This mock apple crisp is made with zucchini and tastes just like traditional apple crisp. It is one of the best desserts to bake if you have an abundance of garden-fresh zucchini.
Summertime is the perfect time to enjoy all of the delicious fruits and vegetables that are in season. One of my favorites is zucchini, which can be enjoyed in so many ways. It is the perfect swap for apples and really shines in this crisp dessert. It’s easy to prepare and tastes great with a scoop of ice cream.
Dessert that Uses Zucchini
If your garden is like ours, chances are its bursting at the seams with zucchini! While my kid are not fans of zucchini they will eat it unknowingly in baked goods. That is why I just had to try this zucchini dessert recipe. Could I trick my picky kids? Would this recipe from All Recipes really taste like Apple Crisp as many claimed? So I set out to bake up a batch of faux apple crisp using pantry staples, butter, and fresh zucchini.
And YES! After it was baked to a golden-brown perfection, it did taste almost identical to traditional apple crisp. My kids ate it all up and had no idea until I told them…then they cried, but hey it worked!
Zucchini Crisp Ingredients
Fresh ingredients:
- zucchini
- unsalted butter or margarine, softened
- lemon juice
Pantry staples:
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- all-purpose flour
- old fashioned oats
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
Do you need to peel the zucchini?
Peeling zucchini for crisp is a matter of preference. For us, there is nothing worse than biting into a baked good like this dessert only to taste bitter, plasticky peels. The peels curl up when baking and create an unpleasant texture, and possible choking hazard.
If your zucchini is large, you will also need to scoop out the seeds (an ice cream scoop works well) for a pleasant texture.
How to Make Zucchini Crisp
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients; toss to coat.
Transfer to a greased to greased baking dish.
In another large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over zucchini mixture.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
This crisp dessert has just the right amount of juice, with a yummy flavor! Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
More Zucchini Recipes
Are you swimming in zucchini too? I have been harvesting so many from my garden, that it’s been hard to keep up! Thankfully, there are lots of delicious recipes that showcase this summer squash. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Zucchini Banana Muffins
- Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Zucchini Oatmeal Cookies
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Zucchini Boats
Zucchini Crisp (Tastes like Apple Crisp)
Ingredients
- 7 cups zucchini peeled, cubed, remove excess seeds
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Crisp topping
- 1 cup brown sugar packed, can use light or dark*
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients; toss to coat.
- Transfer to a greased to greased baking dish.
- In another large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over zucchini mixture.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm with ice cream. Enjoy!
Amy Desrosiers says
Hi, while I have not tried this, I do think it would work!
Amanda says
I have some summer squash that needs to be used too. Can I mix the zucchini and squash?
Heather says
I was so skeptical when making this but had to give it a try when I had some extra zucchini. But it really tastes like apple crisp!! Delicious!
Roxana says
Such a creative recipe. What a nice way to use vegetables. The kids are going to love this.
Kate says
Wow, what an amazing idea! Our zucchini are going crazy in the veg garden already, so this will be top of the list to make once they are big enough to pick.
kushigalu says
What an interesting recipe this is. I have never tried zucchini crisp before. Thanks for sharing.