Got an easy and healthy summer recipe for you with this warm zucchini bean salad with croutons. In Massachusetts, the best zucchini of the year arrives in the summer and it's everywhere. Make sure to stop by a local farm near you to pick some up!
Versatile Salad For All Occasions
What I love about this salad is that you can eat it any where and any time. Hungry for a healthy snack? Grab a few spoonfuls. If you want a light lunch or a side for your dinner, warm zucchini bean salad with croutons is the answer! You can eat it warm after you first make it, but it works equally as well served cold.
In addition to being an all-around salad, you can mix it up with the ingredients if you want more. You could add steamed broccoli, more herbs, any kind of dressing (I think vinegar based works best for this), and you could even throw feta or shaved parmesan cheese on top for a garnish.
Yes, You could Use Store-Bought Croutons, But...
Why would you? Haha. Guilt trip alert. I totally get there are a few somewhat decent store-bought crouton options out there. Maybe. Personally, I've never fallen in love with any I've tried. And croutons are so easy to make - they take very little effort.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! 🙂
Yes, it involves buying a French or Italian baguette from the bakery section of your local supermarket. And no, you won't use all of it for the croutons which is fine. There are a lot of uses for the rest of the baguette. First thing I do when I get home from the grocery store, is cut a big chunk off the loaf, heat it, slather it in butter, and gobble it up. Who doesn't?
You can also make French bread pizzas of any kind for dinner and freeze the leftovers for later. I have to admit, I do have a tasty French Bread Pizza with Romesco Sauce and Eggplant that you could try, but no obligation. Admittedly, I do almost always cook with leftovers in mind. I really try to make food that still tastes great to reheat later. It's also a great way to save money because who has $15-20 a day to eat out lunch?!
Easy Steps for Homemade Croutons:
- Three cups of bread cubes (French or Italian loaf works best)
- Olive oil
- Dried herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary - whatever you have)
- Salt
- Granulated garlic
Toss the above ingredients together in a big bowl, bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes and you have made delicious, fresh croutons!
Choose Your Favorite Dressing for this One
Once the salad ingredients are all in the bowl, you'll want to toss it in a vinaigrette of some kind. I don't think a creamy dressing will work for this one, so stick with something vinegar based. A simple balsamic vinaigrette will work, but if you have a little extra time, I did make a citrus vinaigrette for this one. I've put the recipe for that in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. And if it's CSA time for you and you've suddenly found yourself in possession of some garlic scapes, I've got you covered with my super tangy garlic scape vinaigrette.
My goal was to keep this salad as easy and breezy and light as I could. I liked the idea of a little pop of citrus. I wanted to make my blood orange vinaigrette for this, but I couldn't find blood oranges that week at the grocery store!
Print
Warm Zucchini Bean Salad with Croutons
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Got the perfect summer salad for you with this warm zucchini bean salad with croutons. Enjoy as a side or a meal. So yum!
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis
- 1 can of cannellini beans, drain and rinse (15.5 ounces)
- 10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- ¼ cup basil, sliced in ribbons
- ¼ cup scallions, chopped
- 1 cup of homemade croutons or store-bought (you won’t use them all for this)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, to cook zucchini
For the citrus vinaigrette (optional, use this or your favorite vinaigrette)
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, more if you want
- ¾ teaspoon dried or fresh rosemary (or thyme if you prefer)
- Splash of champagne vinegar or white vinegar, more if you want
- Salt and pepper to taste
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! 🙂
Instructions
- If you’re making the citrus vinaigrette, make that first. You can make this a day ahead of time too. Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a mason jar, put the lid on and shake to mix. Adjust any seasonings to your preferences. Fresh rosemary/herbs do taster better, but I didn’t have any on hand so used dried. I also have a balsamic vinaigrette, garlic scape vinaigrette or blood orange vinaigrette that would work here too.
- Same with the homemade croutons. You can make those the same day or a day ahead. Or just use your favorite store-bought brand. But croutons are so easy to make. (!!) 😊
- Cut the ends from the zucchinis. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, the cut into half-moons about ¾ to 1” in thickness. Set aside in pan.
- Chop scallion (green and white parts too) and put in a small dish or ramekin.
- Stack 10 large basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar and slice them into thin ribbons. Repeat this until you have a ¼ cup of basil. Use the rest of the basil to make this awesome pistachio pesto.
- Drain and wash the cannellini beans.
- Add olive oil to a pan with the zucchini and cook on medium-to-high heat. Stir the zucchini to coat with the olive oil. Stir a few times. Should take 5 minutes or so for al dente. You don’t want to overcook it. Mushy zucchini does not work for this recipe.
- When the zucchini is almost done, add the WASHED cannellini beans to the pan. Add some salt and pepper here. Cook for a minute or two stirring the beans with the zucchini. Then turn off heat and remove pan from the burner.
- While the zucchini is cooling a bit, cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
- Add the zucchini and beans to a large bowl, add the cherry tomatoes, half the scallions (I save some to serve on the side), one cup of homemade or store-bought croutons, fresh basil, 3-4 tablespoons of your favorite vinaigrette. Mix to combine and serve. You can serve this warm or cold. Enjoy!
Leave a Comment