Zucchini recipes?

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Seraph1120
Seraph1120 Posts: 194 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My sister gave me a HUGE zucchini from her vegetable garden and I have absolutely no clue what to do with it. It's very intimidating. I'm trying to expand my cooking capabilities, but haven't gotten very far from the canned veggies stage. lol. I've got virtually no experience with fresh veggies. Anyone have any fairly easy recipes I can try in order to use up this massive zucchini?

Thanks in advance!!!
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Replies

  • russellma
    russellma Posts: 284 Member
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    I tried zucchini lasagna for the first time this year, and my family really enjoyed it. You substitute zucchini for the noodles.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Zucchini bread? I don't have a recipe, but it's yummy.
  • jb_2011
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
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    I have several more in my garden that I'll gladly give you! : ) I just throw the big ones in the compost bin, but you can chop them, steam them, fry them, bread them, stuff them, grill them and add them to soup. Some people grate them, squeeze out all of the liquid then freeze them for use in zucchini bread or soup during the winter.
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    I LOVE zucchini! Steam it or sautee it with some lemon pepper seasoning. Zucchini bread is good, but probably not the best nutritionally since it's more of a dessert type bread. It's also really good grilled - cut it in chunks and stick it on skewers or slice it in long slices and just throw it on.
  • SimplyDeLish
    SimplyDeLish Posts: 539
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    Really large zucchini's aren't really good to eat...zucchini bread or cake is the best option.

    For smaller zucchini's I like to sautee them in just a bit of butter until they are just barely tender - season with salt and pepper and yummy!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
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    zucchini bread is my suggestion especially with those huge ones that should have been picked earlier but were missed :)

    I use a banana bread recipe but use zucchini in place of the banana... nothing else changes. Batter makes bread or muffins just fine.
  • joyeaann
    joyeaann Posts: 39 Member
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    Zucchini is usually better if you catch them before they are HUGE... but there are a number of options - zucchini bread is always good, slicing and grilling them with a light olive oil and herbs/garlic, or simple sauteing. i have even grated it up and supplemented/replaced some of the meat in pasta sauce or sloppy joes.
    I have always found good recipes on allrecipes.com you can even search by ingredient!
    Welcome to the world of fresh veggies. :happy:
  • caitymay1
    caitymay1 Posts: 73 Member
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    I love it in stir fries (I just throw in whatever veggies I've got in the fridge, and it usually turns out pretty good haha)
    Or dip it in egg whites, then bread crumbs (or whatever) and bake for yummy zucchini sticks :happy:
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
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    I tried zucchini lasagna for the first time this year, and my family really enjoyed it. You substitute zucchini for the noodles.

    Yeppers. . . or you can grate the zucchini an put marinara and some parmesan on it. . . again replacing the noodles.
  • Lotstoluv263
    Lotstoluv263 Posts: 62
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    I brush a little olive oil, with salt and pepper, than I make a combo of wheat bread crumbs and parm cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Super yummy, just like fried zuccinni with a lot less fat and calories!!

    I have also sauted onion, spinach, and zuccinni with egg for a yummy veggie scramble.
  • Seraph1120
    Seraph1120 Posts: 194 Member
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    I brush a little olive oil, with salt and pepper, than I make a combo of wheat bread crumbs and parm cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Super yummy, just like fried zuccinni with a lot less fat and calories!!

    I have also sauted onion, spinach, and zuccinni with egg for a yummy veggie scramble.

    Oooh...that sounds delicious!

    Thanks for all the options everyone. I thought about zucchini bread, but thought there might be a bit too much zucchini...didn't know what else I could do. My sister had marinated one of hers in some sort of mixture and threw it on the grill, but it was a little too sweet for me. Thought I'd see what everyone on here liked to make with them. Thanks for the feedback! =)
  • kbrogan78
    kbrogan78 Posts: 158 Member
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    I got a MONSTER zucchini from my neighbor's garden last week. It's a variety that grows to the size of a small watermelon and it was so big that at first I was at a loss as to what to do with the darn thing.

    Then I realized I could I treat it like I do acorn squash in the winter- I stuffed it!

    First, split it in half and de-seed it. Rub a bit of olive oil on it and roast it, cut sides down at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (less time than for winter squash). While it's roasting, sautee up your filling. I did onion, green pepper and ground turkey with adobo spice this time. When the zucchini comes out of the oven, turn it right side up, fill the hollows with your stuffing mixture, and place back into the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

    It was fabulous and filling for very little calories.
  • ScrappyKat
    ScrappyKat Posts: 34 Member
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    I used to make a stuffed zucchini recipe, and I'd slice the zucchini into rounds, take the seeds out of the middle and put them onan oven tray, so they are like little containers. Then I'd stuff them with a ground beef mixture, and top with a little grated cheese, and bake in the oven till the zucchini is soft. Yummy
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
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    My favorite is veggie tacos--I saute zuchini, mushrooms and onions and eat it on corn tortillas with a little light cheese and some hot sauce. So good!
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
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    If you want the best Zucchini Bread recipie, send me a message. My moms recicpe is a swiss one, and honestly she won a competition with it. Its AMAZING. Ill get it from her tommorow if you send me a message
  • loadsandloads
    loadsandloads Posts: 353 Member
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    bump for later! Fabulous ideas
  • MandaKayMakesIt
    MandaKayMakesIt Posts: 81
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    This isn't meant to be self-promotional, but I do have a great and super simple zucchini recipe on my blog: http://mandakaymakesit.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/summer-on-a-plate/

    Zucchini bread or muffins, shaving it and using it as noodles, roasting it off with some veg, making kabobs, etc. It's such a versatile and delicious vegetable, the options are endless!
  • pattisb1227
    pattisb1227 Posts: 1
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    Dice it up and add Wegmans basing oil or olive oil with some Mrs. Dash and put it in the toaster oven, turning once until the zucchini is tender. it's also good grilled.
  • tabathaduvall
    tabathaduvall Posts: 17 Member
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    bump! Our zucchini have been enormous this year!
  • aerochic42
    aerochic42 Posts: 821 Member
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    If the zucchini is that big than I would recommend peeling it and possibly discarding much of the seeds as they are tougher than on smaller ones. They are normally pretty easy to cut or peel, but if it takes much effort than peel it prior to use. They also will have a different taste than the smaller ones, so if you are still working on the fresh veggie thing than don't discount a recipe or the vegetable (technically not but whatever) itself until you've tried it with smaller zucchinis.

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