A Guide to Summer Squash Varieties You Should Be Cooking With
Wandering around the farmers market in July, August, and September, there’s always a deluge of summer squash, including zucchini, yellow squash, pattypan, and more. Unlike its winter counterpart, summer squash has a relatively short shelf life. And although pickling, dehydrating, and freezing are tenable options, summer squash is at its best when fresh. From grilling and roasting to blanching and sautéeing, there are a number of ways to enjoy squash, but given how many varieties are out there, it can be hard to know where to start.
To really take in every delicious bite of this unique crop and learn more about the different varieties and when and how to cook with them, I reached out to vegetable expert chef Sarah Grueneberg, executive chef and co-owner of Chicago’s critically acclaimed restaurant Monteverde. Her decades of cooking experience—paired with her childhood spent in her family’s personal garden and her 2022 cookbook Listen to Your Vegetables—makes her an expert on all things vegetables, including summer squash. Read below to learn about what defines summer squash, its different types, and tips to help you buy the right one to suit your cooking needs—no matter what kind you choose.
What Is Summer Squash?
Both summer and winter squash belong to the genus Cucurbita, which also includes pumpkins and gourds. Although the terms “squash” and “gourds” are somewhat interchangeable, most botanists agree that “squash” refers to plants within Cucurbita that are cultivated for eating, while “gourd” instead refers to members of the genus that are grown as ornamental crops. Regardless, all the plants contained within this genus are technically classified as herbaceous fruits since they contain seeds.
There are a number of qualities that differentiate a summer squash from a winter squash. The latter has a thick, hard rind that’s often inedible; a dense, sweet flesh that’s firm and keeps much of its shape when cooked; and is harvested in late summer to early winter. Summer squash, on the other hand, has a thin, edible skin; tender flesh with a mild flavor; and is harvested mostly in June through August.
Summer squash is native to the Americas and has long been a staple ingredient in Central and South American cuisines. Squash derives its name from the Narragansett tribe’s word “askutasquash,” which translates to “eaten raw or uncooked.” European colonization disseminated summer squash across the globe, and it has since become a popular ingredient in other countries around the world, including Italy, Lebanon, India, and the Philippines.
Tips for Picking Summer Squash
No matter where summer squash is grown or what specific variety it is, according to Grueneberg, there’s one overarching quality to consider when assessing options, depending on how you plan to prepare it. “The flesh-to-seed ratio [in a bigger squash] is definitely different than in a smaller squash,” says Grueneberg. “If they’re small and baby, they’re not going to have a lot of seeds and they’re going to be drier, so they’ll char better. They’re going to stay a little firmer in texture. The larger the squash are, the more water content it will have and the bigger the seed content will be.” Smaller squashes, therefore, are better for slicing and grilling or dressing and serving raw. Larger squashes, on the other hand, fare better split in half, scooped out, and cooked.
Types of Summer Squash
There are a number of summer squash you may come across in grocery stores, farmers markets, and international markets. Below are seven varieties to familiarize yourself with.
Yellow Squash
The yellow squash is perhaps the first variety that comes to mind when picturing summer squash. Bright and sunny in color with a fat bottom that tapers towards the neck, yellow squash has a mild flavor and slightly firm raw texture. Straightneck and crookneck squash are two varieties that are under the umbrella of yellow squash. They’re suitable for all sorts of uses, including thinly slicing into raw medallions and tossing with a simple dressing, herbs, and other accompaniments for a refreshing summer salad, or cut into coins, topped with crushed, buttery crackers and baked into a yellow squash casserole for a comforting dinner.
Zucchini
The workhorse of summer squash, zucchini—a green squash that grows about a foot long, slightly resembling an English cucumber—is a staple in home gardens and at farmers markets. Sauteéd, baked into zucchini bread, sliced lengthwise and grilled, or served as a vegetable carpaccio, the zucchini can find a home with almost any cooking method. Their mild and grassy flavor—which ranges from slightly sweet to barely bitter—aids in this summertime staple’s versatility and enduring popularity. Grueneberg is also a fan of eating raw zucchini salads, using smaller “baby” zucchinis, and mentioned one technique she employs to ensure her squash remain crunchy instead of flabby.
“If you shave them raw and if you just toss them with a little bit of salt, it totally changes texture,” says Grueneberg. Tossing raw zucchinis with salt draws out the squash’s moisture through a process called osmosis. As the salt sits on the surface of the zucchini, the moisture inside the zucchini transfers across the plant’s cell membranes to the surface in order to achieve an equal amount of hydration on both sides of the membrane. Salting the squash—a technique we also recommend with tomatoes and cucumbers—in this way while it sits in a colander in the sink or a salad spinner allows the excess moisture to drain off. What you’re left with are the crunchy, raw zucchinis Grueneberg loves to snack on once dressed with oil and seasonings.
“We chill them down and toss them with olive oil and basil,” she says. “And it’s one of the most delicious ways I think of eating raw squash.”
