Garden Fresh Zucchini Recipes

Gardens are now producing everything from green beans to green onions and for the early bird gardener potatoes and corn. If you’ve planted zucchini – you probably have a boatload of them. Here are some tried and very good recipes you might enjoy. I’ve included dishes to cover every meal, from breakfast to dessert.

Zucchini Carrot Bread

3 eggs

1 cup extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup zucchini, grated

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ bran cereal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready 2 well-greased 8 ½ X 4 ½ inch loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with oil. Stir in sugar, zucchini, carrot, and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Blend remaining ingredients into zucchini mixture, adding nuts last. Bake for 1 to 1 /12 hours at 350 F until golden brown and when picked with a toothpick the toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchini Stuffing

½ cup celery, chopped

½ onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter OR 1 teaspoon butter and 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cups bread cubes

4 cups zucchini. Chopped

2 eggs slightly beaten

½ cup shredded cheese (optional)

½ teaspoon salt

½ to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

This is a great side dish to go with grilled chicken.

In a saucepan, cook celery and onions in margarine or olive oil until tender. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Zucchini Omelet

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

½ fresh basil

¾ cup shredded mild cheese

If omelets tend to scare you away from the kitchen, just let it go and end up making a scrambled egg dish, this one will have a bit more flare than just scramble eggs.

Simmer zucchini and onion in oil and water until tender. Combine with basil and cheese. Place this mixture inside a 4-egg omelet pan or small fry pan. Cook until firm.

If the mixture sticks –scramble it! And garden fresh basil makes all the difference in this dish.

Spinach Squash Boats

2 medium zucchini

1 cup cooked spinach

4 bacon or turkey bacon strips

1 tablespoon onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

½ cup milk

½ cup mozzarella cheese

Halve zucchini lengthwise and simmer in boiling water until barely tender. Do not over cook. Scoop out pulp; dice and add to chopped spinach. Sauté onions and garlic in 1tablespoon of olive oil. Add zucchini and spinach mixture. Cook bacon and set aside on a paper towel to absorb grease. Combine all remaining ingredients including flour, milk and cheese and fill hollowed out zucchini shells. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.

Parmesan Zucchini Fries

1 ½ pounds zucchini washed and trimmed

½ cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

¾ teaspoon Ground black pepper, divided

3 large eggs

1 ½ cup panko or plain bread crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp chopped dill (optional)

This is sure to be everyone’s favorite and without using a deep fryer you can rest assured its healthy.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Arrange oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Line two rimmed baking dishes with parchment paper. Cut zucchini in thick French-fry size sticks.

Arrange 3 shallow, wide bowls or pie plates in a row. In the first bowl, stir together flour, 1 tsp pepper. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper. In the third bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs Parmesan and dill (if using) and ½ tsp salt.

Working in batches, first dip zucchini in flour, shaking off excess. Transfer to egg mixture and toss until coated. Let excess egg run off, then coat zucchini in panko bread.

Arrange zucchini without crowding in a single layer in parchment-lined pans. Bake 15 minutes and then rotate pans. Continue baking until panko coating is golden brown.

Zucchini Bars

½ cup margarine, melted

½ cup cooking oil

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1-cup seedless raisins

1 cup shredded coconut

1 ½ cups bran cereal buds

2 ½ cups zucchini, grated, squeezed and lightly packed

This makes a great snack to take with you while traveling, hiking or going to the beach. This has fiber, veggies, and to make it even healthier you can cut back on the sugar without compromising taste.

Mix melted margarine, oil and sugar. Beat eggs and combine with water, vanilla, and nutmeg. Add to sugar mixture. Sift fours, salt, and baking soda and add to mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread into two 7 ½ X 1 ½ inch buttered baking pans. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Cool before cutting.