Zucchini focaccia is perfect for an original weekend dinner with family and friends. It’s tasty, light, and crunchy; everyone will take seconds. We don’t think there’s a better way to eat more veggies than loading them on top of crispy homemade focaccia. We are sure you’ll love this recipe because it’s easy to make and delicious. First, we make a simple focaccia dough using our well-tested recipe for no-knead focaccia. It’s easy, and you won’t even have to make your hands dirty. Then we top the focaccia with plenty of grated zucchini. All it takes is to grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater right on top of the dough, spread it out, and season it with a bit of salt and oil. The result is crispy focaccia with almost-melted zucchini on top. Probably one of the best ways of eating zucchini ever. Kids and adults alike will love this recipe and ask for seconds. If you want to learn more about making the best and easiest focaccia, check out our focaccia recipe.Ps. This way of making focaccia is popular where we live in Italy. If you ever travel to Todi, try a slice of this zucchini focaccia at this local pizzeria.
Instructions
Serving suggestions
More zucchini recipes
Storage
Zucchini focaccia is best when eaten straight out of the oven, warm and crunchy. If you have leftovers, store them in a food-grade plastic bag at room temperature for 36 to 48 hours max.
Water
Use lukewarm water to activate the yeast. Make sure the water is not too hot or too cold.
Yeast
We make focaccia with instant dry yeast, but you can also use fresh or active dry yeast. In all cases, we recommend adding the yeast to lukewarm water and sugar first. You need three times more fresh yeast than instant dry yeast.
Salt
Focaccia needs a bit of salt in the dough to taste good. Sea salt and kosher salt are both great options.
Sugar
Just a tiny bit to help the yeast get ready to go.
Olive oil + Salt + Pepper
The zucchini needs a simple seasoning of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Fresh herbs (optional)
Fresh herbs are optional; however, if you want to make this zucchini focaccia a little more aromatic, you can add fresh thyme, oregano, sage, or rosemary. Note: as usual, use our recipe as a guideline, and feel free to add your favorite ingredients on top of this focaccia. Good options are halved cherry tomatoes, olives, and any melty cheese. To a large mixing bowl, add the flour and the salt. Next, stir with a wooden spoon and add the yeast mixture. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula until you have a wet and sticky dough. Roughly shape the dough into a ball and lightly drizzle with olive oil before putting it to proof.
Proofing the dough
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth, leaving enough space between the dough and the cloth. Let it proof in a slightly warm oven for two hours. The dough should double in volume.
Fold the dough
Fold the dough on itself with a spatula or spoon from the outside to the center. There’s no need to touch it with your hands. Fold it 20 times. It will take you about 30 seconds. Folding gives structure to the dough. The dough is elastic at this stage and will pull back, so don’t worry if it doesn’t cover the tray completely. To prevent the spoons from sticking to the dough, wet them with water. Note: Focaccia tends to stick to the tray. If you want to reduce the amount of oil, you can line your baking tray with parchment paper. We make thin, pizza-like focaccia here, using a 16 x 12 inches (40 x 30 cm) baking pan, but you can use a smaller pan to make thicker focaccia. Put back in the slightly warm oven to proof for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. After this second proofing, remove it from the oven and preheat it to 450°F or 230°C.
Add topping
Grate the zucchini and spread it on top of the focaccia. Season with a few pinches of salt, black pepper, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. The focaccia is ready when it’s golden brown and crispy on the sides and well-cooked on the bottom. Let it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes before removing it from the pan, cutting it, and serving it.
Cucumber tomato saladChickpea saladFennel orange saladRed cabbage slawCrostini with vegetable toppingsRoasted broccoliEggplant caponata
Or, if you wanna put more veggies on the table, check out our 25 best vegetable side dishes.
Fresh zucchini soup served with air fryer croutonsEasy Risotto with shredded zucchiniRoasted zucchini with breadcrumbs and herbsGrilled zucchini with a herby lemon vinaigrette25-minute zucchini pasta with pine nutsStuffed zucchini boats with lentils and walnutsEasy zucchini muffins with shredded zucchini
Or simply check out our selection of best zucchini recipes. Reheat in a preheated oven at 400°F or 200°C for about 5 minutes. For many more bread ideas, check out our bread category page.
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