Zucchini salsa two ways! Make either raw salsa or cook it to concentrate the flavors. The raw salsa tastes light, crisp, and fresh, while the cooked salsa has a deeper, more robust flavor and is sweeter. Smoked paprika adds a smokey flavor that takes it over the top.
Every year, our garden provides more zucchini than we can handle so I always make a ton of recipes with it. Some of my favorites are zucchini bread and Kamut zucchini muffins because they freeze so well and we eat them for months.
But I don’t just bake with zucchini. It makes fantastic savory recipes like zucchini fritters, herbed sauteed zucchini, or garlicky zucchini soup. The list is endless with the things you can do with zucchini.
If you haven’t thought of making salsa with this fruit (yep, zucchini is a fruit), then you have to try this recipe.
Here is Why You Will Love This Summer Garden Salsa:
- Delivers a refreshing take on classic salsa
- Versatile: use it as a dip, topping, or spread.
- It’s a great way to use surplus zucchini.
- Perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and savory
- The recipe is easy to double or triple for larger quantities.
Ways to Use Zucchini Salsa:
The salsa is sweet, spicy, smokey, and so flavorful. Here are several ways you can use zucchini salsa.
- Chip dip
- Topping for grilled chicken or steak
- Elevate your taco game
- Spice up a burrito casserole or chimichangas
- Use it at breakfast to top scrambled eggs or quiche
Ingredients You Will Need:
Here is the list of ingredients you can use for your shopping list. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Zucchini.
- Tomatoes, Bell pepper, and onion
- Fresh basil leaves
- Jalapeno peppers
- Apple cider vinegar
- Tomato paste
- Brown sugar
- Garlic cloves
- Smoked paprika, ground mustard, cumin powder, and crushed red peppers
- Salt
- Tabasco sauce
How to Make the Recipe:
This zucchini salsa recipe couldn’t be easier. You can chop, dice, or shred the zucchini to get the look and texture you want. I did it the fast way and used my food processor. It made enough shredded zucchini for this recipe as well as a loaf of gluten-free zucchini bread.
- Chop, dice, or shred all the ingredients.
- Stir the ingredients together and give it a taste test. Adjust the sweetness or spice level to your liking.
- For fresh salsa: let it hang out in the fridge to develop the flavors.
- For cooked salsa: toss it in a pot and cook it to concentrate all the flavors.
That’s all there is to the recipe. You can store it in the fridge for about a week or freeze it for 6 months.
If you’re looking for a healthy, flavorful dip or topping to liven up your next meal, look no further than the zucchini salsa.
With so many ways to use this versatile recipe- raw or cooked, as a chip dip with baked pita chips and hummus, on top of fish tacos, taco salads, burritos, or fajitas –there’s sure to be something that will make it into your weekly dinner rotation.
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Zucchini Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded or chopped zucchini 2-3 medium
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
- 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 to 3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
Instructions
For Fresh Salsa:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Taste, and add additional salt, sugar, or hot sauce if desired.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.
- The salsa will accumulate more liquid after it sits for a while. You can drain the excess liquid if desired.
For Cooked Salsa:
- Combine all the ingredients in a pot. Taste, and add additional salt or hot sauce if desired. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until the juices reduce down to your desired thickness. If you want all of the liquid reduced then it will take about 40 minutes.
- If you plan to can the salsa, do not reduce the liquid.
Notes
- We used a mix of yellow and green zucchini.
- The fresh salsa will have a crisp, fresh flavor while the cooked salsa will have a deeper, sweeter flavor and more smokiness.
- Store the salsa in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
- If you want to can the salsa in a hot water bath, use the instructions for cooked salsa and do not reduce the brine down.
Barbara
Monday 30th of May 2022
I would not recommend canning an untested salsa recipe!
Dahn Boquist
Tuesday 31st of May 2022
Good point Barbara, thanks. Tomatoes are high in acid while zucchini is a low acid food with a higher pH. We haven't tested this recipe for canning and we haven't measured the overall pH of the recipe after adding the tomatoes and vinegar. Thanks for the comment.