Zucchini Fritters
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These fritters are unbelievably easy to make, low calorie, and the perfect way to sneak in some veggies!
I’m always looking for new ways to use up my lingering zucchini. I’ve made zucchini crisps and zucchini sticks but I wanted to try something a little different this time – something “not fried” per se and a bit healthier. That’s when these fritters happened.
Now these fritters are unbelievably easy to whip up. Simply grate your zucchini, drain them completely using a dish cloth, and throw them in a bowl with all of your other ingredients. From there, scoop them right out onto a hot skillet, flattening them up to resemble a pancake. Flip, cook, serve. Easy enough, right?
These fritters are wonderfully nutritious, low in calories and the perfect way to sneak in some veggies for those picky eaters. The best part is, you can serve them as a snack, an appetizer, or even a light lunch!
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Zucchini Fritters: Frequently Asked Questions
Zucchini is very high in water! So to avoid soggy fritters, we want to squeeze out as much water as possible. That way, we can get those crisp, golden brown edges.
A box grater will work beautifully here!
The possibilities are endless! You can serve them with a dollop of sour cream, tzatziki sauce, or as a side dish to my favorite lemon herb roasted chicken.
Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds zucchini, grated (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Place grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add 1 teaspoon salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini completely.
- In a large bowl, combine zucchini, flour, Parmesan, garlic and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, scoop 3-4 tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer.
- Serve immediately.
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I made these last night and was so excited about them but they were way overstated. I would recommend at least half the salt or just a pinch and add your own to them after they’re cooked if needed.
How do I get the fritters to end up circular, and in the same size?
I recommend using a spatula.
I would love to make these but have a crazy question! Approximately how many cups of shredded zucchini should I use? I had a large zucchini that needed to be used so I shredded it but have no idea how much o( it I would use for this recipe. Thank you!
There is roughly about 3 cups grated zucchini in 1 1/2 pounds.
These are amazing!
I topped mine with ricotta, avocado, and sliced cherry tomatoes. Delicious!
I must admit, I had no idea how to dry the zucchini, and had to cook them longer because really weren’t dry after a couple mins of patting them dry.
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Your fritters look so delicious but the outcome was less than spectacular for me. I found them pretty bland and wet. They took much longer to cook than the time listed here. Maybe I didn’t squeeze out enough water? Will try squeezing out more next time and I think I’d add some onion as well. Thanks for the recipe
I made these today, and they were so delicious! I do have to say, I made some changes though- I used gluten-free oat flour instead of white flour, and I used egg whites instead of whole eggs. I also did not use the cheese. They were soooo good! I could not stop eating them!! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
This simply just is amazing! I’m making them right now, they’re so easy to make and such a good alternative! As my boyfriend likes some meat too, I fixed the recipe up with some diced ham for him, once I’m done with mine! Love it!
Can you pack these in kids school lunch? I know you said eat immediately in the recipe. Thanks
Yes, absolutely.
I actually let these drain for close to an hour before making and I took the additional step of wringing out the rest of the moisture by wringing the drained, shredded zucchini in a tea towel before adding the rest of the ingredients. By doing this, the consistency of the pancake was perfect! They held together nice and tightly; however, I only used one clove of garlic and found it to be way too overpowering. Maybe next time try a teaspoon of grated onion instead. These would also be good with a dash of hot sauce or red pepper in the batter. I would make these again with a few tweaks.
Epic Fail! First very watery; I added more flour hoping it would make it tight, but did nothing. When I fried, I had to keep them frying at least 10 minutes per side. If I was lucky they browned, but most when in the garbage because they fell apart.
Jennifer, I’m sorry that this did not turn out the way you had imagined. But it sounds like there was too much excess water from the zucchini. Did you squeeze out as much water as possible as directed in the recipe?
made these with what is called yellow zucchini around here, probably just yellow squash. anyway they were wonderful, followed your recipe and used my non stick simply celphalon pan and loved them. will maybe add some chives or grated onion next time. Have lots of zucchini still in garden to use up so can do some experimenting
How many zucchinis are equivalent to 1 1/2 lbs grated?
1 pound zucchini is equivalent to about 3 medium zucchini.
I see that you said the recipe yields 4 servings but I can’t see the amount per serving. Is this because it could vary on how heavy handed you are? I am wondering about how many fritters it would make approximately. Maybe I missed where you said it! If so, I am sorry! I am excited to try this recipe! My husband doesn’t eat MANY veggies and that used to be none! I have finally gotten him to eat veggies that aren’t canned or fried and that he actually enjoys! We are talking about having a child one day and I know, from how my husband has grown up, that we need to spring yummy veggies on them early! Working on our healthy life style! Thanks again!
You are so welcome! But it is so difficult to say how many fritters are made with this recipe as there is much room for variation – thick fritters, wide fritters, mini fritters, etc.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! I made these last year for a brunch thing with my roomies and now I make them almost every week on Sundays and then eat them throughout the week for breakfast! Definitely one of my favorites! The only thing I do differently is I actually put my zucchini in a food processor, too lazy to grate a pound and half of zucchini haha anyways thank you so much for posting this! It’s fantastic!
I have only one zucchini how do I adapt this recipe to accommodate only one zucchini?? Would love to try these,please help
Angie, depending on the size of your zucchini, you may have to half or quarter the recipe as needed.
Can these be frozen?
Robin, you can freeze these in individual servings and reheat as necessary.
How do you get them to stay together?? I subbed coconut flour for regular flour, could that be why??
Could it also be they weren’t drained enough?? I used paper towels to draw out the initial moisture then let them sit in a dish cloth for more draining. How long should I let them drain? ?
Devin, I am not entirely sure if the coconut flour is the culprit here (as I have never used this ingredient before) but it is best to drain as much excess water as possible.
I made one batch of these with the parmesan cheese and one without and put in some nutritional yeast. Both batches wewe delicious and this recipe was easy and quick.
I made these zuccini fritters tonight. They were okay. I was disappointed that I could not get them more crispy or firm without getting over browned and even then they were limp as a wet noodle. I let the grated zuccini sit in a colander for 15+ minutes. Then squeezed most of the liquid out with my hands, then pressed and blotted with paper towels while still in the colander, then transferred to a kitchen towel and wrung it tight like s rag twisting the opposite ends of the towel. It was pretty dry when I put it in the bowl and added the flour egg and Parmesan. I added salt and pepper, dried parsley and chipotle seasoning. I used my 40yr well seasoned cast iron pan but they were all very limp and a little bland for our taste. I even let them sit on paper towels after frying in a 300F convection oven while I cleaned up and they were still limp and not crispy. Any ideas why? They certainly didn’t look like the picture – golden brown and firm enough to stack. Any ideas why would be appreciated. 🙂
Nancy, thank you for trying my recipe. I’m not entirely sure what went wrong here – it seems like you squeezed out as much liquid as possible. But you mention frying in a 300F convection oven. I’m wondering if too much zucchini was used? You can also add more flour as needed to help them firm up.
Made these yesterday – double batch – absolutely amazing taste. I froze a few on a cookie sheet and popped them in the oven just a bit ago to heat and crisp them back up a touch. Almost like fresh from the skillet. Thanks for a great recipe.