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Home » Recipes » Side Dish

Julia Child's Sautéed Shredded Zucchini Recipe

Published: May 25, 2017 · Updated: Mar 21, 2025 · By Lisa Goldfinger · 12 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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sautéed shredded zucchini in a blue bowl with basil leaves to garnish

Julia Child's Sautéed Shredded Zucchini. A simple, 10 minute side dish recipe that goes well with everything and tastes great! 

Blue bowl filled with shredded zucchini and a garnish of parmesan and basil, on a cutting board with chopped shallots and basil leaves

Julia Child's genius runs the gamut from the most intricate recipes, like Boeuf Bourguignon or duck in pastry crust, to this simple two-ingredient toss in the pan. My oldest Julia Child cookbook The Way To Cook has a whole section devoted to shredded zucchini. I've tried a few of the recipes. They're all delicious of course - it's Julia.

But this shredded zucchini recipe is my favorite because it's so simple; it brings out the natural goodness of fresh zucchini; and it proves that you don't need to get complicated or fancy to make something great.

How to Make Julia Child's Sautéed Shredded Zucchini Recipe

Wash and trim the ends off of four medium zucchinis. Grate them using the shredding blade of your food processor or the large holes on a box grater.

Toss the zucchini with some salt and let it steep for a couple of minutes and then squeeze it with a clean dish towel to extract most of the excess liquid. This gives the dish a crisp-tender consistency. I've tried this recipe without salting and draining. It's still delicious but the consistency is softer and there's some liquid in the pan at the end. If you go that route I suggest using a slotted spoon for serving, so you leave the excess liquid behind.

overhead view of food processor filled with freshly shredded zucchini

When you make this recipe, you'll taste the most meltingly tender zucchini with its naturally sweet buttery flavor. It tastes like summer - fresh and delicious.

Side by side shots of a cast iron skillet filled with shredded zucchini before and after sautéeomg

Sautéed shredded zucchini is delicious with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Or add fresh herbs - mint or basil - and grate in some good quality parmesan cheese.

cutting board with mint leaves, a hunk of parmesan, a cheese grater and a blue bowl filled with sautéed shredded zucchini.

Sautéed shredded zucchini goes with everything - chicken, fish, steak... It's a great side dish any time of year, but it's especially good in the summer, when zucchini is in season. 

Other Summery Recipes to Try:

  • Italian Zucchini Egg Drop Soup
  • Sautéed Corn with Scallions
close up of a blue bowl filled with sautéed shredded zucchini, parmesan and mint leaves.

Here's Julia Child's sautéed shredded zucchini recipe. If you make this I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think! 

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Recipe

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Julia Child's Sautéed Shredded Zucchini Recipe

Julia Child's Sautéed Shredded Zucchini Recipe


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Lisa
  • Total Time: 10 mins
  • Yield: 4-5 1x
Print Recipe

Description

A delicious, quick and easy zucchini side dish that goes with practically everything.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds zucchini, washed, ends trimmed (4 medium zucchinis)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
  • ½ cup finely chopped shallot (2-3 shallots, depending on size)
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Optional Toppings:
  • Freshly grated imported parmesan cheese (I recommend Parmigiana Reggiano)
  • Fresh slivered basil leaves
  • Fresh slivered mint leaves

Instructions

  1. Grate the zucchini The quickest and easiest method is to use the grating attachment on your food processor. Or you can use the large holes in a box grater.
  2. Transfer the zucchini to colander. Toss with ½ teaspoon of salt. Leave for 2-3 minutes. Squeeze zucchini in a clean dish towel to draw out the excess liquid. You may have to do this in batches.
  3. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until hot. Add shallots and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add zucchini. Cook, tossing often, for 3-5 minutes, until zucchini is just tender. Season with pepper. Serve hot.
  4. Stir in a tablespoon or two of fresh herbs, if you like.
  5. Top with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan, if you like.
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Entertaining, Europe, Lunch and Brunch, Quick and Easy, Side Dish, vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Rick

    August 31, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    Big fan, I’m in the olive oil camp. No cheese. Great with dill at the last minute, but then again, what isn’t?

    Reply
  2. David E.

    March 11, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    Lovely recipe. I recall once seeing Julia use a potato ricer to squeeze out the excess water after salting it. It works for me. If you want extra richness without the parmesan flavor (if you were serving this beside a delicate seafood, say), a dash of cream or even half-and-half would not go unappreciated.

    Reply
  3. Margaret

    January 14, 2022 at 2:31 pm

    My husband who doesn't like courgettes thought the grated ones were very good.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      January 19, 2022 at 1:06 pm

      So great to hear. You've gotta hand it to Julia Child - she knows how to make everything taste great!

      Reply
  4. Jude Ann

    June 15, 2021 at 9:52 am

    This was a super delicious easy peasy recipe to make. Easy to follow directions too. . Leave it to Julia Child to come up with something so refreshing! I made it with one shallot, some home grown basil and extra Parmesan. My husband and I could hardly stop eating it! Thanks for taking this out of her cookbook!

    Reply
  5. Heather

    August 09, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    I'd give it 5 stars because I lov d it, but the rest of my family was not impressed..

    Reply
  6. Lenise Lee-Streeter

    May 24, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    I love this Zucchini recipe ; it was so easy to make and extremely delicious!!!! Julia is a genius ????

    Reply
  7. Melina Lapierre

    December 30, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    I was looking for this recipe! I adore Julia Child and my Mémère used to make her zucchini recipe. So delightful.

    Reply
  8. Pam Smith

    March 23, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    I love zucchini! I never tasted ANYTHING like this shredded dish! So buttery (with no butter!) and SO easy! This is a KEEPER! Thank you for sharing Julia’s genius. Thank you for sharing Julia’s genius!

    Reply
  9. Alex

    September 16, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    Thank you for recipe. My sons liked it (2 helpings) and they are definitely not zucchini fans. I used a regular onion as I didn't have any shallots.

    Reply
  10. Jen

    May 28, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    Beautiful!! I am going to make this today and bring to a BBQ. Thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      May 29, 2017 at 10:21 am

      Great Jen - I hope you enjoy!

      Reply

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