Marinated Zucchini Salad (Video)
This Marinated Zucchini Salad has olives, artichoke hearts, and red pepper, and you’ll love this salad when it’s zucchini season. And this tasty zucchini salad recipe is one of the Top Ten Low-Carb Zucchini Recipes on my site, and it’s the perfect alternative to pasta salad.
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I’m not sure when I created this recipe for Marinated Zucchini Salad but I know it was one of the first recipes I posted on my blog in 2005. But I remember sharing the recipe with people at the Utah Education Association when I was on the Board of Directors there, in about 1999. So obviously I’ve been making this zucchini salad recipe for a long time now!
Recently I was making this again for a family party and decided to take better photos for this salad that’s one of my favorite things to make when I have a lot of zucchini. And if you happen to end up with extra large zucchini in the garden, they can be used here if you scoop out the seeds and trim away most of the pithy white part, then cut the zucchini into small pieces .
This time when I made the salad I decided to omit the red onion that was in the original version, so you can use onion or not depending on your preferences. And by all means, use this zucchini salad recipe as merely a starting point, because there are lots of other raw or cooked vegetables that would be good here, so have fun with this one!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- zucchini, cut into half moon slices
- canned pitted black olives
- marinated Artichoke Hearts packed in water (affiliate link)
- red pepper
- red onion (optional)
- Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link), or other low-sugar vinaigrette
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- Dried Basil (affiliate link)
- Dried Oregano (affiliate link)
Why do I marinate the zucchini for this zucchini salad recipe?
I do love zucchini, especially when it’s fresh from the garden. But I think it’s rather bland unless you use a technique that adds flavor. Marinating the zucchini makes it so much more flavorful than just tossing it with the dressing!
Want more tasty salad recipes with zucchini?
Take a look at Amazing Salads with Zucchini for more salad recipes using many people’s favorite summer vegetable!
How to make Marinated Zucchini Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Cut up zucchini into bite-sized pieces. (If you’re using older zucchini, cut away the large seeds and most of the white part before you cut it into pieces.)
- Steam or saute the zucchini pieces for about 3 minutes, and then drain.
- Whisk together the salad dressing, lemon juice, Parmesan, basil, and oregano to make the dressing.
- Dump one can pitted olives into a colander and drain well.
- Drain artichoke hearts and cut them up if they’re large.
- Chop up red bell pepper into bite-sized pieces. (I kept the peppers raw for some crunch, but you can saute them for a few minutes if you prefer.)
- Put the barely-cooked zucchini, olives, peppers, and artichokes (plus chopped red onion if using) into a Ziploc bag or a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, and pour over enough dressing to completely moisten ingredients.
- Let salad marinate 4-8 hours in the fridge.
- When you serve, stir in a bit more dressing and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days, but you might want to add more dressing to brighten the flavors!
Make it a low-carb meal:
For a low-carb meal, this zucchini salad would taste great with Rosemary-Mustard Grilled Chicken, Low-Carb Grilled Fusion Chicken, Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken, or Marinated Grilled Flank Steak.
Recipe Round-Ups to help you use up that zucchini:
- The Top Ten Low-Carb Zucchini Recipes
- 50 Amazing Zucchini Recipes
- Low-Carb and Keto Grilled Zucchini Recipes
- Keto Recipes with Zucchini Noodles
- Recipes for Extra Large Zucchini
Marinated Zucchini Salad
This Marinated Zucchini Salad has olives, artichoke hearts, and red pepper, and this is the perfect low-carb alternate to pasta salad.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 5 small zucchini, cut into half moon slices about 1/2 inch thick (or bite sized pieces)
- one 6 oz. can large pitted black olives, drained very well
- 6 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained very well (or more, see notes)
- 1 red pepper chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 red onion chopped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 cup Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (see notes)
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 T dried basil (see notes)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
Instructions
- Cut zucchini into quarter slices or bite sized pieces. (If you’re using large zucchini, cut away the seeds and most of the white part.)
- Steam or stir-fry zucchini until barely tender/crisp, about 3 minutes for steaming and slightly longer for pan frying, then drain very well.
- While zucchini is cooking, open olives and artichoke hearts and dump into a colander to drain well. (Draining the zucchini and olives well is essential or the finished salad will be watery.)
- Chop the red bell pepper (and red onion if using) into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine zucchini, olives, artichoke hearts, red pepper (and red onion if using) in Ziploc bag (or plastic or glass container with a snap-tight lid.)
- Pour dressing over, just enough to cover veggies, and stir gently. (I only use part of the dressing to marinate the veggies and then stir in a little more dressing when I serve it.)
- Marinate in refrigerator 4-8 hours.
- If you can turn it over once in a while to keep the vegetables covered with dressing that would be great, but it’s not essential.
- Just before serving stir in a little of the reserved dressing and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle the salad with the other 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese when serving.
- At the risk of sounding like a cheese snob, let me say that this is best with freshly grated cheese. I like to grate it on the large side of the grater and serve the salad with the final sprinkle of grated cheese not mixed in. However if all you have is pre-grated Parmesan, not to worry. It will still be yummy.
Notes
Use more or less artichoke hearts, depending on how expensive they are when you're looking for them. If you have some you can replace the dried basil with 2 T basil pesto or 3 T. finely chopped fresh basil for the dressing.
I use Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) to make this salad, but use any vinaigrette that's low in sugar.
If you're looking at the carb count, remember that artichokes are high in fiber, so low in net carbs.
This recipe created by Kalyn many years ago!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 452mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Marinated Zucchini Salad is perfect low-carb and Keto eating plans and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but be sure to choose a dressing with less than 2 grams of sugar per serving.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Zucchini Recipes or Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Marinated Zucchini Salad recipe was one of the earliest recipes on my blog, from the early days when I just typed in a recipe with no photos! The recipe was updated with better photos in July 2016, and the post was last updated with more information in 2023.
47 Comments on “Marinated Zucchini Salad (Video)”
Loved this. Want to make for my birthday—this week- 12 family invited. Stumped re expanding quantities. ?? (Made small amount for myself) Also, comment on using microwave to cook zucchini not below. Any advice?
Thanking you. 🤗
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. It says six servings, so I would at least double the ingredients to make for a large group (or triple it, depending on what else you are serving with it. I have made it in larger amounts, but that was a few years ago.
I don’t use the microwave much for cooking vegetables, and definitely haven’t microwaved zucchini, so I can’t give advice on that. For this recipe I would prefer fan-frying (maybe in two batches) because it will evaporate some of the liquid, but other methods will probably work if you drain it well.
I absolutely love this salad. I make it for every potluck, cookout, party and it is always a hit!!
Kalyn, we absolutely loved your Marinated Veggie Salad! I tossed the chunks of zucchini, onions and bell peppers in garlic olive oil then oven roasted until just tender. Thanks for sharing such versatile salad!
My pleasure; so glad you enjoyed it!
This looks so good! Can you tell me how long will this keep in the fridge?
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days, but you might want to add more dressing to brighten the flavors! I don’t think it will keep much longer than that.
I’m always looking for good recipes for artichokes. This one checks all the boxes for flavor. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad you like it, I am a huge artichoke fan too.
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How many cups or what weight of summer squash would this be? 4-5 small is a bit ambiguous. Thanks.
I didn’t weigh or measure the zucchini so I can’t answer that. But this is a recipe where you don’t need a specific amount of zucchini. I consider to a small not more than 8-9 inches long; maybe that will help.
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This was AMAZING! Even better that it can be made easily in winter!
I used a homemade Italian dressing recipe and combined it with everything in my smoothie maker. I also added a crumbled block of feta. There was nothing to ‘drain’ from the zucchini because I only nuked them 4min.
This is supposed to marinated until dinner but I kept spooning it into my mouth! Thank you!
So glad you are enjoying it!
'jar of marinated artichoke hearts'–there are numerous sizes–can you give the specific size? or a general range? Thank you.
Shirley this is not a salad where you need specific amounts of any of the ingredients except for the dressing ingredients. I would use more artichokes if you really like them and the budget permits, and less if you are not as big of a fan. I don't have a jar in the pantry right now so I can't say what size I used, sorry, but more artichokes is always a winner in my book!
This recipe is quite impressive and perfect for me. I love salads and especially Marinated Zucchini. Thanks Kalyn for sharing my favourite recipe. Keep posting 🙂
Thanks for sharing the idea!
For those who don't like the harshness of the red onion, but like the subtle flavour and crunch, try slicing the red onion into thin rings or half moons and cover with the juice of 2 limes or a lemon and leave to soak for 10-15 minutes. The onion and citrus juice can then be used in the dressing. The lime worked perfectly for this recipe to my mouth, and the red onion turns fluorescent pink, mild and crunchy, no harshness! Love this salad! Thanks for sharing so many great ones!
Thanks so much Amy, glad you enjoyed it. (And I will add it to my long list of recipes that could use new photos!)
Made this yesterday to use up some yellow squash and it was DELICIOUS! I added tomatoes, used green onions instead of red, and used feta as suggested by another comment-er and my husband loved it! This deserves another mention and some new pictures!
