Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables (I literally buy 2-6 zucchinis every week) as its delicious and has tons of health benefits. It’s a green veggie from the squash family that is low-carb yet packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and even antioxidants. It’s known to help: promote healthy digestion, keep stable blood sugar, improve heart health and eye health, slow down ageing and even promote weight loss.
I also love it because it’s so versatile, and a great way to make your favorite recipes more low-carb / low-glycemic. I use it in my smoothie bowls (instead of banana) almost daily, love it roasted in the oven, sauteed, thinly baked (or air-fried) as “chips”, use it instead of lasagna noodles for a gluten-free lasagna, as part of a dip, a soup, and of course, its amazing spiralized as a pasta substitute.
While I have TONS of amazing zucchini uses and recipes, today I’m sharing 6 of my favorite zucchini recipes. I’ve chosen 6 recipes that are vegan, gluten-free and low carb, plus flavorful and easy to make!
1) Healthy Chocolate Smoothie Bowl (zucchini is the key secret ingredient to make it thick yet low-glycemic)
2) Zucchini Carpaccio
3) Creamy Zucchini Avocado Hummus
4) Zoodles with Creamy Hemp “Alfredo” Sauce
5) Simple Zucchini, Lemon & Thyme Soup
6) Healthiest (yet deliciously sweet) Zucchini Bread
Healthy Chocolate Smoothie Bowl *one of my staples!
Ingredients (serves 1 bowl):
½ - ¾ medium zucchini
1 cup organic spinach or kale (or ½ ½)
¼ - ½ cup avocado (option to swap for coconut meat)
½ small frozen banana (optional; skip for lower carb / less sweet)
1-2 Medjool dates (optional)
1 tablespoon almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
1 serving chocolate vegan protein powder (such as SunWarrior, raw Garden of Life, ALOHA or Parsley Rebuild)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon raw cacao (or cacao nibs)
½ cup almond milk (or nut milk of choice) + more as needed
For topping: 1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs, 1 tablespoon shredded coconut, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, and a drizzle of almond butter
Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients in your high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Taste and adjust if needed (adding more nut milk if too thick, adding chia seeds and/or a bit extra veggies/fruit if too liquid, adding dates if too “green”, etc).
3. Serve in a bowl with cacao nibs, chia seeds, shredded coconut and/or almond butter (optional) on top.
Zucchini Carpaccio
Ingredients (serves 4 small appetizer servings):
2 medium/large zucchini
1 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (or chopped cashews or slivered almonds)
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (my preference is for basil or cilantro)
1 tablespoon vegan parmesan (or fresh Parmesan shavings if not vegan)
Instructions:
1. Slice zucchini lengthwise with a mandolin or chef’s knife as thinly as you can, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place in a colander for 30 minutes to remove the excess moisture, tossing occasionally. Before serving, dry on paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon-olive oil dressing by whisking together thinly sliced garlic, lemon and olive oil. Season with sea salt & pepper to taste.
3. Arrange the zucchini in layers in a shallow serving dish, then drizzle with the lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Top with nuts, herbs and parmesan (optional).
Creamy Zucchini Avocado Hummus
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (preferably organic), rinsed (or 1 ¾ cups cooked chickpeas)
1 medium/large zucchini
Flesh of 1 hass avocado (or ½ a medium/large Nicaraguan avocado)
1-2 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons Tahini (try to get thickest/hardest part as this hummus can get liquidy)
2 small garlic cloves
1 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt (and pinch more to taste if needed)
½ teaspoon cumin + ½ tsp paprika
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (for decorating)
Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients except the parsley into a large food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Add the chopped parsley and blend a few additional seconds. Taste, add additional lemon, olive oil and/or seasoning if needed.
3. Garnish with parsley and serve with raw crudités or healthy gluten-free chips or crackers.
Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Hemp Seed Sauce
Ingredients (serves 2-4):
For the pasta:
4 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly julienned *optional, for added color & nutrients
2 heaping cups baby spinach, sliced into thin ribbons
1 small lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 recipe “Hemp Seed Sauce”
To serve: small handful fresh basil leaves (very thinly sliced) & vegan parmesan cheese (optional)
For the creamy hemp seed sauce:
½ cup raw cashews (soaked in warm water for at least 30 mins prior)
½ cup shelled hemp seeds
½ cup plain unsweetened almond milk (preferably homemade!)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
½-1 teaspoon sea salt + pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Optional: 1-2 tablespoon(s) fresh herbs of choice – basil, parsley and/or cilantro
For the vegan parmesan cheese (optional):
¼ cup raw cashews
¼ cup brazil nuts
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch of garlic powder and onion powder (about 1/8 tsp each)
Instructions:
1. Use a spiralizer to spiralize the zucchini into pasta/noodles. Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to shave the zucchini lengthwise, forming long, ribbon-like noodles.
