Some summers are zucchini summers, and we are in the midst of one right now! Preserving zucchini to last through the winter is actually easy to do. There are four main methods for how to preserve zucchini: freezing, canning, fermenting, and dehydrating or drying.
How to Preserve Zucchini
Zucchini can sometimes grow a little bit out of control in the garden, and sometimes you end up with too much of a good thing!
While last year most of our summer squash plants got eaten by squash bugs, this year we have so many zucchini that we don’t know what to do with all of them.
We’ve given them away, fed them to the chickens, made loaves of zucchini bread, and cooked them every which way.
Don’t get me wrong, I love zucchini, but I’m getting a little bit tired of it at the moment.
But, in the middle of winter it sure would be nice to pull out some shredded zucchini from the freezer to make a loaf of warm zucchini spice bread!
Below are all the ways to preserve all of that extra zucchini in your garden so that you can enjoy it throughout the year!
Freezing Zucchini
Freezing zucchini shreds is perfect for later use in soups, stews, and my favorite, zucchini bread or muffins. I freeze it in one or two cup portions, so I know exactly how much is in each bag.
Shredded zucchini that has been frozen and thawed works well for using in recipes, especially baked goods. I usually drain part of the liquid after thawing the zucchini before using.
Zucchini noodles can be frozen, but the texture will not be quite the same as fresh zoodles. But, if you have a ton a zucchini you might as well give it a try!
You can alternatively freeze zucchini slices or chunks for later use in recipes.
Rather than freezing raw zucchini, you can also make double batches of recipes that use a lot of zucchini and then freeze those after they are cooked!
Some favorites are zucchini pancakes, zucchini muffins, and baked zucchini fries.
Canning Zucchini
Now this method is the one that really intrigues me!
I’ve heard that zucchini pickles hold up their shape and crunch better than canned cucumber pickles, and I’m curious to try it out.
Zucchini relish sounds super tasty on a burger (or veggie burger)!
Believe it or not, zucchini can also be preserved into zucchini marmalade or jam!
Not quite canning, but close:
Zucchini refrigerator pickles sound tasty and easy to make.
This zucchini butter is something I definitely need to try!
Fermenting Zucchini
I love to ferment anything that I can get my hands on. To me, this is one of the best way to preserve foods, as it also gives you some good stuff for your gut.
Feremented vegetables will last for quite a while in the refrigerator, up to six months or even longer.
Making fermented zucchini sticks is simple! Just put zucchini spears into a jar, cover them with a saltwater brine, cover the jar with a towel fastened with a rubber band, and setting it in a cool and dark place for a couple of weeks.
Fermented zucchini pickles is another way to do it if you want a pickle chip shape.
If you have a lot of cucumbers as well as zucchini you can combine them in this fermented squash and cucumber pickle recipe.
This fermented zucchini sauerkraut recipe sounds really interesting as well!
Last but not least, you can even make zucchini wine! Now that’s something I need to try!
Dehydrating Zucchini
Dehydrating is a great way to preserve the harvest, especially for food storage purposes. You can fit a huge amount of veggies in a jar once they are dehydrated.
My favorite dehydrator by far is the Excalibur dehydrator.
Zucchini chips made in the dehydrator is one of my favorite ways to use up a lot of zucchini, plus they are delicious!
You can also just simply dehydrate zucchini in pieces for food storage to add to soups or other recipes later on.
This zucchini gummy candy is a fun way to use up zucchini, and it’s healthy too!
Strawberry zucchini fruit leather is another great way to preserve zucchini in a new and different way.
More Preserving Food Recipes
Here are a few more posts I have about preserving the abundance:
I hope this post helps you discover some new ways to preserve the zucchini from your garden!
What is your favorite way to preserve zucchini?
Shredded zucchini is a wonderful way to stretch the harvest! It absorbs the flavors of whatever recipe I use it in and no one ever knows they are eating zucchini! Try salsa, soups, spaghetti sauce, preserves…
Mary, our cake recipe ingredients is just about the same as yours – I used grated apple instead of butter and I used 1/2 cup unrefined virgin coconut oil – greek yogurt instead of buttermilk – Normally we do not frost the cake however my husband and I ate a large piece each evening until it was all gone – once 2/3 of the cake was devoured I decided to look for a frosting recipe – I ended up finding this one and we both really like it – I kept the frosting separate and frosted each piece each night until we finished the cake – we both need to put on a few lbs so eating this was a treat
frosting
2 ripe avocados mashed with a fork
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbls coconut oil
1 teas vanilla
mash avocados – add remaining ingredients, stir then use a wire whip and whip until smooth. My hubby really liked it – it sounds odd but it is very good – it has a different texture than normal frosting but the flavor is very good
I shred it and then squeeze out most of the liquid before freezing. I pour the nice green liquid into ice cube trays and freeze, and also pour some into freezer bags. The beautiful green liquid can be used later in soups, rice, etc.
