Zucchini Fritters
by Chungah
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Use up extra zucchini to make perfectly crispy zucchini fritters! Serve as an appetizer, side dish, snack or light meal. Picky-eater approved!
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why you’ll love zucchini fritters
- Great way to repurpose all the summer zucchini. Have you made way too much zucchini bread this season? Don’t worry – you can still use up all that summer zucchini bounty with these crowd-pleasing crisp-fluffy zucchini fritters!
- So great for picky eaters. These fritters are wonderfully nutritious, low in calories, and the perfect way to sneak in some extra veggies and greens for those picky eaters.
- Ridiculously easy to whip up. Zucchini fritters are so easy to make, perfectly crispy and golden brown on the outside, light and airy on the inside.
- Can be served in so many ways. Serve them as an afterschool snack, an appetizer, a side dish, or even a light lunch with a side of tzatziki sauce.
- Freezer-friendly. Fritters are so great to make ahead of time, and can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, reheating very well in the oven or air fryer.
What are zucchini fritters?
Zucchini fritters are a popular summer appetizer, side dish, or vegetarian meal, made with shredded zucchini, flour and eggs, and then pan-fried to yield crispy, savory pancakes. The fritters are typically served with sour cream or tzatziki sauce for dipping.
how to make zucchini fritters
- Prep the zucchini. Using the large holes of a box grater, shred the zucchini first, then transfer to a colander over the sink. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and let it rest for 10 minutes to draw out the excess moisture.
- Squeeze dry. Transfer the zucchini to a clean dish towel or cheese cloth and wring out as much liquid as possible.
- Make the batter. Combine the squeezed zucchini, flour, Parmesan, garlic, egg, salt and pepper.
- Cook. Scoop and drop 3-4 tablespoons of batter for each fritter into a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, flattening with the back of a spatula. Work in batches if needed to avoid an overcrowded pan.
- Make it crispy. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Keep warm. Keep warm in a low oven (250°F) between batches and serve with sour cream or tzatziki sauce.
Storing, freezing and reheating
Storage
Leftover fritters can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
Freezing
Place the fritters on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the fritters to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating after freezing
Thaw the fritters overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through and crispy, about 10-15 minutes, or in the air fryer at 350°F for 4-5 minutes.
what to serve with zucchini fritters
Tools For This Recipe
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 favorited 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.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F until warmed through.
Yes! Zucchini fritters freeze very well, and can keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. For best results, freeze without any toppings or sauces until thawed and reheated.
Zucchini Fritters
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds zucchini, grated, about 3 cups
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup freshly 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.
Equipment
Notes
- Squeeze dry the zucchini. This is a key step to avoid soggy fritters! Grate the zucchini and add 1 teaspoon salt. The salt not only seasons the zucchini beforehand but also draws out the excess moisture. Wrap the grated zucchini in a clean dish towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Cook in batches. Work in batches to properly cook the fritters for maximum crispness. An overcrowded pan will unfortunately steam the fritters instead.
- Mix it up. Use a different kind of cheese (ex. feta or cotija), add fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano or dill) or fresh lemon zest to brighten up some of the savory flavors.
- Keep warm. The fritters can be kept warm in a low oven at 250°F.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover fritters can be soggy when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
- Freeze leftovers. Flash-freeze the fritters first, then transfer to an airtight, resealable freezer bag, freezing up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made these thisafternoon and they were really moist inside, what did I do wrong 🙂
Katie, the inside is meant to be a little moist (as long as the fritters are cooked through) so I’m not entirely sure if anything really went wrong!
I read a reply from you (Chungah) on August 22, 2014 and you said they shouldn’t be moist and now you say they should be moist. What is the correct answer at the end of August 2015? I will be making them tomorrow.
Brenda, a little bit of moisture is fine as long as the fritters are cooked through.
Thank you. I am excited to try them!
I made these yesterday and they did not turn out 🙁 They wouldn’t stay together! Since there was no hope, I just cooked them like scrambled eggs. Flavorful mush now sits in the refrigerator. Bummer!
