Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

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Baked stuffed zucchini flowers with a creamy ricotta filling are classy, stylish, and sophisticated. If you’ve never tried zucchini blossoms before, you have to try this recipe! It’s simple but elegant, and is a classic Italian dish. Great as an appetizer or side, stuffed squash blossoms are family-friendly and a total crowd-pleaser!

Board a plane venture to Italy! It’s no secret that I love Italian food. Give me ALL of the Italian dishes! Yum! My family really enjoys it too, which is always a good thing in my book.

The only problem with traditional Italian food is that it’s pretty carb heavy. But, I know that with a little bit of adjusting, I can create Italian foods that are much healthier and equally tasty, just like these Italian stuffed zucchini flowers. This is one of my favorite recipes!

The first time I made these stuffed zucchini blossoms, I was surprised at how easy they were. Your family and friends will be amazed when they see these zucchini flowers on your dining table, since they literally look and taste like they were made in a fancy Italian restaurant. 

My stuffed zucchini flowers recipe replaces deep frying in hot oil with baking — which makes this recipe a great way to enjoy these delicate flowers totally guilt-free! There’s no fried batter, which means you can more easily see the beautiful yellow flower. This is definitely one of the healthiest recipes for stuffed zucchini flowers out there.

This baked zucchini blossom recipe is much healthier than fried zucchini flowers. Traditional fried zucchini blossoms use oil and flour but my lightened up version doesn’t!

If this is your first time working with squash blossoms, don’t worry. This easy zucchini flower recipe is very approachable.

You only need 30 minutes from start to finish and super fresh ingredients straight from the farmers market (or your local grocery store) to make this impressive yet simple recipe. These stuffed zucchini flowers with ricotta work well as a delicious appetizer for guests, or you can even serve it as a light dinner or lunch along with some crusty whole grain bread and a salad.

You’re going to love this recipe for zucchini blossoms so much that you might just have to plant lots of zucchini in your vegetable garden if you have one! This really is the best stuffed zucchini flower recipe ever!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why You’ll Love These Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

• Impressive Looking And Tasting: These beautiful, colorful baked zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta are the ultimate fancy appetizer or side dish. Delight your guests’ taste buds with these restaurant-style stuffed zucchini blossoms.
• Secretly Simple And Quick To Make: Don’t let that fancy appearance fool you, this recipe for stuffed zucchini flowers is actually really easy, even if you aren’t super confident in the kitchen. Make this recipe in only 30 minutes from start to finish!
• Lightened Up: Traditional fried stuffed zucchini flowers are loaded with oil and unhealthy fats, often fried in an inch of vegetable oil or more! Your family will be able to enjoy multiple of these baked, healthy zucchini flowers and you won’t have to worry about them consuming unhealthy ingredients.
• Easily Customizable: Since we’re making the filling with ricotta which is mild and slightly nutty in flavor, it’s easy to customize the flavors by changing up the seasonings. Play around with the recipe if you feel comfortable experimenting. I always like to make a recipe as written once, then play with it in the future to find new combinations my family likes.

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🌼 What Are Zucchini Flowers?

Zucchini flowers, or fresh zucchini blossoms, are the edible flowers of the zucchini squash plant. They’re beautiful flowers, bright yellow, orange and green, and can be eaten raw or cooked. Fun fact: this dish would be called stuffed courgette flowers in the UK, Malaysia, South Africa, and New Zealand!

Where Can You Find Zucchini Flowers? 

You can typically find them at various farmers markets or your local grocery store) during the summer months, but you can also just pick them from your own garden if you have your own zucchini plant in the backyard. 

Should Male Or Female Flowers Be Picked?

Zucchini plants are classified as monoecious, which is a fancy way of saying they can produce separate male and female flowers on the same zucchini plant. 

The male blossoms are the first to grow, and can be identified by a tender, hairy, and long stem that attaches them to the zucchini.

Both the male flowers and female flowers can be picked and eaten, but the female blossoms are the only ones that will grow fruit, so it’s usually better to pick the male squash blossoms. If you tend to grow an abundance of zucchini, you can try the female zucchini flowers as well, which tend to be regarded as sweeter.

When Is The Best Time To Pick Zucchini Flowers? 

