This fresh, almost raw zucchini salad is quick to make and improves with age. Chickpeas make this under-200 calorie dish more filling!
This summer I may have to start a new blog, one devoted to one-pot meals that require little to no cooking. Because I’m just not feeling it–the desire to cook, that is. I still have the desire to eat, of course, but even that has been slightly withered by the crushing heat and humidity of Mississippi summer. So there have been a lot of salad days (and nights) lately. I’m practically living off my Spicy Apple-Walnut Salad!
But with the arrival of zucchini and yellow squash season, I decided get away from the lettuce and kale and other leafy greens and base a salad on summer’s most abundant vegetable:
Um, I’m not exactly sure what kind of squash this is, but I’ve decided to call it a squashini. [Update: Thanks to everyone who wrote to inform me that these are Zephyr squash.] I found it at the farmers’ market and just couldn’t resist its two-toned color, as though someone had taken a yellow squash and dipped its lower half in green food coloring.
I combined one of these mystery squash with three small zucchinis to make up the pound of summer squash I used in this recipe.
Lately I prefer my summer squash uncooked; when it’s shredded or spiralized, it becomes tender and noodlelike, but when it’s sliced, it’s tender yet also keeps its “snap.” So I sliced the squash for this tangy salad, which is so ridiculously easy, especially if you use canned chickpeas, that you can have it ready in 15 minutes.
The only catch is that it really tastes best after it’s had a chance for chill for at least 24 hours. The acid in the lemon juice and vinegar works on the zucchini to slightly soften it without cooking. But if you just can’t wait, you can eat the salad after 6 hours; the perfectionist in me just wants you to enjoy it as much as possible.
Before I get to the recipe, let me show you the top of the cute refrigerator dish in the background of the photos.
One of my hobbies is looking for bargains on vintage or unusual dishes; a vacation just isn’t complete for me without a visit to the local antique or thrift store. I was in Ruston, Louisiana, last spring break when I saw this adorable refrigerator dish with asparagus, tomatoes, and corn embossed on the lid, and being the veggie-lover I am, I had to have it.
Unfortunately, it only holds about half of the salad that this recipe makes, so it was really only useful for storing the leftovers–and taking these photos.
Marinated Zucchini and Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound small zucchini or yellow squash or a combination halved and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 large red bell pepper cut into 1-inch long slices
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic or white wine vinegar see notes
- Generous grating black pepper
- salt to taste
- fresh herbs to taste such as mint, basil, or oregano
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a non-metal container. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (24 hours is optimal), stirring occasionally. Check the seasonings and add more salt and lemon juice or vinegar if you think it needs it. Serve sprinkled with additional fresh herbs.
Notes
Add a teaspoon of sesame oil and some toasted sesame seeds for an Asian variation. Add some spice by skipping the herbs and adding cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce. Add some fresh sweet corn kernels for a complete one-dish meal. Each serving is zero Weight Watchers points.
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Enjoy!
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Sally
July 11, 2013 at 8:53 amI was just looking for another salad like this. Central Texas summer has me not cooking either. I have zucchini in the garden … 🙂 Thanks Susan.
Sally
July 12, 2013 at 8:06 pmI used cilantro because I like cilantro though I have more basil in the garden than I know what to do with … sally
moonwatcher
July 11, 2013 at 10:03 amHi Susan,
This is inspired!! It’s beautiful, easy, healthy and yes, I am so making it!! I totally agree with you about loving uncooked zucchini and I can just see how letting this slowly marinate will make the flavors pop and sing. Can’t wait to try it. I really LOVE the refrigerator dish–it’s so cute! I like to store my leftovers in glass and I have one from my mother similar to this (but not as cute, no embossed veggies on the cover) that I use regularly. It’s fun to find little treasures like these in thrift and antique stores. Cool hobby!
I love the two toned zucchini. That’s a gorgeous photo of them. I think I may have seen something similar at our farmer’s market. Now I’ll know just what to do with it, an all the extra zucchini there will be from everyone later in the Summer here!
Simple, elegant, perfect. 🙂
xo
moonwatcher
Art Scott
July 11, 2013 at 10:48 amThis looks absolutely delicious! Thank you!
hollyn
July 11, 2013 at 10:49 amThe 2 tone squash is a Zephyr squash, an heirloom variety. I have a couple plants in my garden this summer. They’re extremely prolific and hardly.
Susan Voisin
July 12, 2013 at 9:47 amThanks for letting me know, hollyn! You’re so lucky. I’d love to grow some, but squash is the one thing I find almost impossible to grow. The squash vine borers destroy my vines every year, so I’ve just stopped trying. This year I hope to have a bumper crop of cucumbers instead.
