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’ve tried making zucchini fritters so many times and this is the first time they’ve turned out how I wanted them to! I grated a shallot in with one zucchini and one yellow squash, omitted the parmesan, and added some crushed red pepper. Delicious!! I ate them with a soft boiled egg for an easy breakfast.
OK. I must saute Zucchini a few times a week, so this inspired me today. Twist…I used Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix, one egg, and zucchini spirals. Making spirals was easier than grating, and I cut them into smaller pieces with my kitchen shears. To extract moisture, I lined a strainer with paper towels,pressed, and absorbed lots of juice. I forgot the Parmesan cheese, but after frying them in olive oil and butter, I topped them with shredded Swiss/cheddar cheese, and more butter. Light and fluffy inside, not thick like a fritter. Maybe I’ll use only olive oil next time, to make them get crispier. One medium Zucchini made six decent sized fritters, and I polished them off for my dinner. Meijer has the best shredded cheese called Breakfast Blend, that combines Swiss and cheddar. I use this all the time on my grilled Asparagus and Zucchini spirals. Yum. Thanks for the recipe!
We have an egg allergy in the family, what would be a good substitute?
You can use anything that will help the breadcrumbs stick to the flour. Milk would work, but it would be thin and not as sticky as egg. It would be a kind of batter, then. Online you can find directions for making an effective egg-ish substitute by soaking chia seeds in water, if that intrigues you. Search on “chia egg.” Apologies: I have no idea how well chia egg would work here, though. ~All best.
Thanks and awesome recipe.. we replaced with red chill pepper oh Taste great
DRAIN WELL as recipe says. Mine were slightly limp as I didn’t drain enough. I like to substitute onion for garlic but either way very good. I made a batch and 3/4 and my husband and I ate them all!!
This is outstanding. I’ve made it 2 times, making a double batch now. These are delicious, great re heated and my baby even loves it!!
Absolutely yummy. Also easy to make
These are easy and delicious!, I made dairy free with vegan parmesan cheese due to my husband having alpha gal. He loves them froze our doubled batch. Thank you!
Thank you for this brilliant recipe. I just added chives from my garden.
Yummmm
Could I make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate it?
I have tried lots of variations to this recipe and not a fan of the pre-made batter. I shred and prep the veggies part (we like shredded carrots and finely diced broccoli added in) but don’t add the egg and mix until ready to cook. Cooked ones re-heat well next day or freeze.
Just finished making them and wow, they are delicious! I may have tried to sneak in more zucchini than the recipe so I did have to add a little more flour and another egg. 🙂 Yummy!
Great recipe!! Followed the original recipe. Took three towels to get the water out, but they were not soggy. Husband said we can eat that regularly, and he is not a zucchini fan! Thanks for another great way to eat our surplus of zucchini!
could you make this in the air fryer?
Loved this recipe! ❤️ I shredded my zucchini in the Cuisinart (leaving the skin on of course). Then placed in a colander with the salt and used a spatula to squeeze out the excess liquid after it sat there for 10 mins. Also used a combo of grated & shredded Parmesan. Next time I will try almond flour as others have mentioned. Fantastic taste! Plan on making this again and again.
Tried this recipe and replaced flour with ritz cracker crumbs. They were delicious! I will be making these again. Like my husband said it’s a keeper.❤️
These are excellent!!!! Could you make these into one “pizza” crust and top with your favorite toppings? I do this with riced cauliflower and it is delicious, so thought maybe zucchini would work just as well. Your thoughts….
YUM! Huge thumbs up from my husband and I. Fantastic way to use up an overabundance of zucchini. We served it with sour cream, chives and hot sauce to taste. Delicious!
These were excellent!
Wow it’s a quite wonderful and easy snack recipe. It is exactly the one that I was looking for. And thank you so much for these easy steps. It just makes it even more interesting. My kids loved it…
I add red pepper to mine. It needs just a little kick. Also wondering if instant potatoes sprinkled in would prevent them from being soggy.
May give that a try.
Delicious! Added 1 medium brown onion, used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic instead of fresh garlic cloves, and used a combination of Parmesan, English cheese (the orange one) and Tasty cheese instead of just Parmesan. We also used more like a half cup of flour, and it was half SR flour and half plain flour. Forgot to beat the egg, don’t think it made a difference.
Simply served with a thin spiral of tomato sauce…SO DELICIOUS!!
(My partner was convinced he wouldn’t like them because he doesn’t like zucchini…he was wrong lol! Neither of us like zucchini but loved these fritters, so a great way to sneak in some veggies for the kids or picky eaters!)