You can pick the male zucchini flowers from very young zucchini without affecting the growing zucchini fruit. Try picking zucchini blossoms in the early morning, as that’s when they tend to open.

🥘 Ingredients

Grab all of these delicious ingredients from your local grocery store (many farmers markets carry the fresh ingredients as well) and make this recipe for zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta for dinner tonight! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for nutritional information for these delicious flowers.

• Zucchini Flowers (Fresh Zucchini Blossoms): The star of this dish! Zucchini season (varies depending on your location) is the best time to find these blossoms in grocery stores and farmers markets. Be sure to wash the flowers gently in cold water and let them air dry (or gently dry with a paper towel) before using them.
• Fresh Ricotta Cheese: Rich and creamy ricotta cheese makes the perfect stuffing for zucchini flowers.
• Nutmeg, Salt, And Black Pepper: Helps to add flavor to the ricotta cheese filling.
• Basil And Extra Virgin Olive Oil: For our basil “pesto,” which pairs perfectly with the zucchini blossoms.
• Parmesan Cheese: Adds a sharp and tangy flavor which complements the ricotta in the filling.
• Cherry Tomatoes: A great garnish for these edible blossoms.
• Balsamic Syrup: As a garnish — it tastes great with the cherry tomatoes.
• Optional Lemon Zest: Brightens up the delicious ricotta filling even more.

🍲 Ingredient Substitutions

• Ricotta Cheese: Greek yogurt, mascarpone cheese (has a very slight sweet flavor), goat cheese, or small curd cottage cheese are great substitutes for ricotta cheese in our zucchini blossom filling.
• Parmesan Cheese: Pecorino cheese is a good choice if you don’t have Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano. You can also blitz up mozzarella cheese in the food processor in a pinch. Feta will work well if you want to make Greek stuffed zucchini flowers!
• Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes or sliced Campari tomatoes are also a nice choice. They are a garnish, so leave them off if you wish.
• Balsamic Syrup: AKA Balsamic glaze. If you can’t find this, you can mix a tablespoon of red wine vinegar with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey. You can also make your own balsamic syrup by reducing balsamic vinegar in a pan.

🔪 How To Make Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

This healthy stuffed zucchini flower recipe comes together in only 30 minutes with simple steps and minimal effort! Learn how to cook zucchini flowers without frying!

Prepare The Flowers

Wash The Flowers: Gently wash the delicate blossoms under cold running water, taking care not to damage the delicate flower petals. Allow the zucchini flowers to air dry or you can gently blot them dry with a clean paper towel.

Remove The Stem: Carefully de-stem, or remove the thin stem, from the fresh flowers. You can use a small knife to cut off the tender stem right at the base of the flower.

Prepare The Filling And Pesto

Make The Ricotta Mixture: Mix the ricotta with parmesan, a dash of salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. You may have small lumps in the batter which is fine.

Make The Basil Pesto: Put basil leaves in a blender with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside (This basil pesto will be used for plating).

Stuff The Zucchini Flowers

Stuff The First Flower: Using a pastry bag or piping bag, put the ricotta mixture (about 2-3 tablespoons) inside the center of the flower. You can also use a small spoon for this, but the pastry bag is better for getting the ricotta stuffing all the way down to the base of the flower.

Repeat: Repeat the process with the remaining blossoms.

Baking The Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Add To A Baking Dish: Place the stuffed zucchini flowers on a lined baking tray or dish. Allow for a little breathing room in between each stuffed flower.

Bake: Place the tray in the oven, preheated at 350 degrees F / 180 C for 2-3 minutes or until the squash blossoms are golden brown and the cheese has melted. This courgette flower recipe is not fried, but baking for a few minutes in the oven still achieves that slightly crispy caramelized texture on the outside of the blossoms!

Serve: Add 3 stuffed flowers to a plate. Serve with basil sauce, chopped cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic syrup. Buon appetito!

