5 Delicious Zucchini Recipes

Simple and healthy go-to recipes that will please any palette

Quinoa and zucchini tabbouleh with harissa chicken, by FIT & NU™.

Zucchini is a common and affordable, fresh ingredient that nearly every grocery store always has in stock. It’s also easy to incorporate into recipes while also providing your plates with a splash of color.

Photo by Angele J from Pexels

Here are 5 simple ways to use zucchini whether you’re making breakfast, a light lunch, a healthy snack.

Roasted Vegetable Tacos

Photo by Quin Engle on Unsplash

Ingredients

Serves 5

• 3 medium tomatoes, cored and seeded, and diced (1.5 cups)
• 2 corn on the cob or about 1.5 cups frozen corn
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper , diced (1 cup)
• 1 fresh jalapeño pepper
• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp chili powder , divided
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup black beans
• ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 10 corn tortillas
• your favorite hot sauce for serving (optional)
• 1 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt (optional)

Directions

Total prep time is about 35 minutes.

1. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or lightly coat with oil and preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Dice up the vegetables. Remove excess liquid from the tomatoes and remove seeds from the peppers. Then place in the baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine avocado oil, cumin, 1 tsp of chili powder, and salt and pepper. Drizzle the mixture over the vegetables on the baking sheet and mix by hand or toss until the veggies are evenly covered.
4. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven briefly to stir the veggies. Continue roasting for an additional 10 minutes.
5. While the veggies are roasting, warm up the black beans in a small pot with the remaining ½ tsp of chili powder, on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Drain the excess liquid, if you’re using canned black beans.
6. Combine the roasted veggies veggies and black beans and drizzle the lime juice on top to complete the filling for the tacos. You can either serve them in a plate or fill the tacos yourself in preparation for serving (Tip: warm the tortillas on a nonstick skillet before filling to prevent from breaking. See our breakfast wrap recipe for tips).
7. Top off the tacos with your favorite hot sauce and small tablespoon of Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream, if desired.

Recipe should produce about 10 tacos (2 tacos per single serving).

Zucchini Pancakes

Credit: FIT & NU™.

Ingredients

Serves 4

For the pancakes:

• 3 medium zucchinis, grated
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ½ cup buckwheat flour (60g)
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (70g)
• 3 spring onions, chopped
• 5 sprigs dill, chopped
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt (½ tsp is for extracting moisture from the zucchinis)
• 2 tbsp avocado oil

For the sauce:

• ⅔ cup Greek yogurt (160g)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp salt

Directions

Total prep time is about 30 minutes.

1. Grate the zucchinis and place the in a colander over a large bowl, and mix with ½ teaspoon salt. Allow them sit and drain for five minutes and transfer onto a kitchen cloth and squeeze to extract as much moisture as possible. The zucchini will shrink to about half the volume you began with.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the zucchini with the beaten egg. Add the buckwheat flour, ½ teaspoon salt, crumbled feta cheese, spring onion, dill, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Mix well to combine thoroughly.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Fry the first batch of the pancakes by placing heaping tablespoons of the batter into the pan (Tip: you can also use a ¼ sized measuring cup). Avoid adding too many pancakes at once because they will stick together.
4. Fry pancakes until golden on one side (about 6–7 minutes), and then turn and fry until golden on the other side. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding a little oil to the pan as you go to keep the pancakes from sticking.
5. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic and salt. Mix well, and serve alongside the pancakes.

Recipe should produce approximately 12 pancakes (3 pancakes per single serving).

Zucchini and Kale Breakfast Bake

Credit: FIT & NU™.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 6 eggs
• ½ cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened (60ml)
• ½ cup buckwheat flour (60g)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried dill
• 2 medium zucchini, shredded
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup kale, chopped (70g)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (115g)

Directions

Total prep time is about 45 minutes.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat a 9x9 inch baking tray with oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well to combine.
3. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the center is cooked through (Tip: insert a toothpick into the center and see if it comes out clean).
4. Allow the baking dish to cool before slicing into 6 pieces (1 slice per single serving).

The dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Quinoa & Zucchini Tabbouleh with Harissa Chicken

Credit: FIT & NU™.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 12 oz chicken fillets (350g)
• 4 tbsp harissa pasta
• 300g quinoa
• 2 medium zucchinis, sliced
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 4 sprigs mint
• 4 sprigs coriander
• 2 spring onions
• 1 lemon

Directions

Total prep time is about 35 minutes.

1. Brush the chicken fillets with the harissa paste and let them stand as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on packaging. Check out our tips for preparing quinoa to make them less bitter in our vibrant detox salad recipe.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of avocado oil in a pan and fry the sliced zucchini for 4–5 minutes until browned.
4. Coarsely chop the herbs and spring onion and mix with the fried zucchini and quinoa.
5. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice and then add to the quinoa and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Reheat the pan over medium-high with the remaining avocado oil and fry the chicken fillets until brown and cooked through. Then cut into rough slices.
7. Divide the quinoa between four plates and serve with the chicken.

Zucchini Fritters with Avocado Sauce

Credit: FIT & NU™.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• ½ cup quinoa (85g)
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1 medium zucchini, grated
• 5 eggs
• 300g cherry tomatoes
• 4 sprigs basil, finely chopped
• 10 blades chives, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2–4 tbsp of avocado oil
• 2 avocados
• ½ lemon, juice only

Directions

Total prep time is about 40 minutes.

1. Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the packaging. See our vibrant detox salad recipe for tips on preparing quinoa.
2. Roughly chop the herbs.
3. Grate the carrots and zucchini over a large bowl. Add in the eggs, cooked quinoa, chopped herbs and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the flour.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, 1–2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Avoid adding too many fritters at once to prevent them from sticking together. Fry each fritter on one side for about a minute and then gently turn with a spatula and fry for another 1–2 minutes. The batter should produce about 12 fitters in total (3 fritters per single serving).
5. Slice the avocados in half and remove the stone. Check out our avocado toast recipe for tips on choosing a ripe avocado. Scoop out the avocado flesh into a food processor or into a bowl if mashing. Add the lemon juice and combine until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the fritters.