5 Easy Zucchini Recipes – Healthy, Tasty, and Great for Summer
Every year, no matter how I try to resist it, my kitchen ends up with way too much zucchini. There are a few on my porch from the neighbor who grew them; I buy too many at the farmers’ market where they look so fresh and vibrant, and suddenly there’s a ton of the green vegetable lying everywhere. Fortunately, zucchini is one of those vegetables that seems to do just about everything right. I bake them into muffins, spiralize them into noodles, make zucchini chips, and even make the base of my tacos with them.
There are so many things that I enjoy about zucchini recipes. First and foremost, nothing with zucchini ever feels heavy – especially during hot summer days. Zucchini dishes are always refreshing, light-colored, and easy to prepare for weeknights, yet satisfying enough for me to really crave them. The zucchini muffins are definitely my new favorite breakfast food, and the taco zucchini boats have practically become a weekly dinner staple.
So, if you’ve got a bunch of summer zucchini lying around your home, try using these recipes and prepare yourself delicious, healthy snacks.
What You’ll Need
For the Zucchini Muffins
- 1 zucchini, medium-sized and shredded (around 1½ cups / 180g)
- 3 eggs, large-sized (total 150g)
- ½ cup of applesauce (around 120g)
- ¼ cup of maple syrup (around 60ml)
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (15ml)
- 1½ cups of almond flour (total 150g)
This flour makes the zucchini muffins nice and fluffy, yet not dense at all.
- ½ cup of tapioca flour (60g)
- ¼ cup of coconut flour (28g)
It helps to absorb moisture, which is very useful for zucchini muffins.
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda (5g)
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (5g)
- ½ teaspoon of nutmeg (1g)
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt (3g)
For the Zucchini Chips
- 1 zucchini, large-sized (250-300g)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil (15ml)
- Kosher salt, as needed
For the Creamy Zucchini Soup
- 1 onion, diced (150g)
- 4 zucchini, sliced (between 1½ and 2 pounds or 680-900g)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil (30ml)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 cups of vegetable broth or chicken broth (720ml-960ml)
- ¼ cup of raw cashews (35g)
These add creaminess without adding actual cream.
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt (5g)
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper (1g)
- 2 tablespoons of herbs like parsley and dill, freshly chopped (8g)
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, freshly squeezed (30ml)
For the Basil Pesto Zucchini Noodles
Basil Pesto Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts (18g)
- ¼ cup of raw cashews (35g)
- 1 cup of basil leaves, tightly packed (25g)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (5ml)
- ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt (1g)
- A couple of grinds of freshly-ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup of olive oil (80ml)
Caprese Zoodle Salad Ingredients
- 3 zucchini, medium-sized (600g)
- 8 ounces of cherry tomatoes, halved (225g)
- 8 ounces of ciliegine mozzarella balls (225g)
For the Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- 4 zucchini, halved lengthwise (800g)
- 1 pound of ground beef, 90% lean (450g)
- 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (15g)
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced (200g)
- Green onions, cut into thin slices
- ½ avocado, sliced into pieces
- Sour cream or cashew sour cream, as needed
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime wedges, optional
Make the Zucchini Muffin Batter
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with 10 muffin liners. Why only 10? Well, because that’s the perfect number if you want nice, bakery-style muffins with big and golden tops.
Using a box grater, shred the zucchini. Then squeeze out as much moisture as you can using a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag. The first time I prepared the muffins, I didn’t squeeze the zucchini long enough, and it made the centers of the muffins too wet. That’s why I advise you to keep squeezing until the zucchini becomes almost dry.
Whisk together in one bowl the zucchini, eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. In the other bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Your mixture will get a nice and cozy smell of cinnamon and nutmeg. It won’t be very thin, but you will still be able to easily spoon it into a muffin tin.
Tip: Always use room-temperature eggs when making zucchini muffins. Otherwise, the batter will be very lumpy.
Bake the Zucchini Muffins
Fill the muffin liners with the zucchini batter until almost full. When filling them, you should give them another quick fill in order to make sure the batter is evenly distributed.
Bake your muffins for 28-32 minutes or until golden. By this point, the kitchen will start smelling of a nice blend of cinnamon, a warm nutty smell, and sweet maple syrup.
Once done, take the muffins out and let them cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. They should have a slightly crunchy and golden surface, whereas inside they should be moist and fluffy.
Tip: I like overbaking these muffins a little bit. After all, zucchini retains a lot of moisture, so they will probably stay undercooked otherwise.
Slice the Zucchini for Chips
Set your oven to the lowest temperature – about 200 degrees F. This temperature is necessary to gradually release moisture and make your chips nice and crispy.
Using a mandoline, slice the zucchini into extremely thin slices. Thick slices will be soft inside despite being crispy on the outside.
