This Zucchini Salad is the ultimate summer side dish. Featuring tender grilled zucchini, juicy sweet tomatoes, earthy Kalamata olives, and a vibrant lemon dressing, this salad is complex in flavors but incredibly easy to make.
The Zucchini Salad I Can’t Stop Eating
If your garden is bursting with zucchini you may be looking for ALL the zucchini recipes. And while I strongly encourage you to make chocolate zucchini muffins and pineapple zucchini bread, this grilled zucchini salad is the unexpected dish of the summer!
Packed with Mediterranean flavors and fresh summer produce, it is light, fresh, yet deliciously bold. In fact, this salad is so good, you will find yourself begging your garden to give you MORE zucchini.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
Notes on Ingredients
- Zucchini: Opt for smaller zucchini. It has fewer seeds and is overall less bitter than large zucchini.
- Tomatoes: Any variety of ripe tomatoes work well. I find myself using a combination of cherry tomatoes, roma, and campari tomatoes–whatever is abundant in your vegetable garden or looks good at the store.
- Olives: Kalamata olive will add an earthy, salty flavor to the salad. Don’t be tempted to swap kalamata olive out for Spanish olives or black olives, as they both have a different flavor profile. It is better to omit the olives altogether.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh basil marries the tomatoes and zucchini together perfectly.
- Dressing: Extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, honey, salt, pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Simplicity at its finest!
- Feta Cheese: An optional addition for a creamy, salty finish. Feel free to omit it for a dairy-free salad or swap it out for fresh mozzarella, freshly grated parmesan cheese, or crumbled goat cheese. But feta is my personal favorite in this zucchini salad.
How to Make Grilled Zucchini Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare Zucchini. Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch rounds. Lay the sliced zucchini out onto a sheet pan or cutting board and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Let the zucchini sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to draw out the water. Then pat dry with a paper towel.
Why Salt Zucchini?
Salting sliced zucchini helps to draw the natural water out of the zucchini, resulting in firmer, more flavorful zucchini. No mushy zucchini or watered down salad here.
- Grill Zucchini. Grill the zucchini on a lightly greased grill or grill pan over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
A Basket makes the process easier
While you can certainly just place the zucchini directly on the grill, I find a grill basket makes the process much easier and prevents the zucchini from slipping falling through the grates.
- Make Dressing. While the zucchini cools slightly, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, honey, salt, pepper, and zest and juice of a lemon together in a large mixing bowl.
Kristen’s Tip
Be sure to zest the lemon prior to cutting it open. It is next to impossible to remove the zest once citrus has been cut open.
- Combine. Add grilled zucchini, tomatoes, olives, basil, and toss to combine.
Make-Ahead Tip
At this point, you can opt to cover and chill for up to 24 hours prior to serving or garnish and serve immediately.
- Garnish and Serve. If chilled, gently toss to redistribute the dressing throughout the salad. Crumble the feta evenly over the salad, garnish with additional ribbons of basil, and serve immediately.
Kristen’s Key Tip
Raw or Grilled Zucchini for a Zucchini Salad?
I have made this salad with raw zucchini and grilled zucchini. The difference was huge! Grilled zucchini is tender and slightly smoky and elevated this dish to restaurant-quality. The added few minutes it takes to grill the zucchini is well worth it.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Prevent your screen from going dark
-
Wash and dry zucchini. Slice the zucchini into ¼-inch rounds and arrange in a single layer on a cutting board or sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until beads of water form on the surface of the zucchini slices.
-
While the zucchini is being salted, preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grease lightly with olive oil.
-
Pat the zucchini dry with a paper towel and carefully place the zucchini on the grill OR in a single layer in a grilling basket. Grill the zucchini for 3-4 minutes per side until lightly charred and just tender. Remove from the grill and let the zucchini cool slightly.
-
While the grilled zucchini is cooling, prepare the dressing by whisking together 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 medium lemon, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon honey, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch of kosher salt in a large mixing bowl.
-
Add the zucchini to the mixing bowl with the dressing, along with the tomatoes, olives, and basil. Gently toss to coat.
-
Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and additional basil if desired and serve.
Feta Cheese: Feel free to omit the feta for a dairy-free dish or swap it out for cubed fresh mozzarella or freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Tomatoes: Use any ripe tomato. Cut cherry and grape tomatoes in half and dice larger tomatoes into large chunks.
Calories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 253mgPotassium: 626mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1103IUVitamin C: 52mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
