Parmesan Roasted Zucchini Rounds with a Lacy Crust

Parmesan Roasted Rounds are zucchini slices roasted on a sheet pan with a lacy parmesan crust on top, ready in 32 minutes with 10 of those minutes spent on prep. The trick is the order of work: the cheese goes on each round after the rounds are laid out, so it melts into a crust instead of burning on the pan. The recipe serves 4 and uses 4 medium zucchini, which makes it an easy way to turn a bag of supermarket zucchini into a side dish that people reach for first. It needs no fresh herbs, no special pan, and no particular season, so it works as well in October as in July.

Why this works

• Parmesan needs direct dry heat to melt into a crust. Sitting on the zucchini it browns with the vegetable. Loose on the pan it scorches in half the time.
• A hot oven, 425 F (220 C), browns the cut faces before the middle collapses.
• Making the dressing first, in the bowl, means every round gets seasoned. Without that step, the last few come out plain.
• Space between the rounds lets steam escape, so the edges crisp instead of going soft.

What to know about the ingredients

You need 4 medium zucchini, about 900 g. Pick firm, evenly sized ones so the rounds cook at the same pace. Avoid very large zucchini, which carry more water and larger seeds.

Use real grated parmesan, from a wedge if you can. It melts into the lacy crust the recipe describes. Cheese from a wedge grates fresh and melts evenly. The garlic is minced and goes into the dressing, which means it coats the zucchini evenly and does not sit on the pan to burn.

Red pepper flakes bring a little heat, and you can cut them back for a milder dish. Salt and black pepper go into the dressing too. A lemon wedge on the side is the only extra you need.

Tips for getting it right

1. Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C) before you start slicing, and line the sheet pan with parchment.
2. Whisk the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a large bowl first. Then add the rounds and turn them with your hands until every face looks slick.
3. Slice evenly to 8 mm (1/3 inch). Thin slices burn at the edges before the center cooks, and thick ones stay pale.
4. Lay the rounds in one layer with 1 cm (1/2 inch) between them. If they will not fit, use two pans.
5. Scatter the parmesan over the rounds now that they are laid out, about 3 g (1 teaspoon) on each.
6. Look for deep gold, lacy cheese and rounds that have shrunk by about a third. That takes 20 to 22 minutes.
7. Slide the parchment onto a rack for 3 minutes so the undersides stay crisp, then serve.
8. Do not move the rounds while the cheese is setting. Let the crust form where it lands, and lift the rounds with a thin spatula afterward.

How to store, freeze and make ahead

These do not hold. The crust softens as the rounds sit, so roast them while the rest of dinner rests and eat them right away. If you want to get ahead, you can slice the zucchini and whisk the dressing in advance, but do the tossing, cheese, and roasting at the last stage. There is no freezer or fridge plan for the finished rounds.

What to serve with it

Serve them straight off the pan, standing at the counter if that is how your kitchen works. Squeeze lemon over the whole tray. They go well beside a roast chicken, a simple pasta, or a green salad. For a second zucchini side on the same table, add the Garlic Butter Zucchini Noodles, or for a showier plate, try Hasselback Zucchini.

Variations

• Add a little lemon zest over the rounds when they come out of the oven.
• Swap the red pepper flakes for dried oregano if you want a milder, more herby dish.
• Use a mix of zucchini and yellow summer squash if both are in the store.
• Serve the rounds on a platter as a snack with a dipping sauce, like a warm marinara.

If you want more ways to cook zucchini through the year, the Zucchini Recipes and Small-Batch Preserving guide is the place to start. Need a faster version still? The Ten Minute Garlic Zucchini comes together on the stove.