Zucchini

Cucurbita pepo

What zucchini has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

1 Limited
1 Insufficient

Satiety and appetiteWeight Management · 1 sourceLimited— jump to the detail and sources
Blood glucose responseBlood Sugar & Metabolic Health · no source yetInsufficient— jump to the detail and sources

2 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About zucchini

A summer squash harvested immature, so the skin and seeds are soft and the flesh is mostly water. The USDA reference here is the baby form, picked smaller than a standard courgette.

Also known as Courgette, Baby marrow, Summer squash, Calabacín

Weight Management Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Satiety and appetite

Weight Management

Limited evidence

Trials of low-energy-density eating consistently show that adding watery, bulky vegetables to a meal lowers total energy intake without reducing reported fullness. Courgette is a good example of that category, though it has not been tested on its own.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake.(opens in a new tab)
Randomised controlled trial · Cell metabolism · 2019 · PMID 31105044

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health

Insufficient evidence

Courgette is a popular substitute for pasta and rice among people managing blood sugar, and displacing starch that way does reduce the carbohydrate of a meal. No trial has measured glycaemic outcomes from eating courgette itself.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Zucchini

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
Nutrient	Amount	% DV
Macronutrients
Calories	21 kcal	1%
Protein	2.71 g	5%
Total fat	0.4 g	1%
Carbohydrate	3.11 g	1%
Fibre	1.1 g	4%
Water	92.7 g	—
Fats
Saturated fat	0.083 g	0%
Monounsaturated fat	0.031 g	—
Polyunsaturated fat	0.169 g	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Linoleic acid (omega-6)	0.063 g	—
Vitamins
Vitamin A	25 µg	3%
Vitamin C	34.1 mg	38%
Vitamin D	0 µg	0%
Thiamin (B1)	0.042 mg	4%
Riboflavin (B2)	0.036 mg	3%
Niacin (B3)	0.705 mg	4%
Pantothenic acid (B5)	0.367 mg	7%
Vitamin B6	0.142 mg	8%
Folate	20 µg	5%
Vitamin B12	0 µg	0%
Minerals
Calcium	21 mg	2%
Iron	0.79 mg	4%
Magnesium	33 mg	8%
Phosphorus	93 mg	7%
Potassium	459 mg	10%
Sodium	3 mg	0%
Zinc	0.83 mg	8%
Copper	0.097 mg	11%
Manganese	0.196 mg	9%
Selenium	0.3 µg	1%
Other measured compounds
Ash	1.05 g	—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Squash, zucchini, baby, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 168565).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

rawPreserves vitamin C
Courgette carries modest vitamin C, and being mostly water it leaches readily. Eating it raw or briefly griddled retains more than boiling does.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

Worth knowing
Bitter courgettes and cucurbitacin poisoning
Home-grown courgettes from saved seed occasionally produce cucurbitacins and taste intensely bitter. Documented poisonings involve severe vomiting and diarrhoea, with hair loss reported in some cases. A bitter courgette should be spat out and discarded, not cooked harder.
Worth knowing
Very low nutrient density
Courgette is over ninety per cent water. It is a useful way to add bulk and volume to a meal, but it contributes little of anything besides that, and spiralised courgette is not nutritionally comparable to the pasta it replaces.