Zucchini

Why zucchini is rated low

Zucchini is low at about 65g, a modest side of sliced rounds. Larger portions move it to moderate and much larger portions to high, as the fructans build with a bigger serve. So zucchini works best as one vegetable among several on the plate rather than the bulk of the meal, and a bowl of zucchini ribbons that started as a couple of whole zucchini goes well past the low serve. Roasted or sauteed in garlic-infused oil, a portioned serve is an easy, flavourful side.

What changes your risk

• Serving size About 65g is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. A few extra handfuls make the difference, so weigh rather than guess.
• The rest of the meal Zucchini shares fructans with wheat, onion and garlic, so stacking here is about the total load of everything on the plate. Zucchini alongside wheat pasta, garlic bread or other vegetables near their limits can add up even when the zucchini part stays low.
• What it is cooked in Many zucchini problems are really sauce problems. Jarred pasta sauce, stock cubes, curry pastes, stir fry sauces and seasoning blends are usually built on onion and garlic. Garlic infused oil carries the flavour as long as no solid pieces are left in it.
• Cooking method Roasting, grilling, spiralising, frying and freezing do not change the FODMAP content of zucchini. Nothing leaves the food, and nothing is broken down by heat. But zucchini shrinks a lot as it cooks, so weigh it sliced and raw.
• Concentrated forms Dried zucchini chips and green juices are a different proposition. Drying removes water and concentrates everything left behind, and juicing puts several vegetables into one glass while leaving the fibre behind. Neither form is rated here.

What else works

Zucchini keeps good company, and because its low serve is modest, mixing it with other vegetables is the way to a full plate. Carrots, cucumber, green beans, bok choy and baby spinach can share a plate with it at a normal serve, and potato or rice add bulk. The lookalikes are where people get caught. Butternut pumpkin looks like an equally innocent vegetable but has its own limits, so it is not a like for like swap when you want more volume. Mushroom is often thrown into the same roasting tray and is not low, and cauliflower has its own small serve. Zucchini bread and zucchini fritters are usually built on ordinary wheat flour, which brings a load that has nothing to do with the vegetable in the title.

How to keep it low

Buy firm medium zucchini with tight skin and no soft patches, and skip the giant marrow sized ones, which go watery and tempt you into cooking the whole thing. The amount that matters is about 65g, and the honest trick is to weigh it sliced and raw before it hits the pan, because zucchini collapses dramatically as it cooks and a modest looking pile of cooked ribbons can be a lot more than the low serve. Store it dry and unwrapped in the fridge rather than in a sealed bag, where it sweats and turns soft within days. When ordering out, grilled or chargrilled zucchini is often finished in garlic butter or tossed with onion, and portions are often generous, so it is worth asking what is in the pan.

Common questions

how much zucchini is low fodmap

About 65g is low. At larger portions zucchini is moderate and at much larger portions it is high, so weigh the serve.

is zucchini ok on the elimination phase

Yes, at about 65g. Watch the portion and the sauce, stock or seasoning it is cooked in.

does cooking zucchini change the fodmap level

No. Roasting, grilling, frying and freezing do not break down FODMAPs, so about 65g is low whichever way you cook it. Weigh it raw, since it shrinks in the pan, and note that drying or juicing concentrates it.

is zucchini the same as butternut pumpkin for fodmaps

No. They are separate vegetables with their own serves, and neither is a way to eat a bigger helping of the other. Zucchini is low at about 65g and moves to moderate at larger portions.