It’s zucchini time!
If you have ever grown zucchini, you know just one plant can produce a ton of zucchini and those suckers can grow BIG, seemingly, overnight.
What do you do when you’ve had your fill of zucchini bread (<– that’s a great recipe by the way), muffins, and cake (is that even possible?) or just want to try something new?
When it comes to preserving zucchini, there are not many options. Because of the high water content in zucchini, it gets mushy when thawed so freezing your “zoodles” is out of the question. Shredded zucchini freezes nicely and so does cubed/diced zucchini (best used in soups/casseroles when thawed) but if you want to try something different and fun, Pineapple Zucchini is a great option!
Yes, this REALLY does taste just like pineapple! You could fool even the pickiest of eaters, trust me- I have! My kids love this stuff and they know exactly what it is (God blessed me with three non-picky eaters) but my dad despises zucchini. He’s eaten it, none the wiser (patting myself on the back…).
Preparing your zucchini for this recipe couldn’t be easier, just peel, remove large seeds (they do not fare well in the texture department with this recipe) and cut to your desired pineapple style. Cube/dice your zucchini for “chunk” style pineapple or shred for “crushed” style.
Yellow summer squash and green summer squash (zucchini) can be used interchangeably in this Pineapple Zucchini recipe.
That’s it! Cook in a pineapple juice mixture and can. It’s a very simple recipe. This last batch I ended up dicing 12 cups of zucchini which yielded 5 pints of canned pineapple zucchini (I had plenty of extra pineapple juice mix for more zucchini).
There, another way to preserve your summer bounty and enjoy it all year long!
Pineapple Zucchini
- 4-5 quarts cubed or shredded zucchini
- 46 oz. canned unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- pint or quart canning jars, lids, rings
- water bath canner
Prepare canning jars, fill and start heating up water bath canner.
After peeling, removing seeds, and cutting the zucchini to your desired style (shredded= crushed pineapple, diced= chunk), set it to the side and prepare the juice mixture.
In a large pot, combine pineapple juice, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir until completely mixed. Add zucchini and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Fill your hot, clean canning jars with the zucchini, adding liquid to reach 1/2 inch headspace. Place and tighten lids/bands.
Can in water bath canner for 15 minutes (*reminder= start timing after adding jars and water has reached a boil) . Remove and let sit until cooled and all lids have “pinged”- can take up to 24 hours. Remove rings, label and store.
Okay, now that sounds amazing!
Thank you! It really is!
Thanks for sharing!! This looks super yummy!! I’ve told my husband I want planter boxes next summer and am excited to start growing yummy stuff like this.
Its so awesome to grow your own food!!! Hard work but awesome (and everything just tastes better!)
Such a crazy idea! Love it… I’m so curious as to what it will taste like!
Its really crazy how well the taste and texture almost exactly mimic real pineapple!
What an unusual recipe! I am not sure it would pass in my anti-zucchini house but I’ll definitely try freezing cubes as you mention…
It is unusual but you would be surprised how easily it can be “snuck in” with no one being the wiser to the true ingredients 😀
I like the texture better than real pineapple, not fibered. Also, can be sugarfree by subsituting Splenda.
Taste is great.
That is great! Glad you made it to suit your tastes 🙂
i’M NEW TO CANNING ..on the Pineapple Zucchini recipe…at the end you say remove the rings…what are the rings…the bands that tighten the lids
Yes 🙂 rings and bands are the same thing 🙂
I’m intrigued, but wonder how it would turn if it was pressure canned it. I pressure can everything except anything pickled, which is why I make refrigerator dills instead. lol! If nobody here has tried it, I guess I’ll have to “small batch” experiment when my zucchini are ready.
You can use your pressure canner as a water bath canner :). But if you absolutely must pressure can, I’d say it will just be a bit mushier but it would still work!
Thanks for the reply. My pressure canner has directions for zucchini. The timing & pounds of pressure to use are the same as the the actual zucchini pineapple recipe I found on cooks.com. I think I’ll try a small batch. Don’t think it’d hurt. I know you said you usually use it in baked sweets but have you ever used it in jello?
