In my garden at home, we decided to grow zucchini...And then completely forgot about it. Low and behold, when my family later wandered down to the garden, we found a zucchini the size of a loaf of bread (I wish I were kidding). At thas size, it’s not over-ripe or unusable, it’s just an excessive amount of zucchini. So what did my family do? We got way too creative and ate a lot of zucchini over the following few weeks.

Zucchini is an incredibly versatile vegetable, and packed full with nutrients such as calcium, vitamin C, potassium, protein and manganese. It’s light in calories as well, only 21 per cup. That’s why it makes it a perfect ingredient for many meals or snacks.

And so, if you happen to have an overripe zucchini lying in your apartment, or fancy yourself in trying a new vegetable, check out these recipes categorized by what you might be craving today.   

Sweet

Zucchini Brownies

chocolate, cake, brownie, sauce
Erin O'Neill

Brownies filled with 1 ½ cups of veggies?! Zucchini is a virtually flavorless vegetable, so you won’t even notice all of the green stuff in your chocolate. 

I made this recipe over the summer for my family and they were a hit. The recipe calls for almond butter, but peanut butter works just as well. These brownies are ridiculously moist, healthy, chocolatey and require only ten ingredients. 

Salty

Zucchini Chips & Fries

vegetable, salad, fish
Erin O'Neill

There is nothing worse than opening a bag of salty chips to see approximately 4.5 chips at the bottom of the bag. I’ll save you the disappointment: try zucchini chips.

They are much more filling, healthy and super easy to make. The thinner you cut them, the crispier they will be. Want fries instead? Just cut the zucchini in thin strips and bake the same way. 

Cheesy

Mexican Zucchini Boats

tacos, avocado, salad, mango, corn
Erin O'Neill

If you’re craving a burrito but don’t want the 300 calorie tortilla wrap from Chipotle, these are perfect. The crunchy outside holds rice, beans, peppers, onions and cheese. There are other variations too, including lasagna zucchini boats, buffalo chicken zucchini boats or zucchini pizza boats.

#SpoonTip: This is a recipe to freeze for lunches during the week. 

Savory

Zucchini Pie

vegetable, omelet, cheese, sauce, meat, egg, tomato
Erin O'Neill

This one is my favorite. There are so many good ingredients—zucchini (obvs), corn, eggs and cheese. The spices add great flavor as well—homegrown spices are always my go-to since my family has an herb garden.

And feel free to make this your own tweaks; I love spinach so I always add a couple handfuls to the recipe and skip on the mushrooms. Use different cheeses or no cheese altogether, there is room for creativity and substitutions. This is great for dinner as well.

Why limit zucchini to a pan of roasted veggies when you can indulge your taste buds in more satisfying recipes? Happy squashing!