If you have a giant zucchini in your garden and don’t know what to do with it, make this Giant Zucchini Parmesan – it’s so good!
Giant Zucchini Parmesan
My brother gave me a bunch of very large zucchinis from his garden, so I will be sharing lots of recipes using oversized zucchinis. The first one up is this easy Zucchini Parmesan. I put my air fryer to the test and loved how it turned out. The crisp breaded zucchini rounds are topped with marinara sauce and gooey melted cheese. For more of my favorite parmesan recipes, try my Eggplant Parmesan, Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan, and Roasted Broccoli Parmesan. And see all my zucchini recipes here!
What to Make with Giant Zucchini
Giant zucchinis can sometimes be bitter if raw, so they’re best eaten cooked. They would be excellent in baked goods, like cake, bread, or brownies. You’ll have plenty of zucchini, so double the recipe and freeze half for later or give some to a friend. Oversized zucchinis are perfect for stuffing since they’re so large. Try my Taco-Stuffed Zucchini Boats or Sausage-Stuffed Zucchini Boats.
Zucchini Parmesan Ingredients
- Zucchini: Season the giant zucchini slices with salt and pepper. This recipe would also work with eggplant if your zucchini weren’t big enough.
- Coating: Mix two eggs and a teaspoon of water in a shallow bowl and put seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs in another. Dip the zucchini slices in the eggs and then breadcrumbs. If you’re allergic to eggs, substitute them with aquafaba, and if you don’t have seasoned breadcrumbs, add your own Italian seasonings to plain ones.
- Cheese: Combine part-skim ricotta, part-skim shredded mozzarella, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese with parsley in a bowl.
- Sauce: Top the zucchini rounds with jarred or homemade marinara sauce.
How to Air Fry Zucchini Parmesan
Air frying zucchini parmesan made the breadcrumb coating extra crispy, but if you don’t have an air fryer, you can pan fry or bake them in the oven at 425F degrees 18 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Air fry the breadcrumb-coated zucchini for 12 minutes at 380 degrees. Turn them over halfway through and bake until golden and tender.
- Place the zucchini on a baking sheet and top with the tomato sauce and cheese mixture.
- Bake them for about five minutes until the cheese is melted. You can also do this last step in the air fryer – Cook the zucchini for a minute or two at 350 degrees until the cheese melts.
What to Serve with Zucchini Parmesan
Serve this air fryer zucchini parmesan with a big green salad or pasta on the side. If you have leftovers, they’ll last in the fridge for three days and can be reheated in the microwave.
Your comments are helpful!! If you’ve tried this Giant Zucchini Parmesan recipe or any other recipe on Skinnytaste, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear your thoughts, variations and feedback. And if you took some photos of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can re-share on my stories!
More Giant Zucchini Recipes You’ll Love:
- Zucchini Pizza Bites
- Cream of Zucchini Soup
- Crustless Summer Zucchini Pie
- Turkey Burgers with Zucchini
- Naked Greek Feta Zucchini Turkey Burgers
Giant Zucchini Parmesan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup part skim ricotta
- 6 tablespoons part-skim shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 giant zucchini, sliced into 12 1/2” thick slices
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs , or gluten-free crumbs*
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup warmed marinara sauce, Jarred is fine, plus 1/2 cup more for serving
Instructions
- Combine the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and parsley in a medium bowl.
- Season both sides of the zucchini with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow plate, beat the eggs and 1 teaspoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs in another plate.
- Place each zucchini round in the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
- Spray a generous amount of olive oil spray on each side and transfer to the air fryer basket in an even layer, in batches as needed.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Air fry 380F for 12 minutes turning half way, until crisp, golden and tender in the center. Set aside. Transfer to a baking sheet.
- Spoon each piece with 1 generous tablespoon of sauce, then 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with parsley if desired.
- If you prefer to do this all in the air fryer, you can air fryer in batches 350F until the cheese is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley if desired.
No Air Fryer, No Problem!
- Bake the zucchini in a preheated oven 425F on a sheet pan sprayed with oil until golden, 18 minutes flipping halfway.
