Fresh zucchini salad

Modified: May 4, 2025 · Published: Mar 12, 2024 by Claire Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 20 Comments

Marinated zucchini salad is refreshing, delicious and goes perfectly with grilled meats for a light summer lunch.

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Recipe

Hot weather and hot lunch just don’t go together for me. 

I swear I start sweating seeing people chowing down on burgers sitting at the beach in the middle of summer.

It’s cold lunch all the way for me.

For most people, the first thought of cold lunch is salad right?

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you’ll know I never used to be a salad eater.

It’s likely because to me, a salad was a bowl full of iceberg lettuce with some chopped tomato and that awful vinegrette dressing that comes in a bottle.

You know – the salad you used to get on a side of a pub meal or a surf club fish and chips?

When I learned that there is in fact an entire world of different salads out there (I was very late to the party as a reformed fussy eater) I became a lover of an alternate salad.

I am a big fan of zucchini so this marinated zucchini salad recipe went straight to the top of my ‘to try’ list when I saw it at the end of last year.

As Sheldon Cooper would say ‘it’s zingy.’ It’s a very fresh and light salad perfect with grilled meat fresh off the barbecue.

It uses just simple ingredients and is quick and easy to make. 

Ingredients

To make this zucchini summer salad you will need: 

• Olive oil – extra virgin olive oil if possible
• Fresh garlic clove – crushed
• Fresh medium zucchini – sliced finely lengthways in thin strips with a vegetable peeler or a mandoline slicer (or a sharp knife if that’s all you have). 
• Red wine vinegar – white wine vinegar can be used if you don’t have red
• Salt & pepper – Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh herbs – we used fresh mint but you could use fresh basil 

Can I use different types of zucchini

To make raw zucchini ribbons, you can use any type of zucchini you can get your hands on. 

Yellow summer squash (or just yellow squash) can be used. 

If it’s zucchini season, you can probably find a few different varieties at your local farmer’s market (my favourite place to buy fresh produce). 

Smaller zucchini will work too as long as you can cut them into thin ribbons. 

Instructions

1. Firstly, combine the oil and garlic in a large bowl and brush the ribbons of zucchini with it.
2. Pre-heat a BBQ grill pan or griddle pan on the stove.
3. Cook the zucchini in batches for a few minutes on each side until it is charred and tender then transfer to a serving plate.
4. Make the salad dressing by whisking together the red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. If you don’t have a whisk, you could also put the ingredients in a mason jar & shake it. 
5. Pour it over the zucchini and scatter the mint leaves then set it aside to cool to room temperature.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
7. Serve your new favorite salad at your next barbeque.

Ok so serving it with a barbecue sort of defeats the purpose of it being cold but it still provides a refreshing element to your plate and for me, it’s token greens – nice and healthy with no leaves in sight.

It’s a delicious side dish on hot summer days. 

What about you?

Do you crave cold food in the heat? What’s your favourite summer lunch?

Recipe