How to Bake Zucchini

Bake zucchini as a tasty addition to your summer meals.

Bake a flavorful and fresh zucchini dish for a healthy twist on lunch or dinner. Zucchini, sometimes called courgettes in British or Mediterranean cooking, are a versatile vegetable that is both heart healthy and diet friendly. The delicate-tasting vegetable is a member of the squash family, and is known for its smooth green skin and firm texture. Abundantly available during the summer months, this vegetable mixes well with any spice or flavor to create a unique dish.

Things You'll Need

• Rectangular baking dish
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fork

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Wash the zucchini thoroughly.

3. Chop off the stem and a sliver from the opposite end. If the zucchini is small, leave each one whole. For larger zucchini, pieces over 2 inches in diameter, slice the vegetable in half lengthwise.

4. Place the zucchini into an oven-safe baking dish that is large enough to hold all the pieces so that they are laid out straight and do not overlap.

5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Bake until tender, about 20 minutes. To test for tenderness, stick a fork into the zucchini at the thickest part of the vegetable. If the fork glides in easily then the cooking process is completed. If not, allow the zucchini to cook and retest after 5 minutes. Larger and wider pieces could take 30 minutes to finish cooking.

7. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• Add crushed fresh garlic and grated Parmesan cheese to the top of the zucchini in step 4 before cooking for a variation on this recipe.

• To add an Italian flair to the recipe, drizzle with olive oil before seasoning.

References

• First Time Cook: How to Cook Zucchini
• Big Oven: Zucchini

Resources

• Cooks.com: Zucchini Bake
• Simple Italian Cooking: Baked Zucchini Slices