Zucchini Salad with Burrata

This Zucchini Salad makes the most of one of summer’s most abundant veggies. When you pair thinly sliced zucchini with creamy burrata cheese, add a dash of fresh herbs and a sweet and tangy dressing, you end up with a delicious low-carb salad that offers a healthy dose of protein, a key nutrient that supports healthy bones and muscles. And one more perk of this summer side dish: it takes only 15 minutes from start to finish. Find our best tips and tricks for making this easy recipe below so you can easily enjoy this iconic summer salad.

How to Make Zucchini Salad

1. Make the Dressing

This dressing is easy to make! You simply whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl until the oil and lemon juice have emulsified (combined completely without separating). If you are making the dressing ahead of time, save yourself some dishes and place the ingredients in a Mason jar instead and shake it until combined. You can store the dressing right in the jar until you’re ready to use it.

2. Peel the Zucchini

Long, thin strips of zucchini give this salad an eye-catching presentation. We love using a mandoline for recipes like these, as it makes quick work of the slicing, but you don’t need one to make this salad. A regular vegetable peeler, preferably a Y-shaped peeler, will work well too. No matter how you slice them, stop peeling when you get to the seedy center of the zucchini. The seeds are bitter and will make slicing difficult. Simply start peeling the zucchini from another side and stop when you hit the seeds again. Repeat until all that is left is the seedy center of the zucchini.

3. Add the Dressing

We add the dressing in two parts. First, we toss the zucchini ribbons with 2 tablespoons of the dressing to ensure that the zucchini gets evenly coated with a little bit of flavor. After we plate the salad, we drizzle it with the remaining dressing. This is the best way to maximize flavor without bogging the zucchini down with too much dressing at once. Plus it helps make the final presentation nice too.

4. Tear the Cheese

Since burrata cheese is very soft in the middle, we found that tearing by hand rather than cutting the cheese with a knife was the best way to break it into smaller bits without losing the creamy center. The pieces may look a little uneven, but that’s OK! Simply spread the pieces out over the salad and let the creamy bits of cheese mingle with the zucchini ribbons and fresh dill on top.

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!

• Look for large zucchinis—about 9 ounces each, but no bigger than that. Big zucchinis tend to have large seeds which are hard to avoid. Small or medium zucchinis will work well too. About 1½ pounds of any size is the perfect amount to make this salad.
• You can give this salad your own twist by swapping out all or some of the zucchini for yellow summer squash. Just be sure they are a moderate size and shape for easy peeling. Any tender, fresh herb works well here too. We love the combination of basil and dill, but cilantro, tarragon, parsley, chives and even mint will be delicious.
• Creamy bits of burrata cheese make this salad feel special, but fresh mozzarella will work well too. You can cut it into smaller pieces, or use mozzarella pearls instead.

Nutrition Notes

• Zucchini is a low-calorie, low-carb vegetable and offers some amazing health benefits. Zucchini is rich in healthy compounds called carotenoids, which can help protect your skin from harmful UV rays, lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and help you maintain stronger, denser bones.
• Burrata cheese is loaded with calcium. Calcium is a mineral that helps keep your muscles, nerves and cells in tip-top shape. It also helps strengthen and maintain your bones and teeth, and can help reduce your risk of osteoporosis.
• Extra-virgin olive oil in the dressing is rich in oleic acid, which can help tame inflammation. It also contains a compound called elenolide, which can help prevent high blood pressure.