Warm weather vibes going on here with this tasty Mediterranean-style grilled zucchini salad, and I won’t apologize for it! Simple grilled zucchini tossed in extra virgin olive oil and finished with fresh herbs and feta. This is perfect next to almost anything from Souvlaki to Greek Baked Meatballs or pan-seared salmon. I love adding a little Tzatziki sauce along.
Be sure to watch the video below for how to make this easy zucchini salad.
Koussa, or zucchini squash, is a love of mine since my early childhood. One of my mom’s signature dishes was this amazing stuffed zucchini, and I do try to make it once in a while. But, more often than not, I opt for a quick something like today’s Mediterranean-style grilled zucchini salad.
Why this grilled zucchini salad works
Zucchini squash is one of those super good-for-you ingredients, but it has a bit of a reputation as being bland.
When in doubt, totally throw your zucchini on the grill or an indoor griddle. They’ll soften up and get nice and charred imparting great flavor with very little effort–essentially what we do here in this grilled zucchini salad. A little coating of great EVOO, lemon juice, cumin and fresh herbs, take a simple grilled zucchini to a show-stopping zucchini salad.
What to serve along with this zucchini salad
This zucchini salad is great served room temperature, which makes it the perfect potluck dish to bring along. In the summer months, I love adding it as a side to this grilled Kofta or my Mediterranean grilled chicken & dill yogurt sauce. Or as part of mezze along with other small plates like Tzatziki, roasted garlic hummus and tabouli.
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Mediterranean-Style Grilled Zucchini Salad
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini squash about 2 lb, sliced into rounds
- Private Reserve Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp organic ground cumin
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove minced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup packed chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
- Feta or goat cheese optional
Instructions
- Place the zucchini into a large bowl. Drizzle about 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with cumin. Toss with your clean hands to combine.
- Heat a grill or griddle until hot, add zucchini in batches (do not crowd). Grill for 4 minutes or so, turning over a couple of times until zucchini are cooked through and perfectly charred.
- Transfer grilled zucchini back to the bowl. Add lemon juice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Add fresh herbs and toss again gently.
- Transfer to a serving platter and top with a sprinkle of feta or goat cheese, if you like. Serve at room temperature.
- For suggestions, see “what to serve with this zucchini salad” section up in the post above.
Video
Notes
- Recommended for this recipe: our Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives). And from our organic spice collection: ground cumin.
- SAVE! Try our Greek Olive Oil Bundle; Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle, or create your own 6-pack or 3-pack from our all-natural or organic spice collections!
DELICIOUS! We Love Love Love this salad!!
This dish was fantastic, ended up linking to it from the fish piccata that’s also on the website and the pair together was phenomenal. My favorite part was the goat cheese with the lemon and garlic and that perfect little hint of cumin. I measured the seasonings with my heart of course but followed the rest of it closely. If you’re looking for an obsession to eat you should start here.
Thanks so much! We do a lot of “measuring with you heart” around here when it comes to spices :).
I can’t wait try this
How many Servings is these recipe?
Hi, Maureen. I found this serves 4 pretty easily as a side. Enjoy!
Hi! Is there a good substitute for fresh tarragon? I’m having trouble finding it. Thank you!
Hi, Brie. Other readers have used fresh basil in place of the tarragon with great results, so perhaps you can give that a try!
Simple and delicious. A great way to use up a pretty large zucchini given to me.
I swapped tarragon for mint and added feta as suggested. Thank you for the recipe. I plan on making it more than once!
Thanks so much, Ann!
This salad has becomes my absolute favourite way to eat zucchini especially during the summer or with kebabs!! I used a cast iron grill pan on my induction stove and seasoned the zucchini with za’tar, and used a 1/4 to 1/2 cup more parsley. It was sooo good!!
Thanks, Dia!
Made this today for lunch – set off every smoke detector in my house but it was so worth it!!!! The whole family loved this easy recipe! Next time I will use our outdoor grill
Very tasty and I loved the taste of lemon on the zucchini. The only concern was that the zucchini was too soggy and not crispy like in the video. Each side was charred. Any suggestions?
Hi, Laura. If the zucchini was a little soggy, I’m thinking it was slightly overcooked. You want a nice hot pan, and cook long enough to just get that char without going too far.
Im super excited to try this recipe! I dont have an indoor grill tho do you recommend one?
Hi, Gina! These days, I most often use a cast iron grill pan on my stove top.
We’re grilling today (Thursday), but I need to bring a salad somewhere on Sunday. If I make the salad today, will it stay good in the fridge for 3 days? Thanks for a great use for my zucchinis!
Hi, Pam! I’m not sure… we usually eat this one the same day.
Any suggestions for other than cumin – my husband seems to have a sensitivity to it. Would za’tar work?
Thanks.
This is a fairly forgiving recipe, June. You can change up the seasonings and use something like za’atar or oregano for example
Loved the zucchini! I have used many of your recipes with success. I would like to grill the zucchini on the stovetop like in your video. Is your grill pan cast iron or non-stick? Thanks for all the great recipes.
The one I used here is non-stick. I have also used cast iron, and that will work, as well.
I used half a lemon [my guy doesn’t like it too tangy] and only fresh garden basil with the goat cheese. We enjoyed it with a lamb burger and some grilled eggplant and grilled Italian bread with garlic that I had just dug up. Food doesn’t get any better than this! Thank you for this recipe.
Awesome, Cynthia! Thanks so much for the kind comment
That looks delicious! Thanks!
Enjoy!! 🙂
I feel like I get zucchini fatigue quite easily but I never tire of this!!!
Thank, Cassi! So glad you like this one!