Debra B.
August 3, 2019 at 1:50 pmI realize this is an old post, but I’m going to share this in case you still don’t plant squash. I had the same problem with those horrible vine borers UNTIL this year! I stopped planting squash because I lost every plant and it was just too discouraging. This year, I took 2 new steps in my planting of squash and they made all the difference! They LIVED! Really, all of my plants lived! First, plant 2 weeks later than in the past. This helps you miss the bulk of the moths’ laying of eggs at the base of the plant. Second, and this is the most important consideration, let the squash plants get larger than usual before planting in the garden and remove leaves and blossoms (if any) from the bottom 8-10 inches of the plant and wrap this bottom section of the stem with aluminum foil. Just cut 2-3″ sections of the foil and wrap it around the stem, starting where the stem comes out of the soil and covering all the way up to where the leaves begin. When you plant the squash plant, cover that bottom part of the foil-covered stem with soil so that there is no exposed squash stem that the moth could get to in order to lay eggs that would become the larvae that kill the plant. An elderly gardener in Alabama shared this suggestion with me and it worked! I hope this will save the day for you as it did for me!
Susan Voisin
August 3, 2019 at 3:21 pmThanks! I’ll have to give it a try. I haven’t planted squash in years because of the squash vine borers. 😥
Aimee B.
July 11, 2013 at 11:21 amThis looks wonderfully light and delicious! I’m definitely going to have to try this soon. We’ve been having very hot days here in California. I also adore your lovely glass loaf pan. Where did you get it? 🙂
Jenn
July 11, 2013 at 11:43 amLooks delicious and that cute little dish looks like my grandmother’s old butter dish.
Andrea
July 11, 2013 at 1:23 pmSusan, does using freshly squeezed lemon juice make a lot of difference over the bottled stuff? I’ve never really had lemons on hand but I was just wondering if you found it made a difference in taste?
Susan Voisin
July 11, 2013 at 1:37 pmAndrea, fresh lemon juice is SO much better. The stuff in the bottle has a really harsh, less sweet, chemically taste, and I would never use it in a recipe where it’s a big part of the flavor. A teaspoon hidden in a cheesy sauce is okay, but in something uncooked like this, it really would negatively affect the flavor. I hope you’ll pick up a lemon or two the next time you’re grocery shopping. 🙂
vegan gypsy
July 11, 2013 at 1:54 pmThis looks amazing, perfect hot-summer-night’s dish. I, too, scour thrift and antique stores for vintage items, especially Pyrex. 🙂
Vikki
July 11, 2013 at 2:56 pmThe squash is Zephyr! I love them! Easy to grow, very prolific, and hold up to cooking better than regular zukes! I miss my garden…
Valrie
July 11, 2013 at 3:56 pmAs soon as I saw this recipe, I recognized the dish in the photo. I inherited mine from my grandmother, and unfortunately I broke the bottom part, but I still have the lid! And the salad looks wonderful — something I will try this weekend.
Tami@Nutmeg Notebook
July 12, 2013 at 2:13 pmI’m with you about not wanting to cook when it’s so hot out – but I still want to eat! We have been also enjoying lots of salads and anything I can double up on and have cooked ahead to just heat and eat.
Last night I made your Cuban black beans and plantains – delicious and so filling and we have leftovers for tonight. Thank goodness for leftovers.
urbanvegan
July 13, 2013 at 1:15 pmLooks so light and refreshing – what a fab combo for this steamy weather. Sometimes, the simplest foods are the tastiest.
Mya
July 13, 2013 at 1:35 pmI just have to say. You are awesome!! I just found your blog and it has totally made my day. Thank you for your fat-free recipes!!! Keep up the good work 😀
WandaFish
July 13, 2013 at 1:54 pmUnusually, we’ve had over a week of hot weather here in the UK! I prepared this salad this morning before we cycled to the beach for the day with a picnic. It probably had 9 hours marinating and was absolutely delicious. I’ve got both green and yellow zucchini growing in the garden and added a little fresh mint too – thanks for such a yummy way to make sure the produce gets used!
Carol
July 14, 2013 at 1:38 amSusan~
I Made this salad yesterday to take to a potluck today. I added 3 small red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces and steamed and thin ribbons of fresh basil.
It was a hit with everyone. And you’re right, 24 hours of marinating made this salad sparkle. Worth the wait!
Thanks for another simple but great summer salad. 😀
Amb
July 16, 2013 at 6:38 pmI made this last night to have for lunch today at work and it was DELICIOUS!!!! Perfect for a hot summer day!!!
