Even if you have a stubborn veggie-hater in the family, I promise if they try these grilled zucchini they won’t be able to stop eating them. They’re that good!

My name is Mike, and I’m addicted to grilled zucchini.

Grilled zucchini is super easy side dish that pairs well with whatever main course you’re serving. We make it constantly over the summer, especially when we can get some fresh zucchini at the local farmer’s market.

It takes less than 20 minutes to prep and grill zucchini to perfection, so it’s a perfect side dish for busy weeknights where time is tight.

Heck, sometimes I just grill zucchini with some peppers and onions, pour myself a glass of wine and that’s a full dinner for me!

How To Make The Best Grilled Zucchini

The best part of this recipe is its simplicity. It only requires a handful of ingredients:

Zucchini
Kosher salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Balsamic glaze (optional)

In the pictures below you can see I grilled eight ball zucchini that I bought from our local farmer’s market. Don’t worry of you don’t have eight ball zucchini near you, just use regular green zucchini that looks similar to a cucumber.

Of course you can also use yellow squash or a mix of both. Either way they’re all delicious.

A cutting board with 2 eight ball zucchini. One is whole and the other is sliced into pieces. — Looks like a little green pumpkin!

Rinse the zucchini and cut off the stems. Then cut it into slices about ¼ inch thick. You can cut them a little thinner if you’d like but they’ll cook even faster and can easily burn or fall apart when you pull them off the grill. If you do ¼ inch slices they’ll maintain their shape better and won’t get all mushy.

I like to use a mandoline to slice zucchini because it produces uniform cuts and all pieces will cook evenly. If you try to do it by hand you’ll end up with some thicker and some thinner and that makes cooking them evenly more challenging.

If you don’t have one, you can pick up a mandoline pretty cheaply and once you have it you’ll be glad you do. They’re great for any kind of slicing and one of my favorite things to cut is potatoes for making homemade chips.

Mueller Stainless Steel Mandoline Slicer for Kitchen, Julienne, Handheld Vegetable Chopper, Fruits

Adjustable Mandoline Slicer – Quickly switch between blades to slice or julienne vegetables or fruits. Select Slice (1.0 mm to 9.0 mm) or Julienne (4.5mm, 9.0 mm) with the dial knob.
Safety Pusher – Includes a food pusher to keep your fingers away from the blades when you slice or julienne foods. Prep meals fast with our Stainless Steel Mandoline. It can also slice cheese!
Cutter for Fruits & Vegetables – Choose to straight cut or julienne cut. Sharp blades cut/slice carrots, tomatoes, lemons, yams, sweet potatoes, garlic, peppers, onions, mushrooms, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and more.
All-in-One Kitchen Gadget – Cut thin or thick slices (1.0-9.0 mm) to prep salad, steam or stir fry ingredients like a pro. Perfect french fry cutter (9.0 mm julienne) or carrot julienne cutter (1.0 mm).
Simple to Clean – Rinse the blades on our vegetable chopper with water and a brush. Top rack dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. Fold the feet to store it flat in a drawer or cupboard.

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Once your zucchini is sliced just place all the pieces in a bowl and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder and mix well so all the zucchini is coated with the seasoning.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. When it’s up to temperature add the zucchini and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes per side. Exact cooking time will depend on how thick your zucchini slices are and how well done you like it.

I like my grilled zucchini to be fork tender but with a little bite to them and some nice charring, but you do you.

When you take the zucchini off the grill you can serve it as is, or drizzle a little balsamic glaze over them. The glaze adds a nice presentation and the sweetness pairs perfectly with the roasted flavors from the zucchini itself. But go light on the glaze. The grilled zucchini will already have a sweetness thanks to the natural sugars that have caramelized, and too much glaze will make it cloyingly sweet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you grill zucchini with the skin on or off?

There’s no need to remove the skin from zucchini. Not only is the skin edible but that’s where much of zucchini’s nutritional value is located. By removing the skin you’ll be robbing yourself of all that valuable fiber and nutrients.

How do you keep zucchini from getting soggy?

Zucchini is mostly water when overcooked it all that water will be released, leaving you with a soggy, mushy mess. Cutting your zucchini into ¼ inch slices and not overcooking it will help it maintain it’s shape and not get soggy.

Yield: Serves 4