20 Essential Zucchini Recipes: A Chat With Margaret Roach
Earlier this week, I chatted with my friend Margaret Roach, the master gardener behind A Way to Garden and author of the award-winning book, A Way to Garden, all about farm shares and the unique problems farm share subscribers face.
In our chat, we discuss strategies for dealing with our weekly hauls and share favorite ways to prepare the one vegetable you cannot have enough creative recipes for this time of year: summer squash.
After I hung up the phone with Margaret, I felt inspired to branch out and immediately tried two new recipes, both of which I cannot recommend enough: this simple zucchini sauté over on Smitten Kitchen (so fast! pictured below) and these zucchini tortillas, which are baked, made with four ingredients, and happen to be gluten-free. I’ve rounded up 20 more zucchini recipe ideas below.
You can listen to our chat or read the transcript over on A Way To Garden, where you can also leave a comment to enter a giveaway: Margaret is giving away a copy of my book, Bread Toast Crumbs.
Subscribe to all of Margaret’s future podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher AND enter to win a copy of Margaret’s A Way to Garden by leaving a comment below. Please tell me if you have a favorite way to prepare zucchini or other summer squash, or simply tell me your favorite summer recipe.
PS: Do you follow Margaret on Instagram? She is the funniest.
20 Zucchini Recipes to Make All Summer Long
Zucchini Tortillas (4-Ingredients, Gluten-Free, Baked) (A new favorite.)
Quick Zucchini Sauté over at Smitten Kitchen (Another new favorite.)
Zucchini Bread (Contest Winning 🎉🎉🎉)
Fried Squash Blossoms from Jenny Rosenstach’s Dinner A Love Story: How delicious do these look?
Sautéed Summer Squash with Mint, Basil & Pine Nuts
Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries over at Marilena’s Kitchen
Roasted Ratatouille = The Best Ratatouille
Veggie-Loaded Stuffed Bell Peppers
Summer Squash Pizza with Burrata and Basil
Toasted Orecchiette with Zucchini & Corn
Hetty McKinnon’s Melted Zucchini Pasta
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72 Comments on “20 Essential Zucchini Recipes: A Chat With Margaret Roach”
My squash is just starting to come in. Looking forward to trying many of these recipes!
Chocolate zucchini bread!
I have a recipe for zucchini and bow tie noodles. Only uses one pan and is delicious.
I like to use zucchini ribbons in vegetable lasagna instead of pasta. Delish!
We spiralize zucchini all summer and my go to favourite recipe has always been zucchini fritters, but I just saw the zucchini tortilla recipe on IG so trying that one tonight!
I loved your conversation with Margaret! And your CSA newsletter is amazing. Thank you so much for doing it! It’s incredibly helpful (I’m relatively new to having a CSA and still figuring out my strategies and go-to recipes), and I’m so grateful for it — along with all of the recipes on your website.
My favorite summer squash recipe is to saute it (diced) with fresh corn, jalapeno and cherry tomatoes and then top with some feta and basil. Quick and delicious!
Zucchini carpaccio! Super thin slices of zuke (I like slicing them lengthwise if they’re not too big) arranged nicely on a plate. Drizzle with lemon juice and your fave olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grate a bit of lemon rind over it all to finish.
These recipies look amazing. My favorite that I make now is a zucchini blueberry cake.
Thanks for these recipes. We slice zucchini in half the short way and then slice each into about 6-8 skewers so they are thickish. Sauté in evoo with s n p. Then serve smitten kitchens Bolognese sauce over them. They are the “pasta”. Their thickness give things a bit more tooth and texture then spirals. Of course zucchini muffins with cinnamon and a few chocolate chips. Anything zucchini really!
Loved your interview, and Margaret’s podcast. My typical summer squash treatment is sliced and sautéed in olive oil with onion, tomatoes, garlic (scapes if I have them), and finished with pepper flakes, grated parm, and some balsamic vinegar.
