5-Minute Zucchini Salad With Lemon & Mint

This raw zucchini salad with lemon, mint, and olive oil is a perfect paleo, Whole30, keto and vegan-friendly side dish. The best part is that it only takes about 5 minutes to make. Check out two variations with Parmesan & feta below!


5-Minute Zucchini Lemon & Mint Salad

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that is more often cooked with than eaten raw. Yet, pair some thinly sliced zucchini with fresh lemon juice, buttery olive oil, sea salt and green herbs like mint, basil or parsley and you have a beautiful, raw salad that tastes like spring or summer.

 

What I Love About This Zucchini Salad

  • It’s super simple and showcases the vegetable! Perfect for using up when zucchini is in season.
  • Quick and easy, only takes 5 minutes or so and very few ingredients. You can swap out the herbs and try adding cheese on top if you like. 
  • It suits so many diets from Paleo and Whole30 to Keto and Vegan – great to prepare for any dinner party! 
  • It goes with pretty much anything. Enjoy with freshly grilled fish, meat, or plant-based protein.

What You Need To Make Raw Zucchini Salad

You can use small or medium green zucchini (also known as summer squash). I usually calculate 1 medium zucchini per person as a side dish. If you’re doing it as a main dish – with say some protein on top – then you might want 2 zucchinis per serving, depending on their size. 

Good olive oil is really important here as it will provide a lot of flavour. I recommend investing in good cold-pressed olive oil to use in raw dishes like this one. You can go fruity or spicy. Fresh mint, salt and lemon and you’re ready to go.

Zucchini salad ingredients
 

Preparing The Zucchini

You have a few options here. You can use a vegetable spiralizer to cut the zucchini into noodles or spirals like in my pictures here. Using a regular carrot peeler will also give you thinly shaved zucchini strips. Alternatively, you can slice it into thin circles.

This raw zucchini salad is best made just before serving so that zucchini retains its crunch and freshness. You can pre-shave the zucchini ahead of time but don’t dress it too soon! 

TIP: For a warm dish, grill the zucchini slices first and then dress with lemon, mint and olive oil.

How to make raw zucchini salad
5-Minute Zucchini Lemon & Mint Salad (Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-free, Keto)
 

Zucchini Salad Variations

I think the salad is simple and lovely as is, but if you can tolerate dairy, it is fabulous with some shaved Parmesan or crumbled feta cheese or goat’s cheese on top.

Zucchini salad with Parmesan
Zucchini feta salad with mint and lemon

More Zucchini Recipes To Try

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Zucchini salad with lemon and mint (Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Vegan)

5-Minute Zucchini Lemon & Mint Salad

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Author: Irena Macri
Servings: 4
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Print Pin Save
5 from 1 vote
Calories: 98kcal
This quick and easy raw zucchini salad is tossed in lemon and olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and topped with aromatic mint. It's a great little side dish that takes little effort and time. You can also make it with shaved Parmesan or crumbled feta on top.

Ingredients 

  • 4 medium green zucchinis washed and peeled into ribbons
  • Juice of 2/3 lemon about 2-3 tablespoons
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
  • A pinch of ground pepper if you like
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs like mint, basil, dill or parsley
  • Optional: shaved Parmesan or feta work well in this salad as well

Instructions

  • Using a peeler or a spiralizer, shave the zucchini into thin ribbons and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine together until the ribbons are well coated. Serve right away.

Notes

Nutritional information is calculated for this recipe not including cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 530mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 561IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords: Whole30, Raw Zucchini, Side Dish, Vegan, Zucchini, Salad, mint, Gluten-Free, Paleo
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Irena Macri
By Irena Macri

About the author: Hi, I’m Irena Macri. I share delicious recipes that I have cooked and loved. I am a published cookbook author, have been food blogging for over 10 years and have a Diploma in Nutrition. You will find many healthy recipes as well as my favourite comfort food. More about me here | Subscribe to my newsletter and freebies

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Comments

5 Comments
  1. Yum! I’ve done this and zapped in microwave for 20 seconds. Softens the zucchini a little and makes a delish side, especially for fish 🙂

  2. 5 stars
    I used cucumber instead of Zuke. It was delicious just as is! I like Elle’s idea to warm the Zuke, too. Good one.

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