I know, right? Why would anyone want to know how to dehydrate zucchini. But seriously, what if the world comes to an end? At least you’ll have something to bring to the stone soup party. š
I love gardening, and I love preserving food {canning, freezing, dehydrating} so when I sat down to plan our garden for this year, I started with the idea of growing as many things as possible.
Partly because I knew we loved eating fresh vegetables right out of the garden and partly because I knew that if we had an abundance of vegetables, weād be able to can, freeze or dehydrate them for use during the long winter months.
Being able to grab a jar of home canned salsa or jam from the pantry shelf is pretty awesome, but having all the vegetables you need on hand during a snowstorm or a busy weeknight is pretty nice too.
And thatās where dehydrating zucchini comes into play.
Now I know dehydrating zucchini might seem a little extreme, like the only way youād ever consider going to the trouble of dehydrating zucchini is if there was an impending zombie apocalypse and you were desperately looking around for somethingā¦ ANYTHING to scavenge before locking yourself up in the house before the invasion.
But then days went by and while you could hear the zombies rustling around in the woods, you couldnāt yet see them and well, there was all this zucchini sitting on your countertop and you needed to do something with all of it, and quickly.
Or, it could just be that youāre like me and really donāt like to see food go to waste and you know that there is a real value in dehydrated vegetables {especially if youāre someone who doesnāt like to leave the house much during the holiday season/winter months}.
And if thatās the case, well then itās time to dust off your food dehydrator and get a move on because zucchini season is here! If you donāt start dehydrating now, youāll be having to trek out to the stores come winter and pay a pretty penny for it.
And trust me, nobody wants to do that. š
If youāve never dehydrated zucchini before, it couldnāt be easier. Hereās how I do it:
Wash zucchini. Cut off both ends of the zucchini. Slice zucchini into 1/8th inch slices {if your zucchinis are huge cut them into quarters first and scoop out the mushy/seedy centers and toss that part onto your compost pile}.
Place zucchini slices {or quarters} onto dehydrator trays. Set your dehydrator to 135 degrees and dehydrate for about 6 hours. {I own a Cosori Food Dehydrator.}
At that point, check to see if your zucchini is nice and dry {not quite potato chip dry but close}. Every food dehydrator is a little different, so you may need to adjust your dehydrating time accordingly.
Once your zucchini has been totally dehydrated, place the zucchini in an airtight container along with a food safe desiccant packet and store in a cool dry place.
Look at all that zucchini!
So far this year Iāve dehydrated:
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Green Onions
- Chives
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Tomatoes
Yee-Haw! I donāt know about you, but Iām already looking forward to this winter, and all the soups and other homemade meals weāll be able to enjoy without having to run to the store for vegetables.
Save yourself some money! Grow it and preserve it while you can. Sweater weather will be here before you know it.
Keep calm and preserve on,
~Mavis
If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can always freeze your extra zuchhini too! Find my How to Freeze Zucchini Tutorial HERE.
Elle says
and don’t forget to save that zucchini “juice” in the fridge or freezer for the next pot of soup or stew!
I got squash bugs this weekend. The life of my 9 plants is over. I’ve only harvested 19 pounds š
Deb K says
I love the big jars your dehydrated produce is in. Are they gallon jars? Thanks.
Mavis Butterfield says
They are Weck Brrel Jars. 3 liters. https://weckjars.com/product/776-barrel-jar-3l-set-of-1/
deb k says
Thanks
Louise says
You can also dehydrate zucchini, pulse it into a flour, & use it in place of 1/3 cup of flour in baking. Just sift it to make sure itās a flour consistency.
You can also make, & can, mock āzucchini pineappleā. It sounds gross, but itās actually pretty good. If you donāt tell the kids, theyāll never guess.
Louise says
I forgot to add that the āzucchini pineappleā tastes better in baked goods. Itās just okay by itself.
Pam T says
What do you do with all that dried zucchini? Itās so bland. I could see freezing it for breads etc, but am lost on how to use dried zucchini.
Christy says
What do u make with dehydrated zucchinni?
LindaT says
I have always frozen our zucchini in 2 cup batches for winter zucchini bread. Itās exactly the amount my recipe calls for. I guess I never thought about putting it into my dehydrator. Thanks, Mavis!
BT W is there any news about Mel?
Patti Parnell Hall says
We froze a ton of zucchini (our season is over) but I should have done some of this as our freezer is so full. I am going to try that next year! I am canning blueberry/lime jam as I type – it is a different recipe than yours I think. The blueberry farm where we go is still going strong – he usually closes at the end of July but he says he will go until mid-August and he was practically giving the berries away! We could pick so fast it was unreal but it got too hot to stay. So it pays to call some of your farms at the end of the season and see what they have available!!
Susan says
I truly LOVE all the dehydrated goodies! I do a LOT !! I am always happy to have it all in
the winter for soups and stews
Another way I dehydrate zucchini is to cut it in thin rounds- put a minimal amount of
olive oil on it- lay on dehydrator “shelves”- and sprinkle tops with Everything Bagels
Seasoning – dry