This Raw Zucchini Salad is a light, refreshing, no-cook summer dish that is perfect for a potluck or picnic. Thinly sliced zucchini is tossed with a homemade shallot vinaigrette and topped with toasted pistachios, ricotta salata, and fresh herbs. It’s a delicious and healthy way to enjoy summer squash.
Be sure to check out all of our easy salad recipes!
For more easy zucchini recipes, consider trying our Grilled Corn and Zucchini Salad or Baked Zucchini Fries next. And if you have a sweet tooth, definitely give our Chocolate Zucchini Muffins or Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread a try! You’ll never know there’s a veggie in there.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini: Fresh summer squash aka: the star of the salad! Yes, you can absolutely eat zucchini raw.
- Ricotta salata: This is ricotta cheese that’s been pressed, salted, and aged for several months. It has a texture similar to feta cheese or cotija cheese (it’s much firmer than ricotta), with a bright, fresh flavor.
- Fresh mint: The combination of fresh mint, scallion, and the dressing is pure magic.
- Scallion: To add a delicate onion flavor. You can use pickled red onions if you want a punchier onion taste. Or pickled ramps for a garlic flavor!
- Pistachios: We love the salty crunch these add.
- Flaky sea salt: To season everything!
Our shallot vinaigrette is a light salad dressing made with extra virgin olive oil, shallot, red wine vinegar, a little honey, Dijon mustard, Kosher salt, and black pepper. It’s light, zingy, and has a lovely acidity. You can, of course, use any salad dressing or vinaigrette you enjoy.
How To Make Raw Zucchini Salad
- Slice the zucchini into thin ribbons. You can do this with a sharp knife or (our preferred method), with a mandoline.
- Combine in a bowl. Place in a large bowl along with remaining salad ingredients: ricotta salata, chopped fresh herbs, nuts, and scallion.
- Toss with salad dressing. Pour our shallot vinaigrette or another salad dressing on top, then gently toss, being careful not to break the squash.
- Assemble, then serve. You can simply pour everything onto a plate for serving, but if you have the patience, it’s really fun to assemble the zucchini salad by rolling up the thin slices of squash. Top with additional chopped pistachios and a bit more flaky sea salt, then serve!
FAQs
Of course! This would be great with some cucumber or bell pepper.
We recommend making the shallot salad dressing in advance (it will keep for 1 week in a fridge!), then assembling the raw zucchini salad just before serving for best taste and texture.
Serve with grilled or roasted meats, poultry, or seafood. It’s a great light salad alongside a grilled spatchcock chicken or grilled steaks.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh zucchini! When shopping for zucchini, select a vegetable with firm flesh and little to no blemishes. Unwashed zucchini can be kept in a fridge for up to 5 days.
- Invest in a mandoline! Yes, it’s one more kitchen gadget, but when you’re looking for precision and very thin slices — of zucchini, of eggplant, of anything! — a mandoline is the easiest, quickest, safest way to achieve that. You can use a sharp knife, if needed.
- Alternatively, you can slice the squash with a vegetable peeler.
Make-Ahead, Leftovers, & Storage
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- To make-ahead: We recommend making the shallot salad dressing in advance (it will keep for 1 week in a fridge!), then assembling the salad just before serving for best taste and texture.
- Leftovers and storage: The leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in a fridge for 2-3 days, but note that the texture of the zucchini will change (eg, soften) the longer it sits.
- Do not freeze this salad. Raw zucchini is best enjoyed fresh.
How To Serve
This makes for a great vegetarian light lunch or appetizer, but we love to serve it with a simple roast chicken or fish, such as roasted salmon, with a heartier side dish, like Israeli couscous.
You could easily serve this alongside any seasonal summer recipes. It would be fantastic with a bowl of cool, refreshing cucumber gazpacho and some crusty bread!
Substitutions and Variations
Obviously the zucchini is the star of the show. However, you can easily substitute with yellow summer squash, which is almost identical to green squash. As far as the other salad ingredients, here are a few substitution suggestions:
- Ricotta salata: If you can’t find or don’t want to use ricotta salata, try goat cheese, feta cheese, or even cotija, which has a remarkably similar texture. Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese is delicious, too!
- Pistachios: Use any variety of nut you love most! Sliced almonds, toasted pine nuts, marcona almonds (Ari’s favorite!), toasted walnuts, pecans — you really just want to make sure there’s some crunch.
- Fresh mint: Try adding fresh basil, dill, chives, fresh oregano, or chervil.
- Salad dressing: We’re partial to our homemade shallot dressing (it’s a staple!), but this would be amazing with either our Basil Vinaigrette or our Kale Salad Dressing, made with lots of fresh lemon juice and Dijon mustard.
Light, crunchy, and craveable — we absolutely adore this salad!
If you make this Raw Zucchini Salad recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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Raw Zucchini Salad with Pistachios & Mint
Equipment
Ingredients
- Shallot vinaigrette
- 2 medium zucchini ends trimmed, sliced with a mandoline to be about 1/4-inch thick
- 2 ounces ricotta salata grated or crumbled
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 large scallion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pistachios shelled, roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Instructions
- Make the dressing. If you haven't already, make our shallot vinaigrette.
- Combine ingredients for salad. Place the zucchini ribbons in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 ounces ricotta salata, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint, thinly sliced scallion and ¼ cup chopped pistachios.
- Toss the salad. Pour the salad dressing on top of the salad ingredients, then gently toss, being careful not to break the zucchini, if possible.
- Assemble, then serve. For a fun presentation, wear gloves and use your hands to roll up each slice of zucchini. If they won’t hold into a rolled shape, you can simply arrange them semi-twisted on the plate. Pour the remaining dressed salad ingredients on top. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt and additional chopped pistachios, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition facts do not include the shallot vinaigrette. Feel free to use this dressing or substitute with one of your favorites.
Nutrition
Photography by Alana of Your Home Made Healthy.
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