That thing where all your neighbors are foisting their giant zucchinis off on you like you don’t already have a ton of them taking over your own backyard? Well, what that late summer zucchini onslaught if it wasn’t a problem, but a challenge? We’ve made a lot of zucchini recipes over the years (challenge accepted!) and this roasted zucchini with parmesan (which takes all of ten minutes and just a few ingredients) might just be the simplest and best of all.
Roasting zucchini is easy, and the results are can’t-stop-eating-this good, especially with a healthy dusting of parmesan cheese. My kids will even (usually) eat this! For a richer zuke experience, try Zucchini pasta or crispy Fried Zucchini!
What You’ll Need to Make Roasted Zucchini:
- Zucchini: Small or medium zukes are ideal for roasting. Very large zucchini can be seedy and watery, but if you're stuck with giant ones from your garden, scoop out the seeds and salt the flesh for 15 minutes before roasting to draw out excess moisture.
- Parmesan cheese: Pre-grated is OK, but the fine dusting that you get from grating real Parmigiano Reggiano over the zucchini rounds with a microplane grater is unbeatable.
- Garlic powder: This Parmesan-roasted zucchini recipe is a perfect example of why we love garlic powder. Every zucchini slice will get a hint of flavor in a way that fresh garlic cloves just can’t replicate. Just be sure that your garlic powder is fresh—if it’s more than six months old, spring for a fresh jar (or scoop from the bulk bins).
- Olive oil: Regular, non-extra virgin olive oil is perfect here.
How To Roast Zucchini
Ready in just a few simple steps, roasting is definitely the best way to cook zucchini.
- Boldly crank your oven to 450°F. High heat means crispy (not soggy) roasted zucchini.
- Dress the sliced zucchini rounds with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Arrange the rounds on a baking sheet.
- Grate parmesan cheese generously over the rounds.
- Roast! About five minutes, and then finish the rounds off with a quick broil to ensure the cheese gets nice and crisp-bubbly.
- Dive in! Enjoy these as a side dish, snack, pasta stand-in—the possibilities are endless. If you love roasted veggies, be sure to try roasted Brussels sprouts, too.
Tips For Cooking Zucchini
- PSA: You DO NOT have to peel zucchini. There’s no need to peel zucchini. In fact, the skin is a big source of zucchini nutrition (the deep green color is a dead giveaway) so you definitely want to leave the skin on.
- How to cut zucchini: after giving the zucchini squash a good rinse under cold water, slice off the stem and discard it. The rest is edible and delicious so just slice it up into strips (great for grilling) coins (which is what you’ll do for this roasted zucchini recipe) or even half-moons. Or, you could forego the knife entirely and grate your zucchini, which is the first step towards beautiful crisp zucchini fritters.
- To prevent soggy roasted zucchini: In addition to roasting them in the oven at high heat, when you place the zucchini slices on the baking sheet, take care to make sure they’re not overlapping. If they lay on top of each other as they roast, a few of the slices may steam, which would make the final dish a little soggy.
All About Zucchini
Brace yourself, guys: Zucchini is technically a fruit! And not just a fruit, but a berry. Here you are, all these years, just living your life, and all of a sudden you learn that zucchini, this thing you’ve always known as a vegetable, is actually a BERRY. Melon, cucumbers, and all squash are part of the plant family cucurbita pepo, defined as a “fleshy one-celled many-seeded berry, that has a hard rind and is the characteristic fruit of the gourd family.” Weird. The most important thing to know about zucchini, though, is that it’s delicious roasted with Parmesan.
Zucchini Recipes That Will Change the Way You Think About Zucchini
Waste Not Want Not.
When you’ve got zucchini squash coming out your ears, it can be a little overwhelming. We hope this zucchini side dish recipe takes that feeling of overwhelm and transforms it into excitement. For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper, and we’d love to hear what you think of this recipe in the comments below. Happy cooking!
