeper slice that takes longer, while a larger dish spreads the mixture more thinly and cooks faster.
Step 6. Rest in the dish for 10-15 minutes before cutting so the slice has time to firm up. Serve warm, or portion it for prompt cooling and refrigeration if you're meal prepping.
Lauren's Top Tips
Remove dripping liquid. Give small zucchini a light squeeze and watery, oversized zucchini more attention; the aim is moist shreds without excess liquid pooling in the bowl.
Chop the onion and bacon finely. They go into the mixture without frying first, so small pieces help them cook evenly through the slice.
Recommended Equipment
I use a 20 × 30 cm casserole dish, approximately 8 × 12 inches to bake the slice. This made the batter approximately 4cm deep.
Dish size affects the cooking time because it changes the depth of the batter. A smaller dish needs longer for the centre to set, while a larger dish needs earlier checking so the thinner slice doesn't overbake.
Meal Prepping zucchini slice
This zucchini slice is a useful meal prep option because it brings together protein from the eggs, cheese and bacon, carbohydrates from the flour, and vegetables from the zucchini and onion. It cuts into portions that can be packed separately, and you can eat it cold or reheat it depending on what your workday looks like.
How much you serve depends on your appetite and what else you're eating. For lunch, I recommend a side salad, with bread or another side if you need a larger meal. For breakfast, use a slightly smaller slice in a bento box with yoghurt, granola and fruit; keep the granola separate until eating so it stays crunchy.
Lauren's Meal Prep Tip
Decide which portions you'll eat within three days and freeze the rest once cooled.
Storing
Store zucchini slice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days at below 5°C. After the initial rest, cut it into portions, add to containers with a piece of paper towel (this helps collect excess moisture)
Let steam escape before sealing the lid tightly, because trapped steam becomes condensation that drips back onto the slice. Refrigerate within 2 hours of baking even if the portions are still slightly warm, then finish cooling in the fridge and seal once cold
Lauren's Meal Prep Tip
For a thick portion, microwave it first to heat the middle, then finish briefly in the air fryer or sandwich press for firmer edges. Stop once it is hot throughout rather than continuing to cook the eggs. This is what I tend to do for my freezer breakfast sandwiches as well.
Reheating
You can have this for a cold meal prep if you like, but if you do plan on heating it, make sure the centre is steaming hot.
Microwave. Place the slice on a microwave-safe plate and cover loosely with a vented cover. Start with 60-90 seconds on high, then continue in 20-30-second bursts until hot through the middle; it is the quickest option, but the retained steam gives a softer surface.
Air fryer. Heat at 160°C/320°F for approximately 5-8 minutes, leaving space around the slice for air to circulate. It firms up the edges better than a microwave, but thick pieces can brown before their centres heat, so lower the temperature if necessary and keep checking.
Sandwich press. Weird, but it works: place a firm, chilled slice on a preheated non-stick press and lower the lid gently without squashing it. Start checking after 4-6 minutes; thinner portions work best because thick slices can brown outside while staying cool inside.
Oven. Place portions in an oven-safe dish at 160°C/320°F fan-forced or 180°C/350°F conventional and allow approximately 10-20 minutes. Loosely cover if the edges start drying out; the oven is useful for several portions, although it takes longer than the other options.
Freezing
Cool and chill the slice promptly, then wrap individual portions tightly in freezer-safe plastic wrap or foil and place them in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or airtight container. Remove as much air as possible, label with the baking date and freeze for up to 3 months; individual portions make it easier to thaw only what you need.
Thaw overnight where possible, or you can pop it on a defrost cycle in the microwave before reheating per above.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
A soggy zucchini slice usually comes down to excess vegetable liquid, an undercooked centre or steam trapped during storage. A tender middle is normal, but it should hold together when cut rather than release liquid onto the plate.
If it is wet straight from the oven, check the centre before removing the dish and allow the slice to rest before cutting. If it was firm when baked but becomes damp in the fridge, look at how it cooled and whether the container collected condensation.
Adding extra flour by eye can make the next batch heavy without fixing the original problem. Start with accurate quantities, squeeze the zucchini and keep the total vegetable amount close to the recipe.
The batter may be too deep for the baking time, or the vegetables may have added excess liquid. Loosely cover the browned top with foil and continue baking until the centre is set and a knife comes out without wet batter.
Other savoury breakfast recipes you'll like
Or, you can have a browse through my easy savoury breakfasts for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Zucchini Slice
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Equipment
- Casserole Dish, 20 x 30cm (8 × 12 inches)
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup milk, subs note 3
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups grated zucchini, approx.3 zucchinis
- 1 onion
- 3 rashers bacon, subs note 1
- 1 cup grated cheese
- 1 cup self-raising flour, subs note 2
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon rosemary
- ½ teaspoon basil
- salt and pepper to taste, keep salt minimal because of stock cube
- 1 stock cube
Instructions
Preparing
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F
- Wash and coarsely grate the zucchini, then measure 3 cups grated zucchini before squeezing. Lightly squeeze in handfuls or a clean tea towel or paper towel.
- Finely chop 1 onion, 3 rashers bacon, 2 tbsp fresh parsley, removing any tough rind from the bacon.
- Lightly beat 5 eggs in a large bowl, then whisk in ½ cup milk, 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste until evenly combined.
- Add the grated zucchini, onion, bacon, fresh parsley, 1 cup grated cheese, 1 cup self-raising flour, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp rosemary, ½ tsp basil, and finely crumbled 1 stock cube. Season with salt and pepper to taste, going lightly on salt, then fold until no dry pockets of flour remain.
- Lightly grease or line a 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 inches) baking dish (the mixture will be about 4cm thick. if using a different size, the baking time may need to be adjusted). Spread the mixture evenly in the dish and smooth the top.
Cooking
- Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes, based on a batter depth of approximately 4 cm. The top should be golden, the centre should be set without a liquid wobble, and a knife inserted into the middle should come out without wet batter.
- Check earlier if using a larger dish with shallower batter; a smaller dish with deeper batter will need longer. If the top browns before the centre cooks, loosely cover with foil and continue baking.
- Rest in the dish for 10-15 minutes before cutting to help the slices hold together. Serve warm or portion for meal prep.
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