Where has the summer gone? School is starting up already, and I’ve only put on my swimsuit once. I’m hoping to find a pool while I still can! I’m also trying to get my fill of all the summer vegetables and fruits while I still can, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite zucchini recipes today.
From zucchini bread to pastas to salads to tacos, all of these recipes are light and summery. Which one is your favorite?
1) Healthy Zucchini Bread
Easily gluten free and easily vegan (see notes)
“Followed your recipe to a T and received two scrumptious loaves ( I doubled the recipe) of zucchini bread! Very moist with a nicely browned top and low on the sweet scale! Thank you.” – Riya
2) Heather’s Zucchini Noodles with Basil-Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Gluten free and vegan
“I absolutely ADORE this recipe. Even my husband the staunch meat eater was loving it. THANK YOU!” – Lindsay
3) Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Easily gluten free
“This one is a winner! Even my 16 year old stepson – a vegetarian who, to my chagrin, doesn’t seem to particularly like vegetables – loved it. Delighted to see him go back for more, and delighted to join him.” – Tania
4) Spicy Roasted Ratatouille with Spaghetti
Easily gluten free and easily vegan
“Outstanding! Simple preparation, very nutritious, and so yummy. Thank you so much.” – Annie
5) Socca Pizza with Summer Squash and Feta
Gluten free
“This was excellent and so easy! I’ve made it twice so far with different toppings. So good.” – Heather
6) Double Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles
Easily gluten free and easily vegan
“Made the double tomato pesto last night! Whoa–it was soooo delicious!! I served it to the fam with a combo of pasta and zoodles, but I had mine with all zoodles. The flavors were fresh and complex and everyone, even the teenager, loved it. Thanks for the great ideas!” – Michelle
7) Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables
Gluten free and easily vegan
“Bright, summery and delicious! My husband ate so much of it that next time I might double the recipe. ;)” – Karen
8) Stacked Tomato, Summer Vegetable and Grilled Bread Salad
Vegetarian like the rest
Somehow, I haven’t gotten a review of this one! It’s a little labor intensive, but really tasty. If you give it a try, please leave a comment and let me know how you liked it.
9) Cilantro-Pepita Pesto with Squash Ribbons and Fettuccine
Vegan
“Not only was this delicious when I made it, the leftovers were just as good – a major plus for me because I always want to have good leftovers to bring to work for lunch. I added some roasted sweet potato to one of my portions of leftovers and the flavors worked well together. I know this has been up for awhile, but thanks for another great recipe Kate!” – Amanda
10) Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Raw Squash and Feta
Easily gluten free and easily vegan
“Made it and loved it! As I am currently obsessed with spiralizing my vegetables, I turned the squash into thin noodles. Otherwise I did everything as instructed and absolutely loved this yummy and satisfying salad! :)” – Paige
11) Summer Squash Tacos with Avocado Chimichurri
Easily gluten free and vegan
“I always love your dishes! This is another dish I really love! My meat loving husband really liked these as well! He went back for seconds. No leftovers left! I will probably crave this dish! Thanks for sharing Kate!” – Steff
12) Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Easily gluten free and vegan
“I just made this sauce tonight and it is sooooo good. Not for the faint of heart—it has a lot of punch and briny flavor—and super easy to make. Thanks!!: – Kirsten
P.s. More recipe roundups: 24 meatless recipes that carnivores will love and 12 vegetarian pasta recipes. You can shop my essential kitchen equipment here. Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest for a steady stream of recipe inspiration!
Lis
I love when you do posts like this!
It also got me thinking – I’m not a vegetarian (I’m guessing plenty of your readers aren’t) and I would LOVE some sort of 3 day or 1 week vegetarian meal plan to try out sometime. Sort of a “vegetarian trial run” or “a week in the life of a vegetarian” plan. I could do it myself of course (and have a few times) but I’d love to see what you pulled together since your lists (what to eat in each month, pot luck meals, etc.) are always great!
Kate
Hey Lis! That’s a good idea. I’m always hesitant to offer meal plans just because I never know what people like and don’t like. I’ll give it some more thought!
Rhian @ Rhian's Recipes
These all look delicious, thanks for sharing!
Theresa
Great timing with your recipes. It’s that time of year where zucchini’s are multiplying. I love your recipes and website. Every thing I cook of yours turns out and is delicious. Keep giving me more ideas. I am still making your 7 kale salads quite often that you had featured awhile ago. You got me loving and eating kale. Yummy.
Kate
Hooray for kale! Thank you for letting me know, Theresa.
Katherine
My grandparents have grown so much zucchini recently that we are completely overwhelmed (a good problem to have). This post is the perfect solution!
Kate
Perfect! Hope you enjoy some of these recipes with your garden surplus!
Nicole George
LOVE ZUCCHINI. Yes. I definitely want to try that bread. I haven’t been able to find one that is light on the oil and what not. Thanks!
Kate
Thanks, Nicole! Hope you love the zucchini bread.
Melanie
Yay! I love recipe round-ups–and they come at the most convenient times. It’s like you knew we all had a big bundle of zucchini in our refrigerators waiting to be used ;) I’m making your Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables tonight!
Also, I’m really interested in trying a pasta recipe with zucchini noodles in it but I don’t have a julienne peeler. How do you feel about squash ribbons with a vegetable peeler? Or should I spring for a good peeler for the best taste?
Kate
Oh good! I hope you enjoyed the quinoa salad. My favorite squash noodles are made with a spiralizer so they’re nice and curly/voluminous. Spiralizers can cost up to $50, though. I think you could get decent noodles with a vegetable peeler, or even better noodles with a julienne peeler. Those are about $10. If you’re happy with vegetable peeler noodles (or you could also try grating zucchini lengthwise on a big grater), then I’d say stick with those!
Kate
I agree with Riya, the healthy zucchini bread was very scrummy!
Kate
Thanks, Kate!
Alin Perry
Thanks Kate for such deliciously awesome recipes.
Kate
:)
zucchini recipes
I had an abundance of zucchini in the garden, and I learned to cook the flowers from the zucchini just rince them slightly, dry them with a paper towel and slice them up and use it for a delicious zucchini soup.Thanks for sharing us your post.
Kate
You’re welcome!