These Mediterranean Baked Zucchini Sticks are stuffed with peppers, tomato, olives, and feta- and then baked to perfection for a healthy, flavorful appetizer, side, or part of a main! A delicious summer
Looking for more ways to appreciate zucchini during Summer? You might also like this simple grilled zucchini, crustless zucchini quiche, and zucchini sticks with Parmesan!
/parmesan-zucchini-sticks/
It’s zucchini season, yay! I have recently discovered my love for raw zucchini, especially in a form of chips. Slice them thinly and use instead of chips to dip into strawberry mango salsa, garlic hummus recipe or Greek salad layered dip. This way, you can enjoy more of an appetizer itself. Even with a healthy dip, calories add up quickly when digging into it with chips.
However, you can also enjoy them lightly cooked to make healthy pad Thai zucchini noodles, zucchini tuna fritters, and a delicious 15-minute shrimp with zucchini!
I made these Mediterranean Baked Zucchini Sticks a few weeks back, when the heat wave hasn’t hit Vancouver yet. I was in a mood for a lighter zucchini boats, without the sauce and cheese. The ones you can pick up with your hands, more of a side dish or even a cold appetizer. Mmmm, sounds good in a mid of July…
I oven roasted them stuffed with tomatoes, bell peppers and Kalamata olives until soft but still crunchy. Then topped with feta cheese and placed under the broiler until cheese became golden and crisp, and sprinkled with fresh dill (parsley works better but I was out). These zucchini sticks are the case when food tastes great even cold. So, serve hot or eat straight out of the fridge.
I have never been a fan of zucchini as a kid. In Ukraine, we had these big fat light green coloured zucchini, more of a squash type. No cute long dark green or yellow ones. My grandma would cut zucchini in rounds, dip in a flour and panfry with oil. Now I would take a few but back then I was silly. I often envy my kids’ metabolism, don’t you?!
Now I use it for everything even within my baking like these healthy zucchini muffins.
.
These zucchini sticks keep well refrigerated for a few days. If you are serving more than 4 people, I recommend doubling the recipe, they disappear fast.
More Healthy Mediterranean Recipes
- Traditional Greek salad
- Mediterranean quinoa salad
- Greek chicken kabobs
- Olive, goat cheese, and tomato penne pasta
- Olive oil balsamic dip
You might also enjoy this chickpea salad with avocado, baby kale salad, or this list of healthy zucchini recipes!
Mediterranean Baked Zucchini Sticks
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini medium
- 1 cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1/2 cup tomatoes finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives finely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp oregano dried
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle with a spoon or melon baller. Discard or eat the flesh ( I love raw zucchini!). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix to combine bell pepper, tomato, olives, garlic, oregano and black pepper. Fill each zucchini with a mixture distributing evenly. Place in a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Top with feta cheese and broil on high for 3 more minutes or until cheese has browned. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parsley and serve hot or cold.
Made these last night. I grown herbs so stuck with all fresh herbs. I did have to bake them 25 minutes. I think for me, I would bake the zucchini halves first for 15-20 minutes, then stuff with the herb stuffing (which was an EXCELLENT MIXTURE FLAVORS!) and bake maybe 10 minutes more with the feta added. I only had 2 zucchinis so made 4 halves and my husband ate 3 – he loved it. Thanks for another great recipe – I will definitely make these again.
So glad you enjoyed it Nancy and the hubby too!
Have made this recipe twice and will make it again tomorrow. Easy to make. Delicious hot or cold. Cut zucchini sticks with pizza cutter to make appetizer size servings. This is a keeper!
Thanks for sharing Barb!
Always looking for new zucchini recipes that are healthy. This is a favorite of our family.
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback, Lisa!
I would give more stars for the flavor, but, despite following recipe and using a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, zucchini was still basically raw. I increased oven to 375 and gave it another 15 minutes, and added some water to the sheet pan. Still not tender. Still had good flavor though. My oven works fine, so that was not the problem. Any ideas?
Honestly it is a very old recipe of mine I need to retest. If you like the flavor, just cook longer till your desired doneness.