When people talk about zucchini bread, they’re usually talking about baking bread that is loaded with sugar, eggs, milk and flour, with some zucchini shavings thrown it to give it a kick of nutrition. That is not what this blog post is about.

This is about literally using slices of zucchini in place of bread! Have you been to a farmers market lately and spotted giant zucchinis and wondered what on earth you’d do with that much zucchini? Me too. That’s how I decided to use one in place of bread. I used slices of zucchini as slices of bread for my sandwiches and as buns for my burgers.

My dad and I fired up the old-fashioned charcoal grill on our deck. I sliced the zucchini into about half-inch slices. I dropped all of the slices into a bowl and tossed them with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. Once the grill was hot, we threw them directly on and waited about five minutes to flip them over. Then we waited about five more minutes. Easy as pie. (Actually, much easier than pie.)

When we removed the zucchini slices from the grill, each side had black grill lines across them, just like a burger would, and they were slightly limp and soft. That’s how you know when they’re ready.

These deliciously grilled zucchini slices ended up as my side of vegetables plenty of times, but I also used them as pieces of ‘bread’ for chicken sandwiches, and later as my ‘bun’ for a burger. Who said going gluten free was hard? I say it’s delicious!

Scratch the gluten-free bread that you’re spending way too much money for, and instead, try grilled zucchini slices! They are the much healither choice, and they taste a whole lot better. You could make these on the stove or in the oven, too. They’ll be in season for a while longer at farmers markets, so take advantage.

For other gluten-free options, check out my beet chips, lettuce wraps and cauliflower pizza crust recipes.

Grilled Zucchini

Ingredients:

Zucchini, cut into slices (thickness is a personal preference)

1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (depending how large your zucchini is)

Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Toss zucchini slices with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Heat up grill (or stovetop or oven)

Place single layer of zucchini slices directly on grill and cook 3-5 minutes. Flip when grill lines appear and zucchini is slightly limp.

Cook on other side for 3-5 minutes until grill lines appear.

Remove and allow to slightly cool.

Eat as bread, bun or side dish!