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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Great ill be trying them tomorrow
just made these! didn’t have and Parmesan in the house (I know, I know… I’m even Italian…) so I used Feta. Came out great 🙂
I’m sure that tasted delicious!
Have you used Almond flour as a substitute for regular flour?
I replaced with garbanzo flour exact amount. It was perfect
Super easy recipe and very filling! To top, I used a store
brought Tzatziki sauce, it was delicious!
they look great! but why so much fat content?
Parmesan has 1.4g fat per 1 TBS.
what did you top the fritters with? Is that sour cream?
Yes.
I have an abundance of zucchini from my CSA and this came up in my google search of zucchini recipes. So delicious! I made them for breakfast and served them with poached eggs on top and a splash of hot sauce. Thank you!!!
Oh, that’s great!
To me these taste like a Mac N Cheese in a double cheesy,crispy crust.Who doesn’t like Mac N Cheese? The taste better warm,than hot out if the pan.
My Italian family makes zucchini patties often. Try adding some presh parsley to the mix: it’s the perfect thing to just brighten it up and adds a pop of flavour.
The amount of salt in the recipe is way too much. Otherwise good recipe.
You can adjust as needed, of course.
Can these be made and then frozen to be heated at a later time?
You can freeze these in individual servings and reheat as necessary.
Just tried this – didn’t change a thing except maybe I was just a little generous with the parmesan and garlic – absolutely delicious!!! Husband really liked it, too! I will absolutely make this again.
Nothing wrong with lots of parmesan and garlic! Happy you liked it!
Loove the recipe I’ll make it today finally ^^!
Btw which recipe card are u using? Looks really nice 🙂
The recipe card is built in with the design of the website. 🙂
I have a 96 year young patient and she has never seen anything like these . She absolutely loved them
Aw that’s so awesome!
Fantadtic. So so good. Loved them. Fun and easy to make.
Awesome!
They did not stick together and fell apart
Bev, it sounds like perhaps your zucchini retained too much of its water. Did you drain it completely?
An you freeze the batter? And is yes? How many days will it be good for?
You can freeze the cooked fritters in individual servings and reheat as necessary. But as we are not experts on food safety, we cannot advise on shelf life. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps!
I’m making these now. I have olive oil in the pan but they are still sticking… a lot!!!!! Any tips???
Oh no – did you drain the zucchini completely?
Can you tell me how many zucchini fritters are in each serving? I see that the recipe yields 4 servings but would like to know how many each! Thank you.
Hi Melissa! It is actually a bit difficult to say with certainty how many fritters are made with this recipe as there is much room for variation – thick fritters, wide fritters, mini fritters, etc.
What is the measurement in cups for the zucchini? Thank you for the recipe.
There is about 3 cups grated zucchini in 1 1/2 pounds.
I drained the liquid, but I guess not enough! They were nice brown color, size of the 2 inches, but soggy in the center.
Cooking longer did not help.