How Thick Should You Slice The Zucchini And Squash
I recommend slices around 1/2 inch thick and no thinner than 1/3 inch. If your slices are too thin theyll cook too quickly and may stick to the grill. Thicker slices will require more cook time. The most important thing is to try to keep your slices the same so everything cooks evenly and in the same amount of time.
What To Do With Leftover Zucchini
In hopes of using up all that squash, you may have gotten a little overzealous with the amount you grilled. If you have leftover grilled zucchini, repurpose it in some of these dishes!
- Chop it up and through it in an omelet, breakfast egg muffins, or a potato frittata.
- Add to pasta dishes, like Italian sausage pasta or easy baked pasta.
- Top pizzas or chickpea flatbread for a healthier pizza night.
Alternatively, check out the best gluten free zucchini recipes for more inspiration of using up that summer squash!
How To Grill Zucchini In Foil
Another option for grilling zucchini is to cook it in foil. You have two options for grilling zucchini in foil that will result in different textures.
The first is to wrap the zucchini in a foil packet and seal the foil around your zucchini. Simply lay out some sliced zucchini on a heavy piece of foil. Add some olive oil or butter along with any herbs, spices, or seasonings. Then seal the foil and place the packets right on the grill. Grill for 12-15 minutes. The resulting zucchini will be steamed in the foil and have a softer texture.
The second option is to grill the zucchini on a piece of foil on the grill. This is basically a workaround if you don’t have a grill basket. Simply grab some heavy duty foil, create a small basket, and add the zucchini. Toss with your oil of choice and any seasonings. Grill for 8-10 minutes, shaking the foil 1-2 times during cooking.
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Grill Your Side Dishes
Let’s face it, when you are grilling you don’t want to be running inside every few minutes to check on your side dishes. That’s why potato salad and coleslaw are such favorites when you are grilling.
But what about if you grilled your side dish?! It turns out, it’s easy and delicious!
I’ve been making this marinated zucchini and summer squash from Giada for years and years. It’s in her Family Dinners Cookbook which was published in 2006, so that’s how long I’ve been making it!
I love that it goes with everything, it’s the perfect side for chicken, pork, beef or seafood!
Make Lemon Parmesan Zucchini Recipe In The Oven
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More Reasons To Love This Grilled Zucchini Recipe:
- it looks uber fancy but is astonishingly quick and easy to prepare
- pairs beautifully with chicken, fish or meat
- pairs well with practically every type of cuisine
- is versatile: mix up the flavor profile with different oils, vinegars or spices
- is vegan, gluten free, low-carb, keto and Whole30 friendly
- can be prepped up to two hours ahead of time then grilled when ready
- can also be made with squash which is available year round
- can be cooked in an indoor grill pan another win for year-round grilled zucchini!
How To Make Grilled Zucchini And Squash Recipe
Grilling zucchini and summer squash only takes minutes and the prep is even shorter! Simply mix together the marinade, throw in the zucchini spears and let set for 15 minutes while the grill preheats.
Unlike sauteed zucchini or roasted zucchini recipes, the seasonings are added before cooking.
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How To Grill Zucchini
Grilled Zucchini! If I had to pick one go-to vegetable for the grill I can never spell right the first time, it would be zucchini. With minimal prep and a fast grill time, zucchini is a great vegetable for any meal.
My enjoyment of zucchini is strange seeing it is a member of the cucumber and melon family and neither cucumbers or melons rank high on my food like list. Maybe if I grilled the melon…
While there are many different ways to prepare zucchini for the grill, I have a preferred method:
- First, take a zucchini and slice it into lengthwise sections, no more than a ¼ in thickness.
- Next, rub both sides of the zucchini slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and your choice of fresh herbs
- Lastly, grill the zucchini over direct medium heat approximately 2 minutes a side, turning once.
And there you have it! Simple, delicious grilled zucchini that pairs well with any one of our other meat recipes like Smoked Beer Can Chicken or Grilled Kabobs. Find more veggie recipes like this zucchini and summer squash recipe and learn more about mastering fruits & veggies. There are a ton of great grilling tips & techniques in our blog so you can learn how to grill like a real grill master.
Grilled Zucchini And Squash Recipe
Looking for an easy recipe to use up that summer zucchini or squash? Best Grilled Zucchini and Squash uses a handful of staple kitchen ingredients for a marinade, cooks on the grill in minutes, and is topped with fresh lemon and parmesan.
