Zucchini Stacks with Goat Cheese are literally the BEST zucchini appetizer with creamy, tangy goat cheese, tender zucchini and crunchy pine nuts. These stacks as easy to make as they are delicious and impressive, and they’re perfect for a spring supper or party!
I’m not one to shy away from green veggies. In fact, I’ve been known to serve fried eggs on sautéed greens as a breakfast salad, turn a bed of greens into pizza, and replace bread with leaves. But when spring rolls around, my need for the color green in my diet seems to intensify even more.
From peas, to asparagus, leafy greens like spinach and watercress, leeks, and fava beans! Spring brings with it a plethora of gorgeous green vegetables and fresh flavors to cleanse our winter palates.
Zucchini Stacks with Goat Cheese – The BEST Zucchini Appetizer Recipe!
This dish features not only the color green, making it perfect for spring, but also a very balanced flavor profile.
The natural sweetness of zucchini is brought out by a short cooking stint.
Creamy with a lovely subtle tartness, the density of goat cheese is a wonderful addition. I used an herb and olive oil-marinated goat cheese because the infused flavor of herbs in the cheese adds so much to this dish. However, if you can’t find marinated goat cheese you can always make it yourself.
Additionally, sweet earthy green peas, salty beef bacon, toasted pine nuts, and fresh mint round out the dish. It’s both an explosion of flavor, yet very balanced at the same time.
This dish is a beautiful first course for any spring meal, or appetizer for a spring party. With Easter on Sunday, this would be a wonderful addition to your spread, and this recipe is easy to double if you’re feeding a crowd.
And bonus, these beautiful Zucchini Stacks come together in just 20 minutes! I’d say that’s the best zucchini appetizer!
Can I Use Eggplant Instead of Zucchini?
As a fun twist, you could try eggplant instead of zucchini in this recipe!
If you do so, you could look for a spicy marinated goat cheese and add roasted red pepper and basil to the stacks. And instead of pine nuts, you could use Marcona almonds if you want.
I would be tempted to serve that as a simple summer supper for two!
More Easy Zucchini Appetizers:
- Crispy Bacon Zucchini Slices (Keto)
- Zucchini Garlic Bites
- Grilled Zucchini with Quick Tomato-Olive Sauce and Feta Cheese
- Zucchini Fritters
- Zucchini Pizza Bites
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Zucchini Stacks with Goat Cheese (BEST Zucchini Appetizer)
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large zucchinis sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 3 slices beef bacon chopped small
- 12 rounds herb-marinated goat cheese in olive oil
- 4 tablespoons sweet green peas
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted until light golden in a dry skillet
- 2 stalks fresh mint leaves stems discarded
Instructions
- Toss the zucchini with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, and cook it until tender, but not mushy on the grill or under the broiler (about 8 minutes under the broiler, flipping once halfway through). Cool to room temperature.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the beef bacon and cook until crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.
- To assemble the stacks, place a zucchini round on a plate; top with a goat cheese round, another zucchini round, another goat cheese round, and then a zucchini round on top (so you get 3 layers of zucchini and 2 layers of goat cheese).
- Sprinkle the bacon, peas, pine nuts, and mint on top of the stack and around the plate. Serve at room temperature.
Helpful Tips
- Net Carbs: 3g per serving
- Look for zucchini about 2 inches in diameter; you’ll need 18 zucchini rounds for this recipe so you may have a few extra slices of zucchini that you can use for something else.
- I reserved the oil from the goat cheese and used that for this recipe.
- You can use frozen or fresh peas for this recipe. For frozen, thaw the peas under warm running water and drain well. For fresh, blanch the peas for 90 seconds, plunge into ice water, and drain well.
Nutrition
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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
I need to try that cheese! Sounds delicious. And this recipe is such a great use of it!
Beautiful presentation! I have to try this!
I love these stacks for spring or Easter – such a gorgeous presentation! :)
How beautifully elegant and packed with so many incredible flavors – love it!
What a stunning first course! I can’t get that cheese where I live, unfortunately, but I could always marinate my own goat cheese… Beautiful photos.
My mouth is literally watering. What an incredible flavor combination. And Laura Chenel Goat Cheese = SWOON!
Such a stunning appetizer! I adore goat cheese and I know the combo of the cheese plus mint and peas just sounds heavenly!
So prettily presented. A delicious appetiser.
Cheers,
Rosa