It’s that time of year when it seems you don’t have enough friends and family to give zucchini to. I have come to love zucchini time because over the years I have gathered quite a few ideas and recipes. Here are eleven ideas and recipes to help you through zucchini overload time.
- Freeze it. Shred it, measure it into the correct measurement for your favorite zucchini bread, then freeze in a freezer bag. When you want fresh zucchini bread this winter, all you have to do is thaw a bag out and add it to the recipe.
- Freeze zucchini bread. Make zucchini bread loaves (see recipe below) and freeze them for later. These are handy for bringing to potlucks or giving as Christmas gifts.
- Add to… You can shred zucchini and add it to spaghetti sauce and meatloaf. This adds nutrition and bulk.
- Deep-fry it. Make your favorite beer-batter for making fish and chips, dip slices of zucchini in it and deep fry for a delicious treat. Dip in ranch or barbecue sauce.
- Fry in butter. Dip zucchini slices into egg wash, then flour, then fry in butter and season with salt.
- Eat it fresh. Cut it up and dip it in your favorite vegetable dip such as ranch.
- Stir-fry it. Zucchini is excellent stir-fry material. Add it to your next stir-fry, or stir-fry it all by itself. Heat a wok or large frying pan on high heat, add a little oil and stir-fry until crisp-tender. Add stir-fry sauce or eat it plain, either way is good.
- Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Relish
- Chicken Zucchini Parmigiana
- Black-Bottom Zucchini Bars
Recipes
Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups zucchini, shredded (about 3 medium)
- 1 ⅔ cups sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans that are 9x5x3 inches. Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Pour into pans. Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves and remove from pans.
Nutrition
Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 124mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Net Carbs: 31g
Zucchini Relish
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped zucchini, about 3 medium
- 1 cup chopped onion, about 1 medium
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- Combine zucchini and onion. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add vegetables; simmer 10 minutes.
- Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling- water canner.
Chicken Zucchini Parmigiana
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- seasoning salt to taste
- 1 large or 2 medium zucchini, sliced
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- In a large, heavy skillet sauté chicken breast and garlic in oil about 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with seasoning salt to taste.
- Remove from skillet; set aside. Add zucchini to skillet, sprinkle with seasoning salt to taste and cook and stir 5 minutes or until zucchini is crisp-tender.
- Push to sides of skillet.
- Arrange chicken in middle of skillet. Top chicken with cheese, tomato sauce and herbs.
- Cover, cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is hot and chicken is cooked through.
Nutrition
Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 17g | Sodium: 769mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Net Carbs: 5g
Black-Bottom Zucchini Bars
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup baking cocoa
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, egg and vanilla until well mixed. Blend in the zucchini. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to zucchini mixture and mix well.
- Divide batter in half. Add cocoa to half; spread into a greased 13x9x2-in. baking pan. Pour remaining batter on top and spread out evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bars test done. Cool.
Nutrition
Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 196mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Net Carbs: 29g
As you can see, zucchini is very versatile. I hope you’ll come to appreciate it as much as I have.
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© Monica Resinger
About the Author: Monica Resinger is a loving wife and doting mother of two who enjoys gardening, painting, dancing and homemaking. She edits and publishes the e-zine The Homemaker’s Journal, a free e-zine published Monday through Friday, that features a useful homemaking tip and scrumptious recipe of the day; if you’d like to subscribe, visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HomemakersJournal/ [ED: Link no longer active]
Nunu
The pan size for the black bottom zucchini bars is way off. I started with the stated size and kept going smaller and smaller until I wound up using my smallest baking pan. It needed 5 more minutes in the oven and the baking soda taste was too prominent. It’s edible but I won’t make it again.
Mary Ann
Thanks for the feedback, Nunu. This was a contributor post from years ago and I have not personally tried the black bottom zucchini bars. I have made the bread and it was delicious. I will look into what needs to be done about the bars recipe. Sorry you had such a bad experience.