So anxious to try your recipes! Picked the first zucchini yesterday!
I can’t wait to try zucchini Involtini. And you reminded me that I forgot to check the zucchini for “canal boats” this morning.
Love your recipes!
Wow this brought back memories – and renewed inspiration! In the 1980s my oldest child was born Oct 2. I’d started a vegetable that spring and by August/September with work, prepping for the baby due and late term pregnancy the garden was nearly forgotten. One day I rummaged around and under the leaves were loads of gigantic zucchini. I was flabbergasted! I gave a lot away, baked zucchini bread and made lots of ratatouille and zucchini parm, which I froze. When the baby was born it was a godsend. I had lots of meals in the freezer.
The quickest way that I use for an easy lunch: slice yellow squash, steam in a little basket, eat some for lunch with garlic “Mrs. Dash” seasoning, save the rest and eat cold beside any other dish. Don’t know if it’s the color or taste, but zucchini doesn’t make this as good or appealing as summer squash.
We love the fritters and the cake, have always wanted to try the blossoms in a recipe. Any suggestions?
Starting to worry I planted an entire package of seeds 😀
I love to simply sauté with an onion – that’s my solution for any overly abundant veggie especially greens. They seem less intimidating as the pile cooks and shrinks down.
I recently made and loved your zucchini bread (with a few tweaks since I can’t leave recipes as-is) and the loaves were so delicious neither ended up in the freezer as planned. Will have to make more… or muffins!
Can’t wait to try some of these recipes! Your roasted ratatouille is now my “go to” recipe (in fact, I shared it just last night with a friend who said she wants to make ratatouille in the days ahead).
Every summer, I make this recipe at least once. It requires some patience in grating and cooking, but it is well worth it (and the leftovers are equally as good)!
http://localnewengland.blogspot.com/2012/08/orzo-with-zucchini.html
I’m a big fan. Especially love your focaccia recipe.
Hoping to win your cookbook give away. My go to zucchini recipe is zucchini bread.
Thanks
Always enjoy zoodling my zucchini. Sauté with olive oil and other veggies. Healthy and delicious.
Perfect timing! We were out of town for the week and just came home to our first three giant zucchini! Your oven roasted ratatouille is my absolute favorite – I could eat it every night. Can’t wait for my eggplant and tomatoes to catch up to the zucchini!
Oh my goodness, you have saved the day! Slowly being overwhelmed with a bumper crop of yellow and green Courgettes here….and now, even more yummy recipes that I have not come across: who knew!! I make a lovely Minced Beef & Courgette Canelloni bake, topped with a tomato based spicy sauce & melted Mozzarella. A Courgette & Jarlsberg cheese soup to name but two. Even got to the point of considering buying a bigger freezer. Very excited to have a stock of more recipes. Thanks Kaye
I tried Ali’s Summer Squash Spaghetti with Lemon & Herbs recipe and loved it so much I made it again the same week.
So delicious. Thanks for the chance to win the book.
Zucchini Fritters: Not sure what to do with the leftover, somewhat-salty zucchini juice? Add all its nutrients & saltiness to your next pasta water!
I must try the fried squash blossoms
YUMMMMMM! What a beautiful post! I’ve tried your zucchini involtini and it was fantastic! Thank you for these recipes!
My husband won’t try zucchini dishes so I make muffins and chocolate cake, he will eat the chocolate cake.
I will be trying all of these recipes!! they look so delicious!
I recently got a sourdough starter as a gift. After several weeks of mediocre bread I stumbled across your focaccia recipe. I’ve made it every weekend for the last 3 weeks and have also made your sourdough recipe several times with great success! Thank you so much for the easy to follow recipes and the wonderful guiding photos! We currently have a bounty of summer squash in the garden and I’ve been trying to find ways to use it besides just roasting and BBQing it. These tortillas were a revelation! We’ve been using them for breakfast burritos and chickpea wraps this week and it’s been fantastic!
A saute with garlic but only with small squash. Simple!