This grilled zucchini and squash recipe also includes directions on how to adapt for oven roasting as well.
During the summer months, my number one mission turns into find any way to use up all our garden zucchini and squash. Since it shows up at pretty much every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I have to find creative ways to trick my family into thinking they arent eating the same vegetable over and over again.
Breakfast consists of Blueberry Zucchini Bread, at lunch we have leftover grilled zucchini salads, dinner is served with a side of grilled zucchini, zucchini fries, or zucchini pancakes, and for dessert we nosh on fudgy zucchini brownies.
Either Im taking it a tad bit too far, or I might just be a zucchini recipe guru?
A grilled zucchini recipe should be easy, quick, yet delicious. The marinade and seasoning uses commonly stocked ingredients olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon, and parmesan. Therefore its as easy as picking some fresh zucchini or squash from the garden or your local farmstand.
Grilled zucchini squash is a low carb side dish that can be thrown together minutes and pairs great with recipes such as Grilled Parmesan Chicken, Grilled Salmon in foil, or Grilled Potatoes.
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Ways To Cut Zucchini And Squash For Grilling
How to cut zucchini and summer squash for grilling? There are a few ways we like to do it. Heres a little breakdown:
- Rounds. You can slice the zucchini and squash into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
- On the bias . If you cut diagonally or on the bias, you get larger, most interesting shapes.
- Planks. You also can cut the vegetables width-wise into long planks: see this grilled zucchini.
How Long Do Zucchini Take On The Grill On Skewers
Zucchini can be cooked on skewers by itself or alongside other vegetables. Zucchini takes 10 to 15 minutes to get tender, so if you are using other vegetables on your skewer or meats, look for vegetables with similar cooking times like tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, chicken, and steak cuts of beef.
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What Zucchini Is Best For Grilling
Either Black Beauty Zucchini or Gourmet Gold are excellent for grilling but if you can get your hands on Green Griller Zucchini, then youve hit the jackpot. This type of zucchini boasts a fatter, blockier oblong shape which yields broad, more uniform slices that are easy to flip and a texture that holds well after cooking. Its flavor is also deliciously nutty.
Grilled Zucchini And Summer Squash
This grilled zucchini and summer squash is the perfect summer side dish! Why just grill your main dish when it is so easy to grill your side dish?
Zucchini and yellow summer squash are marinated in lemon juice, white wine vinegar, garlic, fresh thyme and olive oil.
The squash soaks up all that herby lemon flavor and come out amazingly delicious!
Recommended Reading: How To Grill Frozen Salmon In Foil
Time To Make Grilled Zucchini Or Summer Squash
Serves 4
- 1 ½ pounds of summer squash, trimmed and sliced lengthwise in 1/2 strips
- 2 tablespoons of virgin red palm oil or extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Handful of basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I lay the squash slices on a foil-lined baking sheet and brushed both sides with the palm oil. Then, I seasoned liberally with salt and pepper.
I cooked the squash on the gas grill set on medium heat
for about 8-10 minutes total.
Before serving, I drizzled on the vinegar and sprinkled on the basil.
Now you know what do with that mountain of zucchini youll have this summer!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. Youll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans , Ready or Not! , and Nom Nom Paleo: Lets Go! .
How To Choose Your Zucchini For Grilling
When I know I am grilling zucchini, I make sure I choose ones that are the same size and that are straight without too much of a curve. This ensures that everything will cook evenly and will be easier to cut.
The best zucchini to use for grilling is also ones that are not too big. Large zucchini tend to hold a lot of water which could make for a mushy side dish.
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Making Grilled Zucchini Slices
If you rather have grilled zucchini slices instead of spears, trim off the stems and slice each squash horizontally, into 1/2 inch thick circles.
You can still place the slices on the grill, but turn carefully so they dont fall through the grate. Alternatively, use a grill basket placed on the grill or a grill pan on your stove.
How Thick Should I Cut The Zucchini
Zucchini should be cut lengthwise in quarter inch long slices. The best way to do this is to place the zucchini on it’s side and take a sharp knife and cut all the way down the length of the zucchini making 4-5 slices per one zucchini. Ive found that this is the best thickness to make sure it grills through in about 6 minutes.
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Why This Is The Best Grilled Zucchini:
I havent ever made a side dish thats as easy as this one! And, my kids LOVE grilled zucchini and squash! Any vegetable the kids will devour is a win all by itself!