Oh I can imagine it would work wonderfully in jello! I have even used it in savory dishes (pineapple/beef stir fry, pizza etc) and it works great!
Can u use this in place of pineapple in recipes?
Yes!! I’ve used it in both savory (etc. pineapple/beef stir fry) and sweet recipes and it works wonderful!
I’m new to canning and this recipe is definitely intriguing! Cooking the zucchini for 20 minutes doesn’t make it mushy?
Not at all!! Surprising, I know! Removing the seeds helps 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this I didnt know you could do this with zucchini…. I making so today to can
You are so welcome! Enjoy!
Just made my first batch and it tastes just like pineapple. Can’t wait to share with my friends and neighbours . Thank you
You are welcome! So glad you are enjoying it!
This amazing. I made 12 jars to share with my friend and family. It really does taste like pineapple. Thank you for sharing
Your friends and family are lucky to have you!! Enjoy!
Thank you. So far everyone loves it…..and can’t believe it zucchini. I have a total of 24 jars, Thanks again
You are so very welcome! Thanks for letting us know how you liked it!
Could I use watermelon rind instead of the zucchini?
Hmm… I guess you could try it!
20 minutes simmering in the liquid before the 15 minute water bath or steam canning time? And the zucchini does Not end up mushy?? HOW??? if I boil my zucchini for 10 minutes it is soft.. how does it hold up with all this cooking and not fall apart or get really mushy?? I want to try this.. my hay delivery guy told me his wife used to make this so I looked it up.. but 35 mins total in cooking time and have it remain firm confuses me.. anyone?? thanks.
Magic? Haha but seriously I promise it works!! I’ve made hundreds of jars and they never end up mushy. You may be boiling yours with the seeds/insides and that is what is causing the mushy-ness (not a word! lol). But since this recipe removes that, the outer flesh stays firm 🙂
How long do you need to wait to try it after it’s done. Days? Weeks? Months? Or right away
This can be eaten right away!
Right away!
Hi can I use a carton of pineapple juice(the kind that needs to be kept in the refrigerator) or does it have to be the canned kind? Thanks
So very sorry for the late reply, unfortunately the blog made it to the bottom of my priority list for a bit there!! As long as its 100% pineapple juice, it will work 🙂
I love it!!! Just made my second batch this week!
Yay! I’ve had to be away from the blog for awhile now and this was a wonderful comment to come back to!
Can I use stevia in place of sugar?
I don’t have experience with using stevia in canning but you can eliminate the sugar if you wish.
I have looked at many of these and wonder if the sugar can be left out? If it has to be sweeter wouldn’t sweeten juice work? Pineapple just is so sweet already ☺️
You can reduce or eliminate the sweetener 🙂 or replace with honey
You mentioned in your video you reduced the sugar. Can you share what amount you changed it to?
Thank you
Whoops Ill change the recipe- I halved it!
How long will this stay good for, canned?
Ours doesn’t last long because it gets eaten up but canned recipes will last for years. Quality does start going down after a year or so.
Curiosity got the best of me and I made this today from fresh garden squash. Never expected it to truly taste like pineapple, but it does! Thanks for the fun recipe!
You are so very welcome! Im thrilled that you enjoyed it!
Hey there!! How do you think this would work if I halved the sugar? We don’t eat a lot of sugar around here but I don’t want to ruin all that hard work.
Gosh I’m sorry for the late reply! You definitely can add less sugar or replace some with honey!
I tried this today and was truly surprised by the results my family loves it. Thanks for sharing. We will have this every summer now!
Im so happy to hear this!!
My husband makes “cowboy candy” with pineapple and jalapeno’s, do you think if we add jalapeno’s it would work with this?
You could. It will reduce the acidity level so I cant guarantee safety. This is a pretty acidic recipe though so Id personally try it.
I love this recipe. I made a few pints last season. I used it for pineapple muffins. My grandsons love them. So I am putting up many pints this season. Thank you.