2. Add the zucchini noodles, red bell pepper, and spinach to a large mixing bowl. Pour the lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt over the veggies and toss to coat. Let the noodles marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the Hemp Seed Alfredo Sauce (and separately the vegan parmesan, if using). For sauce, simply add all ingredients to a high-powered blend and blend on high until super creamy and smooth. For parmesan, add all ingredients (dry) to a food processor and process for 15 seconds or until the texture resembles grated parmesan.
4. Pour as much of the Hemp Seed Alfredo sauce as desired over the zucchini pasta. Toss to coat. Then add the chopped basil and lightly toss.
5. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. If desired, sprinkle on a bit of vegan parmesan cheese. Divide between bowls and serve immediately.
*NOTE: option to serve this pasta with some grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp if not vegan.
Simple Zucchini, Lemon + Thyme Soup
Ingredients (Serves 2)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ large white/yellow onion, finely chopped/minced
3 large or 4 medium zucchini, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
Juice and zest of ½ large lemon
1½ cups vegetable broth (organic low-sodium or homemade) + water as needed
½ cup cashews or hemp seeds
Sea salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (to decorate) (and optional to add a drizzle of coconut milk or unsweetened coconut yogurt on top)
Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the zucchini and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in the thyme, a pinch of sea salt, pepper, and half the lemon zest. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook gently until the zucchini is tender but not too soft.
2. In the meantime, heat a skillet and toast the pumpkin seeds with the remainder of the lemon zest and a pinch of sea salt until they just begin to pop a little—keep shaking the pan to prevent them from burning.
3. Remove the zucchini soup from the heat and let cool. Transfer half to a blender together with the cashews (or hemp seeds), lemon juice (and a bit more water if desired) and blend until smooth, then mix with the remainder of the soup that still has chunks of zucchini. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.
4. Serve into 2 large bowls and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds. (Option to add a drizzle of coconut milk /coconut cream or unsweetened vegan coconut yogurt on top).
Healthiest Zucchini Bread (low-carb, paleo, vegan and adaptable to keto)
Ingredients (makes 1 loaf, about 10-12 servings)
1 ¾ cups almond flour
½ cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger (powdered, or you can use fresh - minced or grated)
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of pink salt (and I often add a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, too)
¼ cup organic coconut sugar *for keto version, omit coconut sugar and increase monk fruit to ½ cup
¼ cup monk fruit sugar (granulated) *I use Lakanto
4 “flax eggs”, mixing 1 tbsp. flax meal + 2½ tbsp. water per egg *note: as I’m not 100% vegan, I sometimes do 2 organic eggs + 2 “flax eggs” which is another great option
½ cup organic coconut oil, melted
2 cups zucchini, grated or spiralized
½ cup walnut pieces (and optional, add 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, and lightly grease.
Prepare your flax eggs mixing 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed (or flax meal) with 10 tablespoons water and stirring well. Set aside.
Grate the zucchini and set aside. Note: you can press and drain the zucchini, but I personally like my bread moist so don’t drain the zucchini.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, coconut sugar and monk fruit).
Next, stir the wet ingredients (flax eggs and coconut oil) into the dry ingredients. Then fold in the grated zucchini and lastly the chopped walnuts. If you’d like, here you can also mix in raisins or dried cranberries (omit to keep it low-sugar). Mix everything to combine well (by hand).
Transfer the batter into the greased/lined loaf pan and place it in the oven. Bake for 50 mins then test to see if the bread is finished by inserting a knife or toothpick. If it comes out clean, the loaf is done (if not, return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes).
Cool, slice, and enjoy! *Note: it lasts about a week in the fridge, but I like to store sliced bread in a well-sealed container or silicone ziplock in the freezer so that it lasts longer.
