This shaved zucchini salad recipe combines lemon, goat cheese, microgreens, and toasted pine nuts for an exquisite and luscious side dish. It’s zesty and flavorful while showcasing some of the best summer vegetables.
This ribboned zucchini recipe is a perfect side dish, but it could also be enjoyed as a light and refreshing lunch.

What makes this Ribboned Zucchini Salad Special
This light, summery salad recipe is a beautiful celebration of fresh, crunchy zucchini. When zucchini is shredded like this it retains so much of its light floral flavor that gets lost when it’s cooked.
If you’ve never tried raw zucchini in a dish, you will be pleasantly surprised by the mellow flavor plus the crunch.
How to Choose the Best Zucchini
Zucchini is at its best in the late summer months - specifically in July, August, and September. Smaller, younger zucchini have better flavor.
Zucchini can grow to be quite huge if not harvested early - while it might be fun to see gargantuan zucchini they don’t taste nearly as good and are often quite dry and seedy.
The best zucchini will have a dark green color and feel firm to the touch. They should feel heavy for their size (when they feel light its because they’re older and drying out).
Zucchini will usually keep in the fridge for up to one week, but if they start to feel soft or have any mushy sections they are past their prime.

Ingredients for this Salad
For this ribboned zucchini recipe, you’ll need zucchini, a lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper, pine nuts, goat cheese, and microgreens.
How to Make this Recipe
Making this zucchini salad recipe is a snap - you just need to:
- Ribbon the zucchini. Finely shave the zucchini with either a vegetable peeler or on a mandolin (I set the mandoline to ⅛th inch)
- Marinate the zucchini. Gently combine the zucchini, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss lightly to combine, so the zucchini ribbons don’t break. Marinate for 10 minutes.
- Plate the zucchini. Place the zucchini in a bowl or plate. Twist the strands to create some circular shapes in the salad.
- Toast the pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts over medium heat in a non-stick pan for five minutes or until the nuts are golden brown.
- Add the toppings. Top the zucchini with the toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, and microgreens.

More Summer Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love:
If you love a summer veggie side dish, you’ll enjoy these recipes as well!
- Roasted Zucchini with Yogurt
- Easy Tomato Salad with Tarragon Pesto
- Grilled Baby Bok Choy
- Grilled Corn Salad

Tips for this Making this Recipe
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- I highly recommend this mandoline to shave the zucchini into consistently thin strips. I also recommend these cut protection gloves which will keep your fingers safe!
- If you'd prefer to use a vegetable peeler for this recipe, I have this one from Rosle and it's wonderful!
- It's important to give the zucchini ribbons a few minutes to marinate - it makes them more pliable to roll when you plate the salad.
- This recipe is very flexible - you can substitute other types of cheese if you don't like goat cheese (feta and pecorino would both be great) and you can use other types of nuts (walnuts or another oily nut would be great).
Shaved Zucchini Salad Recipe

This shaved zucchini salad recipe combines lemon, goat cheese, microgreens, and toasted pine nuts for an exquisite and luscious side dish.
Ingredients
- 3 medium zucchini
- Zest from one lemon
- Juice from one lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- ¼ cup microgreens
Instructions
- Finely shave the zucchini with either a vegetable peeler or on a mandolin (I set the mandoline to ⅛th inch)
- Gently combine the zucchini, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss lightly to combine, so the zucchini ribbons don’t break. Marinate for 10 minutes.
- Place the zucchini in a bowl or plate. Twist the strands to create some circular shapes in the salad.
- Toast the pine nuts over medium heat in a non-stick pan for five minutes or until the nuts are golden brown.
- Top the zucchini with the toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, and microgreens.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 163Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 636mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 6g
Joan
Thursday 8th of September 2022
Oh, I agree. This is such a refreshing salad. It has been so hot in Southern California these past weeks and today is building up to another hot day. This salad is so cooling. We just love it. I've made it twice in the few weeks and am making it again today to be part of a mezza mid-day dinner. It has a beautiful presentation, too. Thank you, Emily, for sharing.
Cathy Becker
Monday 9th of August 2021
This was INCREDIBLE! The zuchhini softened as it marinated and the lemon was perfectly balanced. We used freshly grated parmesan and added some fresh parsley as well. Delicious, will definitely make again!
Emily
Monday 9th of August 2021
I'm so glad you liked it! This is one of my all-time favorite recipes :)
Mary Cooperman
Monday 19th of July 2021
Thanks for yet another outlet to master recipes/appetizer, desserts,soups, and side dishes! You are the best Yvone!!! Thanks for what you do so that we can try and find our way back to Yvvone! :))))