30 Zucchini Recipes You've Never Heard Of Before

A superstar of Mediterranean cuisine, zucchini also features in recipes from around the world. Not only is it packed full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, but it's also wondrously versatile. Crunchy when eaten raw and served with a dip, you can transform zucchini into a fried snack, a noodle alternative, or roast it to create pasta, casseroles, and even Mexican-style dishes. Likewise, you can even eat the peel, which is considered to be nutritious. 

If this isn't impressive enough, zucchini also plays a key role in many desserts. For instance, if you add grated zucchini to a batter, you can make a cake. Known as a courgette across the pond, zucchini is actually a type of squash. Whatever you call zucchini, there's no denying its delicious versatility. With that in mind let's look at 30 zucchini recipes you've never heard of before, or at the very least might not have considered cooking.

Do you even need to taste these to know how good they are? Just looking at them is a visual feast. The pure flavor combination of zucchini and garlic pairs perfectly. A great tip is to rub the vegetable slices with a garlic clove before grilling for extra zest. Make sure the zucchini slices are not too flimsy when you cut them either as you want them to be robust enough to grill. If you're not planning a cookout then use a griddle on the stove. Leave out the pine nuts if you want, and serve hot or cold.

Recipe: Garlicky Grilled Zucchini

Zucchini is often served as a side with meat and potatoes, but don't underestimate the vegetable as a secret ingredient in many recipes, even desserts. Take our banana bread recipe for instance. Banana bread is delicious for breakfast and pairs well with fresh fruit. Zucchini provides a great texture for the dish. You could add some peanut butter to make things even sweeter. If you don't have flax seeds, then you can use an egg instead. For a tastier bite, add walnuts, chocolate chips, or cacao nibs.

Recipe: Zucchini Banana Bread

Forget loaded potato skins and pizzas for a moment. Try these cheesy, meaty, enchilada melts made with zucchini. Make sure the sides of the veggie boats aren't too thin or they won't be able to carry their cargo of ground turkey. One quick note, don't throw away any of the zucchini you scoop out to make the boats either as you'll add that to make the filling later. Spritz the foil cover with non-stick spray before cooking to stop the cheese from sticking. 

Recipe: Zucchini Enchilada Boats

Zucchini goes well with a zesty citrus tang. This recipe adds a veggie nutritional boost to a dessert, and the lemon glaze pairs well with a tart finish. The key to success is wringing the water out of the grated zucchini, otherwise, the batter won't set properly. If you don't have the right kind of strainer, use your hands. When it comes to the lemon glaze, fresh lemons work best. While the recipe calls for walnuts, you can substitute your own favorite or omit them entirely. 

Recipe: Zucchini Walnut Bread With Lemon Glaze

Cheese, creamy sauce, tomatoey Bolognese, and pasta create the ultimate comfort food. However, lasagna can be heavy and high in carbs. Fortunately, this zucchini alternative offers to lighten the load by swapping out the pasta for velvety zucchini strips. You might have heard of zoodles, which are noodles made out of zucchini, and this is the flat-sheet version. Additionally, using ricotta in place of béchamel and a jar of marinara sauce instead of a meaty layer makes for a lighter meal while still keeping that flavor profile. Use asiago for the topping if you find parmesan too strong for your liking.

Recipe: Vegetarian Zucchini Lasagna

If you want a change from the usual sides and salads, then this nutritiously filling dish is something a little different. You can eat it as a main meal too, and the beauty of it is you can make a big pan-full and heat it as needed throughout the week for meal prep. The quinoa adds bulk, and the goat cheese elevates the flavor with a tangy taste. The zucchini, tomatoes, and spinach, with zesty garlic, are sautéed to create a soft texture and flavorsome taste that's good for you.

