Wondering what to make with too much zucchini? This list of delicious zucchini recipes is all you need. Everything from easy sides like grilled zucchini spears to dinner casseroles and even zucchini chips!
Zucchini!
A staple Mediterranean diet ingredient, zucchini boasts some great benefits. It is high in antioxidants, rich in nutrients and vitamins, and because of its high water and fiber content, it also promotes healthy digestion by reducing your risk of constipation.
Right around mid-July, gardens and markets are abundant with zucchini, and if you’re one of the lucky ones who ended up with a few too many zucchinis, it’s time to put them to good use!
Luckily, zucchini is a versatile ingredient that you can eat in a salad or sliced and dipped in your favorite dip. You can also cook zucchini many different ways: sautéed simply in a pan with a bit of good olive oil, roasted with other veggies, sliced and tossed in pasta, a pot of homemade vegetable soup, or turned into boats to hold a delicious mixture of tomatoes and fresh herbs for the perfect summer appetizer! I mix them into my Summer Pasta Salad with Corn–the list goes on!
There are so many ways to cook zucchini, and I am sharing 25 easy zucchini recipes to get you started.
In this post
Our top 5 best zucchini recipes
These tasty zucchini recipes are fan favorites on the site, and also on my regular dinner rotation at home! They’re delicious, wholesome, and simple to prepare. Check them out:
Baked Zucchini Recipe with Parmesan Cheese and Thyme
Crisp and tender baked zucchini fries with a golden crust of Parmesan, thyme and oregano. Serve these gluten-free Italian-style zucchini batons hot, with a dipping sauce like tzatziki.
This roasted vegetable moussaka with eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini with a chunky tomato-lentil sauce is simply the best. Hearty, superbly delicious, and filled with nutrients. Even meat lovers won’t miss the meat!
Looking for a 20-minute appetizer or side dish? Loaded zucchini boats are your ticket! You’ll love the Mediterranean vibes from tomato, feta cheese, and plenty of fresh herbs.
Skillet Zucchini Recipe with Balsamic Glaze
This incredibly easy side dish is perfect if you’re short on time! And while I share instructions for how to make homemade balsamic glaze, you can save time by using store-bought instead. This zucchini recipe pairs well with steamed salmon, Greek keftedes, and grilled chicken.
This twist on classic lasagna is delicious, satisfying, and super simple to make! If you’d like to work ahead, you can completely assemble the zucchini lasagna roll-ups and refrigerate (for up to one night), but don’t bake them until you’re ready.
Baked zucchini recipes
One of my favorite ways to cook zucchini is in the oven, because I can pretty much let the oven do the hard work while I prepare the other parts of my meal! Here are some baked zucchini recipes to try:
These crispy, addictive zucchini chips are sure to become your new favorite snack! Be sure to slice your zucchini thinly for best results. (I always use a mandolin so all my slices are uniform in thickness.)
Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables
Simple, hands-off Italian-style baked chicken and vegetables (zucchini, red bell peppers, and broccoli) ready in 30 minutes or less! One of my favorite sheet pan dinners, this recipe is delicious over your favorite pasta or grain.
Zucchini side dishes
Zucchini is an unfussy, mild-flavored vegetable that complements a huge variety of main dishes. Whether by itself or paired with other vegetables, zucchini is a delicious, nutritious side! Try these side dishes with zucchini:
Greek Roasted Vegetables (Briam)
A beautiful vegan Greek dish chock-full of zucchini slices, potatoes, and red onions, and overflowing with flavor! I arrange my vegetables into round rows, but you can skip this and simply arrange them flat on your baking pan – they will taste delicious no matter how they’re presented!
Italian Oven-Roasted Vegetables
These roasted vegetables with zucchini, potatoes, and more are so easy to throw together on busy weeknights! Serve them as a side alongside garlic Dijon chicken and boneless leg of lamb, or as a vegetarian main on a simple bed of lemon rice or quinoa.
Grilled zucchini recipes
When temperatures rise and you just want to be outdoors, it’s time to bring out the grill! And grilling zucchini to tender perfection is easier than you might think. Here are some grilled zucchini recipes, with tips, to try:
Mediterranean-Style Grilled Zucchini Salad
This grilled zucchini salad is so easy and delicious! All it takes is olive oil, cumin, lemon juice, garlic, and some fresh herbs to build show-stopping flavor with very little time and effort.