It does sound good to me with cucumbers!
I bought all the stuff to make this the other night and accidentally bought cucumbers instead of zucchini… this happens to me ALL the time. LOL.
ANYWAY, it was still delicious with the cucumbers! haha
Thank you!
Tara, so glad you liked it. I love the addition of grape tomatoes. Thanks for sharing your variations.
I made this and it was excellent. I added grape tomatoes, sliced in half, and used marinated kalamatas instead of black olives, which I don't like. I also sweated the onions in some salt before adding (then washed under water to remove salt) to take that spicy onion edge off. I wish I had a microwave because Linda's time- (and dishes-) saving tip sounds good. This is so easy it will surely become a standby recipe for me.
Linda, glad you liked it! Good idea to use the microwave to cook the zucchini.
Wow, this is great! I'm allergic to raw peppers so I left those out, but the rest is exactly as written and it IS yummy. Having it for lunch "as we speak".
A quick tip for cooking the zucchini – I put the chunks in a covered glass casserole and microwaved it on high for 1 minute. Came out perfect, didn't need the ice water bath.
Thanks for another great low carb recipe, Kalyn!
I see I am getting behind on replying to comments here, but so glad people are liking this one, even if it's an "oldie."
Oh, I love everything about this! te texturem the colour, the flavours… just yummy!
looks so fresh and delicious, love it!
This salad looks so appetizing, so colorful and of course, it's highly nutritious. I like the salad dressing.
Marinating everything would certainly bring the flavours out and this is already one tasty sounding salad!
Oh my gosh…this looks amazing. I've put it on my menu list for this weekend. I have some zucchini in the fridge right now calling my name!
Hi Chigiy,
I'm doing fine, but not spending nearly enough time weeding and my garden is getting over-run with weeds! It's been so hot here, I keep hoping for some cooler days so I feel like getting out there. After your snakebite horrors, I can imagine your garden has suffered. Hope you are getting back to normal. I do think roasted red peppers would be fantastic in this!
Shirley, I like the barely steamed zucchini in this, although I do like raw zucchini in some types of salad. Yep, another old post updated, but hundreds more to go!
I have been wondering about using zucchini in salads. I didn't really want to eat it raw so steaming a bit is perfect. Looks and sounds delish, Kalyn. I love the raw red onion! And, you're so right about the Parmesan cheese affecting photos. A little also seems to look like a huge amount in photos. Pursuant to our discussion yesterday, looks like you've checked off another blog post for a photo fix. 😉
Shirley
Hi Kalyn,
How are you?? This salad looks good. My garden sucks this year, so I'm going to have to rely on the kindness of my neighbors for Zucchini. Hey, how do think roasted peppers would taste in this? I roast them and keep them in the frig all the time.
Karri, thanks. I've been making this salad for a long time, and now Creatively Domestic has given me the idea to try the dressing on other things!
Rebecca, me too!
Zesty, thanks!
Donna, great idea to add the juice from the marinated artichokes!
We are going to have tons of cauliflower in our garden this year – I'll bet this would be good marinated the same way as the zucchini.
I love the liquid that comes in those little jars with the artichoke hearts. Could you add that in to your marinade?
Donna
This looks awesome! I bet it is just as flavorful as it is colorful 🙂
Looks perfect for a summer picnic! I am loving all the fresh veggies!
I absolutely love raw zucchini. This salad looks gorgeous- and I imagine it is super flavorful. Wonderful combo, Kalyn. Love the dressing ingredients.
Creatively Domestic, I haven't used this dressing on anything else, but I think it would be good on lots of other things, especially salads with tomatoes or peppers. I'd like it drizzled over roasted or grilled veggies too.
Lydia, good ideas for getting rid of the raw onion taste.
I'm not a fan of raw onions, so here's what I do: either soak them in cold water for 30 minutes, or saute very lightly, just to take the raw edge off. I prefer to cook them just a bit, but soaking in water also eliminates some of that very raw onion flavor. This salad looks delicious, and I'm going to try it with some of the wonderful parsley from my garden.
I think the dressing alone could be a great post! Have you used this salad dressing recipe in other salads? If you could recommend any other salad options I'd appreciate it.
JoAnn so glad you liked it. It's funny because I just made a note of this yesterday to make so I can take photos!
Oh my gosh!! This is SO GOOD! I have a ton of zucchini right now, and I'm always in the market for a new yummy recipe. THIS IS FABULOUS! I kicked it up a notch by using Feta cheese (TO DIE FOR in this salad, I promise!). Yum!! Thanks for posting this! Oh… and PS… is it still SB friendly if you eat all of it? 🙂