That’s a great idea, Gena! Thanks for sharing!
Love this idea!
I am fermenting zucchini-kraut for the first time. “Allow to ferment” in the instructions. Where? Dark cupboard or out on the kitchen counter? In the cooler basement or warm kitchen? I tried making cabbage sauerkraut once, had a ‘starter,’ and it all rotted. So, this recipe just says to sprinkle salt on half cup layers, repeat. Please advise.
The recipe you’re referring to isn’t my recipe, it’s from Cultures of Health. However, I typically place my ferments in a warmer area of my kitchen out of direct sunlight.
I can a dozen jelly jars of zucchini relish every summer. I mostly use it in my homemade tartar sauce (Mayo, bit of mustard, garlic powder, celery seed, pepper, relish) but it’s fun on cheeseburgers, too.
By the way, I’m going to make your Zucchini spice bread today!
Yum! I hope you enjoy it!
Zucchini butter is hands down my favorite way to use zucchini!! I make a ton of it to freeze and use as a pizza or pasta sauce, in quiches, on toast, or scrambled with eggs throughout the rest of the year!
Yummy! Thanks for sharing!
I have tons of zucchini and summer squash and have been dehydrating it. There is more coming but I would like to can them.
Trouble is I don’t like how they get mushy when pressure canned. So I am wondering if I soaked them in pickling lime first, as if I were going to make pickles, would they maintain their crispness after canning?
Has anyone tried this? I don’t want to make pickles or relish with them.
I shred and freeze zucchini in 2 cup quantities. Then I make chocolate cake with it later. I pour off about 1/2 cup of the accumulated liquid after the zucchini thaws.
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
21/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups shredded zucchini (if using frozen, thawed zucchini, pour off about ½ cup liquid)
1 cup Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips.
Cream butter, oil and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk. Mix well. Stir in zucchini. Pour into greased 13/9″ baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Gorgeous sounding recipe! I wonder if kefir is an effective substitute for buttermilk?
Our favorite idea for dehydrating summer squash comes from Laurie Neverman at CommonSenseHome. She grates her zuchs and spaces small, loose clumps of shreds across her dehydrator trays. They dry quickly, pack easily in a jar (still warm, on a dry day is best). I drop about a cup in simmering broth with a sliced boiled egg or a little cooked, cubed chicken and herbs, simmer a few minutes, turn off the heat, stir in a a Tbs. of miso and a grated garlic clove and Zut! a satisfying quick meal. On a hungry night, it can also be ladled over cooked pasta or grain.
The best summer squash I have found for this technique is Bennings Custard Squash. It is scalloped and extremely tender, can be grated easily up to quite a pretty large size and still be very tender to eat when re-constituted.
This squash also , having been bred for English weather, grows well in cool weather. Where I am in Zone 3b Wisconsin, it fruits vigorously into late Sept./Early October depending on how early steady hard frost sets in. My last harvest of it always includes a quart or two of cute little button squash that makes a very fancy looking steamed meal in Fall.
I make a sort of spaghetti sauce, and put chunks of zucchini into it. Pressure can it and have a wonderful side dish.
Hi, I would like to know if you can ferment pickles using raw Apple cider vinegar, no water instead brine .
Its an interesting question. Lactobacillus is acid tolerant, and can survive in pH of 2. Also, the pectin found in Apple Cider Vinegar is a pre-biotic (food for Lactobacillus). I’m guessing if you use unpasteurized vinegar the mother of vinegar (Mycoderma aceti bacteria) might compete with Lactobacillus. I don’t think the brine is necessary for the Lactobacillus, it is added more as a preservative to discourage microbial growth. I would start with a strong starter culture of Lactobacillus, if you were going to try it. I don’t know how you’ll know if it worked – traditionally its the sour pH <4.5 that tells you it worked..
I powder my dehydrated zuccs and make zucchini puffs, add it to mash taters, zucc bread, soups, home baked breads, etc. It takes up less space also.
Zucchini butter, like apple butter, but cheaper and easier to make….
My favorite zucchini recipes for useful preservation this year are:
Zucchini coconut bread, 4 freezer
Zucchini fritters, 4 freezer
Italian sausage zucchini soup/stew 4 freezer and pressure canner
I have processed apx 50# of homegrown zucchini this way so far and another 20# or so to go before first frost. I also am going to do a zucchini mash, my nana ali’s recipe for freezing…..
You can also make a pretty decent dry white, country style wine from zucchini!
Zucchini white wine? This intrigues me!