How to Grill Zucchini

Zucchini is perfect for dinner parties and barbecues in the summer months. Served as the main course or as a tantalizing side dish, zucchini is easy to cook on any grill, indoors or out. Tender, delicious, and crunchy, zucchini is a versatile vegetable, offering creative chefs plenty of opportunities to experiment.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Basic Grilled Zucchini

1
Heat up the grill. Grilled zucchini is delicious when well-seared. This requires using a grill that is at least medium-hot. Hotter grills would brand a set of appealing blackened grill marks, but if you're worried about burning your vegetables, you may want to opt for medium heat. You can always simply cook your zucchini for longer if they aren't done to your liking.
- Heating up a grill is easy. Turn a gas grill on, start the flow of gas and hit the lighter, close the lid, and let the grill heat. If you are using a charcoal grill, light the charcoal. Wait until the charcoal is ashy and glowing orange.
- While waiting for the grill to heat up, do the prep work for your meal. For example, you may want to set the table, prepare the other dishes, or start chopping your zucchini.
2
Slice the zucchini. The key to grilling zucchini is to use thin slices, not thick pieces. Thick pieces of zucchinis may end up charred on the outside but uncooked inside. You can cut the zucchini into rounds, cubes, wedges, or even strips!
- Chop zucchini into circular slices about ¹⁄₄ to ¹⁄₂ inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) thick. These are easy to cut and easy to eat. This is a good choice when the zucchini is to be eaten as its own dish.
- Chop zucchini into cubes approximately ¹⁄₄ to ¹⁄₂ inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) on each side. These bite-sized chunks work well for kabobs.
- Chop your zucchini into wedges. Long, thin wedges cook well on the grill. Cut the zucchini into eighths lengthwise.
- Slice your zucchini into long, thin strips. These are a little challenging — you need to cut the zucchini lengthwise into thin, paper-like strips just ¹⁄₁₆ inch (0.16 cm) thick or so. This requires a steady hand, but it's great for when you want to roll up ingredients in the zucchini pieces to make mini "wraps."
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3
Drizzle the zucchini with oil. When your zucchini pieces are all chopped up, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Drizzle on about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of cooking oil per zucchini. Mix the contents of the bowl until the zucchini pieces are all evenly coated. The oil will lend the zucchini pieces a little extra flavor, help them cook, and keep them from sticking to the hot grill.
- Olive oil is a good choice for its flavor, but it has a low smoke point, which means it will start smoking at hot temperatures. If you don't want to deal with the extra smoke, you might want to try an oil with a higher smoke point, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.^{[1]XResearch source}
4
Grill the zucchini for 2 minutes. Use a set of tongs to pick up the zucchini pieces and lay them on the grill one at a time. You should hear a sizzling sound as soon as the zucchini touches the hot surface. Grill the zucchini for about 2 minutes uninterrupted.
- If you chopped your zucchini into thin pieces, be sure to lay them at a 90-degree angle to the bars of the grill so they don't fall through.
- If you're worried about your zucchini sticking to the grill, use a grill brush or a paper towel to carefully paint the bars of the grill with oil before laying the zucchini pieces down.
5
Flip the zucchini and cook it for another 2 minutes. After a few minutes of cooking, the sides of the zucchini pieces touching the grill should be well-browned and tender. Flip the zucchini pieces over to cook the other side and let sit for a minute or two. Repeat as needed until the zucchinis are tender and browned all over.
- For zucchinis that are evenly-cooked to perfection, flip your zucchini pieces in the same order as you added them to the grill. This ensures that all the sides will cook for the same amount of time.
6
Season and serve the zucchini. When your zucchini pieces are cooked on all sides, transfer them from the grill to a clean serving platter. Let them sit for a few minutes until they are cool enough to eat, then sprinkle them with the seasonings of your choice and serve them immediately. Congratulations — you've just made grilled zucchini!
- There's no "right" seasoning to put on your zucchini, but if you're looking for something everyone will like, try lightly seasoning with salt and black pepper. Other good choices include garlic salt and cajun seasoning!
- Try this recipe as a low-carb, easy side dish with your next meal.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Variations

