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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Very good! Mine were not a pretty as the ones pictured but they were very good!
Super yum. Had to add more egg but was good
Hi what’s the white cream you put at the end? Was thinking of doing this for my toddler.
Looks like sour cream.
Loved this recipe
I added shallots, red capsicum and curry powder and made a stack with bacon. Tomatoes on top drizzled with balsamic glaze yum xx
easy to make and easy to halve!
Any gluten free variations of this recipe?
Dorothy, I make a very similar recipe to this one. It calls for almond flour and green onions is only difference. But truthfully just about any GF flour would work like Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur etc.
I combined this recipe with a very similar one on another blog, turned out great! The only changes, added 2 tbsp. of mayo, 1/4 tsp. oregano and 1 tbsp. of diced yellow onion. Also added some feta per another comment’s suggestion.
Served with sour cream sprinkled with parsley and dill. Delicious and easy!
Best zucchini fritters I have made.
Definitely delicious.
I just made a batch of these with an overgrown zucchini from the garden. I used 1/4 cup ground almonds and 1 tbs flaxseed meal in place of the all purpose flour, two eggs and 1 tsp garlic powder.
They were quick and easy to whip up for a tasty brunch with some bacon, eggs and grilled tomato. I’ll be making them again
Prepared tonight and it was just delicious.
Thanks
Amazing and so easy to make!
Really delicious!
I felt mine was too dry so I added another egg and a little touch of water, my veggie mix was also zuch, yellow squash, carrots, and sweet onion. Then I added some spices that matched the curry blend I’d made (into the dry mix before the eggs) and it was fantastic.
With the extra egg it made it more like a small veggie omelet thing but it was great. And the curry was veggie so it added lots of protein to dinner!
Great recipe! Easy to change up if you want. I added dried onion instead of fresh, and gave it time to hydrate. I also added a TB of feta along with the parm. So, so good!
Made tonight, added some hatch green chile and a little thyme, everyone raved.
Loved the flavour of this recipe! Delicious! I did however add a combo of minced white and green onion (about 1/4 cup)…Love my onions!!! Anyhoo…I followed the instructions with regard to squeezing out the juice from the zucchini and my fritters turned out a bit soggy. Any suggestions? I have researched other recipes and instead of flour, bread crumbs or panko is used. Next time I will tweak your recipe to see if that change makes any difference.
It might have had to do with the onion you added – try squeezing the onion of its liquid and adding in an extra tablespoon of flour or some bread crumbs. Found this to be really helpful when I made these.
Try using a potatoe ricer to get rid of fluid, works great!
Squeeze the zucchini by hand, and the onion too. I added a medium onion to my mixture and fritters were not soggy at all. 🙂
These are SO good! I added a red pepper from the garden as well (maybe Fresno Chili pepper) – added a little zip to it. LOVE!
Great ideat! Will have to try that. Thx,
Thought the garlic would be too much but it was perfect. Easy and delicious!
Delicious and really quick! Perfect for an appetizer on a summer night. We paired this with geek yogurt, Whole Foods Harissa vinegarette and hummus for some more protein. Yum!
Good recipe. Easy to follow. Quick.