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Here we are again, the time of year when there’s a bottomless pile of zucchini on the counter. Last year I said there’s no such thing as too much zucchini, and I stand by it, but I’ll admit there are moments where doubt creeps in. You have to keep remembering what a miracle it is, how many ways you can use it.

This week’s biggest hit was the vanilla salted caramel breakfast milkshake. A surplus of zucchini isn’t so scary when you remember how versatile it can be. Its flavor is so neutral, it’s easy to turn it into desert. Healthy desert. No refined sugar, no dairy. Ready to go in 5 minutes.

mountain of zucchini

My theory is, you should be ready for a tasty frozen treat on a moment’s notice. I have an ice cream maker, but it rarely gets used. It’s too slow, too big of a freezer space hog, and requires too much planning ahead. I want to try a new recipe idea as soon as inspiration strikes.

Frozen zucchini is so great because you can mix in room temperature liquid, blend it up with a high speed blender, and poof, you have instant ice cream or a milkshake. A food processor would probably also do the trick, but you might want to chop the zucchini smaller and let it thaw a touch so it’s not too hard to chop.

In order to pull off the instant ice cream or milkshake, you need to keep a big bag of frozen zucchini chunks on hand. Then you’re ready for an impulse milkshake, which is just smart. Freezing the zucchini is also awesome because it gets the stuff off your counter, and takes the pressure off trying to use it up in a hurry.

frozen zucchini

Okay, zucchini milkshake/ice cream is so. damn. easy. It takes all of about a minute. Because this version is fancy, it takes all of about 5 minutes.

First things first. Make the salted caramel. You will have most of it left over for something else tasty. I know, sounds like hardship.

dates and salt

30 Second Salted Caramel Recipe

  • 6 dates
  • 3/4 cup of full fat canned coconut milk
  • Dash of salt to taste
  • If you’d like to add a little bourbon for a non-breakfast caramel, I won’t judge

Blend the mix until smooth. Then pour it out and save it to drizzle on top of your milkshake, or for something else delicious. The efficient/lazy thing to do now is skip washing out the container. Use the leftover stuff left in the container to give your milkshake the salted caramel flavor.

salted caramel

Second, make the milkshake in the container, unwashed from making the salted caramel. Or without the caramel if you want. You might want a little extra sweetener if you don’t have the caramel.

Plain Vanilla Zucchini Milkshake Recipe

  • About 2 cups or 1 medium zucchini, frozen in small chunks
  • A can of full fat coconut milk (other milks would probably work, but the coconut makes it decadently creamy)
  • A splash of vanilla
  • A dash of salt
  • Sweetener, to taste (I used 2 droppers’ full of liquid stevia for a natural sugar free option)

Blend it until it looks good.

If you stop while it’s still pretty frozen, you can get yourself a nice bowl of ice cream. Just be aware that this type of ice cream needs to be eaten right away. It’ll freeze solid and doesn’t thaw that great.

zucchini ice cream

Keep blending, and ta-da. Pretty healthy breakfast milkshake. Veggies and healthy fats. And if you skip the caramel sauce, sugar free. No reason not to eat it all the time.

zucchini milkshake

How’s your countertop looking, zucchini-wise? Are you overwhelmed? Or have you found any genius ways to keep up with the supply?