Zucchini Salad

This crunchy, vibrant zucchini salad is the perfect side dish for a summer cookout or even as a simple lunch. With ribbons of fresh zucchini, pops of zesty lemon, tangy feta cheese crumbles, and toasted pine nuts, it’s delicious both chilled or at room temp.

What We Love About This Recipe

1. Zucchini salad really makes the most of this earthy summer fruit, pairing it with a little lemon, salt, and pepper. Because it’s not cooked, the zucchini keeps its mild, vaguely floral flavor and all of its delicious crunch.
2. Toasted pine nuts bring so much to this dish, complemented by the tangy, creamy feta cheese. Every bite is a delicious blend of fresh flavors and incredible texture.
3. This salad is great for a side dish at a potluck or summer BBQ, but honestly, I’ll eat it all by itself! I prefer it chilled vs. room temperature, but both ways are fantastic.

Cheryl’s Tips

• Toasting the pine nuts is ridiculously simple and super quick, like toasting sesame seeds. Just keep a close eye on them – they’ll brown pretty quickly once they reach that point.
• Slicing the zucchini into ribbons is also super easy to do. I like to use a vegetable peeler rather than a mandoline slicer, but you can use either. With a peeler, it’s sort of the opposite of peeling a potato. When you’re peeling potatoes, you use short, quick motions with very little pressure, just to take off that very top layer. In this case, you’ll want to go slowly and apply enough pressure to dig into the zucchini a bit, that way each ribbon has some substance to it.

More Easy Side Dishes

• French Green Lentils
• Garlic Butter Parsley Potatoes
• Cucumber Salsa
• Simple Asian Cucumber Salad
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

If you loved this recipe as much as we did, don’t forget to leave us a review below. ★ Follow Easy Healthy Recipes on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram, too!

 

For more delicious recipes, visit our sister sites, 40 Aprons and Easy Cheap Recipes.

5 from 1 vote

Zucchini Salad

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 10 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

This crunchy and tangy recipe is the perfect fresh summer salad.

• Pin

Print Save Saved!

4 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 medium zucchini each approximately 8 inches long and 5 ounces
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest zest from approximately 1 large lemon
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice juice from approximately 1 large lemon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper black or white
• ▢ ¼ cup pine nuts
• ▢ 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Get Recipe Ingredients

Equipment

• running water
• vegetable brush or clean dish towel
• Paper towels
• vegetable peeler or mandoline slicer
• Large mixing bowl
• Silicone spatula or large wooden spoon
• large, non-stick pan
• Spatula
• serving bowl

Instructions 

• Wash 3 medium zucchini well under running water, using vegetable brush or dish towel to remove all surface dirt.
• Once zucchini are clean, pat zucchini dry with paper towels. Carefully slice zucchini into long, thin ribbons using vegetable peeler or mandoline slicer.
• Add zucchini ribbons to large mixing bowl, then add 2 tablespoons lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper to bowl. Toss or stir zucchini until ingredients are well combined, then set bowl aside. Let zucchini marinate 10 minutes.
• While zucchini marinates, place non-stick skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Add ¼ cup pine nuts to skillet and toast, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes or until pine nuts are golden-brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
• After zucchini has marinated 10 minutes, transfer zucchini to serving bowl. Top zucchini with toasted pine nuts and 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.
• Serve immediately, or cover bowl tightly with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate salad 30 minutes, then serve chilled.

Notes

• Peeling Zucchini: I personally use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into ribbons. Go very slowly and use a little pressure to get thicker strips.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 185kcal | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Total Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Net Carbs: 6g | Vitamin C: 33mg | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 1021mg | Potassium: 473mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 1mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik