10 Epic Zucchini Recipes

Hey, hey, hey. I know we usually play Just The Tip on Fridays, but I’m interrupting regularly scheduled programming to bring you this badass zucchini roundup because dear God, ZUCCHINI IS EVERYWHERE.

I may not be mature enough to join a CSA, and I certainly don’t garden (members of my inner circle have dubbed me the “Orchid Assasin”…), yet I still find myself with hoards of zucchini every single August. Given the vegetable’s abundance and the fact that it’s perpetually on display at Westside Market the farmer’s market, I feel compelled to pick up a couple whenever I shop. I swear, I blackout in front of the zucchini piles and can never remember if I have any at home, so I buy some “just in case.” (For the record, I also do this with strawberries, chipotles in adobo, and Prosecco.) And then I go home, open the fridge, and shriek in horror at the pounds of squash already hanging out in my crisper. Extreme #whitegirlproblems.

Knowing that you too may be inundated with zucchini in the coming weeks, I’ve rounded up my favorite recipes for putting our late summer bounty to work…

Domesticate ME!’s Favorite Zucchini Recipes:

1. Arugula Salad with Shaved Zucchini, Pistachios and Parmesan. Martha Stewart complimented me on this salad. Just casually throwing that out there.

2. Zucchini Noodle Salad with Spicy Almond Dressing. The sriracha-laced almond sauce on this rainbow vegan salad is life-changing. (Please pretend I haven’t used that adjective in a while. Thank you.)

3. Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas with Goat Cheese and Pesto. If you want to really celebrate/crush your zucchini stash, make these ‘dillas with exclusively grilled zucchini. Fancy AF.

4. Spaghetti with Zucchini, Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce, and Mozzarella. Served warm or room temp, this is the ultimate summer pasta. The sweet cherry tomato sauce is no-cook(!), and the whole shebang comes together in under 30 minutes, so slide it into your weeknight dinner rotation while zucchini and tomatoes are still hot. If you’re keeping things super tight for the remainder of #nakedseason (proud of you), up the zucchini noodle to spaghetti ratio to 1:1.

5. Spiced Turkey and Zucchini Meatballs with Basil Yogurt Sauce. These balls. Hot DAMN. They’re an excellent passed app, yes, but the recipe is incredibly versatile. I like to double down on zucchini and serve them over zucchini noodles tossed with the sweet and tangy yogurt sauce, OR form the meat mixture in burger patties, throw them on the grill, and stuff them in a pita with arugula and cherry tomatoes.

6. Farro With Kale Pesto, Zucchini and Parmesan. I recommend this hearty grain salad for when you want to feel smart and pretty, but you need something a little more substantial than straight greens. It holds up well in the fridge, so keep it in mind for sassy desk lunching.

7. Crispy Baked Zucchini-Quinoa Cakes with Dill Yogurt Sauce. All the deliciousness of a zucchini fritter without the gluten, deep-fried fatness or oil-splatter anxiety. HALLELUJAH.

Note to fellow finger food fetishists: You could make bite-size versions of these cakes and pass them with a dot of yogurt sauce on top at your next cocktail party. As people tend to get very excited about tiny food, quinoa and gluten-free things, I imagine they’d be quite the crowd-pleaser.

8. Zucchini Noodles with Portobello Bolognese. Keep this one in mind for the summer-fall transition phase. It’s light but supremely comforting, which is perfect for when things start to cool down. And that’s gonna happen sooner than you think because it’s already August, people…how the shit did that happen?

9. Shaved Zucchini and Carrots with Toasted Almonds and Goat Cheese. Make this your go-to for light lunches, potlucks and simple summer dinner parties. If you’re feeling festive, add some yellow squash into the mix for a sexy tricolor effect.

10. Dude Diet Chicken Cutlets and Zucchini Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes. This Dude Diet classic was the first “zoodle” recipe ever posted on Domesticate ME!, and it’s still one of my favorites. It also looks very impressive, especially if you use multicolored cherry tomatoes, so I highly recommend serving it to guests when you’re in need of a little domestic ego boost.

p.s. I hadn’t yet procured a spiralizer when I posted this recipe (dark days), so I julienned those noodles by hand—proof that it can be done! But you should probably still get a spiralizer ASAP. If only to make me feel less guilty when I post spiralized recipes…