Zucchini Fritters
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These fritters are unbelievably easy to make, low calorie, and the perfect way to sneak in some veggies!
Featured Comment
I’m always looking for new ways to use up my lingering summer 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 oh-so-lovely fritters happened.
why i love this recipe
- 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.
how to make the easiest, crispiest zucchini fritters
- Prep the zucchini – grate, salt and squeeze out all the excess moisture
- Mix all the ingredients together
- Scoop and form into little fritters, flattening as needed
- Cook until golden brown and crispy, flipping once
- Keep warm in a low oven (if needed) and serve with your favorite dipping sauces
tips and tricks for success
- Squeeze dry the zucchini. This is a key step to avoid soggy fritters! Grate the zucchini, adding 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 as needed. 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. Thaw 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
Large cast iron skillet
For the best texture and flavor, use a large, heavy-bottomed skillet that holds heat evenly. It helps get that signature crispy exterior.
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 our favorite lemon herb roasted chicken.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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
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
Equipment
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.
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I have made ZZ Fritters many times but the lovely balance of cheese / egg / flour was perfect.
I also snuck some chicken stock in place of salt in the recipe. V V Yummy
Turned out excellent! Recommend this for dinner, lunch or breakfast!
Easy instructions to follow. Delicious as is or experiment with different seasonings- we’ve used cumin, garlic powder, onion, curry, fresh herbs. Always turns out. Generally will serve with sour cream, salsa or a homemade relish.
We have an abundance of zucchini from the garden this year so I’m sure I’ll be grating zucchini in 3 cup bags for the freezer.
It’s absolutely delish when eaten piping hot. As I didn’t have enough zucchini, I made up for it with carrot. Also, I added 1 spring onion, chopped. All it needed was a few drops of tabasco sauce.
Yummy! I really like how simple the recipe was to prepare. I did add a carrot to my shredded zucchini. I used garlic and onion powder. My husband liked them and he is picky with the unknown. Served with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. My husband liked them and is taking one today for lunch on Italian bread.
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?