Dehydrating Zucchini (Save Squash for Winter)
Dehydrating zucchini couldn’t be easier! Dried zucchini or dehydrated zucchini is a great way to use up the very last, larger, end of summer squash to enjoy during winter. This is the way my family in Italy dries their zucchini and I hope you will, too!
If you have a garden, or have a friend with one, chances are you’re getting zucchini–and lots of them! Like anything else, one can get sick of something good when it’s just too much.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could eat some of those zucchini in winter? You’ll be longing for those days of summer when you had too many and were up to your eyeballs in Zucchini Bread? Well, who says you can’t?
When I was a little girl and we’d go to Italy in the summer, there would be bamboo stalks with circles of zucchini hanging on them, drying in the hot, Italian sunshine in my mother’s village. Here’s a picture of my nonno (grandfather) preparing the zucchini to dry:
Once dry, they would be put away for wintertime, when they could be re-hydrated and cooked for a delicious zucchini dish. Here’s the best part, it’s super easy!
Just follow these simple directions now, and I’ll be posting a recipe later this year, when fresh zucchini from the garden is just a faded summer memory–sigh!
Save those summer tomatoes for later in the year, too!
Dried Zucchini (How to make dried zucchini)
Extra large zucchini work best for this (see pic above).
Wash and cut the zucchini into 3 or 4 chunks, as shown below. Next, remove all the seeds from the middle, without cutting through the flesh of the vegetable.
Next, cut into thin slices, and slip onto a clean dowel, or bamboo stalk if you have one lying around! :)
Tips:
- Use a large knife and be careful, these zucchini can get very hard.
- If you live somewhere dry, like here in California, you can dry these in the sunshine.
- Do you are somewhere more humid, or rainy? You may have to resort to a convection oven’s “dehydrate” setting, or an actual dehydrator.
- If the zucchini are mostly dry from outside, just finish drying them in an oven. Make sure that is just warm, until completely dry (or they will become moldy.)
And this is the end result–what a difference a day makes.
Finally, pack those babies away in an airtight tin, or ziploc bag (removing as much air as possible). Save them for a chilly winter’s day. Then you can make dried zucchini, pancetta and potatoes!
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Dehydrating Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini or marrows (or as many as you'd like to dry)
Instructions
- Wash and cut the zucchini into 3 or 4 chunks, as shown below, then remove all the seeds from the middle, without cutting through the flesh of the vegetable.
- Next, cut into thin slices, and slip onto a clean dowel, or bamboo stalk if you have one lying around!
- Now pack those babies away in an airtight tin, or ziploc bag (removing as much air as possible) and save them for a chilly winter's day.
Notes
- Use a large knife and be careful, these zucchini can get very hard.
- If you live somewhere dry, like here in California, you can dry these in the sunshine.
- If you are somewhere more humid, or rainy, you may have to resort to a convection oven's "dehydrate" setting, or an actual dehydrator.
- If the zucchini are mostly dry from outside, just finish drying them in an oven that is just warm, until completely dry (or they will become moldy.)
- It's difficult to say how much this will make because it all depends on the size of your zucchini/marrow.
Nutrition
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When using a dehydrator, what temp and how long? Sounds great!
Hi Donna, I’ve only used dehydrators that have one setting. You just put it on and leave the food inside until it’s ready (you have to look at it every once in a while). Hope that helps!
is scooping out seeds mandatory, or was that just your preference? I ask bc just yesterday I set some on cooling racks, but didnt see your post before setting them out to dry.
(cool pic of your grandpa)
Hi Irene, I would definitely remove the seeds from older zucchini because they will be thick and tough. However, if you don’t mind them, I’m sure the roughage is good for you and they are totally safe to eat. I hope that answers your question. Thank you, my Nonno was the best! :) CC
Toasted zucchini seeds are as good as toasted pumpkin seeds IMO.
Oh, I bet! That would be great from these older zucchini! Thanks, Doug!
Hi, I’m wondering if you tell us how much dried zucchini equals fresh for conversions in other recipes? Thanks
Hi Bill, I honestly can’t! It’s not like any other dried fruit or veg that I can think of in how different it is after being rehydrated from the fresh version. It’s not like you could use it to make zucchini bread, for example. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but I have no way of knowing the ratio either. :(