If you’re looking for the absolute most delicious, poppable, grilled appetizer, this Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls recipe is it. They only take a few minutes to assemble, are quick to grill, and are really a crowd pleaser.
For more ideas of what to grill, check out all of our grilling recipes.
When we have company over in the warmer months, we usually grill dinner. It’s nice to be outside, enjoying the sunshine. Plus, everyone sort of gathers around the grill as opposed to when you’re cooking dinner indoors for a crowd and everyone is huddled near the television and you’re alone by the stove.
My general rule of thumb is that if we’re grilling the main course, we’re going to grill the side dishes as well. That way, we only have to worry about watching the grill. We don’t have to run between the grill and the oven or stovetop.
One of our current favorites is this Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls recipe. It’s a soft zucchini slice surrounding a feta filling that melts when you bite it. They’re the perfect appetizer for when you’re waiting for your dinner to finish grilling (since you’ll want to eat these as soon as they come off the grill for the best bite). Or, if you’re really good at timing your meats, these zucchini roll ups are a great side dish for grilled chicken, kabobs, or burgers.
If you bought too much zucchini and now you’re looking for another zucchini recipe to use it in, check out our list of Budget-Friendly Zucchini Recipes for more great recipes.
Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls Recipe
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Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls Ingredients:
- 8 oz. tomato and basil feta cheese block
- 3 large fresh zucchini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
How To Make Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls:
The feta cheese block we’re using is a square. If yours is as well, you’ll want to cut it the same way we are. If yours isn’t, you can just cut it whatever way seems best.
Use a sharp knife to cut straight down the center, cutting the feta block in half. Cut each of those halves into three pieces each.
Turn the block 90 degrees. Cut straight down the center, cutting each of those strips in half. Cut them again into three pieces each for a total of 36 pieces.
Clean your zucchini. You’re going to be eating the outside of it, so you really want to make sure you clean it well.
Use a vegetable peeler to cut off thin strips of zucchini.
You’re going to want to discard the outermost slices of zucchini, but keep the inner slices of zucchini.
Cut as many as you can from one side. When you’re not able to get any more slices, flip the zucchini over and use the vegetable peeler to make slices from the other side.
Eventually, the middle will be too flimsy, so you’ll have to set it aside and use another zucchini (Don’t throw it away, of course. Just use it in another recipe. If you don’t have any reason to use it right now, you can cube it and freeze it to use later). You’ll want to end up with 36 pieces, one for each feta cube.
A medium zucchini will give you around 15 great slices, so three zucchinis is best so you’re not forced to use less than stellar slices.
Carefully wrap the zucchini slices around the feta cube. Start with the cube at the bottom of one of the zucchini slices. Wrap it around until you get to the top of the zucchini slice.
Stick a toothpick through the center to hold the zucchini slice in place.
Set it in a medium-sized bread pan.
Side note: Direct grilling won’t work with this recipe. The feta can ooze out of the zucchini, making a mess of your grill. Sure, you could get beautiful light grill marks on the zucchini if you do grill them directly on the grill plates, but the clean up isn’t worth it.
Continue until you’ve finished all the zucchini rolls.
Drizzle the zucchini and feta rolls with olive oil and sprinkle the salt and Italian seasoning on top.
Tightly cover the bread pan with foil.
Grill for about 20 minutes until the feta is warm and soft. (Try and keep the grill around 400 F, but grill temperatures fluctuate so your total time may vary).
Serve immediately.
If you serve them when the feta cheese is warm, it’s a melt-in-your-mouth (literally) appetizer. If you let them cool, the cheese will harden and the appetizer won’t be as impressive.
Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls: Frequently Asked Questions
We don’t suggest you make these Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls ahead of time. You want to serve them as soon as they come off the grill so they’re warm and the cheese will melt. If you make them ahead of time, the cheese will harden and these won’t be that great.
If you want, you can cut the cheese, make the zucchini strips, and roll them ahead of time. Then, keep them in an airtight container until you’re ready to grill them.
We buy tomato and basil feta cheese at our local ALDI. But ALDI is notorious for pulling products off the shelves (sometimes seasonally, sometimes forever).
If you can’t find this feta in your local stores, any seasoned feta will do.
Plain feta will work also, but it’s a little more work. Pat the feta dry using paper towels. You’ll need to remove any brine from the package so that the marinade sticks. Combine salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning (or, use fresh basil leaves, if you have them) with olive oil and a drizzle of lemon juice. Pour half of that onto a shallow plate. Cut the feta into chunks, then put them in the dish. Drizzle the remaining marinade on top and refrigerate it for at least an hour before rolling it in the zucchini slices.
A shallow plate is better than a medium bowl because you’ll have more surface area to spread the feta, assuring you’ll get more of the marinade actually on it. If you use a bowl, the majority of the marinade will fall to the bottom and won’t actually impart flavor into the feta (which defeats the whole purpose).
We don’t recommend goat cheese or another soft cheese, like cream cheese, in this. The cheese will get too soft when it’s heated and won’t stay in the zucchini slices in the way that feta does. So, after grilling, you’ll just end up with a mess.
If you have any rolls leftover, you want to wait until they’ve cooled to room temperature, then put them in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll last about three to four days this way.
You can reheat them for a minute in the microwave. That’s the easiest way to reheat them.
You could also reheat them in the oven or air fryer, although we’ve never done that so I can’t give you and exact time and temperature for that.
More Grilled Roll Up Recipes:
This isn’t the only grilled roll up recipe we have on Drugstore Divas. If you want to try another, check out our Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups recipe also.
Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls
If you're looking for the absolute most delicious, poppable, grilled appetizer, this Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls recipe is it. They only take a few minutes to assemble, are quick to grill, and are really a crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. tomato and basil feta cheese block
- 3 large fresh zucchini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Cube the feta.
- Clean your zucchini. You’re going to be eating the outside of it, so you really want to make sure you clean it well.
- Use a vegetable peeler to cut off thin strips of zucchini.
- Carefully wrap the zucchini slices around the feta cube. Start with the cube at the bottom of one of the zucchini slices. Wrap it around until you get to the top of the zucchini slice. Stick a toothpick through the center to hold the zucchini slice in place.
- Set it in a medium-sized bread pan. Continue until you’ve finished all the zucchini rolls.
- Drizzle the zucchini and feta rolls with olive oil and sprinkle the salt and Italian seasoning on top.
- Tightly cover the bread pan with foil.
- Grill for about 20 minutes until the feta is warm and soft. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Yield
36Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 14Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 1mgSodium 67mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 0g
Have you made these Grilled Zucchini And Feta Rolls yet? Let us know how it went in the comments.
Karen
Monday 10th of July 2023
This recipe was delicious! We love unique grilling recipes in our house and these were a hit! The zucchini and feta went together so good with that savory grilled flavor going on in the background. Excellent appetizer to serve while waiting for a main course to be done! Thanks!