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This refreshing zucchini salad is an easy, no-cook side dish that tosses raw zucchini, crunchy vegetables, and nuts in a zesty homemade dressing. It’s fresh, flavorful, and a great way to use up your fresh summer zucchini!
No-Cook Healthy Vegan Zucchini Salad for Summer
I absolutely adore summer but cooking isn’t always my favorite summer activity. The last thing I want to do on a hot day is turn my oven on or stand over a hot stove!
Instead, refreshing and cooling no-cook recipes are my go-to for the hotter days. My mango black bean salad and juicy strawberry kale salad always cool me down, while this raw zucchini salad is a perfect summer side dish.
Zucchini is a magnificent summer squash that can be turned into these baked zucchini fries, noodles, and chips (like these cheesy zucchini chips), baked into a zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, or blended into a zucchini basil soup. But if you didn’t think it could or should be eaten raw, think again! It’s actually very refreshing, especially when tossed with a few complementary veggies and a zesty dressing.
In this zucchini salad recipe, sliced zucchini is combined with red onion, fresh basil, and crunchy nuts or seeds. Everything is tossed in a tangy and savory homemade dressing before it’s ready to be served with your favorite summer mains. With its cooling ingredients and exciting flavors, you’ll surely have this easy zucchini side dish on rotation all summer long!
The Ingredients and Substitutes
This easy zucchini salad tosses 4 fresh ingredients in a simple homemade dressing. Here’s what you need:
What Else Can I Add to a Zucchini Salad?
- Yellow zucchini: Use a 50-50 mix of sliced green zucchini and yellow zucchini for a gorgeous color combination!
- Shallots: Feel free to replace the red onion with 1 or 2 sliced shallots instead.
- More vegetables: Add sliced bell peppers, tomatoes, or leafy greens.
- More fresh herbs: Toss fresh chives, cilantro, parsley, mint, and/or thyme along with the basil for a stronger herbaceous flavor.
- Pesto: Or replace the herbs with a dollop of vegan parsley pesto.
- Spicy peppers: A sliced jalapeno will add a nice spicy bite! Remove the seeds and veins from the pepper to tone down the heat.
- Vegan feta: My vegan tofu feta cheese will add some extra protein and a ‘cheesy’ flavor to the salad.
- White beans: Toss drained and rinsed canned chickpeas or cannellini beans in the salad for more protein.
- Nut-free variation: Omit the nuts from the recipe and garnish the salad with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead.
How to Make Zucchini Salad
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions.
Step 1: Whisk the lemon juice and zest, garlic powder, water, olive oil, crushed red pepper, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and Dijon mustard in a large salad bowl.
Want to make the dressing ahead of time? Add the zucchini salad dressing ingredients to a mason jar, seal it with a lid, and shake until it’s emulsified. Store the dressing in the fridge until it’s time to make the salad.
Step 2: Toss the onion in the bowl with the dressing to help temper its strong, punchy flavors.
Step 3: Slice the zucchini into rounds or thin strips using a vegetable peeler or mandoline.
Step 4: Toss the zucchini in the bowl with the dressing and onions.
Step 5: Add the nuts or seeds and fresh basil to the salad bowl.
Step 6: Toss the salad until everything is well coated in the dressing. Taste and add more lemon, salt, or pepper as needed. Enjoy!
FAQs
The zucchini is served raw in this salad, so there’s no cooking needed! Raw zucchini has a slightly sweet and grassy flavor and a satisfying crunch. It’s very refreshing and saves you from hovering over the stove on hot summer days.
Yes, zucchini is perfectly safe to eat raw.
I recommend keeping the skin on for a nice color contrast and to prevent the sliced zucchini from falling apart.
Pro Recipe Tips
- Slice the zucchini depending on your desired texture: The raw zucchini in this salad is quite crunchy, especially when it’s sliced into thin rounds. If you prefer a softer texture, slice the zucchini into thin strips instead. A mandoline will make this very easy!
- Marinate the veggies: By soaking the red onions and zucchini in the dressing for 5 to 10 minutes, they will soften slightly and soak in the flavors of the dressing.
- Adjust the flavors to taste: After it’s tossed together, taste the salad and adjust the flavors before serving. You can add more lemon for tang, crushed red pepper flakes for heat, or salt and pepper to round out everything else.
- Chill the salad before serving: After it’s assembled, place the salad in the fridge for about 15 minutes to give all of the flavors time to meld together before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Make this zucchini salad a go-to summer side dish. It pairs well with all kinds of dishes, such as:
- Avocado Pesto Pasta
- Vegan Lentil Burgers
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Vegan Caprese Salad
- Mediterranean Vegan Pasta Salad
- Grilled Tofu Steaks
- Vegan Broccoli Salad
Storage Instructions
The assembled zucchini salad is best eaten the day it’s assembled, as the veggies and nuts will lose their crunch after a while. However, if you have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 or 2 days.
Either enjoy the leftover zucchini salad straight from the fridge or set it on the kitchen counter for 20 minutes so it can come down to room temperature.
Zucchini Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, zest and juiced
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons of water
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- ⅓ cup of thinly sliced red onion
- 3 medium zucchini
- ¼ cup of nuts or seeds
- ¼ cup of fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
- Into a large salad bowl, add the zest and juice of the lemon, garlic powder, water, olive oil, crushed red pepper, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and dijon mustard. Whisk until fully combined. Alternatively, add the ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake it until fully combined.
- Add the onion and mix well. Allow it to rest while you prepare the zucchini.
- Slice the zucchini into thin round slices, or using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, peel them into thin strips. Add them to the bowl with the dressing and toss well.
- Add the nuts or seeds if using.
- Add the basil, mix well, and adjust any seasoning levels as needed.
Notes
- Slice the zucchini depending on your desired texture: The raw zucchini in this salad is quite crunchy, especially when it’s sliced into thin rounds. If you prefer a softer texture, slice the zucchini into thin strips instead. A mandoline will make this very easy!
- Marinate the veggies: By soaking the red onions and zucchini in the dressing for 5 to 10 minutes, they will soften slightly and soak in the flavors of the dressing.
- Adjust the flavors to taste: After it’s tossed together, taste the salad and adjust the flavors before serving. You can add more lemon for tang, crushed red pepper flakes for heat, or salt and pepper to round out everything else.
- Chill the salad before serving: After it’s assembled, place the salad in the fridge for about 15 minutes to give all of the flavors time to meld together before serving.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Love this zucchini salad!