Zucchini “Apple” Crisp

With well over a dozen 5-star reviews, this zucchini crisp truly tastes like your favorite apple crisp. Use up your garden-fresh zucchini and make this veggie-packed treat for a late-summer dessert everyone will love!

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So you have a few zucchini lying around, and you’re not sure how to use them. I have just the recipe for you…zucchini crisp! This unique and delicious treat is the perfect way to use up your veggies, and it’s kid-approved. What better testament is there to a veggie-filled dessert?

Zucchini is sort of like tofu and eggplant. It can stand alone and be great, or you can do a bunch of sneaky cooking things to it and transform it into something else. With a little bit of sensory science magic, we’ll turn the humble zucchini into your favorite apple (zucchini) crisp.

here’s what you’ll need

To turn our zucchini into an apple-tasting dessert, we’ll be using everything you’d find in a traditional apple crisp. It’s an interesting combo, and it works! 

• Zucchini: This recipe requires a lot of zucchini, about 6 cups. Look for medium-sized zucchini that’s about 7-8″ long. 
• Sugars: To sweeten this dessert, we’re using both white sugar and brown sugar.
• Lemon Juice: To add a tangy zest, include ⅓ cup of lemon juice.
• Dry Ingredients: All-purpose flour and rolled oats form the base for our crumble topping. A bit of salt helps amplify the sweet flavors.
• Cinnamon: This helps to trick your brain into thinking that the zucchini is an apple since cinnamon is so synonymous with apples.
• Butter: Use butter to bind together the crumble topping. Make sure it’s cold and cubed.

Go Vegan

To make this crisp vegan, you only need to use vegan butter. Everything else is already vegan-friendly!

making it is simple

The most important part of this zucchini mock apple crisp is cooking the zucchini pieces with sugar for a delicious, sweet flavor.

Step 1: Cook the Zucchini
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (176ºC). Peel and chop the zucchini into bite-sized pieces. In an uncovered saucepan, bring the zucchini, sugar, and lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the zucchini for about 15 to 20 minutes until it becomes soft and tastes sweet.

Step 2: Create the Crumble
Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add cubes of cold butter to the flour mixture and blend with your hands until everything is evenly distributed. The dough will be very crumbly. Sprinkle it over the zucchini mixture. 

Step 3: Bake
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the juices are bubbly and the top is golden brown.

Make It ahead

You can, but zucchini has such a high moisture content that I’d recommend only making it 1 day in advance. Keep the crisp topping separate and top right before baking.

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Zucchini Dessert Crisp Recipe (Mock Apple Crisp)

4.94 from 29 ratings

By: Sarah Bond

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 1 hour hour

Total: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

With well over a dozen 5-star reviews, you can be sure that this zucchini crisp truly tastes like your favorite apple crisp. Use up your garden-fresh zucchini and make this delectable dessert with fall flavors like brown sugar and cinnamon! It's a healthy late-summer dessert everyone will love.

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 cups zucchini, about 5 medium zucchinis
• ▢ ½ cup sugar, 100 g
• ▢ ⅓ cup lemon juice, 80 mL
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour, 120 g
• ▢ 1 cup rolled oats, 100 g
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar, 100 g
• ▢ 1 tsp cinnamon
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ½ cup butter, 1 stick, can use vegan variety, cold and cubed

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Instructions 

• Zucchini: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Peel and chop zucchini into bite-sized pieces. In an uncovered saucepan, bring zucchini, sugar, and lemon juice to a simmer over medium heat. Cook about 15 to 20 minutes, until zucchini is soft and tastes sweet. Transfer zucchini and liquid to a 9×13 inch (or similarly sized) baking dish.
  
• Crust: Mix flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add cubes of cold butter to flour mixture and blend with hands until evenly distributed. Dough will be very crumbly. Sprinkle over the zucchini mixture.
  
• Bake: For 30 to 45 minutes, or until juices are bubbly and the top is golden brown.
  

Notes

Storage: Leftover crisp can be stored for up to 4 days in the fridge covered or in an air-tight container. You can also freeze the baked version for up to 3 months. Reheat it in the oven from frozen. Just be sure to cover it with foil to prevent burning.

Can you make this in advance?
You can, but zucchini has such a high moisture content that I’d recommend only making it 1 day in advance. Keep the crisp topping separate and top right before baking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.7g | Protein: 14.7g | Fat: 12.6g | Saturated Fat: 7.6g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 249mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 32.6g | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.

did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!