Yellow Zucchini Salad with Crispy Quinoa, Feta & Dill
TL;DR: Yes! Small, fresh zucchini are absolutely delicious eaten raw. In fact, young yellow zucchini are sweet, crisp, and perfect for salads. This Yellow Zucchini Salad with Crispy Quinoa, Feta & Dill celebrates summer produce with a bright lemon dressing and one simple chef’s trick that adds incredible crunch.
Sometimes the hardest part of shopping at a farmers’ market is deciding what not to cook.
Last weekend we spotted a basket of the most beautiful little yellow zucchini. They were firm, almost glossy, and so fresh it felt like a shame to throw them on the grill. Instead, we brought them home and built this salad around them. Crisp raw zucchini, creamy feta, plenty of fresh dill, and our newest obsession, crispy quinoa. It’s one of those recipes that reminds you good summer cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes the ingredients have already done all the hard work.
As chefs, our instinct is often to roast, grill, or sauté zucchini. It’s one of the most versatile vegetables of the summer. But when zucchini are picked young, they’re naturally sweet with a delicate crunch that deserves to be celebrated instead of cooked away.
If you’ve never tried raw zucchini before, this is the recipe to start with.
Can You Eat Zucchini Raw?
Absolutely. In fact, young zucchini are one of the best vegetables to enjoy raw.
Raw zucchini have a mild, fresh flavour that’s somewhere between cucumber and summer squash. They’re juicy without being watery and pair beautifully with bright herbs, citrus, creamy cheeses, and good olive oil.
Yellow zucchini are especially well suited to salads because they tend to be slightly firmer than their green counterparts. Their flesh stays crisp, they’re often less seedy, and their sunny colour makes any salad feel like summer.
The key is choosing small zucchini. Smaller vegetables have thinner skins, fewer seeds, and a much more delicate texture.
Why This Salad Works
This salad is all about contrast.
The zucchini stay crisp and refreshing while the quick-pickled red onion adds brightness without overwhelming the salad.
Fresh dill brings a light, almost grassy freshness that feels right at home beside summer vegetables.
Creamy feta adds little salty bites throughout.
Then comes the Crispy quinoa.
If you’ve never toasted cooked quinoa before, you’re in for a treat. A few minutes in a skillet transforms soft quinoa into little golden nuggets with a nutty crunch. It gives this salad texture without relying on croutons or nuts and makes the dish substantial enough for lunch. It’s a fun chef technique that you’ll use in many dishes!
Whenever possible, we love adding in a toasted nut or seed to a salad, and so happen to have pumpkin seeds on hand. Chopped up, this was a delicious add on.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 medium red onion, diced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon, or 2 tbsp (30 mL) white wine vinegar
- 1 cup (185 g) cooked quinoa
- 1 tbsp (30 mL) grapeseed oil (or other neutral high heat oil)
- 2 to 3 small yellow zucchini (about 500 g), diced into 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces
- 1/2 cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese or soft goat cheese
- 1/4 cup (10 g) chopped fresh dill
- 2 tbsp (45 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp (5 mL) honey (optional)
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: 2 tbsp. of chopped toasted pumpkin seeds or almonds.
Instructions
- Place the diced red onion in a small bowl with the lemon juice or vinegar. Let stand for about 10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- Heat the grapeseed oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the cooked quinoa and cook for 6-7 minutes, undisturbed, to form a nice crust. Then stir, and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes until golden & crisp. Simply let cool in the pan until you’re ready to bring it all together.
- Dice the zucchini into bite-sized pieces and place them in a large serving bowl. How we do this: we cut the zucchini into three long ‘planks’. Then each plank into 3 ‘batons’. Remove the two seedy center batons. Now cut the remaining into a dice.
- Into the onions & lemon juice, whisk in the olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
- Fold in the zucchini along with the feta cheese & chopped dill.
- Fold in the crispy quinoa, and toasted nuts or seeds, if using.
- Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Notes
Jody & Kirstie’s Hot Tips
- Buy the smallest zucchini you can find. Young zucchini have the sweetest flavour and the best texture.
- Make extra crispy quinoa while you’re at it. It’s fantastic sprinkled over soups, grain bowls, roasted vegetables, and salads all week.
- Don’t overdress this salad. The zucchini are delicate and only need a light coating.
- Add the feta just before serving so it keeps its creamy texture.
- Use this salad as part of another salad! We tossed this salad with some baby spinach, some shredded chicken and dressed it with our Buttermilk Dressing. Delicious!
Should You Salt Raw Zucchini?
For this recipe, we don’t.
Salting vegetables can draw out excess moisture, which is helpful in recipes like zucchini fritters or grilled zucchini.
Here, we’re serving the salad immediately, so we want the zucchini to stay crisp and juicy. Salting first would soften the texture and dilute the dressing.
If you’re making the salad several hours ahead, simply keep the dressing separate and toss everything together just before serving.
Substitutions
One of the reasons we love this salad is how adaptable it is.
- Swap the feta for creamy goat cheese.
- Use fresh basil or mint instead of dill.
- Slice the zucchini into ribbons with a vegetable peeler for a more elegant presentation.
- Add toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds for even more crunch.
- Stir in chickpeas or grilled chicken to turn it into a complete meal.
- Green zucchini work perfectly too, although we still recommend choosing the smallest ones available.
Storage
This salad is at its best the day it’s made.
If you have leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to two days. The zucchini will soften slightly, but the flavours remain delicious.
For meal prep, prepare all of the components separately and assemble just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is raw zucchini safe to eat?
Yes. Fresh zucchini can be enjoyed raw and are commonly added to salads, slaws, and vegetable platters.
Does yellow zucchini taste different from green zucchini?
Slightly. Yellow zucchini are often a little sweeter and firmer, making them an excellent choice for raw salads.
Can I make this salad ahead of time?
Yes. Prepare the vegetables, dressing, and crispy quinoa separately, then combine everything just before serving.
What goes well with this salad?
It’s perfect alongside grilled chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, lamb, burgers, or simply with warm crusty bread for a light summer lunch.
Key Takeaways
- Small zucchini are the best choice for eating raw.
- Yellow zucchini are naturally firm, sweet, and ideal for salads.
- Crispy quinoa adds texture and turns this into a satisfying meal.
- Fresh dill, lemon, and feta keep the flavours bright and simple.
- The best summer recipes let beautiful ingredients speak for themselves.
Learn the Techniques Behind Simple Summer Cooking
One of our favourite things to teach is that great cooking isn’t about adding more ingredients. It’s about knowing when to leave them alone. Sometimes the best recipe is simply choosing beautiful produce, treating it with care, and adding just enough technique to let it shine. That’s exactly what we love sharing in our live online cooking classes and on-demand cooking library.
About the Authors
Jody O’Malley and Kirstie Herbstreit are the Red Seal certified chef co-owners of The Culinary Studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Jody is a Stratford Chefs School graduate (2002) and Kirstie trained at SAIT in Calgary (2003). Together, they bring over 20 years of professional cooking experience and more than 15 years teaching home cooks across Canada. They believe great cooking starts with understanding the “why” behind every technique and co-host the Chef Over Your Shoulder podcast alongside Amy Schlueter.
Jody O’Malley and Kirstie Herbstreit are the Red Seal certified chef co-owners of The Culinary Studio in Waterloo, Ontario. Jody is a Stratford Chefs School graduate (2002) and Kirstie trained at SAIT in Calgary (2003). Together, they bring over 20 years of professional cooking experience and more than 15 years teaching home cooks across Canada. They believe great cooking starts with understanding the “why” behind every technique and co-host the Chef Over Your Shoulder podcast alongside Amy Schlueter.