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10 Easy & Delicious Recipes to Use Up All Your Zucchini

Ariel Knutson
|
July 26, 2021
Photo Credit: How Sweet Eats

I know people like to complain about being bombarded by squash during the summer, but I’m here to say there is no such thing as too much zucchini. You just need better zucchini recipes! Zucchini can be transformed into “butter” for pasta; into healthier fries to accompany hot dogs and burgers; or into moist and flavorful bread that’s perfect for easy breakfasts.

There is no limit to zucchini’s versatility, you just need to be more creative in the kitchen. And if you’re looking for inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. Here, I’ve rounded up 10 of my favorite zucchini recipes to make right now — so you’ll never get bored with this summer all-star. 

1. Zucchini Ribbon Skewers From How Sweet Eats

This is hands-down the prettiest way to eat zucchini. To make you slice your zucchini into ribbons with either a vegetable peeler or a mandolin. Then, you brush the squash with lemon garlic butter and carefully add them to skewers (about 8-10 ribbons her skewer). After that, it’s a quick cook on the grill and you’re ready to take a photo for Instagram — er, I mean eat.  

Grilled garlic herb zucchini

2. Grilled Garlic Herb Zucchini From Damn Delicious

If there is one thing you make this summer, it should be this recipe. And yes, it’s the simplest of the zucchini recipes on this list. Grilled zucchini is just about my favorite summer side dish — it’s lightly sweet, smokey, and the texture is soft but with a bite. This recipe from Damn Delicious goes the extra mile and adds garlic herb oil to the zucchini when they come off the grill.

zucchini butter noodles

3. Zucchini Butter Pasta From Smitten Kitchen

I have made this recipe at least three times this summer so far — in fact, it might be my new favorite recipe. To make, you basically take a bunch of grated zucchini and cook it down into a “butter” that you then mix with pasta. The result is something that feels comforting, while still packing in the vegetables. Pro tip: the recipe calls for 1 ¼ pounds of zucchini, but I might go up to two pounds next time. It cooks down quite a bit. 

zucchini bread

4. Healthy Zucchini Bread from Ambitious Kitchen

You’ve made banana bread, but how about…zucchini bread! It’s the perfect treat for breakfast or after dinner. This recipe from Ambitious Kitchen doubles down on the healthy by using whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and honey for sweetener. Chocolate chips are optional (but not really).

Zucchini turkey meatballs

5. Garlic Butter Turkey Meatballs With Lemon Zucchini Noodles From Eatwell101

You can make this low-carb, keto-friendly dinner in 30 minutes after everything is prepped. The meatballs are a mix of turkey and pork and they’re stuffed with cheese, and the lemony zoodles are the perfect pairing (just remember to add a spiralizer to your shopping cart!).

zucchini boats

6. Mediterranean Zucchini Boats From Foodiecrush 

Our array of zucchini recipes is proof that this veggie is a great canvas for all kinds of ingredients, and here’s proof. Here, the flesh of the zucchini is scooped out to make room for a mixture of turkey, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan. The result is something that’s both cozy, fresh, and balanced. 

zucchini mushroom stirfry

7. Zucchini Mushroom Chicken Stir Fry From Diethood

This is an excellent weeknight meal that uses up a bunch of zucchini. After you cook your chicken in the wok, you simply take that out and cook your mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic in the same wok to absorb some of that flavor. Then, you add everything together and toss with a sauce. Pro tip: If you don’t have a wok you can use a large skillet to make this recipe. 

Baked Zucchini Fries

8. Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries From Fox and Briar 

Listen, I could eat about a thousand classic French fries when it’s burger night, but sometimes you want something just a little bit healthier. Enter: zucchini fries! These fries are baked in the oven so you use less oil, but the blogger behind Fox and Briar says they’re still super crispy. The breadcrumb exterior is also mixed with a bit of Parmesan for even more flavor. 

zucchini skillet

9. Easy Turkey & Zucchini Skillet from The Whole Cook

This veggie and protein packed meal is a weeknight dinner win. It’s super-easy, super-versatile (don’t have turkey? swap in ground beef!), and super-flavorful. Plus, it’s on the table in 30 minutes. Serve it with rice or pasta or just on its own.

Zucchini lasagna rols

10. Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups From Gimme Delicious 

Zucchini works as a wonderful low-carb substitute in this lasagna roll-up recipe. I can attest that this recipe is great for summer dinner parties — it’s obviously lighter than regular lasagna, but you still get all that cheesy tomato-y goodness. 

 

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