Want an impressive-looking zucchini side dish that is ready in 10 minutes? Make this Zucchini Carpaccio! Delicate thin-sliced zucchini ribbons taste SO GOOD with the easy lemon vinaigrette and fresh toppings. This veggie carpaccio is perfect for date night at home or dinner parties. It travels well, too! Just read the tips below.
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What is zucchini carpaccio?
Zucchini carpaccio is my twist on the traditional carpaccio dish of thinly sliced raw beef. Instead of beef, I use thinly sliced zucchini ribbons. Yes, I realize that zucchini is NOT AT ALL like beef. But raw zucchini has a wonderful, light and delicate flavor and a great texture that makes this vegetarian carpaccio SO MUCH BETTER than just eating a plain salad.
Thin ribbons of zucchini and baby arugula looks fancy and impressive. This dish tastes fantastic with the help of a lemon vinaigrette and 2 kinds of cheese and it's light and healthy. It's a win-win!
And if this sounds good to you, be sure to also check out my beet carpaccio recipe.
More raw zucchini recipes to try: Spiralized Zucchini Carrot Salad with Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
The recipe below makes enough to fill a 10-inch plate. This is typically 4 small side salad servings, or 2 larger salad servings for us. You'll have extra lemon vinaigrette, which is great for salads.
- 2 medium zucchinis (8-10 inches long). Try to choose ones that are fresh, firm, and blemish-free.
- 2-3 cups baby arugula or mixed greens
- ½-1 cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2-3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese (use a vegetable slicer to carefully "shave" off thin slices of Parmesan from a block
- optional: 1 tablespoon fresh Parsley leaves, diced
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette (see below for recipe or use store-bought)
For the lemon vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best!)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup or agave syrup)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
More raw zucchini recipes: Spiralized Zucchini Carrot Salad with Sesame Dressing
Equipment
- Vegetable peeler (you'll use this for slicing the zucchini and making shaved Parmesan)
- Large 10-inch dinner plate or platter
- 8-oz jar with lid, to make the salad dressing (or use a medium bowl)
More zucchini side dishes: Grilled Vegetable Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Instructions
Use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into thin ribbons. You'll end up with a core that has a lot of seeds. I do not use the core for this recipe, but be sure to save it for another recipe, such zucchini bread pancakes, chicken and vegetable stir fry, or squash tots, where it doesn't matter which part of the zucchini is used.
Prepare the lemon vinaigrette by adding all the ingredients to a jar, closing it tightly, and shaking vigorously for a few seconds. Be sure not to accidentally let the jar go flying!
Prepare all the other ingredients: halve the cherry tomatoes, make shaved Parmesan with a vegetable peeler, crumble the feta cheese.
Arrange the sliced zucchini ribbons in a circle on a plate by folding each piece in half.
Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette all over the zucchini.
Arrange the rest of the zucchini platter: place the baby arugula in the center, top with tomatoes, shaved Feta, Parmesan cheese, and diced Parsley. Drizzle another 1-2 tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette all over the arugula. Enjoy immediately or let stand for 10 minutes before eating.
More zucchini recipes to try: Zucchini Wraps
Other topping ideas
You can spruce up this zucchini carpaccio salad in so many ways! Try any of the following:
- Crumbled bacon
- Prosciutto slices
- Chopped avocado
- Other fresh herbs, like basil or chives
- Crumbled blue cheese instead of feta
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Fried shallots or crispy onions
Make-ahead tips
This zucchini dish is best when served fresh or within a half hour of putting it together, otherwise the dressing will make the zucchini too soggy. You can assembled the platter up to a day in advance and just pour the dressing on top right before serving. Be sure to "tuck in" a little dressing under the arugula too. If preparing this dish the night before, cover with plastic kitchen wrap to keep it fresh.
More recipes to use up zucchini
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Zucchini Carpaccio
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis - (8-10 inches long)
- 2-3 cups baby arugula - or mixed greens
- ½-1 cup cherry tomatoes - or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 2-3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese - (use a vegetable slicer to carefully "shave" off thin slices of Parmesan from a block
- optional: 1 tablespoon fresh Parsley leaves - diced
- 3-4 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette - (see below)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice -
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar - or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey - or maple syrup or agave syrup
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard - or yellow mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning - or dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt - or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper - or to taste
Special equipment
- Large 10-inch dinner plate or platter
- Small jar with lid to make the salad dressing, or use a bowl
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini into thin ribbons. You'll end up with a core that has a lot of seeds. I do not use the core for this recipe, but be sure to save it for another recipe.
- Prepare the lemon vinaigrette by adding all the ingredients to a jar, closing it tightly, and shaking vigorously for a few seconds.
- Prepare all the other ingredients: halve the cherry tomatoes, make shaved Parmesan, crumble the feta cheese.
- Arrange the sliced zucchini in a circle on a plate by folding each piece in half.
- Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette all over the zucchini.
- Arrange the rest of the zucchini platter: place the baby arugula in the center, top with tomatoes, shaved Feta, Parmesan cheese, and diced Parsley. Drizzle another 1-2 tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette all over the arugula. Enjoy immediately or let stand for 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.