Greek Vegetable Casserole Recipe
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Greek Vegetable Casserole is hearty vegetarian comfort food that’s satisfying enough for even the biggest meat lovers. Packed with zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, fresh herbs, and brown rice in a creamy ricotta-and-feta cheese combo, it’s topped with fresh tomatoes and baked until bubbly for a delicious make-ahead meal.
Why This Recipe Is a Keeper:
I have made and loved this vegetable casserole recipe with brown rice for many years. It’s inspired by one that first appeared in the classic Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, published in 1977 and reissued in 1992 with lighter versions of all the dishes from the original.
Her version was called “Bulgarian Pepper Casserole,” and because of the name, it wasn’t a big seller with my personal chef clients. Bell peppers, especially green bell peppers, can be difficult for some people to handle. Once I changed the name to be more descriptive and swapped out the green bell pepper for zucchini, yellow squash, and sweet peppers, it became a hit!
You’ll love this Greek Vegetable Casserole because it’s:
- Hearty enough for meat lovers while remaining completely vegetarian.
- Loaded with colorful vegetables, brown rice, ricotta, and feta for a satisfying, well-balanced meal.
- Perfect for meal prep because it can be assembled ahead of time.
- Freezer-friendly, making it easy to have a homemade dinner ready whenever you need one.
- Delicious as a main dish or side, pairing well with Greek Roast Chicken, lamb chops, or Mediterranean-inspired fish.
After making this vegetable casserole recipe for years, it’s still one I look forward to serving whenever I want a comforting, wholesome meal. I hope it becomes one of your favorite make-ahead casseroles, too!
How to Make a Greek Vegetable Casserole Recipe:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this Greek vegetable casserole recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Bell Peppers: You can use any color or combination of peppers, including green. I like to use red and yellow for color.
- Zucchini and Yellow Squash: I used a combination, but you can use all zucchini or all yellow squash if that’s what you have.
- Dill: If you can find a sufficient amount of fresh dill, by all means, use it. Fresh dill in quantity is hard to find in my area, so I often have to use dried dill.
- Oregano: I prefer fresh because we have oregano year-round in the South, but dried is just fine.
- Ricotta Cheese: Use good-quality whole milk ricotta cheese such as Murray’s or Bel Gioso. Avoid store brands (trust me on this one!); they’re terrible!
- Lemon Juice: Fresh is always best!
- Cooked Brown Rice: This recipe is great for using up leftover brown rice. You’ll need four loosely-packed cups. Add at least 45 minutes to the cook/prep time if you need to cook brown rice. You can often find cooked brown rice in the freezer section of your grocery store near the vegetables. Quinoa can be substituted for brown rice.
- Kalamata Olives: Pitting Kalamata olives can be labor-intensive. However, they are available pitted. When purchasing “pitted” Kalamata olives, I treat them like they still have the pit. I never take for granted that the mechanical pitting process got all the pits—I look each one over.
- Tomatoes: Use round or plum tomatoes.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a 13 x 9-inch baking dish or another similar-size dish. Set aside.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until beginning to soften.
- Add the chopped bell pepper and continue cooking for 5 to 6 minutes or until bell pepper begins to soften.
- Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook 3 to 4 minutes more or until zucchini begins to soften. Stir in the garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, oregano, dill, and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Mix the ricotta, feta, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Then add the egg and stir until combined.
- Add the vegetables and brown rice. Stir until everything is combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Place tomato slices over the top, then sprinkle with halved Kalamata olives.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until heated through to 165 degrees in the center and the edges are browned.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley.
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Cook the rice ahead of time, and be careful not to overcook it. You’ll want it to retain some texture for this vegetable casserole because it cooks again. Day-old cooked brown rice works especially well because it’s firm and easy to mix into the casserole. My tips for cooking brown rice:
- My favorite way to cook brown rice is to cook it like pasta. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add some salt, then the rice, and boil until it’s tender—I don’t even measure.
- Drain thoroughly in a sieve, and the result will be the most beautiful, fluffy brown rice that’s perfect for this casserole.
- When I cook brown rice at home, I always cook extra so that I can freeze it and have it available when needed.
- Don’t overcook the vegetables. Sauté them just until they begin to soften. They’ll finish cooking in the oven and retain a better texture.
- Feta cheese is naturally salty, so taste the ricotta mixture before adding the egg, and before adding much additional salt.
- Don’t overbake the casserole. Bake just until the casserole is heated through to 165 degrees and the rice is lightly browned around the edges. Overbaking will dry out the rice and cheese mixture.
Recipe FAQs:
Rinsing any grain to remove dust particles is always a good idea. Simply place it in a sieve and run it under cool running tap water.
Absolutely! Use the same amount of cooked quinoa as rice — 4 cups.
