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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l have been looking of new ways to cook zucchini especially since I’m trying to lose weight! As a college student, l really appreciate the easy to do recipes! You always make cooking fun.
These are damn delicious. Just enough flour to bind the zucchini together such that you taste zucchini and not the flour. Worked great with EVOO. Cooked with medium heat, browned perfectly. Canola oil is a GENETICALLY MODIFIED OIL that is partially hydrogenated, i.e., it is BAD for you. EVOO is superior.
Hi. what is the quantities for the ingredients for 1 person? because I am doing an assessment and i am only allowed 1 egg
Unfortunately, the size of the fritters can vary so it is very difficult to specify the quantity for one serving. Sorry!
I have made these for my son a few times… am having a hard time getting the zucchini dry enough / getting the fritters to stick together. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.
It is best to drain the zucchini as best as you possibly can using a dish towel or cheese cloth. Hope that helps!
I cooked these this weekend during our camping trip. I made the batter up and kept it refrigerated overnight and cooked them the next day. We loved them. My husband wanted the rest of the batch made up to take to work for a snack. Thanks for the great recipe.
I made these Sunday night for my family. They were delicious! I will make them again. Thank you!
How many fritters does this recipe make?
It is so difficult to say how many fritters are made with this recipe as there is much room for variation – thick fritters, wide fritters, mini fritters, etc. Sorry!
These were delicious! Reminds me of spinach dip. I used a vegetti to noodle the zucchini then chopped that up for a hash brown texture. Mine were not as pretty but still great tasting, thanks so much for this recipe!
Do not use olive oil to fry anything. Smokes too much. Unnecessary. Canola oil is superior.
If you use cheese, use Romano cheese. Better than Parmesan.
I love this recipe! It’s easy to adapt to your own taste. I had some baby rainbow kale to get rid of, so I added a couple of finely chopped handfuls to the recipe, as well as about 2tsp purple onion. Half way through the batch, I sprinkled whole cumin seeds in the pan right before the batter and it added a really nice savory flavor.
I found these a little bland, I added in 1/2 grated medium onion and probably another 1/4 c. flour and a lot of pepper, that spiced them up. Other than that a good recipe, thanks for posting.
These came out pretty good! For those dairy free like me: instead of the parmesan, I used 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast and 1 Tbsp tofutti better than cream cheese spread. I accidentally used 1 lb of zucchini instead of 1.5; they were a bit runny but still tasted good.
these may sound good, but don’t waste your good ingredients, no flavour….what a disappointment!
I am thinking of freezing the extras and pulling them out for lunches later on. Do you think they freeze well? Thanks!
Yes, they freeze well!
HELP!!! I have made these twice & they keep sticking to the pan. I have a non stuck skillets that I have no problems with normally. What am I doing wrong? I love these but both times have had to cook them like scrambled eggs!
Did you drain the zucchini completely?
It tastes so good thanks for the recipe ❤❤
I made these this evening and I love them. Very easy and very yummy. I am going to make them again and again. Thank you. I had them with ketchup!
Sound and look Delicious!! Can they be made ahead??
Yes!
Made these with gluten free flour and they were still amazing! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
5 STARS! 😀 I found this recipe after doing a search for Zucchini Fritters. The pictures and ease of recipe sold me. The only thing that I wish was that there was a conversion between 1.5 pounds and actual cups. I have to guess, so when I have about 4 cups of zucchini, I double the recipe and it turns out PERFECTLY! I have made these twice and they are absolutely terrific! In fact, my husband, who cannot stand cooked zucchini, thinks these are out of this world. They keep well and are yummy fresh, cold, warmed in the microwave, by themselves or with condiments of your choice.