Vegetarian Recipes

20 Best Zucchini Recipes

A page for those of us with bumper crops of zucchini. For any of you who don’t often use zucchini, I’m hoping this will give you a change of heart! It’s an incredibly versatile ingredient in season throughout the summer, from June to late August.

The Many Ways to Use Zucchini

You can shave zucchini into salads, puree it into delicious soups, spiralize it into noodles, bake it into cakes and breads, or even grate it along with other ingredients into a slaw of sorts. It’s great with pasta, wonderful grilled, and welcome in many soups and stews. I’m including recipes below for my favorite ways to use zucchini.

How to Store Zucchini

Any zucchini you aren’t using immediately, can be preserved, pickled or frozen for later (instructions below). Because, unfortunately, with zucchini the deal is use it or lose it. When you’re faced with a crop that produces a lot of squash at once, it can feel like a part-time job to use it. The good news is you have options.

Twenty Favorite Zucchini Recipes

If you’re looking for great zucchini recipes, you’re in the right place! These are some tried and true recipes we revisit often. The Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream and Zucchini Bread are especially popular.

Grilled Zucchini & Bread Salad

Put a 2-pound dent in your zucchini supply with this bread salad made with torn pieces of toasted multi-grain bread, grilled zucchini, chickpeas, and a simple, garlic-forward ponzu dressing.
Zucchini Bread Recipe

A single beautiful loaf of walnut-studded, sugar crusted zucchini bread. It’s popular every year!
Pasta with Smashed Zucchini Cream

A summer favorite. This simple, garlic-boosted pasta uses two pounds of zucchini, and is endlessly adaptable.
Simple Sautéed Zucchini

Coins of zucchini are browned in a pan with toasted gold slivers of garlic combined with lots of fresh dill or scallions. Finish with a sprinkling of almonds for a bit of crunch.
Quick Pickled Zucchini

They’re quick to make and great to have on hand. Delicious on crusty, goat-cheese slathered grilled bread (or just about anything cheesy or crunchy) and simple salads.
Buttermilk Farro Salad

Farro with shaved radishes, zucchini, and fennel tossed with a tangy herbed buttermilk vinaigrette.
Summer Squash Gratin

A decadent, crunchy-topped summer squash gratin made from thinly sliced summer squash, potatoes, oregano pesto, and brown-buttered breadcrumbs.
Buttermilk Summer Squash Soup

A pureed summer squash soup with a buttermilk twist.
Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini

Made from a quirky combination of quinoa, dill, shredded zucchini, and currants – a quinoa salad from Maria Speck’s book, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals.
Shaved Fennel Salad

A favorite salad recipe from Super Natural Every Day – shaved fennel, arugula, zucchini coins, feta, toasted almonds.
Zucchini Agrodolce

Shredded zucchini doused with a garlic infused agrodolce splash of vinegar, honey, and olive oil.
Sopa Verde de Elote

Sweet corn, zucchini and peas are off-set by a spike of green chile, a finishing dollop of creme fraiche, and generous squeeze of lime.
Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

A savory, summertime ricotta cheesecake recipe made with shredded zucchini, dill, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Perfect picnic or brunch fare.
Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini

Quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe is tossed with a pretty, pale green cilantro-flecked avocado dressing.
Spinach and Zucchini Soup

Vibrant green spinach and zucchini soup, it’s light-and-healthy, but still creamy textured and plenty tasty.
A Tasty Frittata

The prettiest, tastiest, frittata recipe. Made with potatoes, onions, zucchini and eggs drizzled with a cilantro chile sauce.
Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini

A quinoa salad made from a quirky combination of quinoa, dill, shredded zucchini, and currants.
Summer Vegetable Cianfotta

A vibrant, colorful Campagnian summer stew from the A16: Food + Wine cookbook. It features zucchini, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, fennel, and other ingredients braised in olive oil.
Lasagna Tart

A noodle-free lasagna baked in a pie crust – layers of zucchini, ricotta, and tomato sauce.
Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry

An easy stir-fry featuring golden crusted, pan-fried chickpeas, chopped kale, summer squash, tofu, and a bit of lemon zest.

Have fun cooking with zucchini and all the wonderful summer squash this time of your! Experiment with different varietals and ask your neighboring shoppers at local farmers’ markets to share their favorite ways to cook it. I hope this inspires you. Enjoy!

How to Freeze Zucchini

When you’ve used all the zucchini you can stand, and there’s still more coming, freezing is a quick and easy way to store it.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds zucchini or summer squash
water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by slicing zucchini into 1/2 inch coins, or4-inch batons along the length. This way you maintain skin on each piece, which provide structure.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare a large ice bath – the bowl of a salad spinner works well for this. Line a baking sheet thick with paper towels or, even better, a clean dish towel.

3. When the water boils, add the zucchini and cook for just a minute or so. The hold bright up but remain firm. Definitely avoid over-cooking.

4. Use a strainer or slotted spoon to quickly transfer to the ice bath. Cool well, drain well, and then Arrange the zucchini in on the towel. Blot the tops to remove any residual water.