Zucchini, mushrooms, onions, grape tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts make the perfect veggie kabobs! Simply flavored with dried oregano, Aleppo-style pepper, and lemon juice, these vegetable skewers take just 10 minutes on the grill!
Quick, flavor-packed grilled zucchini is perfect for your next cookout or to use as a side with your favorite entree! Follow my tips for tender, but never soggy, grilled zucchini spears in about 10 minutes!
Zucchini casserole and pasta recipes
There’s nothing like a casserole or hearty pasta dish when you’re in the mood for comfort food. The veggie-heavy dishes below combine all the coziness you could ask for with nutrient-dense vegetables! Here are some recipes to try:
This Egyptian casserole made with zucchini, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and bechamel sauce is so simple and yummy! Even though it’s a hearty main dish on its own, I still sometimes add some tabouli alongside.
Mediterranean-Style Zucchini Casserole
In this casserole, layers of zucchini, carrots, and onions, are topped with a perfectly spiced meat sauce. Serve it with Lebanese rice. This recipe is great for batch cooking because it freezes well!
Think of ziti as lasagne’s more relaxed cousin. Just as delicious, with much less effort! This is a great recipe option if you’re looking for something hearty to cook without meat. If you can’t find ziti pasta, penne works just fine! (It’s actually what I use, because I don’t come across ziti very often.)
Al dente pasta, tender roasted veggies, and a lighter primavera sauce make this recipe something special. The best thing about this pasta primavera is that because I make it year-round with seasonal vegetables, it never turns out quite the same way twice!
Zucchini soup
An easy way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet is to throw them into soups! And zucchini is delicious in brothy soups because it absorbs so much flavor. Here are some zucchini soup recipes to try:
My take on this classic French stew takes one pot and just 40 minutes to make! I typically make this easy recipe a day or two ahead of time because the flavors meld so beautifully if given a little extra time.
My quick Italian minestrone is brimming with vegetables (like green beans and zucchini), beans, and a bit of pasta. But the flavorful tomato broth steals the show!
Mediterranean-style homemade vegetable soup with zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, fresh herbs, and chickpeas! It’s so easy to make this veggie soup your own: Swap out the vegetables for what you have on hand, or replace the chickpeas with different beans!
Zucchini for breakfast!
It can be difficult to incorporate vegetables into typical breakfast meals, but I love starting the day off with some veggies to fuel me for the day ahead! Here are some Mediterranean-style breakfast recipes with zucchini:
My egg casserole with fresh herbs, shallots, and tomatoes is lighter than a traditional quiche because it lacks a crust, and you can use milk instead of heavy cream.
This Middle Eastern-style baked omelet comes together in just 30 minutes! Think of this as sort of like a more dense frittata. Serve it alongside fattoush salad for a delicious breakfast or brunch!
Roasted vegetables, rich extra virgin olive oil, and tangy feta cheese make this frittata simply sublime! Pro tip: A pinch of baking powder mixed into the egg batter will give you perfectly fluffy eggs.
More easy zucchini recipes
When I said zucchini is versatile, I wasn’t kidding! The recipes below all make the most of zucchini’s delicate flavor and tender texture. Check them out:
In this Middle Eastern-style recipe, hollowed-out zucchini acts as a vessel for a spiced mixture of rice and ground beef. And don’t worry, we don’t waste any of the zucchini flesh! It gets cooked right along with the stuffed zucchini.
Orzo with Zucchini and Chickpeas
For a satisfying vegan main meal or hearty side dish, you have to try this orzo recipe with zucchini and chickpeas cooked in a chunky, garlicky tomato sauce.
Dinner in 20 minutes! This one-pan pesto chicken and vegetables is an easy-as-can-be weeknight meal! Use homemade basil pesto if you have it, but store-bought works fine as well.
Grain Bowls with Lentils, Chickpeas, and Vegetables
Try a grain power bowl for a perfect nutrition boost. They’re also an easy way to turn pantry staples into a satisfying meal! I used lentils, chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes, and avocado, but I also share tips for creating your own grain bowls.
You may also enjoy
Recipe Roundups
35+ Bold and Easy Fish Recipes Anyone Can Make
Recipe Roundups
52 Fresh Tomato Recipes to Make Before Summer’s Over
Recipe Roundups
21+ Easy Eggplant Recipes You’ll Love!