💭 Expert Tips

• Clean The Zucchini Flowers: Prepare the zucchini flowers by cleaning them before starting the recipe. 
• Remove The Stem And Stamen: The stamen is the long, thin piece in the center of the flower and can be a bit bitter. Remove that and the stem and discard before stuffing.
• Incorporate Fresh Herbs: Add chopped fresh herbs like oregano or thyme to the ricotta stuffing mixture for extra flavor.
• Don’t Overstuff The Zucchini Blossoms: Use a small spoon or pastry bag to gently add the filling inside of each delicate flower. Don’t overstuff them, 2-3 tablespoons is perfect to prevent them from bursting during the baking process.
• Makeshift Piping Bag: If you don’t have a piping bag but a spoon isn’t working for you, try adding the mixture to a zippered plastic bag and cutting off a small amount or small corner of the bag.
• Check Out The Video: More of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube video for this recipe, embedded right above the recipe card at the end of this article.

📖 Variations 

There are many delicious ways to enjoy stuffed zucchini flowers! The baked zucchini flowers recipe featured in this post is a classic, but here are a few ideas if you want to try something different:

• Greek Stuffed Zucchini Flowers: Use feta cheese and Greek seasonings (I recommend buying a Greek seasoning blend).
• Sun-Dried Tomato Baked Courgette Flowers: Finely chop drained sun-dried or homemade oven-dried tomatoes and fold into a ricotta or goat cheese mixture. 
• Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Zucchini Flowers: Fold finely chopped baby spinach and jarred artichoke hearts (drain these first) into the ricotta mixture. I’d add a splash of lemon juice, too.
• Baked Stuffed Courgette Flowers With Olives: Use sliced fancy olives like Castelvetrano (or whatever your favorites are!) in the ricotta mixture. Instead of serving with pesto, serve with an olive tapenade (the word tapenade is a Provençal word that refers to a spread or condiment, made popular in the region of Provence in the south of France).
• Fried Stuffed Zucchini Flowers: While baking the stuffed blossoms is my favorite way to make them, you might want to try making an equally simple fried zucchini blossom recipe at some point! Use a homemade light batter (combine flour and milk or similar), beer batter, or tempura batter with a beaten egg and some all purpose flour (to coat the stuffed zucchini flowers. Fry in a large pot (a heavy saucepan is best) or dutch oven over medium heat and use a slotted spoon to carefully remove them and set them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

Serve these baked zucchini blossoms as an appetizer, side, or light main dish! Some people serve these stuffed blossoms with marinara sauce (pasta sauce or tomato sauce), but I really love these as an appetizer before a larger meal. Here are a few of my favorite pairings:

• With Salad: I personally love pizza and salad for the perfect balance of comfort and freshness. Try stuffed zucchini flowers with this tomato avocado cucumber salad or this spinach and arugula salad! Yum!
• With Pasta: For the ultimate Italian meal, pair these baked squash blossoms with your favorite pasta! My favorite recipes for pasta are this vegan pasta primavera, hearty and healthy vegetable lasagna, or this vegetarian pesto pasta.

🙌 Dietary Adaptations

• Gluten-Free Option: This is a naturally gluten-free recipe. If you have a gluten-allergy, make sure your pre-packed items are certified gluten-free.
• Vegan Option: Make homemade vegan ricotta out of raw almonds or firm tofu and swap the parmesan cheese for vegan mozzarella cheese or vegan parmesan cheese, depending on what you can find at the grocery store.

🫙 Storage Directions

Here is how to store and keep these stuffed zucchini flowers:

• Refrigerating: Once baked, these ricotta stuffed zucchini blossoms won’t last long in the fridge. To store, let them cool to room temperature, then place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 1-2 days.
• Reheating: To reheat, place the stuffed flowers on a lined baking sheet and heat up in the oven or toaster oven.
• Making Ahead: It’s best to stuff the zucchini flowers right before baking them, but you can definitely prep the filling and pesto in advance to save time. Store these the filling, pesto, and flowers in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator up to 4 days in advance. For storing unstuffed zucchini blossoms – place them in an airtight container along with a damp paper towel until you’re ready to use them.

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🥒 More Zucchini Recipes!

• Courgette Frittata
• ​​Vegetarian Zucchini Lasagna
• Vegetarian Zucchini Pizza Boats
• Zucchini Flatbread with Fresh Corn
• Courgette Chips
• Healthy Black Bean Tostadas
• Vegan Bruschetta
• Tofu Skewers
• Vegan Zucchini Muffins
• Zucchini Baby Food Puree

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