5. Freeze until solid in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to freezer bags and keep for up to a few months.

6. When you’re ready to use it, thaw your zucchini and proceed with your favorite recipe.

NOTES

Makes 2 pounds.

The post 20 Best Zucchini Recipes appeared first on 101 Cookbooks

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

Just like vegetable lasagne, vegetarian moussaka is one of those dishes that I adore, but I rarely cook for myself, because it always seems like such a huge effort. Cooking lentils, boiling potatoes, grilling slices of eggplant, simmering tomato sauce… the vast majority of the time, I really, truly can not be bothered.

That’s why this vegetable moussaka casserole is such a revelation! It’s a casserole-style version of my favourite veggie moussaka, which tastes just the same, but is so much less effort to make! Just stick everything in a baking dish and let it do its thing, casserole-style.

A spoon taking a scoop from a baking dish of cheesy moussaka casserole.

This moussaka casserole has two sections:

a tasty tomatoey layer underneath, made with all the usual ingredients you’d expect to find in a vegetable moussaka – tender lentils, melt-in-your-mouth eggplant and roasted potatoes, cooked in a rich tomato sauce
a thick layer of creamy bechamel sauce on top

As you scoop into the casserole, the creamy sauce drips down and smothers the tomatoey layer. It. Is. Delicious.

How is this Easier than a Regular Vegetarian Moussaka?

I’m not going to lie, this vegetable moussaka casserole takes quite a long time to bake, and the ingredients list is a fair bit longer than the majority of my easy recipes.

However, I stand by the fact that this is so much easier to make than most moussaka recipes. Although it takes a while to cook, it’s almost all hands-off time, where you can go and relax / do some other useful jobs / play with your kids / whatever else you like to do with your life.

Vegetarian moussaka casserole topped with sliced tomato.

This vegetarian moussaka casserole is easy to make because:

using canned lentils mean there’s no boiling required.
the vegetables are roasted in the oven, rather than the more hands-on method of cooking them on the stovetop.
there’s no fiddly layering of sliced ingredients – it’s all baked up together.
even the tomatoey sauce is cooked right there in the oven with the other ingredients.

It’s definitely not a quick weeknight dinner, but if you’re at home over the weekend, it’s the perfect dish to have baking in the oven while you’re busy with other things.

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Overhead shot of a cheesy topped moussaka casserole with sliced tomatoes.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

potatoes
eggplant (aubergine)
canned lentils (mine were green lentils)
onion – I only used half an onion (a small onion would also work!)
canned tomatoes
tomato paste
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar (my favourite time-saving ingredient!)
dried herbs – mint and oregano. I very rarely use dried mint but trust me, it tastes amazing in moussaka! Not a hint of toothpaste, I promise.
tomato – to slice up for the topping
milk, flour and butter – for the creamy white sauce. You can add a pinch of nutmeg to it as well, if you like.

Becca’s Top Tip

I used the same baking dish to roast up my vegetables, and then to cook the casserole itself. If you’ve got a little less time on your hands, the veggies will actually roast a little quicker if you spread them out on a baking tray – but I wanted to save on dishes to wash! I love a one pot meal.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of a portion of vegetable moussaka with salad.

Printable Instructions

Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

This vegetable moussaka casserole is a much easier version of a vegetarian moussaka – but is just as tasty, with a luxurious creamy topping!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 35

Total Time 2

Servings

Calories 523kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

For the lentil layer:

1 medium eggplant (aubergine) (~ 250g / ~ 9 oz)
~ 500g (~ 1 lb) potatoes
1 medium onion (or 1/2 large onion)
2 Tbsp oil
400 g tinned lentils, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
400 g tin (~ 1 1/3 cups) chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp dried oregano

For the topping:

60 g (~ 2 oz) butter
60 g (~ 2 oz) plain flour
500 ml (~ 2 cups) milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 large tomato, sliced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
Cut the eggplant, potatoes and onion into 2cm dice (I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes). Toss them in a little oil, and add to a baking dish – mine measured approx. 8 x 8 inches.
Roast the vegetables in the centre of the oven for around 50 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, or until the vegetables are fairly soft (the potatoes might still be a bit al dente). If you decide to spread the vegetables out onto a baking tray instead of using the dish, they will cook more quickly.
Add the tinned lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, and dried herbs, and mix well to combine.
Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have thickened up into a rich sauce. Mix well.
To make the béchamel topping, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and add the flour. Mix to create a thick paste (a roux), and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring until smooth each time before adding more milk. Season to taste with salt. If you need more detailed instructions, check out my white sauce recipe.
Pour the béchamel sauce over the lentil mixture, and top with a few slices of tomato.
Return to the oven for a final 25 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned.
Allow to stand for a few minutes, then serve.

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare moussaka in advance?

Absolutely! The casserole can either be cooked entirely and then reheated when needed, or you can assemble it, then do the final bake just before serving.

Can I freeze leftover moussaka?

Moussaka is perfect for batch cooking – just transfer any leftovers to a freezer-safe tub, and freeze. Reheat thoroughly in the microwave.