Although the casserole will not have the same Greek flair as with feta, you can use a mild cheese such as Mozzarella or Monterey Jack.
Puree cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and use in place of the ricotta. For added protein, substitute silken tofu.
Yes, definitely! Assemble the casserole up to one day in advance, cover, and refrigerate. Top with tomatoes and olives right before baking. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before baking, or add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time if baking straight from the refrigerator.
Absolutely! Bake and cool completely, then wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. You can also package it in portions and freeze in small containers.
Serve with:
- Roasted Tomato Soup
- Cider Vinegar Braised Cabbage Wedges
- Easy Braised Greens Recipe
- Roasted Green Beans
- Lemon Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts
- Greek Green Beans
- Mediterranean Braised Green Beans
More vegetable/vegetarian casseroles you’re sure to love:
- Summer Vegetable Casserole
- Zucchini Yellow Squash and Quinoa Casserole
- Black Bean and Yellow Squash Enchilada Casserole
- Southwestern Lentil and Brown Rice Bake
Get all my great vegetarian and vegan recipes at Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen
Greek Vegetable Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling the baking dish
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
- 1 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 4 cups cooked brown rice, loosely packed
- 1 container (15-ounce) ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 medium tomatoes, or 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1/4 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 4-5 minutes or until beginning to soften.
- Add the chopped bell pepper and continue cooking 5-6 minutes or until bell pepper begins to soften.
- Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook 3-4 minutes more or until zucchini begins to soften.
- Stir in garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, oregano, dill and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Mix the ricotta, feta, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Then add the egg and stir until combined.
- Add the vegetables and brown rice. Stir until everything is combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Place tomato slices over the top then sprinkle with halved Kalamata olives.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through to 165 degrees in the center and the edges are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley.
Notes
- 8-4-26: I recently retested this recipe based on reader feedback and made refinements to improve the texture and clarify the instructions.
- Prep time does not include cooking the brown rice.
- Pureed cottage cheese or silken tofu can be substituted for the ricotta.
- Although the casserole won’t have the same Greek flair, a mild cheese such as Mozzarella or Monterey Jack will work.
- Use quinoa in place of the brown rice.
- Cook the rice ahead of time. Cook the brown rice until just tender so it retains some texture while baking. Day-old or previously frozen cooked rice works especially well.
- Try the pasta method for brown rice. Boil it in plenty of salted water until tender, then drain well in a fine-mesh sieve. It comes out fluffy every time and is perfect for this casserole.
- Don’t overcook the vegetables. Sauté them just until they begin to soften. They’ll finish cooking in the oven and maintain a better texture.
- Go easy on the salt. Feta is naturally salty, so taste the ricotta mixture before adding the egg and adding additional salt.
- Don’t overbake. Bake just until the casserole reaches 165°F in the center and is lightly browned around the edges. Overbaking can dry out the rice and cheese mixture.
- Can be assembled 1-2 days in advance without the tomatoes.
- Top with tomatoes and olives right before baking. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to take the chill off. You may need to add additional baking time.
- Assemble and let cool. You can add the tomatoes and olives or leave them off until you plan to bake the casserole.
- Thaw in the refrigerator 24-48 hours and bake as directed. You may need to add additional baking time if it is cold or still partially frozen in the center.
- Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of water. Place in an oven-safe container, cover, and reheat at 350 degrees until hot in the center.
- You can also reheat in the microwave until hot.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are automatically calculated using unbranded products and are estimates only. Actual results may vary based on ingredients used and portion sizes. Adjust as needed for dietary restrictions, allergies, or health concerns.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Dry as dirt. Followed recipe exactly, can’t even try to eat it. Who voted up for this?
Thanks for your feedback, Courtney. Not sure what’s going on–someone else said it was unpleasantly wet. I just checked Molly Katzen’s recipe in the Moosewood cookbook that was my inspiration for this recipe and the only difference is she starts with 1 1/2 cups DRY brown rice which generally yields 4.5 cups of cooked rice (I state 4 cups cooked), I reduced the amount of ricotta cheese by 1/2 cup–her recipes states 1 1/2 cups. Lots of vegetables with high water content. Did you cook the rice? Sorry this didn’t work for you.
What should the texture of this recipe be? It came very wet in an unpleasant way after an hour of baking. Is it supposed to be firm?
Hi, Lija, So sorry this didn’t turn out for you. I honestly don’t know what happened. Did you look at the photos? The edges are browned and crispy and the one that shows the interior shows it to be a bit crumbly. There aren’t that many “wet” ingredients. This recipe is based on one from Molly Katzen in the classic Moosewood Cookbook; I made it for personal chef clients many times. Again, I’m so sorry but I don’t know.