Roasted Zucchini Spears are quartered zucchini coated in olive oil, salt, and pepper, perfectly roasted in the oven and broiled to a golden brown. Try my Parmesan Zucchini Corn for another delicious way to use up your summer zucchini!
Roasted Zucchini Spears
Zucchini is a straight (mostly) shaped green vegetable that is mild tasting and full of moisture. Zucchini can be grilled, baked, eaten raw, cooked, you name it. It adapts beautifully in so many recipes and is an easy (VERY easy) vegetable to grow! Speaking of growing it, it grows in abundance, which is why there are so many zucchini recipes out there. This Roasted Zucchini Spears is one of the easiest ways to enjoy eating zucchini, and you don’t even need to fire up your grill!
Roasted Zucchini Spears Recipe
With just four simple ingredients, you can have roasted zucchini as an appetizer or side dish in just a few minutes.
Ingredients (full recipe below)
- Zucchini–Go for the smaller zucchinis for this recipe; they have smaller seeds.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to Quarter Zucchini
For this recipe, I love the idea of zucchini spears. To cut zucchini into spears, first wash the zucchini in cold or lukewarm water. Next, cut off the two ends of the zucchini. Then, cut lengthwise in half. Cut in half again and you will have four zucchini spears per zucchini. If your zucchini is extra small, just cut them each in half.
How to Make Roasted Zucchini Spears
These turned out so well, and I didn’t even have to fire up the grill. But, I will let you know how to grill them if you choose to do that. To get started, preheat the oven to 400°F and place a wire rack on a baking sheet. Coat the rack with cooking spray.
In a large, zipped plastic bag, combine the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the zucchini spears to the oil mixture and toss to coat all sides of the zucchini spears. Arrange the coated spears in an even layer, skin side down, on the wire rack. Be sure to leave some space in between each. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. To get them golden brown, broil the spears for an additional 3 minutes.
How to Grill Zucchini Spears
Quarter the zucchini and toss them in the oil mixture, just like the roasted zucchini. Set the well-oiled grill to medium heat. Place the zucchini spears on the heated grill. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until you see those grill marks on the zucchini. It usually takes 10-12 minutes of grilling time, and then they are ready to be enjoyed immediately.
How to Oil the Grill Grates
Be safe about it! Don’t spray cooking spray on the grates or pour oil on the grates as this will cause the flame to ignite and could blow back at you. The safest method of oiling a grill grate is to dip a cloth or handful of bunched-up paper towels into cooking oil (like canola). Do not saturate the cloths; they should not be dripping. You want enough oil on it to coat the grill grate, but you don’t want it dripping everywhere. With a protected hand (use an oven mitt or glove), lightly brush the hot grill grates with the cloth.
More Side Dishes
Roasted Zucchini Spears
Ingredients
- 4 small zucchini, quartered into spears
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Arrange a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
- In a large zipped plastic bag, combine the oil, salt, and pepper.
- Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut into quarters.
- Add the zucchini spears to the oil mixture and toss to coat on all sides.
- Arrange the zucchini spears onto the wire rack in an even layer, skin side down. (Make sure there is space between each spear.)
- Bake 12-15 minutes (or until the zucchini is tender).
- Increase the oven temperature to broil and cook until the spears start to turn golden brown (about 3 minutes).
Did you make this recipe?
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