Susan
July 16, 2013 at 6:43 pmAnother winner Susan! Thank you. I made this dish on Saturday night and it still tastes fantastic Tuesday night! Great dish to enjoy during the heat wave.
moonwatcher
July 16, 2013 at 7:59 pmHI Susan,
Checking back in to say I just made this, and I was a good girl scout and used a fresh lemon and waited the recommended 24 hours. It is splendid! I did not have any salt in the house so added the zest from the lemon. I was surprised at how good it is without anything salty really. The lemony marinade brings out the sweetness of the pepper and the zucchini. I had cooked my chickpeas with a bit of fennel powder, too.I will make this again. And again. An inspired combination!
xoxo
moonwatcher
Katherine
July 17, 2013 at 4:20 pmLooks perfect for summer!! Thank you for sharing.
Mercedes
July 20, 2013 at 3:16 amI have just come across your blog and love the look of this recipe, it is definitely something I will try, especially with the hot weather we are having in England at the moment. I am not sure I have any tinned chickpeas though so might replace them with butter beans or cannellini beans. Thanks for the inspiration!
Amy
July 21, 2013 at 5:54 pmHas anyone let is marinate longer than 24 hours? I was thinking about making a batch and then eating it through-out the week. But if the dressing turns everything to mush in longer than 24 hours, I’ll just pre-portion and add the dressing the morning before I want to take the salad to work.
Amy
August 3, 2013 at 8:01 pmJust as a follow up if anyone is wondering, it’s not advisable to leave the dressing on for 4 days as the result is mushy zukes. I ended up portioning out the dressing and adding it to the mixture the morning before I wanted to take it to work and it worked out well. Then I forgot my last serving for a few days with the marinade and well, I ended up eating about 3/4, but it was mushy and not nearly as good.
Jo
July 22, 2013 at 7:32 pmI also have this exact glass dish from my grandmother. I think of her when I use it. This recipe comes at the perfect time, when people keep giving me squash from their gardens. Thank you!
Melissa
July 27, 2013 at 8:08 amI made this and used it as a side dish for a BBQ. It was so delicious I used the remainder on top of romaine lettuce throughout the week for a lunch salad. It was so delicious that way that I’m getting ready to make another batch to use for this week’s lunch!
Lissa @ Kitchen Rebellion
July 25, 2013 at 9:34 pmOoo, zucchini salad. Love this idea. I can imagine how well the lemony dressing soaks into the squash… YUM.
Abi
August 2, 2013 at 8:08 pmThis salad was absolutely delicious! My family was going to a 3-day convention and we brought our lunch each day. This was one of the things I made to bring and it was a huge hit with my husband. In fact, he ate most of mine! Thanks for sharing, Susan. 🙂
Vic
September 10, 2013 at 10:02 pmI stumbled upon your website last night looking for new recipes and this is the first recipe I tried and I loved it! So much so that I had it for lunch as a salad and I used it in a wrap for dinner too. I look forward to trying many more of your recipes.
Shani
September 28, 2013 at 2:49 amBack on your website after a month:) can’t wait to catch up on the recipes you’ve shared since then! Can I use apple cider vinegar for this recipe? It’s the only vinegar I’ve got at the moment. Thanks!
Susan Voisin
September 28, 2013 at 8:37 amSure! Any vinegar you like will be fine. Hope you enjoy it.
trijbits
July 16, 2014 at 10:41 pmTried this the other day and am very pleased with it. What I had on hand was white wine vinegar and juice from fresh limes. I added a handful of herbs from the garden–minced basil, Italian parsley and mint. After marinating for 2 days the zucchini slices tasted like dill pickles–yum! Mixed with quinoa, it made a nice lunch.
Jla
June 23, 2019 at 7:21 pmWas so excited for this and it was great but SO GARLICKY!!
Katrina E
April 29, 2020 at 7:50 pmMaking this for the 3rd year, love the simplicity, texture of the raw veggies and flavor that evolves as you marinate. Thanks for this!
Usha Shivakumar
July 13, 2020 at 4:19 pmI tripled the ingredients and made this salad today. As a diabetic, I am always looking for sugar and oil-free recipes. This one nailed it. Thank you!
J. O.
August 18, 2020 at 7:43 amLooks great!! One question: How much will the vegetables soften when marinated?
Steph
August 26, 2020 at 6:30 pmThe description says “it gets better with age”. We wouldn’t know……. I threw this together in quick order so it could accompany our soup that we’ll be having later for dinner. Well, when we did the taste test we proceeded to devour the entire bowl! I used mint and a quality white balsamic. So simply and perfect for summer! Will be throwing this together when we go camping in a few weeks. YUMM