Here’s How to Make Easiest Roasted Zucchini with Maximum Flavors

Source: Healthline

The best thing about zucchini is that you can prepare it and cook it in so many ways for both sweet and savory recipes including:

• Roasting: Toss sliced zucchini in olive oil, salt and pepper. Then spread it across a large baking sheet and at 425 degrees F, it will take about 25-30 minutes or so to roast and brown at the edges. You can also add some crunch with panko breadcrumbs.
• Sautéing: Zucchini can be diced and sautéed too. Or you can make it into zucchini noodles for a low-carb, quick-cooking version of pasta by using a spiralizer to cut the zucchini. It will help to salt it first to extract some of the moisture before you sauté it. 
• Raw: You can also consume raw zucchini and slice it super thin to create a ribbon salad. I enjoy eating a Zucchini Salad with pine nuts, feta, and a simple vinaigrette.
• Baking: Baking shredded zucchini is also can be a great way to enjoy this vegetable. However, make sure to squeeze out as much water as you can when you’re baking it because then you will not end up with a dense crump. 

Why you’ll love this dish 

You may wonder why I should even try to make something that we don’t like in the first place, here are some reasons why you should definitely try making roasted zucchini:

Roasted zucchini is a great single vegetable side dish. When making this dish, you can absolutely just stick to one, especially during spring and summer, is a solid choice to be the featured veggie.

Pantry seasonings do all the magic. For this recipe, I open my spice drawer to go beyond just salt and pepper and season the zucchini with onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. On its own zucchini is pretty plain with a slight sweet and bitter flavor, so it can be a blank canvas and take on all sorts of other flavors.

This roasted zucchini is a 9-ingredient recipe and most of those are the spices. This recipe has a simple formula of zucchini + spices + Parmesan. That’s it, the only effort you have to make is to slice the zucchini and grate the cheese.

Ingredients you need for Roasted Zucchini 

Here is what you need to make delicious roasted zucchini:

• Zucchini (should feel firm and have no soft spots) You can also make this recipe with yellow squash or a combination of both.
• Dried seasonings: A blend of onion powder, garlic powder red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
• Parmesan
• Olive oil (For the best taste, you can use high-quality extra virgin olive oil). 
• Parsley: you can also use basil or chives.

How to Make Roasted Zucchini

Before you begin making your roasted zucchini, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F with a baking sheet inside. This is a simple step to maximize browning right when the veggies hit the pan and to avoid soggy zucchini.

Source: Delicious Meets Healthy

Here are the following steps you need to follow to make this tasty and easy side dish: 

1. Make a spice mix, take a small bowl, and combine the garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Then stir in the olive oil.

2. Toss the zucchini slices in the spiced olive oil in a large bowl making sure they are all coated.

3. Now carefully arrange the zucchini slices on the pre-heated sheet pan. But keep in mind that they should not be overlapping. Next, sprinkle the zucchini with Parmesan cheese.

4. Finally, roast in the preheated oven until browned and tender in the middle. This usually takes 30-35 minutes. The cheese will melt quickly. Garnish the roasted zucchini with chopped parsley and squeeze lemon juice on top before serving.

What to Serve with Roasted Zucchini

You’ll be impressed to see that roasted zucchini is one of those sides that can go with almost anything. The seasonings and Parmesan cheese make this dish fit with other dishes with Italian flavors. 

You can pair the dish with pasta like Fresh Herb Pappardelle, Burst Tomato Pasta, Lemon Garlic Mushroom Spaghetti, or Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce or with a variety of Tacos, and Salads. It can be also a good dish for proteins like roasted or grilled chicken and fish. 

Storing Roasted Zucchini 

While I don’t recommend freezing zucchini due to its high water content, as frozen zucchini becomes mushy when thawed, roasted zucchini is easy to store in your refrigerator, here is how to store it:

• Let your roasted zucchini cool completely before storing it directly in the fridge, now when it’s done, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. 
• Roasted zucchini can last in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
• To reheat it, arrange the roasted zucchini in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Reheat zucchini at 400 degrees Fm until it is hot. But remember to not overbake, or it will become soggy. 

More Roasted Vegetable Options

There are many roasted vegetable options you can consider when making roasted zucchini: 

• Roasted Zucchini and Squash. You can use a mix of yellow squash and zucchini in this roasted recipe or use the recipe to cook yellow squash only. The two are the perfect vegetable for roasting as they soak up flavor perfectly
   
• Roasted Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes. Replace half of the zucchini with cherry tomatoes. Toss the vegetables together with the olive oil, Parmesan, herbs and spices. Next, roast the tomatoes on one side of the sheet pan and the zucchini on the other. Remember to toss the cherry tomatoes once halfway through.
• Roasted Zucchini and Onions. Replace one of the zucchini with a small yellow or red onion. Cut the zucchini and onion into small chunks. Bake it at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes, tossing the vegetables once halfway through.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. How long to roast zucchini at 400?

For best results, it’s suggested to roast the zucchini at 400 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes, until it is tender and browning around the edges.

Q. How to roast zucchini and squash?

To roast zucchini and squash, begin by spreading the veggie mixture out onto a large baking sheet that’s lined with parchment paper and roast at 425ºF for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking until your zucchini and squash are golden and tender, but still a little crisp.

Q. How do you cook zucchini so it's not mushy?

The key to preventing mushy zucchini is all about how you manage moisture. For example, sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes to draw out excess moisture, and pat it dry before cooking. Or you can also cut thicker slices (approx. 1/2 inch) that hold their shape better than thin ones and roast zucchini at high temperatures (400°F+) to caramelize the exterior before it gets mushy.

Q. How long to steam zucchini?

It’s hard to tell how long to steam zucchini as it depends on how thick the slices are, how tender you want them to be, etc. For example, if you have thin slices ((1/4 inch)), 3-5 minutes of steaming, for medium zucchini slices (1/2 inch), 5-7 minutes and for thick slices (3/4 inch) 8-10 minutes of slices will be good.  

Q. How long is zucchini good for?

How long is zucchini good for depends on how your zucchini is, for instance, baked zucchini, roasted zucchini, and raw zucchini. But, in general, cooking experts say zucchini is good for 1-2 weeks if you have stored it properly in the refrigerator. 

Q. How to keep zucchini from getting soggy?

Due to its high water content, zucchini can become soggy when cooked. When you heat zucchini, the cells break down and release water, resulting in the vegetable becoming soft and sometimes mushy. To prevent this, you can try cooking zucchini at high heat temperature for a short time, or you can also slice and salt zucchini in advance of cooking to draw out some of the vegetable's excess moisture.

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