Recipe: Quinoa Zucchini Salad

With summer being zucchini season, it's the perfect time to make glorious pasta with this fresh-tasting squash. Leave behind the heavy cream-based dishes that keep you warm over winter, and celebrate al fresco lunches where a big bowl of colorful and flavorsome farfalle or fusilli is welcomed. Be mindful not to over-fry the veggies for this recipe as they can quickly turn mushy and lose some of their brightness. Simmer the tomato, zucchini, and bell pepper sauce with the lid firmly on.

Recipe: Easy Fresh Summer Vegetable Pasta

An Italian home-comfort classic, you can make this soup quickly. Made with kidney and cannellini beans, it feels fresh but wholesome. One mistake to avoid is adding the chopped-up zucchini when you sauté the other vegetables. Instead, you'll want to add in your zucchini when you add beans. Otherwise, it'll become mashed in with the other ingredients and cook for too long. Likewise, add the spinach towards the end of cooking to maintain its texture. Serve with grated Parmesan if you like and some fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, or thyme.

Recipe: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Just thinking about biting into these gorgeously chargrilled veggie kabobs is enough to make your mouth water. Because there isn't any meat in these, they grill super-quick. Cut the zucchini thick enough, so that the slices cook at the same rate as the button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and red onion, as well as yellow pepper and corn on the cob slices. Serve the meal with rice or just as it is. The kabobs can be paired with meat, but the vegetables are stars on their own.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Kabobs

Zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and feta cheese evoke the flavors of Greek cuisine, and this recipe turns those ingredients into a dish that tastes as good as it looks. You can use either ground lamb or beef with this. Add in the zucchini once both the meat and rice have cooked for a bit. As far as peppers, you can't go wrong with any color, so pick your favorite of red, green, or yellow.  Serve two halves per person as a main dish.

Recipe: Greek Stuffed Peppers

This dish isn't simply a pasta dish with a few veggies thrown in. The fact that the zucchini and other vegetables are chargrilled makes a world of difference. The barbecued taste, charred edges, and sweetness are sublime when mixed with plain-tasting penne pasta. Throw in some cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and bell pepper for a variety of flavors. The great thing about this dish is that you can tailor it to your tastes by omitting or adding certain vegetables.

Recipe: Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

If you think you have to let a curry simmer for hours, then you've not tried this chickpea curry with half-moons of zucchini. This vegetarian take on a classic curry dish can be ready in as little as 15 minutes. While chickpeas may be the main attraction, zucchini helps blend together ginger and garlic for a zesty but not overpowering dish. If you like a thicker sauce then mix in a flour slurry. Once ready, serve with naan bread, Indian basmati, or Thai jasmine rice, and add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt for a cool, tangy topping.

Recipe: 15-Minute Chickpea Vegetable Curry

Dishes like this sweet and peppery bread salad are perfect if you have a few ingredients, especially bread, in the pantry that is almost passed its prime. This is a go-to recipe if you've got a baguette that's too stale to eat fresh. You want your veggies to be bite-sized, but they'll shrink when they're roasted so keep this in mind. You want them to char a little, so give them a good blast. Serve this with arugula for a little kick on the side.

Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Panzanella

A simple but solid take on stir fry, our recipe combines taste and texture perfectly by adding baby corn, carrots, red pepper, and sugar snap peas to zucchini. If you don't have a spiralizer, use a vegetable peeler to create thin ribbons of zucchini. If sesame oil is a little too strong-tasting for your liking, then use other oils to balance things out. Likewise, you can add tofu or meat to get a serving of protein.

Recipe: Simple Vegetable Stir Fry

The fact that you can make chocolate muffins with zucchini proves what a star vegetable this is. Talk about a feel-good dessert. Can you imagine offering these out and telling people to eat up their veggies? Everything about this recipe is recognizable until you mix grated zucchini into the batter. Before you get to this stage though, mix the wet and dry ingredients thoroughly. Since you want to fold in the zucchini, along with some chocolate chips, ditch the mixers and gently do this by hand with a spatula.

Recipe: Moist Chocolate Zucchini Muffins