It happens to everyone who grows zucchini - a hidden or forgotten zucchini grows from medium to large in a matter of days. Accidentally waiting a week produces truly giant zucchini.
As your large zucchini sits on your counter, you're left wondering what you can do with it. It can be used in most recipes, but not all. Or at least, not every recipe with the same results. When zucchini get too big, their flavor, texture, and moisture levels change. This determines what you can do with them.
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What happens when zucchini get too big
The ideal zucchini size is about 6-8 inches. At this point they have a delicate, almost buttery flavor, a tender texture that isn't watery, and few seeds (or seeds that go unnoticed). They can be used in any recipe, cooked or raw.
Zucchini that are just slightly larger will still be pretty darn good. They can be used interchangeably with any recipe with similar results.
As they continue to grow, oversized zucchini develop a few problems:
- The seeds grow, eventually becoming full size
- The flesh gets watery & less flavorful
- The skin toughens and can sometimes turn bitter
There are workarounds to each of these things, giving you a lot of options to use your zucchini. Overgrown zucchini are perfectly fine to eat, no matter how large they've gotten.
Large stuffed zucchini boats
Large zucchini are arguably better for stuffing than their smaller counterparts. In order to stuff any zucchini, the insides need to be scooped out. This is perfect for large zucchini, since the seed cavity in the center needs to be removed anyway!
They can also hold a whole lot more stuffing and have a higher ratio of stuffing to zucchini. Extra large stuffed zucchini can even be an entire meal by themselves.
While larger zucchini have more water, that isn't really a problem in stuffed zucchini recipes. If the skin is bitter, you can eat the insides, leaving the skin behind. Another alternative is to generously coat the skin in oil and lightly salt it (salt masks our ability to taste bitterness).
Stuffed zucchini boat recipes
Try out any number of these recipes even if they aren't designed specifically for your overgrown zucchini. You may need to adjust the stuffing ratios or cook for longer than specified, however.
Use large zucchini in soups
Pureed soups are a pretty fool-proof way to use large zucchini. The watery flesh isn't a problem at all - it's just added to the soup.
Soup recipes are my go-to whenever I find an overgrown zucchini in my garden. They are easy to scale up to accommodate the amount of zucchini I have, and are often pretty forgiving too.
Zucchini is rarely peeled when used in a soup. However, large zucchini can have bitter tasting skin. Give it a taste (it's ok to eat raw) - if it's bitter, you could peel the skin before adding to the soup.
Zucchini soup recipes
I weigh my zucchini to gauge how much I need to scale a recipe. A medium, regular sized zucchini weighs anywhere from ½ - ¾ of a pound (8-12 ounces). If a recipe calls for 2 medium zucchini, I assume they want me to use 1-1.5 pounds. If I double that, I can use a large zucchini that weighs 3 pounds.
Large zucchini breads & other baked goods
Most zucchini bread recipes can be adapted to use large zucchini. The first trick is to manage the water content of the flesh. Once shredded, some recipes instruct you to squeeze out as much water as you can. These recipes should produce pretty similar results for any sized zucchini.
Other recipes don't require you to squeeze out the liquid. I'd suggest you lightly squeeze water out of the flesh when using large zucchini since they tend to be more watery than small ones.
You'll also want to make sure you remove the seeds before shredding the flesh. If the skin is bitter, you could peel it, but it might not be necessary. If the recipe has a lot of sugar (¾-1 cup), the bitterness will likely be undetectable. Sugar inhibits our ability to taste bitterness, which is why we often add it to coffee or on top of grapefruit.
The other trick when using large zucchini in quick breads is to make a double or triple batch. Most recipes only use 1 medium zucchini (8-12 ounces). If you have a giant zucchini, you'll need to make a lot more quick bread! Another option is to make mini zucchini breads to freeze or give out as gifts. Each batch makes 4 mini breads instead of 1 big one.
Zucchini bread recipes
There are a lot of zucchini bread recipes out there, so pick your favorite! To use large zucchini, remember to do the following:
- Remove seeds before shredding
- Squeeze out extra liquid
- Double or triple the recipe
- It could take longer to cook if it ended up more watery
Other baked goods
The same rules apply when using really big zucchini in baked goods like muffins or cakes. Make sure extra water is squeezed out and seeds are removed. The baking time might also take longer if the batter turns out wetter.
Bake into a quiche
If you've never used shredded zucchini to make a quiche before, give it a try. The mild taste of zucchini blends in with any flavored quiche, and the flesh seamlessly blends into the texture.
My zucchini quiche recipe is crustless and uses more zucchini and less eggs. It works perfectly with large zucchini - I know because my overgrown zucchini often end up in several of these every summer. I haven't needed to squeeze out any extra water either, but I do add an extra tablespoon of flour to be safe.
As with other recipes, remove the seeds before shredding. If the skin is bitter you can peel it, or leave it on. Bitterness can balance out rich foods, like a cheese-heavy quiche. If you like green bell peppers on pizza, it's a similar idea.
Make a big batch of fritters
Zucchini fritters use shredded flesh and can be adapted to use large zucchini, just like quick breads. You'll need to remove the seeds and check to see if the skin is bitter.
The main difference when using large zucchini is to account for the extra water in the flesh (a recurring theme!). If the fritters or patties are too watery, they can fall apart when fried or baked.
One option to remove excess water is to first shred the zucchini. Then salt it and let it sit for at least 10 minutes in a colander - this will draw out even more water. Then squeeze out the excess liquid and follow the recipe as instructed.
Other recipes use flour or other grains to soak up extra liquid. If your batter seems too runny, add a little extra flour (or other grains from the recipe) and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken up.
Fritter recipes
Zucchini butter
Zucchini butter is easy to make. Shred some zucchini, squeeze out the water, and saute over low heat with butter and/or olive oil. It cooks down into a buttery consistency perfect for spreading on toast, adding to eggs or pasta.
Large zucchini work well in these recipes, as long as you remove the seeds first. If the skin is bitter or tough, consider peeling it.
The Kitchn has a great zucchini butter recipe, and Smitten Kitchen makes a zucchini butter spaghetti.
What not to do with your giant zucchini
Now that you know what to do with an oversized zucchini, it's just as important to know what not to do. These types of recipes don't always turn out great when using giant zucchini:
- Raw in salads: poor flavor, texture, and possible bitterness
- Zoodles: poor flavor, texture, and possible bitterness (although I know some people who still use large zucchini this way and enjoy it!)
- Lasagna: can make the lasagna watery
- Sliced & sauteed: can work, but texture won't be great and seeds need to be removed
- Zucchini chips: they are harder to get crispy in the oven and/or take a really long time
- As chunks in soups: chunks soften too fast and don't have a great texture (pureed soups are great though!)
Of course, you can try anything to see if it will work, just properly set your expectations for the experiment.
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