15 Ways to Use Garden Fresh Zucchini

By the end of the summer, zucchini starts taking over the garden and my countertops! Zucchini is one of our favorite things to grow, it's extremely prolific, healthy, and useful in so many dishes! Here are 15 creative recipes to use up your garden-fresh zucchini, from quick dinners to sneaky baked goods and desserts!

A garden zucchini plant with several zucchini ready to pick.

Easy to grow and easy to use, what's not to love about garden fresh zucchini? I love the challenge of having mounds of zucchini, there are so many delicious ways to use it!

From soup to pizza to pasta, we love to have zucchini be the star ingredient, but it's also a great veggie to hide! A food processor can blend this healthy vegetable to pasta sauces without kids (or adults) being any the wiser!

While not in the recipe, it could be added to the browning meat in Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce or Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach Sauce. Or add it as a topping to Homemade Pizza!

And our favorite way to use zucchini, baking! From muffins to cornbread to cookies, these options are all freezable ways to preserve your garden harvest!

If you're a fellow gardener or just love to shop the summer farmer's market, be sure to check out my 21 Ways to use Garden Tomatoes without Canning too!

Banana Zucchini Muffins on a cutting board.

Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins

These Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins are the perfect use for that garden zucchini! A healthier muffin, packed with 2 bananas, plus almond flour, oats, walnuts and maple syrup for the perfect breakfast or snack! Topped with mini chocolate chips, they are a kid favorite!

Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins

Zucchini Corn Chowder

As summer winds down into fall, Zucchini Corn Chowder is perfect for those end-of-season veggies! Loaded with crispy bacon, red bell pepper, onion, zucchini, potatoes, fresh basil, and lots of sweet corn cut off the cob, this soup is rich and creamy, savory and sweet, and absolutely delicious!

Zucchini Corn Chowder Recipe

A skillet of zucchini orzo pasta topped with salmon and basil.

Salmon Zucchini Orzo Pasta

Salmon Zucchini Orzo Pasta is the perfect summer dinner, brimming with seasonal veggies like zucchini, basil, and sweet corn cut off the cob! It's super simple with pan seared salmon fillets and creamy orzo, ready in 40 minutes!

Salmon Zucchini Orzo Pasta Recipe

A cast iron skillet of cornbread surrounded by bowls of chili.

Cheesy Honey Skillet Cornbread with Zucchini and Peppers

Cheesy Honey Skillet Cornbread is loaded with all the good stuff! Sweet and savory, it's made with plain yogurt, shredded cheddar and a few veggies blended right in. This healthier cornbread bakes to golden perfection in a cast iron skillet. Pair it with a pot of chili, ribs or barbecue chicken!

Honey Skillet Cornbread Recipe

Healthy Zucchini Banana Cookies

These Healthy Zucchini Banana Cookies pack the nutrition while still being a sweet treat! Loaded with clean ingredients like zucchini, carrot, banana, oats, nuts, and seeds, they are perfect for kids, adults too! Stock extras in the freezer for when you need a quick snack or dessert!

Zucchini Banana Cookies Recipe

Mushroom zucchini pasta with crispy prosciutto.

Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

This Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto is a favorite pasta night in our house! The cream sauce starts with a base of caramelized onions, amazing flavor here! Meanwhile the zucchini and mushrooms roast in the oven, then prosciutto is draped over the top and baked until crispy. It all comes together with big shavings of Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves!

Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto Recipe

Creamy broccoli and zucchini soup with shredded cheddar cheese.

Cheesy Broccoli Zucchini Soup

Cheesy Broccoli Zucchini Soup is a luxuriously creamy one-pot family favorite! It's made extra hearty with the addition of zucchini, packed full of veggies, but shredded so they blend right in. This is an incredibly easy, 30 minute stovetop version of broccoli cheddar soup that we absolutely love!

Cheesy Broccoli Zucchini Soup Recipe

Extra Veggie Manicotti with Meat Sauce

This Extra Veggie Manicotti with Meat Sauce is big pan of comfort food! Entirely homemade, it's creamy cheesy stuffed manicotti pasta with a super hearty tomato sauce loaded with both ground beef and a ton of hidden veggies! This Italian classic is an extra special dinner your family will love!

Extra Veggie Manicotti with Meat Sauce Recipe

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are the perfect use for those garden zucchini! Rich and chocolatey, tender and delicious, but made with a handful of healthier ingredients like almond flour, oats, maple syrup, applesauce and of course, lots of zucchini! Kid-friendly, they taste like dessert but make the perfect breakfast or snack! Stock the freezer and add one to a school lunchbox!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe

Grilled kabobs with steak, red and yellow bell pepper and mushrooms.

Grilled Steak Kabobs

Add sliced zucchini rounds to these yummy grilled steak kabobs with onions, peppers and mushrooms! Marinated with lots of fresh garlic and herbs!

Grilled Steak Kabobs Recipe

Garden Harvest Tater Tot Casserole

As the summer garden winds down, this Garden Harvest Tater Tot Casserole is the perfect fall dinner for using your end-of-season veggies! This childhood favorite is made completely from scratch with garden carrots, green beans, lots of fresh herbs and greens, and no condensed soup. Hearty and comforting, we make this recipe again and again!

Garden Harvest Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

A grilled vegetables plate with crumbled goat cheese, avocado and a bowl of herb yogurt sauce.

Grilled Vegetables with Yogurt Sauce

Grilled Vegetables with Yogurt Sauce can make a great vegetarian dinner with quinoa, or be served as a side for summer grill outs! It's simple, healthy, and beautifully delicious!

Grilled Vegetables with Yogurt Sauce Recipe

Italian Sausage Bolognese

Simply add a small zucchini to puree along with the other vegetables as the base of this sneaky healthy veggie-loaded pasta sauce!

Italian Sausage Bolognese Recipe

Roasted Veggie Flatbread Pizza

Roasted Vegetable Flatbread Pizza is an easy winter twist on pizza night when tomato and basil are out of season! Loaded with roasted veggies like squash, onion, zucchini, and bell pepper and topped with chicken, cream and melty cheese!

Roasted Veggie Flatbread Pizza Recipe

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta is our favorite way to use all those garden tomatoes! Fresh tomatoes and cream form this Italian "pink" sauce with garlic, basil, and other garden extras like onion and zucchini. Add a protein or keep it vegetarian, this simple creamy tomato basil sauce is full of summer garden flavor and ready in 25 minutes!

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Recipe