Meatless Monday Baked tuna and zucchini cakes with lemon-yogurt dressing

Lighten Up!What foods are best paired with the warm weather? Anything that's light and refreshing, and forget about fried foods! This recipe for baked tuna and zucchini cakes with lemon-yogurt dressing is perfect for a warm-weather, Meatless Monday meal.

Zero in on zucchini

Zucchini is one of those great warm-weather veggies found in abundance in the summer. Do you find yourself running out of ideas for how to use zucchini? Maybe you've been using them only to make things like zucchini bread or muffins? This might be the perfect, meatless recipe to help you branch out of your zucchini comfort zone.

Try another great zucchini recipe: zucchini ribbons and raisins pizza >>Forget frying

Often, recipes for these types of cakes call for frying as the method of prep. This meat-free recipe already scores points in the "healthy foods" category since it includes nutritious zucchini and tuna, and these cakes are baked, not fried. Not only that, but cutting meat from your diet, even once a week, may reduce your risk for chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Participate in Meatless Monday for the perfect opportunity to start scaling back your meat consumption.

Read about the benefits of going meatless even one day a week >>

Baked tuna and zucchini cakes with lemon-yogurt dressing

Recipe courtesy of Grab a Plate

Yields 6 cakes

For the lemon-yogurt dressing:Ingredients:3/4 cup plain, nonfat yogurtJuice of one-half lemon (more to taste)Zest from one-half lemon1/2 teaspoon garlic powderDirections:

Mix all the ingredients together and chill before serving with cakes.

For the tuna and zucchini cakes:Ingredients:1 tablespoon butter1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped1 (6.5 ounce) can of tuna packed in water, drained and flaked1 cup shredded zucchini2 eggs, lightly beaten1/4 cup ricotta cheese1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced2 teaspoons fresh thymeJuice from one-half lemon1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1-1/2 cups panko breadcrumbsNonstick cooking sprayDirections:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.Add the butter to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until soft. Remove the pan from the heat.In a large bowl, add the tuna, onion, zucchini, egg, cheese, lemon juice, seasonings and breadcrumbs.Mix everything together until well combined.Spray two baking sheets with the nonstick cooking spray.Shape the mixture into patties, about one-half-inch thick.Place patties on the baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes on one side until lightly golden, then flip and continue for another 7-10 minutes.

A great combination, healthy zucchini and tuna make a great Meatless Monday meal.

More Meatless Monday meals to try

Sicilian cauliflower pasta
Salad sensations
Meatless Monday Mediterranean style