15 Easy and Delicious Zucchini Recipes

We all know zucchini makes an excellent, swirly stand-in for noodles (i.e. zoodles). But you don't even need a spiralizer machine to shape the versatile vegetable into perfect pasta sheets, for this light, low-carb lasagna.

Just because the weather is warming doesn't mean you need to take soup out of your mealtime rotation — especially when it's swimming with a garden's bounty of fresh vegetables, like bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, and thick rounds of tender zucchini.

"This is a great way to use two of the season's most bountiful crops," says Allrecipes contributor Sara B. "Kernels of corn fresh from the cob and tender zucchini are put to wonderful use in this simple and satisfying summer side dish."

Long lobes of vibrant green zucchini make excellent, edible vessels for carrying a bounty of savory pork sausage bound with breadcrumbs, garlic, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese.

"These cheesy zucchini patties are an excellent way to use up that abundance of zucchini from the garden," says recipe creator Sherlie A. Magaret. "Serve with a bit of tomato sauce or sour cream dabbed on top."

If chicken Parmesan were to get a summertime makeover, this would be it. Lightly bread-crumbed cutlets are pan-fried. And instead of being smothered with sticky tomato sauce, they're set atop rounds of garden-fresh tomato and zucchini, then finished with a bit of melted mozzarella.

Take basic zucchini bread to the next level, by studding it with sweet and juicy summer blueberries. And the best part is, you'll get your daily dose of fruit AND veggies by breakfast.

Potatoes don't have anything on these crave-worthy yet appealingly grease-free zucchini fries. Instead of getting plunged in a deep-fryer, these subtly sweet veggie sticks are rolled in Parmesan-flecked breadcrumbs, and baked in the oven until crispy.

Are you craving crab cakes but don't currently have the budget for extravagant seafood? Try this clever culinary counterfeit from Patti Jo. "These really taste like crab cakes but without the crab, and are a really good way to utilize that bumper crop of zucchini!"

Macaroni and potato salad are usual suspects during backyard barbeques. So why not flip the script a bit by pairing your hot dogs and burgers with this seasonal zucchini and potato bake, seasoned with garlic, bell pepper, and paprika. 

"This creamy main dish gets a splash of color with the addition of zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil," says home cook LitleLisa1. With much less butter than in a typical risotto recipe and no wine, there's no running around for ingredients you don't have on hand. The result is a lovely, light flavor in a very filling meal."

Make some space over the coals for hearty planks of sweet zucchini. Marinated with Italian seasoning, the squash gets brushed with balsamic vinegar during grilling, which produces great color and delectable caramelization.

Before you reach for that bag of potato chips, consider baking up a batch of these addictive, health-conscious nibbles — coins of zucchini with a golden coating of milk, breadcrumbs, garlic, black pepper, and Parmesan cheese — instead.

Whether enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or even a late-night snack eaten cold straight out of the fridge, it's always the right time for this utterly simple zucchini-flecked quiche, riddled with sharp and melty shredded cheddar.

Dreamed up by DELTAQUEEN50, this lightened up casserole is a "simple vegetable dish that highlights the summer flavors of fresh tomatoes and zucchini. It goes great with grilled meats or poultry."