Pattypan
Characterized by their short and squat appearance, pattypans are another versatile summer squash with loads of potential. Since they ripen in yellow, green, white, and variegated color patterns, pattypans offer cooks more interesting presentation options in dishes beyond the standard yellow and green colors of other summer squashes. Although they look strikingly different from zucchinis, pattypans have a similar-but-sweeter taste. They’re best harvested when ripe but still small; the larger they get, the starchier and more bitter they become.
Their squat shape makes them perfect for roasting, and they also fare well on the grill if sliced in half lengthwise. Once slightly cooled, grilled pattypan squash can be diced, seasoned, and added to salads, like in this grilled summer squash salad with chimichurri. When grilled, they lend a distinct lightly charred flavor without overpowering the other vegetables in a salad.
Chayote
Chayote squash, native to Mexico, has found a place in several cuisines around the world. The squash is a pale green color with a slightly bumpy exterior and a short, stout shape that resembles a pear. Its crunchy, white flesh and slightly sweet, refreshing taste is somewhere between an apple and a cucumber. It’s become a globally popular ingredient with many applications. In Filipino cuisine, where chayote is referred to as “sayote”, it’s added to stir-fries, chop suey, and soup. In southern Louisiana, chayote is called “mirliton” and is stuffed, stewed, sautéed, or even used in casseroles. In Mexico, the squash is often included in soups, like caldo de res, or sliced in salads. Chayote is also part of the cuisines of Mauritius, Portugal, and India, to name a few. Many of these cuisines incorporate the edible stems and leaves of the squash plant as well.
“I have found that shaving them and just doing a real quick blanch on them and eating them in a salad is really yummy,” says Grueneberg. But working with chayote is quite different from other summer squashes, due to their noticeable high starch content and rough texture when left raw. “I would definitely wear gloves because your hands will get that weird kind of starchiness, like when you work with artichokes,” Grueneberg suggests.
Cousa
Popular in Middle Eastern cooking, cousa is light green with a slightly stumpier appearance than other summer squash. Its shape, coupled with its tender flesh and sweet flavor, makes it ideal for scooping out and stuffing with rice, meat, and spices, a popular preparation across Middle Eastern cuisines (which often go by the name dolma). After hollowing out the squash from its neck and stuffing it with a spiced ground beef mixture, the whole squash is poached in tomato paste until it’s tender and the meat is well done. In Arabic, “cousa” refers to both the specific squash used in this dish, as well as stuffed squash dishes themselves.
Tromboncino
Easily recognizable by its larger-than-life size, light green skin, and signature curve, the tromboncino squash is a longtime favorite among Italian cooks for a flavor that’s mild, nutty, and sweeter than zucchini. It’s an heirloom variety of squash from the northern Italian region of Liguria. Italian cooks adore the large, curvy squash for its versatility, flavor, and abundance during harvest.
Traditional Italian cooking methods of the tromboncino include slicing, pan frying, and serving the squash as a side dish, and using its flesh in place of the more standard russet potato to make gnocchi. Grueneberg is a fan of slicing tromboncino lengthwise and layering the slices in place of eggplants to make a tromboncino Parmesan, or incorporating them into a Provençal tian.
Zephyr
The zephyr is a distinct summer squash marked by its two-tone yellow and green skin that has a firm divide between the two colors on the squash’s skin. Popular for its sweet and nutty flavor, the zephyr is a versatile summer squash with a firmer texture that adds a little complexity to any dish, including pastas. It’s normally harvested when it’s between four and six inches long.
At home, Grueneberg likes to add this squash to her pasta dishes while considering how its shape will hold up against the weight of the noodles: julienned for longer noodles, like spaghetti, or spiralized before tossing with a curly noodle, like fusilli or cavatappi.
Squash Blossoms
Technically squash blossoms aren’t summer squashes themselves, but it felt wrong not to at least mention what I consider to be one of the best bites of the summer. Squash blossoms are exactly as they sound: the delicate blossoms from the squash plant. You can often find them at farmers markets, but if you’re going to cook garden-grown blossoms, it’s important to know which ones to harvest.
Squash plants produce two types of flowers, with one of them providing pollen and the other being pollinated; the pollinated flowers are the blossoms that eventually mature into squash. In order to maximize the number of mature squash you’re producing while still enjoying one of the season’s best bites, pollen-producing blossoms are the ones to snip from the vine. These types of blossoms can be identified by their long stems that position the blossoms far away from the vine and the pollen-bearing anthers in the center of the petals. It’s important not to harvest all of the pollen-bearing blossoms, though, as they are essential to making sure the squash vines bear fruit.
Though it would be easy to assume squash blossoms would have a floral flavor to them, they’re actually quite mild on their own, with just a hint of squash flavor. If left raw, they add a slight chew to any dish as a garnish. When fried in the traditional manner, though, the blossoms have a satisfying crunch that quickly yields a soft, almost melting mouthfeel. “They have such a beautiful, pure, delicate flavor of squash,” says Grueneberg. “They’re so fun to either tear and fold into a dish or to a salad. But fried squash blossoms are one of the best things ever.”
