Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites
Zucchini ribbons are grilled and rolled with a delicious artichoke pesto for a creative and delicious summer appetizer!
It’s easy to get creative with cookies, cakes, and other baked goodies, isn’t it?
Take a chocolate cake for instance.
It can be layered with vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, lemon filling, raspberry filling, peanut butter frosting, whipped meringue, chocolate ganache, and on and on.
But how about getting creative with healthy things?
It’s so easy to get in a rut with vegetables.
You pick up a zucchini and you stare…what do I do with this?
Because chances are, you’ve already sauteed it, steamed it, and grilled it.
These preparations get old.
Let’s do something a little more fun with zucchini today.
Toss some artichoke hearts, a handful of fresh parsley, walnuts, lemon zest and juice, and garlic into a food processor:
Pulse, pulse, pulse.
Stream in some olive oil, and stir in parmigiano reggiano, and you’ll end up with a bowl of this:
Grill up some thin slices of zucchini, and spread each zucchini ribbon with a spoonful of the artichoke pesto:
Roll it up, nice and tight:
And that’s it! Ready to serve. Easy peasy and a totally delicious celebration of summer veggies.
Also check out my Ultimate Guide to Zucchini! It covers how to store zucchini, how to pick a good one at the grocery, and 60+ recipe ideas using zucchini.
Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites
Ingredients
- 2 lbs zucchini about 2-3 large zucchini
- 9 oz package frozen artichoke hearts thawed and squeezed of excess water
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- the leaves of half a bunch of parsley about a cup
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 oz parmigiano reggiano grated (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Cut the stem off the zucchinis, then use a mandolin to slice them into long thin ribbons. They should be about 1/8 inch thick, if they’re too thin they won’t stand up on the own, but if they’re too thick, they won’t be flexible enough to roll. Give each one a little sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the grill to high, and do a quick sear of the zucchini. Since they are really thin, they should only be on the grill for about 30-60 seconds, just enough to take the raw edge off and give them some pretty little grill marks. Remove the grilled zucchini ribbons to a plate.
- In a food processor, throw in the artichoke hearts, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, walnuts, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Let the food processor run for a good 20 seconds, until everything is chopped up, and be sure to stop and scrape down the sides from time to time. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil. Scrape the pesto out into a bowl, and stir in the grated parmesan. Taste it to check for proper seasoning.
- Place a spoonful of artichoke pesto into each zucchini ribbon, and roll it up into a little roll. The artichoke pesto is sticky so it should stick together well. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
269 Comments on “Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites”
This recipe sounds delicious and the end result is so beautiful! I would have made these last year for my sister’s July wedding had I known about them. My favorite summer veggie is fresh, raw yellow corn – to me it’s so much sweeter when uncooked. I love it in a salad with tomatoes and onion <3
Wow cool, I will have to try this raw corn!
You have definitely found a way to get creative with veggies! Love these!
This is such a great idea!! I always have an abundance of zucchini and pesto rocks!
These roll-ups are absolutely stunning! I love how thinly sliced the zucchini is. These will be perfect for a summer barbecue!
OMG thank God these are on your homepage slideshow, because apparently, I missed this post last year. These are so creative and sound amazing!! Bookmarking for sure. x
Favorite fruit or fruits I should say would probably be berries and pineapple. The pineapple I love to grill on the BBQ. I have several berry bushes and love to just pick and eat. Your zucchini recipe looks fabulous. Going to a party and making it to bring. Thanks so much.
Awesome Georgia, hope you have fun at the party!
I know this recipe was posted long ago but I’ve only just now stumbled upon it. I’m dying to make it but have a nut allergy. Does anyone know if it’s possible to make this without the walnuts?
Absolutely! The texture/flavor will be slightly different, but not drastically.
Joanne you’re amazing! Thank you so much for the response and all the wonderful ideas you share!
I love fresh tomatoes….let me count the ways
1. Wash tomatoes and take a big bite!
2. Bruschetta
3. Fresh salsa
4. Fresh marinara sauce
Thanks for this recipe!! It was so yummy. And simple. I used creamy goat cheese in place of parm. I ate almost the whole thing for lunch. Tart and filling. Yum. Thank you!
My favorite summer fruit is cantelope…You can do so much with it…smoothies, fruit salad, and just fresh cut! YUM!
My favorite summer fruit is pineapple, cut into planks, grilled and finished with a squirt of fresh lime juice.
Tomatoes and peaches. My favorite way to eat peaches is fresh with the juice dribbling down your arms and chin. My favorite way to prepare tomatoes (besides tomato sauce, salsa, and slow roasted) is to dice them up with garlic, fresh basil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper and put that over pasta. Oh, this is making me long for more summer fruits and veggies!
Oh my gosh this looks great! I will try this soon. It will probably be added to the menu of my Health & Fitness Vacation I am hosting this Nov. in St. Augustine! It looks like a perfect afternoon beach snack! Check it out on my blog! Spots are still open 🙂
Thanks Ashley! Sadly I won’t be living in Jacksonville anymore by November, but I hope your event goes well!!!
Fresh crisp garden cucumbers……..peeled, sliced in edible size pieces, add very thinly sliced purple onions. Then in separate bowl: mix sour cream, splash apple cider vinegar, sugar to taste, and….fresh dill to taste. Mix well and add to cucumbers with onions. Yummmmmmmmmm………..very summery indeed.
Fresh red peppers, sliced in half lengthwise and cleaned, stuffed with crushed tomatoes, sour cream, and anchovies, spices of your choice (but crashed red pepper among them), baked in a 300F oven for 10/15 minutes.
Fresh Jersey tomatoes sliced thick with mozarella, fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil & rock salt. Preferrably eaten overlooking the beach at sunset.
My favorite is Jersey tomatoes sliced thick with fresh mozarella, fresh basil, a drizzle of olive oil & rock salt. Preferrable eaten overlooking the ocean at sunset.