Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables, because it’s super versatile. You can use it in muffins, bread, lasagna, or stuff it for a savory meal. The flavor is so neutral, you can even use it in a vegan cheesecake!
This keeps the pieces relatively uniform in size, and easy to measure for recipes later.
Freeze the zucchini for about 1 hour, until it’s firm to the touch, then transfer it to an airtight container to preserve the flavor as you store it. Freezing the individual pieces first makes the zucchini easy to measure, so you’re not stuck with one big frozen chunk to deal with later! Keep in mind that frozen zucchini adds almost NO flavor or color to most smoothie recipes. It’s more like you’re adding a handful of ice to a smoothie, only it has more vitamins and minerals than ice. However, in my experience, frozen vegetables are almost always more mushy than fresh vegetables after you thaw them, regardless. (This is the case with frozen green beans, too.) I tend to use frozen zucchini in smoothies most often, so taking the time to blanch it, when I’m simply going to use it frozen, doesn’t make much sense. Save yourself some time and skip the blanching process!
You can use it in a low sugar smoothie recipe, or add it to any other smoothie you love. If you try this method for freezing zucchini at home, please leave a comment below letting me know how it works out for you. And if you try anything different, I’d love to hear about that, too! We can all benefit from your experience.
Add it to a zucchini smoothie Use it in Zucchini Hummus (thaw first!) Add it to oatmeal (it can thaw as you heat up the oatmeal) Use pureed zucchini instead of oil in chimichurri sauce (thaw first) Add it to your favorite soup recipe
Really, you can use zucchini as an extra vegetable in nearly any cooked dish! I recommend using it along with other veggies, rather than as a side dish on its own, because the texture won’t be quite as sturdy as compared to fresh zucchini. – Reader Feedback: Do you freeze your own produce often? We’ve always kept frozen bananas on hand, but freezing veggies is a game-changer for avoiding extra food waste!
