Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe (2024)

Need to boost your vegetable intake? Here’s ahealthy and delicious way to eat summer squash.Zucchini is tasty, versatile, affordable, and so nutritious loaded with vitamins and fiber. You’ll love this easy and fast side-dish flavored with garlic and parmesan. This zucchini recipe is evenkid-friendly.

Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe (3)

Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe

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Keep reading for the ingredients and instructions for this recipe.

One of the biggest requests that I get when it comes to healthy recipes are easy side dishes that are not only healthy, but don’t take much time at all.

This zucchini recipe is not only quick and healthy, but also very inexpensive. My kids love it, so we make it quite often. You could even mix in some yellow squash.

Sometimes getting kids to eat healthy foods can be a challenge, so I try to offer things that will appeal to them.

One thing about these zucchini slices is that they are easy to eat with your fingers. You could even call them “zucchini chips” and I guarantee your kids’ interest would be piqued.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ZUCCHINI

Incorporating zucchini in your diet is beneficial to your health because it contains loads of vitamins, fiber, some minerals, and few calories.

Zucchini contains a high amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, folate, potassium, and more.

Because of its antioxidant content, zucchini provides anti-inflammatory benefits, blood sugar regulation, anti-cancer benefits, and digestive health benefits.

The large amount of fiber helps regulate our digestive systems, keeps us feeling full for a longer period of time, and helps release a steady flow of energy to our bodies.

WHAT ARE GOOD ZUCCHINI RECIPES?

If you’ve ever grown zucchini, or stocked up at the store since it’s inexpensive, you’ve probably ended up with too much of the vegetable and asked yourself this question, “what do I do with all of this zucchini?”

What are good zucchini recipes?

You can include zucchini in any meal. Zucchini is good raw, roasted, grated, baked, spiralized, and steamed.

Zucchini is extremely versatile and you can pretty much add it into anything. The flavor is sweet and mild and can easily be added into many dishes like omelettes, veggie pizza, smoothies, soups, veggie sandwiches, pasta, salads, rice bowls.

I also love making the low-carb zucchini noodles, or zoodles. Just add a little pesto, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado. You can also try zucchini fries, zucchini lasagna, and of course, zucchini bread.

With a mild flavor, zucchini is also a great vegetable to puree or chop and hide it inyour kids’ mealslikebrownies, pasta sauce, rice, and any other meals where you want to sneak in another vegetable.

And here’s a tip for non-dairy cooking: you can even puree zucchini to thicken dishes without using milk or cream.

Try these other zucchini recipes:

Healthier Lemon Zucchini Bread

Healthier Zucchini Brownies with no refined sugar

Chicken, Corn, and Zucchini Pasta Casserole

Baked Cheesy Herb Zucchini Sticks

Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe

SHOULD I BUY ORGANIC ZUCCHINI?

There is not a big difference nutritionally in organic versus non-organic produce. Organic produce contains fewer pesticides than conventionally-grown food and is non-GMO, but it is also more expensive than regular fruits and vegetables.

Pesticides in produce may pose subtle health risks especially to children and pregnant women. Zucchini has been on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list for produce with the most pesticide residues, in 2018 zucchini is listed with a “low to moderate” pesticide residue score.

Because of this recent rating, it’s likely fine to buy conventionally-grown zucchini if you want to maximize your grocery budget. However, most conventionally grown zucchini and squash are GMO’s, making more people want to buy organic.

Do some research into GMOs before deciding if organic is for you. There haven’t been any studies showing adverse health affects from consuming GMOs, but more long-term studies are needed to confirm this conclusion.

It’s up to you to decide, zucchini has been found to have GMOs and some pesticide residues, but with the “low to moderate” ranking it is not as crucial to buy organic zucchini as it is for other produce with a higher pesticide residue score.

Save your money for other typically higher-pesticide residue produce to buy organic.

Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe (4)
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Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe
Ingredients:
3 medium zucchinis, sliced (try to get them as close to the same width as possible)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (more or less to taste)

Directions:
Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
Once oil is heated, add sliced zucchini and sauté for about 3 minutes.
Add parmesan cheese and garlic powder and continue sautéing until zucchini is tender.
Serve immediately.

Makes about 4 servings.

