Zucchini Pesto

If you’re looking for a way to make a serious dent in your zucchini stash, look no further than this zucchini pesto recipe. Using up an entire large zucchini, this simple recipe is perfect for tossing with pasta or topping chicken, meat and fish.

After moving and not having a garden for two seasons, I got way too ambitious this year in literally everything I planted.

In case you’re wondering, 8 broccoli plants, 6 tomato plants (4 of which are cherry tomatoes), 6 kale, Swiss chard and bok choy plants is far too much for two people.

However, the thing giving me the most problems right now are the 4 zucchini plants. Four plants sounds reasonable on paper, but the reality is I’ve had no less than 6 zucchini the size of my arm (hardly an exaggeration) in my fridge for over a month now and there’s no end in sight.

I’ve grilled it, grated it, frozen it, sautéed it, baked it into every muffin, bread and breakfast bake I can think of, used it on pizza, and I feel like I’m barely making a dent. As soon as I use one up, another is ready to be picked.

Thankfully, this zucchini pesto recipe used up an entire large zucchini turning it into something with a million uses and it freezes well to store for later. It’s exactly the kind of simple seasonal recipe you need with a late summer exploding garden.

Why You’ll Fall In Love With This Recipe

• It goes with almost everything — Because of zucchini’s neutral flavor, this pesto is incredibly versatile. It’s just as good as a pasta sauce as it is a dip or a topping for something off the grill.
• It’s packed with nutrients — If you thought pesto was a healthy sauce, zucchini pesto is even more so. You get all the benefits of traditional pesto with the added vitamins and minerals from the vegetable. Using zucchini as a the base also allows you to cut back on the amount of olive oil needed in the recipe. Because it has such a high water content, the pesto turns “saucy” much more easily with less oil.
• Its versatility — Like any pesto recipe such as arugula pesto or ramp pesto, you can customize this recipe in a variety of ways. Add some lemon juice or zest, increase or decrease the amount of garlic according to your preferences, use another type of nut, etc.

Zucchini Pesto Ingredients

• Zucchini — you’ll end up with about 2 cups after squeezing the water out
• Fresh garlic clove — fresh is best when it comes to pesto, avoid jarred minced garlic
• Toasted pine nuts — just toss them in a pan over medium-low heat for a few minutes
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese — although I often use Pecorino Romano
• Fresh basil leaves — while basil takes a backseat in zucchini pesto, you still want to use a touch of it for the classic flavor
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper — adjust this to taste after the pesto has been processed

How To Make Zucchini Pesto

Grab your food processor and place the grated and squeezed zucchini along with all the other ingredients except the olive oil into it.

Process until a smooth texture starts to result. Slowly stream in the olive oil with the food processor running until the pesto reaches the consistency you like.

Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed and that’s it!

Pesto making is pretty straightforward and usually the same no matter the type. For instance, radish greens pesto is made the same exact way as this zucchini pesto.

Serving Ideas

Now that you have a lovely batch of fresh summer zucchini pesto, you may be wondering how to use it.

Of course, you can toss the pesto with pasta for a traditional approach and enjoy a simple zucchini pesto pasta meal.

For a double zucchini pasta approach, toss it with zucchini noodles to create a light summer meal.

I also love using pesto as a condiment for any cooked chicken, fish or meat.

For example, use it to top this porterhouse steak skillet instead of the spinach pesto in that recipe.

It can be used as a sandwich spread (like you would mayo or hummus) or on crostini for an appetizer kind of like these edamame crostini.

And lastly, simply enjoy it as a dip! Serve the pesto with cut up raw veggies or some vegetable fries like jicama fries and parsnip fries. The color contrast against purple sweet potato fries is really pretty too.

Storing and Freezing For Later

If you need to store the pesto, transfer it to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you want to keep the pesto super fresh while storing, drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on the top of the pesto in the container. This keeps it from oxidizing and turning an unpleasant brownish color.

For longer storage, the zucchini pesto can be frozen for up to 3 months. I like doing this in ice cube trays for convenient portion sizes that way I can easily defrost what I need at the time.

Thaw under refrigeration for 12 to 24 hours before using.

Can You Eat Raw Zucchini?

Absolutely! Unlike some of its cruciferous cousins, zucchini isn’t a vegetable that causes many digestion distress when eaten raw.

The one thing to be aware of is that raw zucchini contains a lot of water since its not given the opportunity to cook out of the vegetable. For that reason, it’s imperative you squeeze the excess water out of the grated raw zucchini before making the pesto. If you don’t, it will significantly water things down and affect the flavor.

Make It Vegan

Did you know vegan pesto is as simple as swapping out the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast? This swap works great in a variety of pesto recipes including this zucchini one. I recommend a squeeze of fresh lemon juice too when doing this.

More Ways To Use Up Summer Zucchini

When the zucchini overload becomes unbearable, here are some of my favorite recipes to rotate through:
Almond Zucchini Bread 
Air Fryer Zucchini Chips
Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles
Stuffed Round Zucchini — you can make this recipe with regular zucchini too