Sautéed Zucchini Ribbons with lemon zest, garlic and chili flakes. A quick and simple side dish- delicious with grilled protein for dinner or try it with eggs for breakfast. Keep it vegan or jazz it up with cheese.
Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau
Why You’ll Love This
Easy! This recipe for Sautéed Zucchini Ribbons with lemon, garlic, and red pepper flakes is an easy side dish or light lunch with only 15 minutes of hands-on time.
Satisfying texture and flavor. Boasting crisp, satisfying texture and savory bright flavors.
Adaptable! Fortunately, abundant zucchini squash is incredibly adaptable! Mild and willing, zucchini provides a beautiful structure and medium for flavor and spice. It is fascinating to me how something just merely cut in a particular way can taste different. Every growing season provides us with a fun challenge to play with! Make it as spicy as you want, add strips of pecorino or chunks of feta, sprinkle with pine nuts or toasted walnuts, top with sweet cherry tomatoes… whatever inspires you! 😉
Simple ingredients. Sautéed zucchini with one of the best flavor combinations: olive oil, garlic, lemon, and red pepper flakes. Keeps it easy, healthy, low-carb, and tasty!
Zucchini Ribbons Ingredients
- Zucchini: Feel free to use a combination of zucchini and yellow summer squash. Medium to small zucchini work best.
- Lemon: Both the zest and juice add vibrant, citrusy flavor.
- Garlic cloves: I love getting this season’s fresh garlic from the farmers market. Before it is fully cured, it is known as wet garlic. Crisp, juicy, and lively, it has a sweeter, milder taste than dried garlic. But either works!
- Chili flakes: For subtle heat.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: For a simple, balanced sauce.
- Sea salt and black pepper: To enhance the flavors of the dish, with a little bite.
- Garnish: Basil ribbons, cherry tomatoes, feta, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, or pecorino, or toasted nuts!
How to make Zucchini Ribbons (instructions)
Step one: Cut off the ends of the zucchini, then slice the zucchini with a peeler, creating thin ribbons. Discard the middle as you get to the seedy part of the squash. Peel one side until you reach the seedy center, turn zucchini over and repeat on all four “sides”. (The center breaks down faster and can get mushy. Save these parts for scrambles and stir-fries.)
Step two: In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat and sauté garlic and red pepper flakes until just softening. You can increase the garlic amount to taste.
Step three: Add the zucchini ribbons to the saucepan and cook 1-2 minutes until just slightly wilted and tender.
Step four: Turn off the heat and toss the ribbons in lemon zest and kosher salt. Mix in the pan or in a large bowl.
Step five: Drizzle lemon juice over top and sprinkle a few cracks of pepper.
Step six: Serve with desired garnishes: basil leaves or other herbs, like fresh oregano, cherry tomatoes, feta, pecorino, pine nuts, or toasted walnuts.
Serving Suggestions
- Top with grilled protein: Grilled Tofu, Grilled Chicken, or Grilled Salmon
- Serve with eggs: Poached Eggs or Scrambled Eggs
- Add vegan cheese: Serve with Vegan Ricotta or Creamy Cashew Cheese
- Toss with carrot ribbons! Add gently sautéed carrot ribbons for even more color if you’d like.
Storage
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Gently reheat on the stovetop in a pan with a little oil (or butter if not making this vegan), or toss with leafy greens and enjoy it cold as a salad.
FAQs
Use a vegetable peeler to cut strips on one side until you get to the seedy center. Then move on to the next side. You can use a mandolin if you prefer.
Zucchini ribbons freeze well! Blanch them first, then freeze them. Thaw the zucchini strips in the fridge before sautéing in the skillet.
Zucchini should be stored in the fridge.
On the homefront: I am beginning to feel hints of autumn approaching. The smell of decaying leaves, the cooler evenings, the shifting angle of the sun become more noticeable as the darkness edges in. The season feels wildly short here on San Juan Island.
Part of me is already mourning the end of summer even though we most likely have a few weeks left. The other part of me is ready for the shift and all the gifts that the darkness holds. Summer brings the feeling of producing, harvesting, get it while you can, fuel up, play, do and enjoy enough! It is intense!
As this transition time approaches, I find it an incredibly valuable opportunity to reassess, be intentional, and take stock of all enriching experiences (good and “bad”) and let them seep into my bones, soaking up what feels potent and soul-nourishing. I want to allow myself the grace to simultaneously feel any loss of the yesterdays and also be in the wonderment of what the future may hold.
With aspiring awareness, intention and grace,
xo Tonia
More zucchini recipes you may enjoy
Zucchini Ribbons Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 4
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 cups
- Category: side dish, vegan side dish
- Method: saute
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Sauteed Zucchini Ribbons with lemon zest and chili flakes. A quick and simple side dish! Delicious with eggs for breakfast or grilled protein for dinner. Keep it vegan or jazz it up with cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2–3 large cloves of garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes, adjust to taste
- 2–3 medium zucchini, ribboned with a peeler, about 1 pound of ribbons
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- black pepper to taste
top with basil ribbons, cherry tomatoes, feta or pecorino and toasted nuts if desired!
Instructions
- Saute’ garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minute on medium heat until just softening.
- Add zucchini ribbons and cook 1-2 minutes more until just slightly wilted.
- Toss in zest and sea salt. Mix gently.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Optional garnish suggestions: basil, cherry tomatoes, feta, pecorino, pinenuts, or toasted nuts
Notes
Medium to small zucchini squash works best.
Slice zucchini with a vegetable peeler. Discard the middle as you get to the seedy part of the squash. Peel one side until you reach the seedy center, turn squash over and repeat peeling on all four “sides”. (The center breaks down faster and can get mushy. Save these parts for scrambles and stirfrys.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 86
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 156.2 mg
- Fat: 7.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.1 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Yum! Came across this recipe looking to use up a courgette in my fridge and also, something quick and fresh for one. I followed all the toppings advice too. Key is not to overcook that courgette and leave it slightly crunchy. Will make again X
Glad you gave it a go Gilly!
DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed this!
great side dish but LEAVE OUT the salt!!!! I used the 1/2 teaspoon and it was hardly edible . I will make this again because it was so easy and so pretty, but I will not being adding any salt.
Hi Teresa, feel free as with all our recipes, to add salt to taste.
So easy & fast & delicious! So flavorful! I followed it, used lots of garlic and added basil at the end. Great recipe!
Perfect Debbie, glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! I’ve always thought the best use of zucchini was zucchini bread,, not the dinner table, because it’s flavorless and watery. But this recipe elevates the lowly zucchini to start status. I used most of the garnishes – cherry tomatoes, basil, shaved Parm and toasted pine nuts. Rave reviews. Will be putting this in my summer go-to repertoire. Thank you!
Great to hear Anne!
Delicious! Especially like the lemon zest. Husband who is not a zucch fan asked for more!
awesome! So glad you enjoyed.
I made the ribbon zucchini with garlic twice already. It is good and simple recipe.
So great to hear!
I never commented before, the ribbons are beautiful but I know I need a mandolin slicer. Especially liked your last 3 paragraphs Thanks !
Thanks Kathryn!
I used my manual veggie spiralizer with the flat slicer blade that made the ribbons quickly and left the core out. At the end, I sprinkled it with a little bit of grated parmesan. A quick and delightful side dish!
perfect! so glad you enjoyed!
Absolutely love simple and fresh recipes like this. Thank you for sharing! 😍
You’re totally welcome April! 💛