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Last Updated on May 9, 2021 by Jess
It’s Summer Time…
I love summer. I know, everyone loves summer, right? Sure, I dig the sunshine, time at the beach, and the longer days. But summer means it’s gardening season, and this girl loves some dirt under her nails and having fresh, homegrown produce straight from the garden. It brings me such immense joy to fill my family’s bellies with good for you food that is full of flavor.
Right now, it is hitting zucchini harvest time. If you’ve ever had a garden or know someone with a garden, you know that zucchinis typically grow like crazy. You think you need 4 plants, and then you are trying to give zucchinis to every stranger because you can’t keep up! Sure you can bake bread, cake, you name it. Zoodling is popular too. But I wanted something simple as a side that would take 10-15 minutes to put together. Zucchini Margherita Pizza Bites were born. From the first bite, I was in love.
From the Garden
It’s my absolute favorite when all the ingredients in a recipe come from things we have grown, harvested, or hunted. This comes darn close (If only I had a cow to make cheese! That sounds like a joke, and it mostly is….but seriously, how cool would that be?).
What I love in these Zucchini Margherita Pizza Bites is the limited ingredients while still being full of flavor. I dig a recipe that everything is on hand, and if you grow herbs and you’re like me, this will be right up your alley. Ready to go? Head out to the garden (or store or farmer’s market), pick up a few tomatoes, a zucchini, and some fresh basil and let’s create!
Note: You’ll want to have a pan that can go from stove top to oven. I ADORE my cast iron pan by Lodge. It gets used multiple times a week for anything from corn bread to chicken breasts and venison to seared vegetables. If you have never cooked with cast iron, I can not recommend it enough.
Your Ingredients (3-4 servings)
- 1 medium sized zucchini
- ¾ cup diced roma tomatoes (you want a meatier tomato)
- 6-10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (thinly sliced)
- ⅓-½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- garlic salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
Your Steps
Preheat oven broiler to 500 degrees. (In addition to adoring cast iron, I really dig the broiler. It allows you to heat-crispy vegetables and give them that little char. It’s highly underrated, in my opinion).
Begin preheating oven safe sauce pan or cast iron pan with olive oil over medium-high to high heat.
Meanwhile, slice zucchini in thicker slices, ½ inch or so. Sprinkle both sides of zucchini with garlic salt and pepper, to taste. Once cast iron pan and oil is hot, place zucchini in pan. You want it to sizzle as you place them. If it doesn’t, the oil isn’t hot enough. Sear zucchini for 90 seconds. Flip and top with diced tomatoes, sliced basil, and mozzarella, in that order. Once topped, place pan under the broiler for 1-3 minutes, until cheese is melty and slightly browned. Watch it closely. The broiler is amazing, but food can go from just under cooked to burned in what seems like seconds.
Serve these zucchini margherita pizza bites as a side or as a snack. We eat ours with some grilled chicken, a salad (I love ALL the vegetables), and some slices of homemade sourdough bread. Yum!
Three simple ingredients. Season it up. Top with tomatoes… ..and basil. Finally, the cheese! Get on that plate and in my belly!
Looking for other recipes? Check out the pages below!
Tool of the Trade
My husband and I both love love love our cast iron pan. In fact, it is used so often in our home that we just leave it on the stove top. It’s great for searing all sorts of meat. However, it has so many other uses. Completing a quick Pinterest search will result in all sorts of cast iron desserts, homemade breads, etc. Holy yum. I can’t recommend it enough. If you have never invested, make the jump. It’s worth every penny. This is guy we use multiple times a week.
Zucchini Margherita Pizza Bites
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pan or other stove to oven safe pan
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized zucchini
- ¾ cup diced roma tomatoes you want a meatier tomato
- 6-10 fresh basil leaves chiffonade (thinly sliced)
- ⅓-½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven broiler to 500 degrees.
- Begin preheating oven safe sauce pan or cast iron pan with olive oil over medium-high to high heat.
- Meanwhile, slice zucchini in thicker slices, ½ inch or so.
- Sprinkle both sides of zucchini with garlic salt and pepper, to taste.
- Once cast iron pan and oil is hot, place zucchini in pan. You want it to sizzle as you place them. If it doesn’t, the oil isn’t hot enough.
- Sear zucchini for 90 seconds.
- Flip and top with diced tomatoes, sliced basil, and mozzarella, in that order.
- Once topped, place pan under the broiler for 1-3 minutes, until cheese is melty and slightly browned, watching closely.
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