Browse all Mediterranean recipes
Visit Our Shop
25+ Best zucchini recipes: Baked Zucchini Recipe with Parmesan and Thyme
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 zucchini, trimmed and cut length-wise into quarters (sticks)
- Extra virgin olive oil
For Parmesan-Thyme Topping:
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, no stems
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together the grated Parmesan, thyme, and spices in a medium bowl.
- Prepare a large baking sheet that's topped with a wire baking rack. Lightly brush the wire baking rack with extra virgin olive oil (or use a healthy cooking spray.) Place the zucchini spears, skin-side down, on the baking rack in a single layer. Brush each one with extra virgin olive oil.
- Sprinkle the herb and cheese topping on each zucchini stick so they are all lightly coated.
- Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. For a crispy golden topping, broil for 2 to 3 minutes more. Watch it carefully so the zucchini does not burn.
- Serve immediately as an appetizer with a dipping sauce, or as a side next to your protein of choice.
Video
Notes
- Tip for success: Be sure to cut the zucchini into thick spears or batons so they become crisp with a good bite when baked. And don’t skip using a wire rack, if possible. The wire baking rack allows the hot air to circulate freely so that the zucchini sticks will not get soggy. If you use a wire rack, the zucchini sticks will be tender on the inside, and firm with a crisp topping on the outside.
- Serving suggestions: Baked zucchini spears make a light appetizer next to your favorite dipping sauce. But they are also an easy side next to your favorite protein, like Garlic Dijon Chicken, Pan-Seared Trout, Salmon Kabobs, or Lamb Burgers.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Visit Our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils and all-natural and organic spices (like the sweet Spanish paprika used in this recipe).
I can hardly wait to try out your recipes. They look so delicious. Can eggplants with seeds be eaten?
Hi, Sphall. Yes, they are edible, but they are on the more bitter side.
SO many recipes ! Saved to email folder. There’s a puddle on the floor because I have been drooling so much. 😂. I’ve got Wifey eating more this year, our local veg shop has had lots so far this year , they have a small holding, so saves me growing any. They have had so many they only charge 50 cents for a kilo ! Cheaper and tastier than the local Greek (We live on Corfu island ) supermarkets..
Thank you so much for posting these. 😘
LOL! Hope you find lots of recipes you enjoy here :).
That made me laugh. 😂
Thanks, Suzy! Can’t wait to use these ideas on our abundance of zucchini this summer!!
I love your recipes. They are my go to recipes when I need something flavorful and delicious. Thank you.
Awesome! Love to hear it! Thanks, Gena!
Dear Suzy,
Thank you for these great zucchini recipes. I have a big vegetable garden and always end up with too many zucchini.
1) So, early in the season I pick zucchini flowers which I stuff with herbed ricotta, dip them in batter and fry them. They are a great appetizer.
2) Late in the season some zucchini have become very large. These I use to make a curried zucchini soup that is absolutely delicious to drink from a cup on cold winter mornings.
Thanks for sharing, Richard!
Hi Suzy ! Just to say since signing up to your website- Beginning Of 2020 -I love the recipes & all the interesting data you submit , Thank you Very much , Stay Safe , X Margery
Thank you so much! Glad you’ve found the blog helpful!
The zucchini boats were full of flavor and easy to make! I can’t wait to try these other zucchini recipes too, especially the breakfast options, yum! Thank you!
Hope you find some new recipes here you enjoy!!
I always buy zucchinis on a whim, then have nothing in mind for what to do with them. This post is definitely going to come in handy, bookmarked for later 🙂
Amazing recipe collection. I’m Italian American and these recipes have all of the flavors of homecooking.
Thanks, Diana!
I have a ton of zucchini and these recipes are perfect right now! I don’t know which one I will be making first, but most of these will be getting made!
This went down sooooo well for a BBQ I had at the weekend with family. They absolutely loved it. I swapped the feta out for vegan feta but other than that, I followed your recipe to the T and it was wonderful. Looking forward to seeing more of your summery recipes!
This went down sooooo well for a BBQ I had at the weekend with family. They absolutely loved it. I swapped the feta out for vegan feta but other than that, I followed your recipe to the T and it was wonderful. Thank you
Thanks, Vanessa!
I’ve made the stuffed zucchini boats, pasta primavera and sheet pan chicken in the past. All were absolutely scrumptious! Can’t way to try the others on the list!
My friend gave me a lot of zucchini from her garden, so now I have made a couple of these recipes already and can’t wait to try the rest! Thanks for putting them together in one convenient place!
My pleasure, Amanda! Hope you find some recipes you really love!