1
Marinate the zucchini in vinaigrette to add flavor. When you're tired of the ordinary zucchini taste, try spicing things up by soaking your zucchini in a flavorful marinade before cooking. Combine a little cooking oil with your favorite acidic ingredients (like vinegar or citrus juice), throw in the seasonings of your choice, and let the vegetables soak before cooking.^{[2]XResearch source}
- For example, mix ¹⁄₄ cup (59 ml) of balsamic vinegar and ¹⁄₂ cup (120 mL) of olive oil. Add a few pinches of garlic powder and a spoonful of dried rosemary, basil, and oregano — whichever you have. Pour into an airtight container, add your zucchini pieces, and let them soak for at least a few hours before cooking.
- If you are in a hurry and don't have time to marinate your vegetables, don't worry. Simply toss them in a bowl with about ¹⁄₄ cup (59 ml) of Italian vinaigrette salad dressing per zucchini and cook them immediately.^{[3]XResearch source}
2
Make a lemon-garlic sauce for a savory zucchini dish. Zucchini's mild taste goes great with tangy citrus flavors, the savory twang of garlic, and the richness of butter. This lemon-garlic sauce makes a great addition to plain grilled zucchini — use it in place of cooking oil to paint the vegetables before grilling.^{[4]XResearch source}
- Melt 1/2 stick of butter with 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of lemon juice. Grate about 1 tablespoon of zest from the lemon peel into the mixture. Stir in 1 tsp (3.28 g) of garlic powder and 1 tsp (1 g) of dried oregano. If you have some, add a pinch of curry powder as well. Paint the zucchini pieces with the sauce and grill as normal.
3
Sprinkle the zucchini with citrus seasoning salt for a tangy option. Looking to add a little extra flavor to some plain old grilled zucchini pieces? Try making a citrus-tinged seasoning salt by mixing zest from your favorite citrus fruit with ordinary salt, then sprinkling it on just before serving. You can use lemons, limes, oranges, or whatever else you want.^{[5]XResearch source}
- Cook the zucchini pieces as normal, then set them aside. As the zucchini cools, grab 3 lemons and use a fine grater or a microplane to grate the zest from the peels into a small pile on a cutting board. Add about 1 tbsp (17 g) of salt to the pile of zest, then use a knife to chop the salt and zest, combining them. Immediately use this to season the zucchini and serve. If you wait too long, the salt will dissolve.
4
Serve the zucchini with pesto sauce if you like to dip your veggies. Zucchini is great on its own, but if you're looking for a dish that's a little more satisfying, try serving it with a hearty pesto sauce. You can dip the vegetable pieces in the sauce, like chips and dip, or slice them extra-thin and make mini-wraps with the sauce — it's up to you.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Cook the zucchini pieces as normal. Add 1 cup (20 g) of basil leaves, 1 clove of garlic, ¹⁄₂ cup (120 mL) of olive oil, and 1/4 cup (~33 g) of toasted pine nuts or walnuts to a blender. Pulse until well-combined. Gradually pour in 3/4 cup (~75 g) of grated Parmesan cheese, pulsing as you go to form a thick, rich pesto sauce. Serve the zucchini with pesto on the side or as the filling in mini-wraps.
5
Whip up zucchini kabobs for a fun twist. Skewering zucchini pieces on a kabob by themselves or with other ingredients gives your guests a delicious, fun-to-eat meal. Zucchini pairs well with most common grilling ingredients, so depending on what you have available, you can make the exact kabob flavor combinations you desire. Good ingredients to add to a kabob with zucchini pieces include:
- Vegetables: Summer squash, bell peppers, onion chunks, mushrooms
- Meat: Chicken, lamb, pork, beef
6
Melt Parmesan cheese over zucchini for a rich dish. Savory, nutty Parmesan cheese goes well with the moderate flavor of zucchini. Melting the cheese over zucchini pieces on the grill gives a dish that's deliciously crisp and blackened on one side and richly cheesy on the other. See below for instructions.
- To make Parmesan zucchini, cut the zucchini into wide, thin pieces, then oil them and lay them on the grill as normal. Carefully sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of each piece, then close the lid and allow the pieces to cook for 2-3 minutes. When the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted, remove the pieces from the grill — you don't have to flip them.
7
Grill zucchini with other vegetables in a grill basket for a healthy side dish. Looking to cook a lot of vegetables on the grill at once? One easy way to do this is to use a grill basket, which is basically a small metal cage with handles that's sold as a grill accessory. Filling a grill basket with mixed vegetables and cooking over a hot grill gives the vegetables deliciously crisp, blackened exteriors while allowing their flavors to blend together. Best of all, this keeps the rest of your grill free for meat or other dishes.
- To prep vegetables for cooking in a grill basket, chop them into similar-sized pieces and toss them in olive oil. Add your favorite seasonings (rosemary and garlic powder are good choices) and stir to combine. Put the veggies in the basket and set the basket on the hot surface of the grill.
- If you don't have a grill basket, you can get a similar effect by folding your vegetables into a pocket made from aluminum foil.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Picking Out a Good Zucchini

1
Look for a small-to-medium-sized zucchini. Bigger is not better when it comes to finding the perfect zucchini to grill. Larger zucchini tend to have their flavor "spread out" through the vegetable. That is, they're usually somewhat watery and flavorless compared to smaller zucchinis, so choose the latter for grilling.
- A good rule of thumb is not to pick a zucchini that's much bigger than a hand-held flashlight. A zucchini's taste starts to suffer after they reach about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) in length.^{[7]XResearch source}
2
Look for a vibrant color. Did you know that not all zucchinis are green? In fact, perfectly-ripe zucchinis can be green, yellow, and even white.^{[8]XResearch source} No matter what color of zucchini you get, check the vegetable to make sure its color appears rich, bright, and vibrant.
- Dull or dead-looking zucchinis, on the other hand, may be a sign that the vegetables are past their prime.
3
Feel for a firm, smooth texture. A ripe zucchini that's ready for grilling should be firm and crisp. However, it shouldn't be outright hard — the flesh should give very slightly when squeezed. Run your hand down the length of the zucchini to check for nicks, cuts, and other deformations. If you find any, pick a different zucchini.^{[9]XResearch source}
- The best zucchinis have a very soft, subtle "hair" on them. You should be able to feel this light, bristly texture with the back of your hand.
4
Store zucchini in the fridge for about a week. Fresh, high-quality zucchini lasts about a week in the fridge. If you can, place the zucchini in a paper bag, rather than a plastic one. Airtight plastic materials can trap in moisture, making the zucchini get slimy and spoil faster.
- Tightly-wrapped zucchinis also store for months in the freezer. In this case, you will want to wrap the zucchini tightly in plastic wrap or place it in a tight ziplock bag. Blanching the zucchini before freezing it can prevent it from discoloring and losing its texture while frozen.^{[10]XResearch source}
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Tips

If you're also cooking meat on the grill, don't let your zucchini touch uncooked meat — if it does, let it cook for a little longer to kill any bacteria.
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Zucchini pairs especially well with yellow summer squash. In fact, these vegetables are actually very closely related (zucchinis are a type of squash), which explains their similar tastes.
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