zucchini recipes

zucchini recipes

If, like most folks, you want your family to have healthy dinner recipes on the table, then you're probably looking for ways to add more fresh vegetables on their plates. And in the summer, especially, there's one vegetable in particular worth turning to over and over: zucchini. Zucchini is inexpensive, nutritious, and its mild taste and creamy texture make it incredibly versatile.

Whether you want to make zucchini the centerpiece of a show-stopping quick, easy dinner recipe, give it a turn with your grilling recipes, serve it as a side, or sneak in into kid-friendly meals (see desserts, like these sweet apple muffins), we have a feeling you'll find at least one recipe on our list that'll fill the bill.

Haven't spent much time cooking with zucchini before? You're in for a treat. This supercharged summer staple can be cooked and enjoyed in a ton of different ways, and it's bound to change your summer produce game for the better. From classic recipes like zucchini fritters with chili lime mayo to more newfangled options (zucchini cookies with brown butter cream cheese frosting, anyone?), you'll be surprised by the variety you can elicit from this one magical vegetable. And if you're trying to make use of leftover produce, we've also included some easy pasta recipes that will use up lots of veggies in your fridge. We're sure that these healthy zucchini recipes are ones your family won't get tired of any time soon!

Repeat after me: There is no such thing as too much zucchini! Well, that's almost true — if you've ever grown zucchini in your yard's veggie patch, you know that a single zucchini can grow up to an inch each day. That one plant can give you more than enough to share among family and neighbors alike. It's a good thing that there are so many different ways to use up this luscious summer favorite; whether in an al-fresco dinner salad, charred on the grill, or stuffed into a sumptuous loaf of our favorite zucchini bread. Like many other fresh vegetables, zucchini is a great addition to any meal, snack, or dessert to keep heavy carbs off the plate.

Even if you don't grow this hearty vegetable in your garden, you'll find that zucchini is extremely budget-friendly and one of the freshest grabs in your supermarket's produce section. It's in season all summer long, from June to September, right before more fall-forward options are served on your Thanksgiving table. Zucchini can be prepared in many different ways, used in just about any dish you have in mind: Fried zucchini fries, zoodles in a fresh pasta salad, grilled atop a crunchy flatbread.

This water-packed summer squash is also quite good for you, too: 1 cup of zucchini packs in 1g of much-needed dietary fiber at less than 20 calories. Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CDN, says zucchini is also loaded with potassium and vitamin C (about 30% of your daily intake's worth). "You can fill up on a ton for very few calories — a sneaky weight-loss ally!"