Roasted zucchini and squash is a quick and easy side dish that's ready in 20 minutes. Sliced zucchini and squash are coated in Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese then roasted in the oven.
Roasting vegetables is a quick and easy way to get your daily dose of veggies in each day. You'll love this recipe for roasted zucchini and squash because it only takes 5 minutes of prep before they're in the oven.
Pair with your favorite protein, like baked chicken drumsticks or slow cooker pork roast for a complete meal.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Zucchini and squash - This recipe can be made with all zucchini, all yellow summer squash, or a combination of both.
- Olive oil - Can be substituted with any neutral cooking oil you have on hand.
- Seasoning - Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper add flavor to your zucchini and squash. Italian seasoning can be substituted with any dried herbs you keep on hand, like basil or thyme.
- Parmesan cheese - Adds salty, cheesy flavor to your roasted squash. Parmesan cheese can be omitted if you'd like to make this recipe vegan friendly.
How long to roast squash
Squash and zucchini are tender, quick cooking vegetables that don't need as much time in the oven as heartier veggies like brussels sprouts or broccoli.
Thick, ½ inch disks only need about 15 to 17 minutes in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven.
How to prevent soggy zucchini
Zucchini and squash are high water content vegetables, made of about 90 to 95% water. Unless you're dehydrating your veggies, they're not going to ever turn out crispy or crunchy. However, there are a few ways to help prevent your zucchini from getting soggy in the oven.
- Take care not to overcook your zucchini and squash in the oven. Overcooked squash will turn out soggy and mushy.
- Slice your squash into thick, ½ inch slices. Thinner squash cooks faster and is easier to overcook.
- Your veggies will begin to 'sweat' and release water after being sliced. Just before tossing in oil, pat your zucchini and squash dry on both sides with a paper towel or kitchen towel.
- Optionally, roast your veggies on an oven-safe cooling rack, like this one (Amazon - Stainless steel cooling rack). Line a baking sheet with foil, then place the oven safe cooling rack on top. This helps air circulate around your veggies and excess moisture to drip down to the baking sheet below.
Do I need to peel zucchini?
You may be wondering, do I need to peel my zucchini before baking? No, the skin of zucchini is perfectly edible and there's no need to peel it off before baking.
The skin of your zucchini also contains extra nutrients that you'd be missing out on by peeling the skin off. Not to mention peeling takes extra prep time that's unnecessary.
Leftovers and storage
Roasted zucchini and squash is best served immediately after roasting, and will soften and lose its texture over time.
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing roasted zucchini or squash, as it will get significantly softer and mushier once frozen and thawed.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Zucchini and Squash
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 small zucchini
- 2 small yellow squash
- 1.5 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice zucchini and yellow squash into thick ½ inch disks and pat dry with a paper towel. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add zucchini and yellow squash disks and toss to coat.
- Pour zucchini and squash onto parchment lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Sprinkle tops of zucchini and squash with parmesan cheese.
- Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until cooked through to your liking.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- I highly recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese. Pre-grated parmesan cheese (or parmesan cheese sold in a green cylinder) often contains anti-clumping powder which when melted, can be grainy.
- Larger or thicker zucchini and squash may need a few more minutes to cook through. Test for doneness by piercing through with a fork in the center.
I'm on a Keto Type Diet. How many Carbs are in this dish, and what is the Serving Size?
Hi Kelly, you can find the nutrition facts at the bottom of the recipe card. The calculator estimates that this recipe has about 7 carbs per serving. This will depend entirely on the exact size and measurements used (I highly recommend plugging your actual ingredients into a nutrition calculated like myfitnesspal for more accurate nutrition). One serving, assuming you're using four small squash at about 4 to 5 ounces each, would equal about 5 ounces per serving.
I will try this again but my first try was way too salty.
Hi Mary, the parmesan cheese also adds a salty flavor, so the amount of salt can easily be cut in half (or more).
This was so incredible! I used the same seasoning on salmon, so incredibly good!
I made this tonight for the first time. It was so easy to prepare and delicious! The only difference is that I used aluminum foil on the baking sheet instead of parchment paper. It was still good, but I wonder if the reason for parchment paper is to make the veggies crisper.
Just finished dinner and this was a great success! Will be using this recipe from now on.
This recipe is great I've made this 3 times and everyone loves it there is never any thing left it's and real big hit Thanks.
Amazing!! We put under the broiler at the end to brown. Added this to my list of favs
This was amazing! I cooked the squash for 20 minutes and it was fantastic! No changes.
How can I bake it and it not be squishy. How do I get the water out please?
One tip I have is to preheat your baking sheet in the oven. Once your vegetables are ready to bake, remove the hot baking sheet (carefully), add parchment paper and your vegetables, then place back in the oven. The preheated baking sheet will help extra liquid to evaporate quickly instead of sitting on the baking sheet while your veggies roast.
Unfortunately since zucchini are made of over 90% water, they will pretty much always have a soft texture when cooked and won't get crispy, but this may help them to be a little less squishy.
Try putting a wire rack on your baking sheet then parchment paper on top of that. It allows hot air to get to all sides of the zucchini. I did this the 2nd time I made this recipe and worked great! Every other aspect of this recipe is perfect! We love it!
This was amazing! Easy to make and a new garden favorite!
Can you use frozen? It's all I have in my freezer right now haha!
Frozen vegetables should work just fine. When roasting frozen vegetables I recommend preheating your baking sheet in the oven beforehand, so it's nice and hot when adding your vegetables. They'll start cooking immediately and the extra moisture will evaporate instead of creating puddles on your baking sheet. Let us know how it goes!
Thank you for the advice! I'll try it out tonight! ♡
I have fixed this twice in one week after trying it one time. Simple recipe with ingredients on hand. I made without parmesan cheese both times and it was STILL delicious! Thanks for my new go to healthy recipe for zucchini and squash!
This was the best squash and zucchini I’ve ever tasted! I’ve never liked how it turns out sautéing it on the stovetop since it never cooks evenly. This way it cooked evenly, was so flavorful, and way easier!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Learned a lot. Easy to understand. Many thanks for posting 🙂