What a bummer! Did you drain the zucchini as indicated in the recipe?
As part of an italian family, we had these growing up. My aunt would make them and turn around to make the next batch and they’d be gone! Love them! We used sliced zucchini but I can’t wait to try them with grated! Thanks for bringing back warm childhood memories!
Micorplane a garlic clove and add a pinch of cayenne. Kicks it up a little. I also add chiffonade of fresh basil.
Mine turned out like pictured, used two large zucchini and drained it in a fine colander pushing all the moisture out then squeezing in both hands to make sure it was fairly dry. Add all the other ingredients and followed cooking instructions. Served with dollop of sour cream, chopped tomato and a few basil leaves. Enjoyed it, would make it again.
Made these this morning to go with my breakfast…..delish! I grated the zuccini last night, squeezed out the excess water, and refrigerated in a bowl lined with paper towels, so the zuccini was perfect this morning:) I followed recipe to a T, and cooked in a pan wth 1 tbsp of cocnut oil. Served with 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt. Thanks for this recipe…will make for my family next!
Is the Parmesan cheese fresh grated in this recipe?
The Parmesan should always be freshly grated. I do not recommend using Parmesan cheese from a tin can!
Your recipe sounds great , I have added fresh zucchini flowers from my garden. Very hard to collect them unless you have at least 4 zucchini plants. I add them to the batter and they add a nice touch to the fritter. Very tasty!
I added some grated onion and carrot and served them with a Ranch dip. Yummy! Thanks for the post.
Having found this recipe on Pinterest and feeling a bit adventurous, I gave this a try. I substituted asiago and romano cheese instead of parm, giving it a bit more flavor. Definitely easy and the ingredients are usually already in the kitchen. Thank you so much for posting this. It even fits in with my diet plan!
Can you make these with almond flour instead of regular flour?
You can certainly try substituting almond flour but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
These look amazing! Do you think they are freezer friendly? Do you think the fritters could be made and pulled out, thawed, and then browned?
I just saw a previous post with this same question. My understanding is you do cook them. What is the best method of re-heating?
That’s really up to you and what you are comfortable with. I actually prefer to cook them on the stovetop on a hot skillet.
It is summer now in New Zealand, and I finally have a bumper crop of zucchini. Tried this recipe today… they were stunning! We have already eaten half of the first batch, and will absolutely be making more over the next months. Oh yes, they are “damn delicious”!
Just got done making. I used yellow squash and zucchini. Didn’t have cheese cloth to soak up water. I used a pillow case. They came out amazing. .
I need to be on a low cholesterol diet. Why is the cholesterol so high in this recipe? Any suggestions on a substitute ingredient to help?
Eggs and parmesan cheese are naturally high in cholesterol. For someone with high blood cholesterol, the recommendation is to limit cholesterol intake to 200 mg/day. At 101 mg/serving, if you plan your other food for the day accordingly, this dish could fit into your diet.
Also, please remember that dietary cholesterol has less of an effect on blood cholesterol than was once thought. The biggest dietary impact on blood cholesterol is actually synthetic trans fat!
Never drain mine but use 1 egg for every packed cup of zucchini.. Feel your thowing out vitamins when you drain liquid ..no bad..only good cholesteral in this recipe
Apologies if anyone has already asked this, can you freeze these? I’d love to try some but seeing as I live alone and cook for one freezing some seemed like a good option. If anyone has tried freezing let me know how they turned out!
Charlotte, you can freeze these in individual servings and reheat as necessary.
So good! I also put a little feta cheese in it and extra garlic…..was good!
Can you use a nonstick electric griddle to these on?
I haven’t tried it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Do you happen to have the nutrients for this?? I was basically wondering about the calories, sodium, carbs and sugar? Thank you!
Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information for any of my recipes. I recommend utilizing online calorie counters at your discretion to obtain such information.
I basically took your recipe, added 2 eggs and a crap ton of curry powder, and cooked it like s frittata. Basically, it was awesome!!