These tasty prosciutto and cheese zucchini roll ups are the perfect one bite appetizer or side dish. A great way to use up fresh garden zucchini!
If you're experiencing a bumper crop of zucchini this year and you're looking for a new recipe to try, this is it!
Zucchini rolls with a crispy breadcrumb coating filled with melted cheese and salty prosciutto, heaven in one bite.
And they're so easy to make! You can also prepare them ahead and bake just before serving.
These savoury zucchini roll ups can be served as a bite sized appetizer or side dish along with your grilled meat or fish.
Ingredient list
- Zucchini: I used 2 medium sized zucchini
- Olive oil
- Unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs or Panko (which is I what I had on hand) . Can be purchased or make your own. Don't get rid of stale, old bread. Make crumbs with it by grinding it in your food processor.
- Parsley
- Percorino Romano or Parmigiano cheese
- Prosciutto: thin slices
- Cheese: any variety that melts well such as mozzarella, caciocavallo or scamorza.
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a shallow plate combine breadcrumbs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, and black pepper.
- Use a mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise. I got about 20 slices from 2 zucchini. The end slices are generally too short for rolling therefore reserve them for another use.
- Brush both sides of each zucchini slice with olive oil, dredge both sides in the breadcrumb mixture and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes until softened.
- Meanwhile slice the cheese into sticks roughly the same width as the zucchini slices and about ½ cm thick.
- Cut each slice of prosciutto in half lenghtwise.
- Line a round or square 9 x 9 inch baking dish with a sheet of greased parchment paper.
- Place a slice of prosciutto as well and a piece of cheese on the zucchini. Roll tightly and place seem side down in the prepared pan.
- Continue with the remaining zucchini slices.
- Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumb mixture over the roll ups and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are browned.
- Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
-This recipe can be made with Panko or regular unseasoned breadcrumbs.
-Use any mild flavored cheese that melts well such as mozzarella, scamorza or caciocavallo.
-Try out this recipe with eggplant instead of zucchini.
-For a vegetarian version of this recipe, simply omit the prosciutto
-Assemble the dish up to a day ahead and keep refrigerated until you are ready to bake it.
-Try placing 2 or 3 rolls on a skewer for a fun way of serving this dish.
-Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Warm before serving.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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More zucchini recipes for you to check out!
- Spaghetti with Oven Fried Zucchini
- Grilled Zucchini with Mint and Vinegar
- Crispy Italian Zucchini Fritters
- Baked Cheesy Zucchini Frittata
- Creamy Risotto Pasta with Zucchini
- Prosciutto and Cheese Zucchini Roll Ups
- Pasta with Zucchini and Mushrooms
- Baked Parmesan Zucchini Crisps
- Zucchini Ricotta Meatballs
- Herb and Garlic Marinated Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- 2 tbsp. olive oil plus extra for drizzling on top
- ½ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs or panko
- 2 tbsp. Parmigiano cheese grated, or Pecorino Romano
- 2 tbsp. parsley chopped
- black pepper to taste
- 100 grams prosciutto about 9 slices, thinly sliced
- 100 grams cheese any variety that melts well such as mozzarella, scamorza or caciocavallo
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a shallow plate combine breadcrumbs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, and pepper.
- Use a mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise. I got about 20 slices from 2 zucchini. The end slices are generally too short for rolling therefore reserve them for another use.
- Brush both sides of each zucchini slice with olive oil, dredge both sides in the breadcrumb mixture and place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7-8 minutes until softened.
- Meanwhile slice the cheese into sticks roughly the same width as the zucchini slices and about ½ cm thick. Cut each slice of prosciutto in half lenghtwise.
- Line a round or square 9 x 9 inch baking dish with a sheet of greased parchment paper.
- Place a slice of prosciutto as well and a piece of cheese on the zucchini. Roll tightly and place seem side down in the prepared pan.Continue with the remaining zucchini slices.
- Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumb mixture over the roll ups and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are browned. Serve hot.
Notes
-Try out this recipe with eggplant instead of zucchini.
-For a vegetarian version of this recipe, simply omit the prosciutto. Can they be made ahead? Assemble the dish up to a day ahead and keep refrigerated until you are ready to bake it. Serving suggestion: -Try placing 2 or 3 rolls on a skewer for a fun way of serving this dish. Storage: -Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Warm before serving.
Bobbi Lensing
I made these the other day. They were great. I served them as the main dinner, with Marinara gravy. I found that the 3/8" thickness on the mandolin was a prefect thickness. I used unseasoned Panko in place of the breadcrumbs, as you suggested. Unseasoned would be the way to go for an appetizer, but with Marinara, as a main, seasoned would also work very well. Instead of using mozzarella sticks, I got sliced mozzarella from the deli (about 1/2 pound) and it worked very well. Also, I stood them up on end in a 9" round cake pan. They cooked beautifully! I got 20 slices of the zucchini, just as you said you had. I used the rest of the zucchini in a sauté with garlic and a bit of EVOO as a side the next day. Thank you for the recipe I will 100% make these again. They would be a fun thing for the kiddos to help assemble.
Nadia
Hello Bobbi, thank you very much for sharing your adaptations with me. Love the idea of standing them up, must give that a try. So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for your comment!
Justine
Oh my goodness! These are so good. My husband and I did slightly different versions. We didn’t add the Parmigiana grated cheese , or Pecorino Romano due to allergies. We used Italian style breadcrumbs because they were already in the pantry. Some of the zucchini wraps had cheese and prosciutto and some had cheese only. We used the rest of our string cheese also already in the fridge then moved on to some fresh mozzarella balls also cut to fit. All versions were amazing! We broiled them for a couple of minutes at the end to crisp them up a bit since there wasn’t any cheese on the crust. Amazing!
Nadia
Hello Justine, so thrilled you enjoyed this recipe and I'm glad all the variations worked well for you. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
Sounds really tasty!
Nadia
Thank you Frank this is definitely a fun and delicious way to use up all that zucchini!
Edith
Can this be frozen sounds yummy
Nadia
Hi Edith, this is not something I would consider freezing. I feel that the zucchini would become soggy once defrosted and to be quite honest I have never frozen prosciutto and once again I am concerned with the texture once defrosted. Hope this helps!