Zucchini is a nice fruit and the needed ingredient in so many recipes. It works best if you are on a low-calorie or keto diet.
But due to how rare it can be during seasons like winter or if the consumer doesn’t like the taste of zucchini, there is room for alternatives.
The good substitutes for Zucchini are eggplants, pumpkin, cucumber, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, carrot, mushrooms, patty pan sqaush, chayote squash, apple and celery.
Read on as we throw more light on this.
Related: What can I substitute for Andouille sausage?
Good Substitutes for Zucchini
Table of Contents
Here is some amazing recipe that can be used instead of zucchini.
1. Eggplants
There are various kinds of eggplants known, but then, Asian eggplants are considered the best as a zucchini-like vegetable. This is particularly because they look alike.
Eggplant has a more preferable taste than zucchini. However, eggplants and zucchini have similar fiber, which is what makes eggplant a good substitute for zucchini.
Another reason why eggplants are very good alternatives to zucchini is that it is one of the best alternatives in lasagna. It does not lose its form or composition when baked and chopped.
While trying to fry your eggplants you should make use of a not-too-much quantity of oil, this is because eggplants assimilate more oil than zucchini.
You can make use of eggplants if you are making a baked dish or grilled vegetable.
2. Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a very good alternative to zucchini. You should know that it is not healthy to cook your pumpkin for a prolonged time. This is especially so if your recipe is a baked dish, this is because it turns out fluffy.
Pumpkin is very high in vitamins and this makes it a healthy addition to your recipe. You can make use of pumpkin in any recipe, but then, it is more useful in recipes that have buttery and milky makeup.
Pumpkin is an amazing substitute for zucchini because they have similar uses, also, in a situation where you can’t get hold of zucchini, you can use pumpkin in its place.
Pumpkin is normally available during cold seasons, just like in fall and winter, this makes it the best option.
3. Cucumber
Cucumber is a good substitute for zucchini. It has an invigorating taste that tends to work on so many recipes. Another of its amazing advantage is that it merges perfectly with the veggies in your salad.
Cucumber works just well if you are making a dish that doesn’t require much cooking. There are various types of cucumber, but you should keep in mind that not all of them looks or tastes the same way.
The specie that has a resemblance with zucchini is the normal type, it is used mostly for cooking and it is also good for dicing. You can also make use of the English specie since it has a close resemblance with dark-skinned zucchini.
4. Yellow Squash
Yellow squash works best as an alternative to zucchini in a recipe that requires frying.
Its rate of oil assimilation is the same as zucchini. Yellow squash is similar to zucchini in both composition and texture. The only difference is their color and their shape.
Yellow squash when grilled can serve so many purposes. It can also be used in almost every recipe that requires zucchini.
5. Sweet Potato
Sweet potato has so many uses, you can use it to prepare salad, bread, and frittata. You should be careful while cooking your potato because overcooking your potato means ending up with a creamy stew or soup.
If you need a versatile and tasty alternative for zucchini you should consider sweet potatoes.
Sweet potato is high in nutrients and when cooked, it has a similar taste to zucchini. However, sweet potato doesn’t function well if you are still on a low-carb diet.
Sweet potatoes require a faster cooking duration than zucchini.
Read: Best Substitutes for Almond Flour
6. Carrot
If color is an important factor for you, it is best you look for another alternative other than carrot. This is because the color varies a whole lot.
However, carrots can take the place of zucchini in so many recipes. You should swap zucchini for a carrot when you are making a summer salad.
Aside from the color, you won’t find any difference in taste between zucchini and carrot.
To swap zucchini for carrots, you just have to chop carrots and put them in the soup recipe where zucchini is required.
7. Mushrooms
Mushrooms are one of the most protean ingredients in any recipe.
Mushroom can be used as a substitute if you do not like the taste of zucchini. It has this amazing creaminess that it adds to your baked dishes. You can alter the taste of the dish to suit what you want by using mushrooms.
8. Patty Pan Squash
Patty pan squash comes in many varieties, hence, you can make use of it in various recipes in place of zucchini.
Patty pan squash is the best substitute for zucchini when it involves baking recipes. It has the same composition and texture as zucchini.
Though they have the same texture and composition, this won’t affect the density of your recipe.
9. Chayote Squash
Chayote squash has a steady composition and this is what helps it function very well when you are making a salad. You can equally make use of chayote squash to prepare noodles, in a situation where you are on a low-carb diet. This heavily has to do with its firm texture.
You should substitute zucchini for chayote squash in a side dish of sautéed zucchini, this is solely because they have a similar taste.
In case you feel like trying something new aside from zucchini or where zucchini isn’t available, you can try out chayote squash. It is a very popular choice in Latin cookery.
10. Apple
One of the main reasons Apple is a good substitute for zucchini is that apple is easy to get, and yet, serves almost the same purpose.
Also, if you are allergic to zucchini or if you are looking forward to embellishing your diet with one that is more nutritious, then you should pick an apple.
You should also know that zucchini has a similar taste to apple. But you shouldn’t make use of raw apples in salads if you want to get a similar taste to zucchini. You can make use of apples in so many baked recipes.
As soon as you have chopped and baked the apple, it would no longer be as sweet as it used to be, this is done to make it have a similar taste to zucchini.
11. Celery
Celery has a different texture from zucchini, this is especially so if it is sliced and put in a soup. Regardless of the difference in taste and texture, what makes celery a good substitute for zucchini is because of its bright color.
It is important you know that celery has a robust, tasty flavor that will instantly improve the taste of your dish.
The difference in flavor will help you in case you are getting ready for a recipe that requires zucchini but does not like its taste.
Read: 8 Healthy Substitutes for Rice and Pasta
Conclusion
Zucchini is an important and nutritious ingredient in any recipe for cooking many dishes, but in a situation where you are out of stock (due to how rare it can be during winter) or if you do not like its taste, there are other substitutes to take the place of zucchini.
