What can I make with zucchini?
Zucchini deserves better than being boiled as a side. These recipes make zucchini the centre of the plate, and the notes below cover roasting temperature, pan space, and seasoning order.
7 recipes with zucchini
Grilled Paneer and Vegetable Skewers
Quick and easy vegetarian skewers with paneer, zucchini, bell peppers, and scallions, flavored with cumin
Indian13m4Grilled Paneer and Zucchini
A quick and easy vegetarian dish perfect for a comforting meal
Indian13m2Zucchini Noodles
Spiralized zucchini tossed with pesto and cherry tomatoes.
American15m4Couscous
Steamed semolina with buttery vegetables.
North African25m4
Ratatouille
Provencal stew of summer vegetables in tomato.
French60m6
Skillet Apple Pork Chops with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Zucchini
Serves 2 1.
United States4
Chorba Hamra bel Frik (Algerian Lamb, Tomato, and Freekeh Soup)
Place freekeh in a small bowl and cover with cold water.
Algerian4
How to get the most flavour out of zucchini
- 1Cut into even pieces so everything finishes at the same moment.
- 2Roast at 425F on a preheated sheet pan for caramelised edges, or sear hard in a skillet if you want it fast.
- 3Do not crowd the pan; steam is the enemy of browning. Use two trays if you have to.
- 4Season in layers: salt before cooking, then acid and fat after, so the zucchini tastes finished rather than plain.
What goes well with zucchini
Zucchini is at its best with olive oil, garlic, lemon, parmesan, chili flakes and flaky salt. Any two or three of those, plus zucchini, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing zucchini
Store zucchini unwashed - moisture is what causes rot. Leafy types last longest wrapped loosely in a towel inside a bag; roots prefer somewhere cool and dark, not the fridge door. Anything starting to soften is ideal for soups, stocks, and roasting.
Substituting zucchini
If you are out of zucchini, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Zucchini recipes: common questions
- What can I make with zucchini and not much else?
- Plenty. With zucchini plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest zucchini recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute zucchini?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover zucchini?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover zucchini without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- Are these zucchini recipes vegetarian-friendly?
- Many are, and the vegetarian and vegan collections filter the whole library down to recipes with no meat or no animal products at all. In the chat you can also say "vegan" or "no dairy" and every suggestion will respect it.