I started out with this....
Shredded it til I thought my hand was going to fall off....
And finally ended up with this, 27 cups equals 9 bags or 18 loaves of zucchini bread!
It's that time of year, we have that surplus we are trying to figure out what to do with. I try and freeze and can as much as possible for the winter. Here are a few recipes for zucchini that I've posted previously to help you use up the surplus! Happy baking and preserving!
Preserving Squash or Zucchini Video
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
We have lots of zucchini, too. I've been making zucchini bread and freezing it, and every week we eat something with zucchini in it. We also have tons of tomatoes, so my husband has been bringing a lot to share with his co-workers.
I'm jealous! I don't have any big tomatoes at all, only little ones. Which I like because I like making sun dried tomatoes. But this means I'll have to buy tomatoes to can:(
How did you know I was just wondering if there was a way to freeze zucchini!? Thanks!
I so wish I lived closer… I would LOVE to help you out on your abundance… this is our first year gardening and things are not turing out so well
ofcourse here in Eastern Idaho, we don’t get started planting until the first week of june and even then it is not totally safe – hence the reason I no longer have pumpkin plants because of a late freeze killing them 
Totally learning as we go… kinda fun, kinda frustrating… totally worth it!
Try hoop houses. They can extend your growing season by a month or two each way-depending upon what you’ve planted and how diligent you are in keeping them up. We actually have harvested root crops into Dec/Jan and have harvested spinach and lettuces, etc as early as Feb/early March. Happy gardening!!
Make sure you watch the video I linked to at the bottom of this post as well…most people don’t know you can freeze zucchini AND squash but it has a little trick to it!
I was just watching the video. Thanks for the tip!
When we lived in Northern California & EVERYTHING grew well in our garden, there used to be a Zucchini joke going around: “Remember to lock your car or else you will come back to find it filled with Zucchini!”..and, it was true, too..you couldn’t give the stuff away!
I found an OLD recipe for zucchini MILK!! All you do is zip up the zucchini till it is creamy (I use my vitamix), then use it in recipes that call for “milk” like meatloaf etc. Reall ups the nutrition content! I freeze mine flat in ziplock baggies to use all year long. Would also be fantastic in summer pasta salads..
Wow, that’s cool!
An over abundance of zucchini makes for great batting practice! Wonderful childhood memories!
If you shred the zucchini and add water, do you get the same results?
Zucchini already has enough water in it to freeze so you don’t have to add any to the shreds.
can this be dehydrated and what would the shelf life be? Thanks!
I love zucchinin nut bread and freeze that too. Yummy!!
There are also zucchini puffs, a delicious “pancake” of sorts that is reminiscent of potato pancakes but with much less carbs and a LOT more flavor. They taste equally good with sour cream or apple sauce. I don’t have a recipe on hand but if you Google it I’m sure you’ll find a gazillion recipes.
I also use grated zuch in soups, stews, and spaghetti sauces. It kind of disappears into the mess, and no one notices it’s there, filling them with vitamins and fiber.
I plan on using my dehydrator to dry the grated zuch this year, and then using the dried stuff in the sauces. The frozen stuff I’ll keep for bread. *grin*
How about zucchini boats (ground turkey mixed with spices, rice, cheese, poured into hollowed length-cut zuch and grilled under the broiler for a few)? Also, try cutting zuch really thin and using it in place of lasagna noodles – it’s a bit liquidy but the flavor is to die for! I also take fat slabs of zuch and marinate them in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a bit of garlic… then grill them on the bbq while I’m making burgers. Mix up some corn meal and such and make zuch sticks and serve up with ranch dressing (a favorite in our house).
Todd N Dina, I believe my mom dehydrates it, I will ask her about it.
I just dehydrated zucchini and powdered it to put into recipes. I read about doing this and then oven canning it to keep it fresh and no bugs could get in.
What about shredded zucchini?
I just watched your video on how to preserve squash. I found it on Pinterest. Is there any trick to defrosting it? Do you just thaw it in your sink? Or does the fridge work better?
I thaw it either in my sink or in the fridge in a bowl, never in the microwave.
I froze shredded zucchini once, and when I defrosted it all the water had separated out. I didn’t know if I should drain the water out or keep it so that the bread would have enough liquid. What should I do?
I always drain the water out before I use it.