Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
by Chungah
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Ultra crispy zucchini chips! Makes for the best snack or side dish to any main. Make it in the oven, stovetop, or air fryer! So easy, so good!
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What do you do with all that summer zucchini just waiting to be used up? Well, we’re going to slice them up real nice, coat them in a Panko-Parm mixture, and cook them until they’re wonderfully crisp and golden brown. It’s a very sneaky snack, appetizer, and side dish situation, and you’ll be consuming all that zucchini in no time.
Why you’ll love these zucchini parmesan crisps
- Summertime treat. Zucchini parmesan crisps is a favorite summertime snack for the entire family to enjoy (especially when dipped in Ranch). Not to mention, even the pickiest of eaters will be fighting for these!
- Great way to use up zucchini. Is your garden overflowing with an abundance of summer zucchini? Not sure what to cook next? Say goodbye to zucchini bread and use up your bounty with these perfect, oh-so-crisp, golden brown snackable zucchini crisps!
- Flexible recipe. These crisps can easily be fried, baked, or cooked in the air fryer, depending on personal preference.
How to make zucchini parmesan crisps
- Prep the zucchini. Salt the zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet to help draw out the excess moisture. This is key for crispy zucchini chips!
- Make the ultra-crispy coating. Combine the Panko breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan. If Panko is not available, use traditional breadcrumbs.
- Set up your station. Prepare three shallow bowls with flour, beaten eggs, and the Panko mixture.
- Dredge and coat. Dredge in flour, dip in eggs, then press the zucchini round firmly into the Panko mixture on both sides so a thick layer sticks to the eggs.
- Cook. Heat the oil and carefully place a few zucchini rounds in a cast iron skillet until golden brown. Work in batches as an overcrowded pan will lead to soggy zucchini chips! Transfer to a wire rack to drain the excess oil while also keeping the zucchini chips nice and crispy.
- Serve. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
How to serve zucchini parmesan crisps
Snack
These crisps can be served as a snack (perfect for littles!) with Ranch, fry sauce, marinara sauce, or even guacamole.
Side dish
These can also be served alongside various main dishes, since they can be baked together at 425°F.
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Zucchini Parmesan Crisps: Frequently Asked Questions
Zucchini is very high in water and the salt helps draw out excess water.
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store. While both Panko and breadcrumbs can both be used as a coating for fried foods, Panko is much flakier and yields a crunchier, crispier texture.
You’ll want to cut your zucchini into even slices, keeping your oil nice and hot, and space them apart when cooking. This will yield the crispiest zucchini slices!
Yes! These can be cooked in the air fryer at 400°F for 9-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
Absolutely! Place a cooling rack (that has been coated with nonstick spray) on a baking sheet, and bake at 425°F for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
You can serve these with your favorite dipping sauce like Ranch, fry sauce, or marinara sauce.
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup Panko*
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced to 1/4-inch thick rounds
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Lay zucchini slices flat in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Season with salt, to taste; let stand 15 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- In a large bowl, combine Panko and Parmesan; set aside.
- Dredge zucchini rounds in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add zucchini rounds to the skillet, 5 or 6 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 1 minute on each side. Transfer to a wire rack.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Salt the zucchini. Because zucchini has a high water content (94% water), salting the zucchini beforehand will help draw out the excess water, making it firmer and avoiding mushy, limp zucchini.
- Panko yields a superior crunch. Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb made from crustless bread and processed into large flakes, yielding far more ultra-crispy goodness (compared to traditional breadcrumbs).
- Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet is ideal here for even heat distribution for the hot oil.
- Cook in batches. If too much zucchini is added at once, the oil temperature will drop and the zucchini will absorb too much oil, resulting in soggy zucchini.
- Transfer to a cooling rack placed on a baking sheet. This will allow the zucchini crisps to cool slightly, draining the excess oil while the coating stays crispy.
- Use the air fryer. This is a great recipe for the air fryer! Preheat the air fryer to 400°F, cooking for 9-10 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, flipping halfway.
- Bake as needed. Zucchini crisps can be baked on a cooling rack (that has been coated with nonstick spray) and placed on a baking sheet, cooking at 425°F for 20-22 minutes, or until crisp and cooked through.
- Serve immediately. These are best served immediately for maximum freshness and crispness. Zucchini parmesan crisps do not make for the best leftovers.
