For those of you struggling with an abundance of summer zucchini, here’s a solution beyond baking endless loaves of zucchini bread – make zucchini butter! This savory, five-ingredient spread is addictive, and you’ll find yourself spreading it on toast, mixing it into pasta dishes, and enjoying it on sandwiches. Plus, it’s not only delicious, but also much healthier than zucchini bread.
If you’re dealing with oversized zucchini, zucchini butter still works beautifully. The insides of these large veggies can often be mealy, and their exteriors can be tough. By grating the zucchini and cooking it down in the butter, the skins soften to create a delicious, jam-like texture. And if you encounter mealy centers, simply cut off the zucchini sides and discard the core.
The recipe for zucchini butter is amazingly versatile and open to experimentation. You can use butter, olive oil, or a neutral oil for the fat base. When it comes to herbs, feel free to use fresh thyme, rosemary, or basil. You can also grate fresh tomato into the pan for additional color and flavor, or even swap zucchini for yellow squash.
Once you’ve made your zucchini butter, you’ll find that it goes incredibly well on almost any kind of toast, enhances sandwiches, and adds a new flavor dimension to avocado toast or pasta.
Just match this zucchini butter with good bread, and you have a pairing made in heaven! Keep in the fridge for about a week or freeze it for later use. If you come up with new and interesting ways to use this zucchini butter, don’t forget to share!