Looking for more healthy recipes? Try out these ones:
Greek Yogurt Chipotle Dressing
Oven Roasted Fajita Vegetables
Oven Roasted Carrots

Be sure to follow Tone and Tighten on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipes, workouts, and fitness ideas.

Make it happen,

Jared

Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe (5)

By Jared Beckstrand
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Garlic and Parmesan Zucchini Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook zucchini so it doesn't get mushy? ›

Thick slices

Especially when roasting, zucchini should be sliced into thick, ½ inch slices to ensure they don't get soggy in the oven. If your oven roasted zucchini is consistently turning out soggy, try slicing it a little thicker next time.

Do you leave the skin on zucchini when you cook it? ›

There's no need to peel zucchini. In fact, the skin is a big source of zucchini nutrition (the deep green color is a dead giveaway) so you definitely want to leave the skin on. How to cut zucchini: after giving the zucchini squash a good rinse under cold water, slice off the stem and discard it.

How do you keep zucchini crisp when cooking? ›

Don't overcrowd the pan, which can cause the zucchini to steam instead of roast. Unless you have time to salt and drain the zucchini, wait to salt it until after they're cooked so the salt doesn't draw out the moisture in the oven—this can lead to sogginess.

Why do you soak zucchini in salt water? ›

Salt causes zucchini rounds to release excess water. This important extra step helps the zucchini to sauté rather than stew in its own juices.

Should you squeeze zucchini before cooking? ›

Squeezing is optional.

Some recipes tell you to remove extra moisture from the grated zucchini by squeezing it in a clean kitchen towel.

Can you overcook zucchini? ›

To be clear, if you know your way around the kitchen at all, you are unlikely to overcook zucchini to the point where it's unpleasant to consume; however, it's quite easy for the flesh to end up more translucent than white all the way through, and in my book, that's just a tad too far.

How can I enhance the flavor of zucchini? ›

You can season the oil before you add the zucchini with garlic, shallots, spices, or red pepper flakes, it's totally up to you. Once the oil, butter, or combination thereof is heated, add all of the zucchini. If the pan seems crowded at first, don't worry. Season with salt and toss to begin drawing out the moisture.

Why is my sauteed zucchini bitter? ›

Remove the Seeds: The seeds and surrounding flesh can sometimes contribute to bitterness. You can scoop out the seeds before cooking. Salt and Drain: Sprinkle salt on sliced zucchini and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. This draws out excess moisture and bitterness.

Why does zucchini taste bitter after cooking? ›

When exposed to environmental stress, poor soil pH, or poor soil nutrition, zucchinis trigger the production of cucurbitacin, a natural phytonutrient that helps the plant overcome stress but consequently results in the unwanted bitter taste.

How long do you let salt sit on zucchini? ›

Otherwise, slicing with a knife is fine too. Sprinkle the 2 tsp of salt on the zucchini as you go and allow the zucchini slices to sit in a colander or for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, run two fingers on either side of the slices, squeezing all the way down over a bowl or the sink, releasing even more water.

Why is my zucchini lasagna watery? ›

To avoid a watery lasagna, make sure to salt the zucchini slices and let them sit to draw out excess moisture, as mentioned in the recipe instructions. Pat them dry before layering in the lasagna. Also, be sure not to overcook the lasagna, as this can also contribute to excess moisture.

How do you keep zucchini firm? ›

Blanch the zucchini to keep it firm.

Blanching will deactivate the enzymes that cause the zucchini to turn mushy and discolored. To blanch the vegetable, bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil, then place the zucchini pieces in the water and boil for 1 minute. Immediately drain them in a colander.

Why is my zucchini turning to mush? ›

Blossom End Rot

It's occurs due to the plants inability to get calcium. This can be caused by a few things: Watering inconsistency (the most likely cause especially if you've had a lot of rain) Soil PH is either too high or too low (do a PH test to check)

How do you firm up zucchini? ›

Arrange the zucchini pieces into a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (It will stick to the pan if you don't line it first!) Freeze the zucchini for about 1 hour, until it's firm to the touch, then transfer it to an airtight container to preserve the flavor as you store it.

Why are my zucchini getting soft? ›

If the ends of your zucchini get soft before they are fully grown, this is caused by squash blossom end rot and is a symptom of a calcium deficiency.

References

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