Looking for something different and fun to do with your zucchini? This cheesy ham & zucchini roll is not only pretty, it’s full of good flavors, low in carbs, gluten free and frankly, it’s just plain fun! I think it’s such a delightful and different way to use up your zucchini.
You make the main part of this zucchini roll with zucchini, egg and cheese in a thin layer in a jelly roll pan. Top with the fillings, let it cool and then roll it up. It looks complicated and fancy, but it’s really quite easy to make.
It seems people always have too much zucchini. Personally, I struggle with growing zucchini. But I have family and friends that are happy to share with me! I was scrolling through Pinterest this morning looking for zucchini recipes and ran across this interesting recipe from The Food Kooky. Since my pottery friends gave me a nice big zucchini yesterday, I decided to give it a try. But I had to add a little twist of my own to the recipe.
This year I’m shy on dill because some critter who loves dill and cilantro, broccoli and kale somehow snuck into my garden fortress and ate it all. There were only remnants of dill and cilantro left, not enough to actually enjoy. The broccoli and kale were totally decimated. But I have PLENTY of basil. And besides, I love basil. So I used lots of basil in the zucchini roll. Also a few peppers from the garden–the banana peppers are coming in first.
Then I felt like it needed something on the other side of the ham to help it stick together so I melted on slices of swiss and smoked gouda before adding the ham. I really really wanted to add sun dried tomatoes, but all my dried tomatoes are at my friend’s house (from when our freezer malfunctioned). I’ve got to go retrieve our freezer things, but not today.
The only other addition I made was to mix in some chopped sweet onion into the cream cheese layer. This adds a little bit of sweet crunch to the savory roll that I find really wonderful.
My zucchini roll turned out delicious and very pretty. I think I’m going to freeze half of this roll to take to my mom’s next weekend.
Print
Cheesy Ham & Zucchini Roll
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 – 6 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5 – 8 oz. light cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
- 3 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium)
- 3 – 5 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1/3 cup zucchini flour (or other flour), optional
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or parmesan work well)
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon bacon salt (or salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- About 3 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- Thin sliced smoked gouda or swiss cheese (or a mix of both)
- About 1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper (I used banana and bell pepper)
- Thin sliced lean ham
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 380 F. Line a large jelly roll pan (or large baking sheet) with parchment paper. Take the cream cheese out of the fridge so that it softens and mix it with the chopped sweet onion.
- Shred the zucchini and put on a clean towel. Squeeze as much water out as you can, then put the zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic, zucchini flour (if using), shredded cheese, eggs, salt, pepper and basil. Stir to mix, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out into a large rectangle as thinly and evenly as you can.
- Bake at 380 F. for 15 – 20 minutes or until set. Take it out and cover with a layer of sliced cheese. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Take the pan out and immediately spread the ham out over the melted cheese so that the cheese sticks to it. Spread the cream cheese thinly over the ham.
- Let cool until cool enough to handle, then gently roll it up, jelly roll style. I rolled it up from the short side of the rectangle to get more of a spiral. Wrap with the parchment paper you cooked it in and put in the fridge until it’s time to eat, then slice into half inch slices and enjoy! It is lovely served cold, but I also think it’s great warmed slightly in the microwave. If you heat it too much, it will fall apart, but still taste great.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2025, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. This recipe was made by a REAL person with REAL ingredients. The photos are real photos taken by me personally. There is nothing AI here. This is real food made by real people for real people. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Nutrition facts are an estimate based on ingredients. Your results may vary.
