ZUCCHINI CRUSTED GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
I am totally in love with zucchini crust. I think I may actually like it even more than cauliflower crust. It’s also easier and faster to make because you don’t need to dry out the zucchini quite as much as you do for cauliflower.
Once the breads were done, it was time to assemble my sandwiches. It took a lot of willpower not to just gobble up the zucchini crust straight out of the oven. They smelled great and looked so crispy and warm.
Zucchini Crusted Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTESCOOK TIME: 30 MINUTESTOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTESCOURSE: MAIN DISHES CUISINE: AMERICAN SERVINGS: 2 SANDWICHES
These grilled cheese sandwiches have fewer carbs and are healthier than regular grilled cheese sandwiches by using a zucchini "bread" similar to zucchini pizza crust.
zucchini crusted grilled cheese sandwiches
Ingredients:
4 cups packed freshly shredded raw zucchini not yet drained (about 2 medium zucchini)
2 large eggs
10 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 thick slices of cheese of your choice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add shredded zucchini to a large bowl and let sit 10-15 minutes. Drain excess water from zucchini bowl. Using a tea towel or several sturdy paper towels, add in 1/2 cup of zucchini into a towel and wring dry. Repeat with remaining zucchini. When you are finished, you should have about 2 packed cups of zucchini remaining. It is okay that the zucchini is still slightly damp. If you've made cauliflower crust before, you do not need to wring zucchini as dry as the cauliflower.
Add in eggs, flour, shredded Parmesan cheese, and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Divide zucchini batter evenly into four servings and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a spatula, thin and spread out the divided batters to form four bread squares 1/4 inch thick.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the surface starts to turn a light brown. Gently, using a spatula, flip the breads over and cook an additional 10 minutes or until the tops of the breads are a light brown.
Remove from oven and flip breads again. The side on top should now be crispy. The underside will be slightly softer but this will be the inner bread sections where you will place the cheese.
Place one thick cheese slice in between two zucchini breads. You can then cook these the traditional way, spreading some butter or mayonnaise on the outer bread surfaces and heating them on a skillet until cheese is melted, or you for a healthier version, place the sandwiches into your oven and broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted (this is the method I used).
Notes:
Nutrition estimate includes all-purpose flour.