After slicing the zucchini, sprinkle it with olive oil evenly and lay it on parchment paper. Season with some salt.
The zucchini slices should be glistening and moist with oil but not soaked.
Bake Until Crispy
Put the chips in the oven and bake for 2-2½ hours. Once they’ve been baked to perfection, you can switch off the oven and wait for them to cool down a bit inside.
While cooling down, the zucchini chips will gain more crispness and airiness. Their edges will curl up nicely, whereas the centers will remain crispy and thin.
Tip: As soon as they cool, store them in an airtight container. Otherwise, they will absorb moisture from the air and lose their crunchy texture overnight.
Make the Creamy Zucchini Soup
Start by heating olive oil over medium-high heat and sautéeing onions for 3-5 minutes until softened and translucent. Right when you put garlic in the pan, you will notice that the smell becomes instantly aromatic.
Now add the zucchini, broth, cashews, salt, and pepper into the pan and let everything come to a boil. Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the zucchini softens.
Even though cashews may seem weird in soup, trust me – they make everything creamy and silky smooth without feeling heavy.
Blend the Zucchini Soup Until Smooth
Add fresh herbs and lemon juice to the soup before blending. Lemon juice brings freshness to the soup and makes the zucchini taste more natural.
You can either blend everything directly in the pot with an immersion blender or transfer to a different blender. Personally, I like using a countertop blender, as it results in a more velvety texture.
The resulting soup should look pale greenish and glossy, and it should be full of the aromatic scent of herbs.
Tip: Sometimes the soup lacks flavor. If that happens, add another squirt of lemon juice. Zucchini soup loves acidity!
Make the Basil Pesto
Start by toasting the nuts in a pan without oil. Toast them until they have a nutty aroma. You will know they are ready when they start smelling buttery.
Combine basil, toasted nuts, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until creamy.
Tip: I’ve been using store-bought pesto forever, but the homemade one always tastes better to me. Maybe it’s just because it was made from freshly picked basil.
Assemble the Zucchini Noodle Caprese
Start by spiralizing the zucchini into noodles. Snip them occasionally using a pair of scissors to make them easier to consume.
Now add cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and pesto. Toss everything gently until all of the noodles are covered with sauce.
Tip: If you add too much pesto, the zoodles may become watery. So, just add enough sauce to coat the noodles.
Serve immediately for the best texture.
Prepare the Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F and slicing the zucchini halves to remove the flesh. But remember – the zucchini shouldn’t be hollow, as there needs to be some space left for the filling.
Once done with this step, start by browning the ground beef in a pan until it’s crumbly. Once it’s about ready, add taco seasoning and continue cooking until it’s done.
During the last couple of minutes, the beef becomes intensely aromatic.
Bake and Add the Toppings
Pour the meat filling into the zucchini boats and bake for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables turn tender.
When the zucchini is almost done, start arranging your toppings like sour cream, avocados, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and lime wedges.
The contrast between warm taco filling and cold toppings will make your meal absolutely refreshing!
Tip: Try not to overbake the zucchini boats, as they can become too mushy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Not squeezing the zucchini enough.
Don’t forget to squeeze the zucchini until it becomes barely moist. Otherwise, both muffins and zucchini noodles will turn out watery.
Slicing the chips too thick
If the chips are thick, they won’t be crispy. For this reason, I recommend using a mandoline to get uniformly thin slices.
Overcooking zucchini noodles
Zucchini noodles tend to release moisture very quickly. In order to avoid this, serve them raw or barely cooked.
Over-scooping the zucchini
Remember to leave some space for the filling. Otherwise, it can become a problem later.
Not using enough acid
If you leave out the lemon juice, the soup may taste rather bland.
Ways to Change It Up
Adding Parmesan to Zoodle Caprese
If you are not dairy-free, consider adding some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It will add a savory taste that goes great with pesto.
Turning Muffins into Chocolate Chip Muffins
When I crave chocolate more, I use a handful of dark chocolate chips in my zucchini muffins instead of plain ones.
Switching Out the Taco Filling
Ground turkey and shredded chicken can also be used in zucchini boats. Even black beans work fine if you want a vegetarian version.
Storing, Freezing, and Serving Tips
Zucchini muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days. Additionally, they freeze great for up to 3 months.
Unlike zucchini chips, zucchini noodles are best served immediately. They can also be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
The soup also freezes well for 4 days and can be reheated. On the contrary, it is even better to eat it cold the next day.
Finally, zucchini boats keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. However, I recommend reheating them in the oven rather than in the microwave in order to preserve the firm texture.
I recommend eating the zucchini muffins slightly warm with coffee. Also, I like to serve the soup with bread, and the boats with extra limes.
I have been making these recipes regularly for the past couple of summers and really love them. They are easy to prepare and absolutely yummy! I hope you will also find them useful someday.
