Easy Grilled Zucchini Recipe

Grilled Zucchini with garlic, salt and pepper is an easy side dish that takes minutes to cook on the grill. This simple recipe makes a delicious summer side dish that pairs perfectly with any main dish!

We have been cooking zucchini on the grill in the summer months for years. It’s my favorite way to cook Italian squash!

This is the perfect summer side dish because it’s super simple and incredibly easy to make. Zucchini is also low carb, low in calories, low fat and gluten free, so this healthy side dish is suitable for almost any diet.

This delicious zucchini recipe is a terrific way to use up zucchini from your garden or your neighbor’s garden. You can grill as much as you like all at once!

If you’ve got a bunch of zucchini to use up, try making Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats, The BEST Zucchini Bread or easy Zucchini Banana Muffins.

Ingredients

There are only 5 simple ingredients in this easy grilled zucchini recipe. You can find them in your grocery store or farmers market.

• Fresh zucchini — look for smaller zucchini for best taste
• Avocado oil — the high smoke point makes this one of the best oils for grilling. Use vegetable oil or olive oil in place of avocado oil
• Seasoning — sea salt or kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder

How to Grill Zucchini Spears

First, rinse the zucchini under cold water, and pat dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel. By the way, you don’t have to peel the zucchini, because the skin is thin.

Then, cut the whole zucchini into spears. The easiest way to do this is to cut the squash in half. Then, cut the zucchini halves into quarters.

Place zucchini spears into a large bowl. Then drizzle a little olive oil or avocado oil over them. We like to use avocado oil when grilling due to its higher smoke point. But, olive oil works, too.

Next, season the zucchini slices with a little bit of sea salt, pepper and garlic powder, and toss zucchini to coat.

You can change up the flavors, but we love keeping the seasonings minimal to bring out the natural flavor of the Italian squash.

Cooking Time

Rub a little bit of avocado on the grill grates to prevent sticking. The easy way to do this is to wet a paper towel with the oil and quickly rub it on the grates.

Then, place the zucchini spears on the grill in a single layer, and cook for 2 minutes per side or until fork tender and cooked through. You should get beautiful grill marks!

There are 3 sides to each spear, so it will be about 6 minutes total, depending upon how thick your spears are.

Grilled Zucchini and Yellow Squash

You can grill zucchini and yellow summer squash together at the same time. We do this frequently as they both have the same cook time. Just make sure the spears are all about the same size. You can also grill yellow squash separately.

What to Serve with Zucchini

Grilled zucchini is a delicious complement to grilled meat and seafood. We love to serve it with grilled steak, grilled salmon, Grilled Pork Chops, Grilled Italian Dressing Chicken or even Grilled Crab Legs.

How to Store

Store any leftover zucchini in a covered container in the refrigerator. It should keep for about 3 to 4 days without getting soggy.

Expert Tips

Look for small zucchini to medium zucchini for best taste. Large zucchini tends to have tougher skin, larger seeds and can taste bitter.

Use your favorite seasonings. Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and onion powder are great additions. We sometimes like to toss Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley or other fresh herbs on top of the zucchini before serving.

Use tongs to Oil the grill grates with an oiled paper towel so the zucchini doesn’t stick.

Delicious grilled zucchini is one of my family’s favorite side dishes. I hope you enjoy this easy recipe as much as we do.

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