- Mix it up. Use golden zucchini or mushrooms, or swap out the Panko for whole wheat breadcrumbs, or Italian style bread crumbs. Serve with Ranch, marinara sauce, garlic aioli, fry sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce(s).
Did you make this recipe?
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These chips were terrific. A very nice and tasty appetizer. Mucho thanks. J
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Can you make these and freeze them and fry them as you want them?
Thank you
Bev in Ohio
I have never tried freezing this myself but I can’t imagine it turning out well post-freezing.
I am making these right now with zucchini from our garden. Thank you for the recipe. I pinned it too.
Hi! I cannot wait to try out this recipe– I wanted to know what herb you sprinkled on these “yummies” in your picture? I want mine to look just as delectable as your picture! 🙂
Elle, I sprinkled chopped chives as a garnish.
Thanks for your great snacking recipes, I’m trying to save them but don’t know how to
Marg, feel free to check out this post on saving my recipes. https://damndelicious.net/2013/09/20/vanilla-glazed-apple-cinnamon-muffins/
Will definitely try these but will add red pepper flakes to panko mixture as I like it spicy.
I made this for lunch today, and it was delicious!! The zucchini stays crispy from start to finish. I used ranch dressing with a few drops of sriracha mixed in for my dipping sauce.
That dipping sauce sounds amazing. I’ll definitely have to try that next time!
Try frying them in bacon grease!
I made these tonight and we enjoyed them. I think they’d be hard to make with only one person, so I was glad my boyfriend could help me! We ran out of egg partway through so we needed a 3rd, and the last few zucchini were only coated with parmesan because we didn’t have enough breadcrumbs for the full recipe. We actually preferred the cheese-only zucchini, but I think next time we’ll try your recipe with a little bit of salt added, and/or maybe some kind of garlic sauce to dip them in. Delicious–thanks for sharing! 🙂
i mix equal parts flour and parmesan cheese a little salt and pepper….slice and cover with the mix… grease a cookie sheet with about one fourth cup canola oil…..lay the zucchinis side by side and broil on high for 8 minutes …no turning…..they are fabulous! promise!
These look delicious however what I made doesnt look like yours. I lack the skill of dredging through crumbs without making them all wet and worthless for upcoming pieces to be dredged 🙁
Hello! These sound just delicious and I can’t wait to try them!! I was wondering, could cracker crumbs be substituted for the Panko?
Yes, absolutely!
I just got done making these and while they are very good, I added a little bit of Tony Chachere’s to the panko/ Parmesan blend just cause I thought they were a little too bland for my taste and now they’re just perfect. Also, I had a bit of a problem making the eggs stick. As soon as I’d put the zuccini in the panko blend the eggs would kinda slide off and then the panko wouldn’t stick. Any suggestions on how to remedy this?
Diana, it is best to make sure all excess egg has been shaken off before tossing with Panko.
Something I always do with things like zucchini before cooking is sweat them. Lay down some paper towels and put the zucchini slices on, single layer. Salt them and let them sit for about 20 min., then blot dry. It takes out the excess water and makes the egg stick better. I also do this with eggplant, and, even cucumbers when I am making cucumber salad.
These are also really good fried in coconut oil & is an even healthier alternative than regular cooking oil. My mom use to use cornmeal or a jiffy mix, but the panko is really good. Thanks for sharing!
here in texas Panko can be found by the flour and shake n bake stuff on the baking isle at our local stores.
Hi ! Nice to meet you !
I’ m South Asian , I live in Bangladesh, is there a substitute Panko breadcrumb that you know of ? I think that this recipe is very good !
You can actually make your own breadcrumbs if you’d like!
Made these for my 17yo son who has Celiac disease. Substituted with GF flour and GF breadcrumbs. Baked them on a wire rack for 14 min at 425 degrees. They are amazing!
I sometimes make zucchini chips—I slice the zucchini paper-thin with a mandoline and fry it in a mixture of canola and olive oil. Then I add kosher salt or a mix of parmesan and garlic salt. It’s delicious! With salt alone it has a nice veggie taste, like fried okra, but has the texture of a thin-cut potato chip.
Thanks for the great recipe. I’ve been making these again and again…and again…and again. Zucchini crack!