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This zucchini dip is a delicious way to take advantage of all the great tasting summer zucchini! We brought this zucchini dip to my sister-in-laws for dinner and it was a hit! Lots of compliments, oohs and ahhs :).
The list of ingredients is simple, but this dip has so many layers of flavor and a wonderful texture. It’s a keeper! One of the gals in my church, Lily, shared her family’s zucchini dip with us and it was love at first dip. Thank you Lily for sharing this recipe with us!
Ingredients:
4 or 5 small/medium zucchini/squash (about 2 1/2 lbs)
2 med/large tomatoes (1 lb)
1 hand-full fresh basil (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
16 oz cream cheese (= two 8 oz packages)
2 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
Crackers, chips, or fresh French bread to serve
How to make hot Zucchini Dip:
1. Pulse tomatoes in a food processor several times or until coarsely chopped. You can also finely dice tomatoes by hand if you don’t have a food processor.
2. Heat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add finely chopped tomatoes, 2 pressed garlic cloves and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil. Simmer covered for 10 min, stirring occasionally and pressing on any larger tomato pieces to soften them. The mixture should look like a tomato sauce when done.
3. Cut off and discard ends of zucchini and shred zucchini on the large holes of a grater. I used the grater attachment on my food processor and it sure was quick! Add grated zucchini to the cooked tomatoes and stir to combine.
4. Increase heat to medium/high, cover with lid and cook for 20-23 minutes, stirring occasionally or until zucchini are fully softened.
5. Add 16 oz cream cheese pieces and stir until fully melted into the zucchini mixture. It will be creamy. If your dip seems too thick, you can thin it out a little with hot water. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste and serve hot or warm.
This re-heats beautifully, just stir in a drizzle of water and heat it up on the stove-top.
Zucchini Dip Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 small/medium zucchini/squash, about 2 1/2 lbs
- 2 med/large tomatoes, 1 lb
- 1 hand-full fresh basil, about 2 Tbsp chopped
- 16 oz cream cheese, = two 8 oz packages
- 2 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Crackers, chips, or fresh French bread to serve
Instructions
- Pulse tomatoes in a food processor several times or until coarsely chopped. You can also finely dice tomatoes by hand if you don't have a food processor.
- Heat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add finely chopped tomatoes, 2 pressed garlic cloves and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil. Simmer covered for 10 min, stirring occasionally and pressing on any larger tomato pieces to soften them. The mixture should look like a tomato sauce when done.
- Cut off and discard ends of zucchini and shred zucchini on the large holes of a grater. I used the grater attachment on my food processor and it sure was quick! Add grated zucchini to the cooked tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Increase heat to medium/high, cover with lid and cook for 20-23 minutes, stirring occasionally or until zucchini are fully softened.
- Add 16 oz cream cheese pieces and stir until fully melted into the zucchini mixture. It will be creamy. If your dip seems too thick, you can thin it out a little with hot water. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste and serve hot or warm. This re-heats beautifully, just stir in a drizzle of water and heat it up on the stove-top.
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Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Made this with vegan cream cheese and it worked perfectly. Added some hot sauce to taste, but otherwise followed the ingredients. Super delicious!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Monique.
I made this today I was not sure if the measurement in the recipe for the zucchini was before or after shredding. So….I measured 1.5 lbs of shredded zucchini, which was over 4 cups and used that amount. I added 3 sprigs worth of fresh oregano (chopped) from my garden along with basil and fresh picked tomatoes from my garden. I simmered the tomatoes, herbs, and zucchini till most of the liquid was gone. I also used miyoko’s organic cashew milk cream cheese (purchased at Sprouts) in place of the cream cheese. I only used 8 oz. I am highly sensitive to saturated fat which is why I made the swap. This made a huge amount of dip 😁 and tastes yummy. We’ll see how it goes over to the group I’m bringing it to. My husband liked it chilled vs room temperature.
I hope everyone loves it, Judy! Thank you for sharing that with me!
I’m in GA and with all the rain, i’ve had a zillion zucchinis from my garden and this is after sharing with all my friends and neighbors. Well I was tired of making zucchini bread and vegetable lasagna, so I decided to try Natasha’s zucchini dip.
When I made this for the first time, I didn’t go by the measurements as posted by the OP. I was making a large portion to share.
So when I made the dip, I didn’t have and basil as I had just made fresh pesto. So in place of the basil, I used 2x tablespoons of pesto and when I say this was DELICIOUS, it was absolutely amazing and as my very finicky eating son says “Mom, this zucchini dip is the bomb.com”.
With that I will highlight what the OP Natasha said, the “dip has multiple layers of flavor, and the pesto takes it to an entirely different level. This was excellent.
That’s great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing that with us.