Baked Zucchini Fries
These fries are amazingly crisp-tender and healthy with just 135.4 calories. And no one would ever believe that these are actually baked!
This recipe was actually posted back in 2011. I had just started this blog two months prior, and needless to say, the photos did not do any kind of justice to them.
Now I surely do not want anyone missing out on these fries so I have updated the photos and recipe to convince you to make these this very second.
Yes, that emergency grocery run may just be necessary. You can pick up some zucchini and some pineapple juice so you can also make these mimosas tomorrow morning.
Now this recipe is similar to one of my most popular recipes – Baked Parmesan Zucchini – except these have a nice crisp Parmesan-herb breading on them, baked completely on top of a cooling rack to help get these babies nice and crisp.
There’s absolutely no hot pot of oil involved here – you just don’t need it. These fries are amazingly crisp right out of the oven – so crisp that no one would ever believe these didn’t hit a single drop of oil.
When ready to serve, you can dunk these in your favorite dipping sauce – Ranch, garlic aioli, marinara – it’s up to you/ Best of all, you can enjoy every bite of these completely guilt-free.
Baked Zucchini Fries
Ingredients
- 1 cup Panko*
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine Panko, Parmesan and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Working in batches, dredge zucchini in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat.
- Place zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Hi Chungah
I work with Microplane and we are interested in using the recipe and your photos in some marketing materials.
Would you care to contact me if you’re interested?
Thank you!
Hi Ashley – you can email me at contact@damndelcious.net. Thanks!
Delicious! Mine didn’t come out quite as pretty as yours. It was hard to get the egg to stick to the floured zucchini and then harder still to get the panko mixture to stick. But I will say, they were really delicious. Maybe my zucchini was too dry. In any case I was really impressed by the crunch! Loved them.
These are absolutely wonderful! Made them as directed and my husband and I loved the crispness and the flavor. He pronounced them the Best Ever. I used my homegrown dried basil & oregano. My IGA didn’t have a block of parmesan to grate so I put some good quality shredded parmesan in my mini chopper along with the herbs and processed until fairly fine. Then mixed with the panko crumbs as directed. The only addition was that I sprayed the prepared zucchini on the baking rack/pan lightly with olive oil just before baking. Baking times were spot on in spite of using various sized zucchini. We both loved this recipe and it will be a keeper! Thanks for a Super Recipe!!
Easy and a great side with anything,I used extra sharp provolone grated with the panko (which is just white bread crumbs no crust)
Amazing!!! My husband,son of a chef, couldn’t stop eating them and raving about them! Thank you!!
In one of your pictures, it looks like the zucchini fries are frozen. Do you cut the fries and then freeze the zucchini fries and then get them out to prepare? This would be a great way to have the zucchini fries ready and prepped several nights or weeks ahead and save time (especially in weeknights)!
The zucchini is actually not frozen here!
Tried this recipe last night. Husband said this recipe is definitely a keeper!! Soooo delicious!! I warmed up marinara sauce for dipping. It was great. Look forward to trying other recipes of yours!
How delicious! I am eating them as I type . I was skeptical, I must admit, but boy am I glad I went ahead and tried it instead of frying them. I’ll be doing this again for sure. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Hi my name is Susan Chambers ,
I just wanted to know can you tell me what Panko is & where can I get it ?
I have never heard of that . Please and thank you .
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
These are outstanding! It’s become a joke around here about how we are eating zucchini each nigh since our garden is producing so many. This recipe is by far our favorite. making it for the 3rd time right now.
It’s Zucchini time in the South so I needed something different to do with them for dinner. These were easy and perfect! In fact, my husband commented that you could serve these in any restaurant and they’d be a winner!!! Thanks for you great recipes and food ideas.
I made these this afternoon. I have a convection oven and fought the urge to turn on the convection fan because I was skeptical on how crispy they really would get. Voila! They really do crisp up nicely with no convection heat at 425 degrees.
I thought dipping them in a doctored up jarred spaghetti sauce (I added feta crumbles and fresh basil) would be the way to go. However, after having a couple that way, I decided to try ranch as an alternative dipper and the ranch was a bit tastier! I used one good sized zucchini and cut in half through the root and stem ends. Then cut those halves into quarters making spears. Mine were more like wedges than “fries”. Still turned out great!
Second time making these fries. Making them for the ladies in our monthly group. The ones who don’t do different kinds of dishes even liked them and have been waiting for me to do them. Great recipe…no changes!
Made these for dinner tonight. Ahhh-Mazing!
did you freeze zucchini after you quartered them, then coated them and baked ? I just want to make sure I get them as crispy as possible! Thanx!
I freeze them no problem. Prepare as recipe states. Then spread on baking tray and freeze as individuals (so they are easier to retrieve later)). Store them in freezer bags. Followed the same baking instructions from frozen. Slightly softer texture than if you were to make them fresh, but making up a big batch to have quick side dishes later is a big plus in my household.
Can’t you just figure that out on your own?
As someone on a strict budget, I would rather not find out the hard way that it doesn’t work. Just money, time, and food down the drain. Maybe be a little more considerate, or keep the pointless comments to yourself.
these look amazing, i cannot wait to try them. 🙂
I made these tonight and they came out really good. This may be my dinner. I was wondering if you could make these ahead of time and place them in the fridge before baking or would the panko get soggy.
Yes, absolutely!
Hi, I love this recipe since I can let my 1 year old son eat it! Question though, can you make these ahead and freeze them?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This one was REALLY good! I was skeptical that they would be crispy but they really were! I was out of panko, so I subbed in crushed croutons…….and they were awesome. This recipe is a keeper and will go into my permanent rotation. I think using the cooling rack makes all the difference so don’t skip this step! This is one my first recipe comments ever….but I had to chime in because it’s that good. YAY!
do you have a recipe for the ranch garlic aioli marinara?
Not at the moment.
How many zucchini slices are in a serving?
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to provide the number of zucchini fries in a single serving as they can range so much in size and girth.