Courgette Salad

This is the best courgette salad recipe! It has the most refreshing flavour and the dressing is so easy to make with pantry staples like olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and balsamic vinegar. The pine nuts on this salad give it the perfect crunch and you will love how easy this healthy salad is to make. 

Why you will love this recipe: 

• Move over Jamie Oliver! This is the best raw courgette salad recipe!
• It has the most incredible refreshing flavour. 
• It's so quick and easy to make and is ready in just a few minutes. 
• The dressing on this zucchini salad is made with simple ingredients that you likely have in your pantry including olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and balsamic vinegar. 
• This salad is healthy, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, low carb, low calorie, keto, paleo and Whole30 compliant. 
• This raw zucchini salad is perfect for warm spring and summer meals. It's nice and light and not too filling. 

Taste and texture:

This salad is light and refreshing and the dressing has a slightly sweet, citrus flavour. The pine nuts add a nice bit of crunch to the softer zucchini strands.

Key ingredients and substitutions: 

• Courgettes - you can use either green or yellow raw courgettes to make this salad. Another name for courgette is zucchini, so either green or yellow raw zucchini will work for this salad. 
• Olive oil - olive oil makes the most delicious dressing for this zucchini salad. You could swap this for avocado oil instead. 
• Lemons - lemons are use for both the lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the dressing. This gives the dressing the most refreshing citrus flavour. 
• Balsamic vinegar - to add a hint of sweetness to the dressing on this summer courgette salad. 
• Pine nuts - pine nuts have such a unique flavour that blends perfectly with the dressing on this salad. Plus they add a delicious crunch to make this salad even more satisfying. I recommend using raw, not roasted pine nuts.  

How to make this recipe: 

Step one:

First, to make the dressing, add all of the dressing ingredients to a bowl or glass measuring cup and stir together until combined. Set the dressing aside.

Step two:

Next, using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, slice the courgettes lengthwise into strips or ribbons about 2mm-3mm thick. Discard the inner part of the courgettes with the seeds.

Step three:

Then add the zucchini ribbons to a bowl with the pine nuts. Pour the dressing over top and toss well to combine.

Step four:

Serve and enjoy!

Chef's tips: 

• You can use yellow or green courgettes for this recipe (or a combination of both). 
• If you are serving a crowd you can easily double or triple this recipe. 
• To prepare this salad ahead of time I recommend making the dressing ahead of time but not slicing the zucchini and making the actual salad until you are ready to eat it.

Variations and add ins: 

• If you eat dairy, you can top this salad with feta cheese or parmesan cheese. 
• If you like a sweeter dressing, add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the dressing. 
• Instead of pine nuts you could use cashews, hemp hearts or sesame seeds in this salad. 
• To make this a warm courgette salad: add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat and add the plain, sliced courgettes to the pan. Heat the sliced zucchini for a few minutes until warm. Transfer the warmed courgettes to aa bowl and toss with the dressing and pine nuts. Then serve and enjoy!
• To make this salad look even prettier, you can use your spiralizer to create a spiralized courgette salad. 
• This salad is very flexible - feel free to add other ingredients such as chopped apple, avocado, spinach, cooked chicken, grilled salmon, or other additional ingredients of your choice.

How to store: 

Raw zucchini salad is best eaten right away but can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge in an air tight container if you don't mind the zucchini getting a bit wilted. 

What to serve with zucchini salad: 

Zucchini salad is a great side dish to pair with hamburgers, turkey burgers, pork burgers, salmon burgers, duck burgers, lamb chops, steak, chicken, pork, ribs, blackened cod, or grilled salmon. 

Frequently asked questions: 

Other salad recipes you will love: 

• Healthy broccoli salad
• Dairy free potato salad
• Kale apple salad
• Low carb coleslaw
• Healthy asian coleslaw

Since you made it this far we are basically best friends so be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and Facebook where I share even more recipes and healthy living tips! And don’t forget to leave this recipe a star review before you go!