In the summer Im always on the farm and getting meals on the table is rushed and hectic. Its pretty hard to make dinner when youre in a tractor! Thats the beauty of these foil packets! I assemble everything ahead of time and then cook them later. Any side dish that can be prepped ahead of time is going to make its way into our meal rotation.
Grilled Zucchini can be thrown on the grill with your meat and taken off with the meat. It really doesnt get any easier than this!
Grilled Zucchini And Squash
This recipe for Grilled Zucchini and Squash has quickly become our favorite recipe for all the summer squash our garden produces. And, it all started in an effort to keep the kitchen cool! Plus, it is great for any real food diet including GAPS, Paleo, Keto and AIP.
Squash is one vegetable that our garden produces a lot of. No, I am not complaining – in fact, I love it!
But, I normally use this recipe for grilled zucchini and yellow squash since that is what I grow. And, the yellow and green give the meal a nice pop of color!
When so much comes in that we cannot eat it all, I freeze it – see How to Freeze Squash.
Grilled summer squash is definitely a family favorite. Besides tasting good, it is super duper easy.
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Ways To Use Grilled Zucchini
You can eat grilled zucchini as-is as a side dish, but I often make extra grilled zucchini to use in other recipes during the week.
- Pasta: This zucchini recipe is the perfect addition to fettuccine alfredo.
- Salad: Coarsely chop your zucchini and add it to a green salad.
- Sandwiches: Layer grilled zucchini with roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella and pesto for an amazing sandwich.
- Pizza: Chop your zucchini and add it on top of a frozen cheese pizza.
Grilled Zucchini And Squash With Brown Sugar Bourbon Pumpkin Seeds
- Add To Meal Planner
Add creative crunch and flavor to tender grilled squash with sweet and savory pumpkin seeds. Seasoned with Grill Mates® Brown Sugar Bourbon, toasted seeds are great for snacking by the handful or tossing over salad greens.
Recipe created by two-time “Chopped” champ, Chef James Briscione. He brings creativity to the table with bold flavors and spices in his new Food Network cooking show, “Man Crafted.”
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Is Foil Safe To Use On The Grill
As you can see, this recipe calls for you to use foil on the grill. Is it safe? YES!
Many people even use aluminum foil to help keep the grill clean.
Aluminum foil helps to keep the juices together, so the food turns out even better than you expected. I love using aluminum foil on the grill, it just makes life a lot easier.
If youâve tried this recipe for Grilled Zucchini and Squash or any other recipe on Cultured Palate please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on , , , and .
How Can I Serve Grilled Zucchini And Squash
I could gobble up a whole plate of grilled squash since theyare so delicious.
You can also serve them with:
- barbecued meats
- roast chicken
- mix them with rice to make a salad or stir fry – for a grilled zucchini and squash marinade, see Stir Fry Seasoning for Chinese Stir Fry Vegetables.
- serve them cold with salad and add homemade ranch dressing.
- Freeze them for use later
- Add them grated to spaghetti sauce – I love sneaking in vegetables!
There are so many ways you can serve grilled squash – the options are endless.
I like to keep squash on hand because it’s so easy to grill. Just pull it out of the fridge, grill, and serve. I don’t think it gets much easier than that.
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More Easy Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables to add to pastas, stir-fries, soups and more. Here are a few zucchini recipes youll love:
How To Cut Zucchini For The Grill
How you cut zucchini and squash for grilling can drastically affect cooking time. I slice mine into & frac13 ” – ½” medallions. A lot of people like to do ribbons, but I find the medallions both more difficult to deal with when slicing, and later while cooking the squash on the grill.
The medallions are surprisingly easy to work with! I don’t even use a grill pan or foil, although I provide instructions for using all methods below, for those who wish to do so.
Read Also: What To Grill For Vegetarians
How Long Do You Grill Zucchini
Zucchini will take about 10 minutes to grill on medium heat, with the grill between 350-375 degrees. This is the ideal temperature for grilling zucchini so that the zucchini doesn’t burn on the outside before it is cooked through.
For thinner sliced zucchini, like those cut into thin planks or coins, they may cook more quickly needing just 3-4 minutes per side.
Whenever you are grilling zucchini, you will want to flip it over so that you can get grill marks and that delicious charred taste on both sides.
