Zucchini Fritters
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Yummy! Recipe was easy to follow. I added 1 whole carrot to my shredded zucchini. I added garlic and onion powder. Definitely need to make sure you squeeze as much water out so they aren’t soggy. My husband liked them and he is picky about the unknown. He is taking one today for lunch on Italian bread. We served them with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Thanks for a great recipe and a way to use huge zucchini’s.
Thank you – found your recipe this evening searching for novel ways of dealing with our glut of garden zucchini. Everything turned out perfectly and the family enjoyed them – even teen no. 2 who usually refuses to have anything to do with zucchini. One bonus: I put the colander into a bowl to drain the zucchini and then squeezed them inside a linen cloth into this bowl. This produced a couple of pints of zucchini “juice” which was refreshing and surprisingly tasty to drink (although I’ll sprinkle less salt next time). This juice would make the basis of a good green smoothie, too.
I love the idea of saving the juice!
Delicious! Made exactly as written. Thank you!
So delicious!
I followed the recipe exactly as posted 🙂
I used jalapeño Monterey Jack cheese instead , added crushed chilli pepper, dried oregano, summer savoury, parsley and fresh off the cob . This was the best ever !!!
Easy and delicious! We had an abundance of zucchini on hand thanks to our CSA, and this recipe made for a very tasty lunch. I was glad to have read the comments about making sure to squeeze as much water as possible out of the grated zucchini; that helped keep the fritters from being soggy. Next time I might try adding some diced onion and some breadcrumbs, just to experiment, but the flavor of these was great as is.
Simple and delicious. I also grated a small carrot in the mix. Will keep this recipe
Good taste but soggy
Followed the recipe pretty much exactly except I added scallions and shredded carrot (extra color). Really, really tasty. I made one as a test and then decided to spice them up a bit – more salt, more pepper and a bit of garlic powder.
I’ve made them a few times since I saw this recpie few weeks ago and am ga ga over it. Strangly it taste a bit like potato pancakes to me ( weird ? ) but a plus for me. I got 6 out of mine and they looked exactly like the picture here !!! Wow ! On the 6, I went back to kitchen 2 more times and ended up eating them all! So now I know I have to get 6 to be filled and happy. Highly recommend ! Thought back to when I was a kid, never even heard of zucchini but we ate a lot of potato pancakes lol And I am making them again this evening and am all set to go 🙂 So my 5 th time making these in about 2 weeks !!! No adjustments , make exactly as she says for fantastic snack
I like to use panko crumbs instead of flour!
Good idea! Did you use the same amount?
Absolutely LOVE these, we now make them every weekend!
I add nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese but still tastes great!
These fritters have great texture and stability. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour and I added diced jalepenos
Made these with some slightly over-ripe zuchini and they turned out beautifully crispy on the outside and tender and fluffy inside. I did opt to add some additional flour and also added personal spice favorites but otherwise, followed the recipe as-is. Easy, quick and healthy and most important, delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe.
Mine come out too eggy and floppy. Am I looking for a crispy fritter? I used to medium sized zucchinis – maybe that’s not enough? Help me lol. thanks
Hi CK, If your fritters came out too “wet” you may need to really “squeeze” the liquid out of your shredded zucchini after letting it sit with salt for 10 minutes. I also do this with my shredded potatoes for potato pancakes, it makes a world of difference. Hope this helps!
Can I make these using yellow squash? A co-worker grows yellow squash and I was given a huge one and was wondering if I could make this using it.
it works great with yellow squash! Same rule applies, be sure to squeeze out the extra water.
Can you freeze these?
These came out great. I substituted gluten free breadcrumbs for the flour. And I served them with sour cream plus a little medium hot salsa. I thought the salsa might overwhelm the other flavors but it didn’t.
I need to know if I can storage this fritters for a few days (for meal prep snacks for work).
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Can I sub oat flour?
Are they supposed to be super gooey on the inside? I fried them until they were golden on both sides but the insides were still very gooey…
I had this issue the first time I made them too. I think my main problem was making them too big. The second time, I measured 1 tbsp for each fritter (as per the instructions) and made them quite thin with the spatula. I also reduced the heat as my stove is on the hotter side. They turned out perfectly.
These fritters are the best. Light, fluffy, tasty and easy to make. Highly recommend