Although courgettes, also known as zucchini, are a versatile ingredient, many people do not know what they can do with them. They serve them the same way each time rather than attempting to get creative with this delicious ingredient. However, there are a surprising number of ways that you can use them in your cooking. Here are some ideas for the ways you can use courgettes to inspire you.
Ways to Use Courgettes as a Side Dish
- Simple Courgettes: Cook the courgettes with a little butter in a pan or the microwave to serve as a simple side dish. I recommend seasoning them with salt and pepper for extra taste.
2. Cheesy Courgettes: Slice the courgettes, layer in an oven-proof dish and cover with grated cheese. Bake in the oven until the vegetables are soft, and the cheese has melted and is turning golden.
3. Courgette Spaghetti: A healthy alternative to traditional pasta spaghetti is spaghetti made from vegetables. You will need a spiralizer or a pasta making machine with a spaghetti tool to make courgette spaghetti. Once you have created the spaghetti, you can eat it raw, blanche it in a pan of salted, boiling water for a couple of minutes, or fry in a pan with a little oil and a crushed clove of garlic.
4. Roast Mediterranean Vegetables: Add slice courgettes to a baking tray with diced aubergine, tomatoes, and peppers. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and roast in the oven until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown around the edges.
5. Griddled Courgettes: Slice the courgettes lengthways, and brush with a little oil. Put a griddle pan over high heat and add the sliced courgette. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until there are scorch lines on both sides.
Ways to Use Courgettes as a Meal
6. Tomato and Courgette Bake: One of my favourite ways to use courgettes is to make a tomato and courgette bake. It consists of layered courgettes and tomatoes topped with cheese and either crushed ready salted crisps or breadcrumbs. You can read the full recipe and instructions for a tomato and courgette bake here.
7. Stuffed Courgette Boats: This dish is one of my children’s favourites. There are several variations of the dish, but they are basically courgettes halved lengthways with the soft centre scooped out and then filled with the filling of your choice. I then make them look like boats for the kids by adding a cocktail stick with a triangular piece of paper. Obviously, you can leave off the sail when serving to adults. Some of my favourite fillings are soft cheese and bacon, rage, stilton and walnut, cheddar and tomatoes, and spicy minced lamb topped with raita.
8. Breaded Parmesan Courgettes: Grate fresh Parmesan into a bowl of breadcrumbs. Set up two more bowls with a beaten egg in one and plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper into another. Cut the courgettes into batons. Dip each courgette baton first into the plain flour, then the egg, then roll them in the Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Lay the coated courgette batons on a baking tray and bake on medium heat in the oven. Cook until the coating is golden and crisp, and turn the batons once during cooking, so they are cooked evenly. Serve with dips and accompaniments.
9. Courgette Fritters: Grate a couple of courgettes, then bind together with a beaten egg and a couple of tablespoons of plain flour. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then form into patties. Add some olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat, then add the courgette fritters to the pan. Fry the fritters for approximately five minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and crisp on both sides.
Other Meal Suggestions
10. Vegetable Thai Red Curry: Courgettes/ zucchini are a nice addition to any curry due to their mild flavour and soft texture. Try out our recipe for a Vegetable Thai Red Curry.
11. Raw courgette salad: Add thinly sliced, spiralized or grated courgette to a salad containing your favourite vegetables. Enhance the flavour with some balsamic vinegar or lemon oil.
12. Stir Fry: Add sliced courgettes to any stir fry, along with your choice of meat or vegetables.
Soup Suggestions
Courgette Soup Ideas: Many mouth-watering soups contain courgettes, sometimes as the primary ingredients and sometimes as one of many vegetables. Our sister site, Super Souper Ed, has some amazing courgette soup recipes. These include:
13. Courgette and mint soup
14. Tomato, courgette, and pepper soup
15. Minestrone soup
16. Thai Coconut and Vegetable Soup
Ways to Use Courgettes: Desserts
17. Courgette Desserts: In all honesty, I have never used courgettes in a dessert. However, I have read some fantastic recipes for using zucchini is cakes, cookies, sweet bread, and many more delicious desserts. For some inspiration, I recommend this article by Taste of Home that has 17 ideas for zucchini dessert recipes. Click here to read the article now.