Zucchini Fritters

This zucchini fritters recipe comes out crispy and golden: a great way to use this green vegetable! Dip or slather with sauce and enjoy.

Got zucchini? Here’s a great recipe for using up this tasty summer vegetable: Zucchini Fritters! These savory pancakes are seasoned with herbs and Parmesan cheese, then fried up in a skillet until golden brown. Eat them warm and lightly salted, dunked in a creamy dipping sauce like tzatziki or remoulade. They make the best fun appetizer or a tasty simple dinner, paired with a few summer salads. They disappeared in a flash over here!

Ingredients in zucchini fritters

A fritter is a food where vegetables, fruit, meat, or seafood are coated in batter and fried. Fritters are eaten in cuisines around the world, and they can be sweet or savory. Zucchini fritters are commonly eaten in the summer when zucchini is abundant. You can deep fry them, but we’ve found it’s easiest to pan fry them in a bit of olive oil. They come out salty and golden brown! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Zucchini
• Egg
• Garlic
• Flour
• Parmesan cheese
• Dried dill, onion powder, salt, and pepper
• Baking powder
• Olive oil, for frying

The trick to zucchini fritters

Here’s the thing about zucchini: it’s full of water (in fact, zucchini is 94% water). Add too much water to a fritter, and it comes out gloppy and soggy! So you’ll need to use a trick for zucchini fritters:

• Shred the zucchini, add salt, and wait 10 minutes. The salt helps to pull moisture from the zucchini. It also helps to season the shreds, making for better flavor.
• Then, squeeze all moisture from the zucchini. First wring it out using your hands, then finish it up by squeezing with a paper towel or clean dish towel.

Tips for frying

If you’ve never fried fritters before, it does take a little practice! Just like making pancakes, the first fritter might not turn out perfectly: and that’s expected. Here are a few tips for this recipe to get your zucchini fritters crisped and golden brown:

• Add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. The zucchini fritters are pretty thin, so you can get away with a moderate amount of oil.
• The timing depends on the heat of the oil. All stoves and pans are different, so the timing varies. Cook until just golden on each side. It will likely take about 2 to 3 minutes, but you can judge by eye versus setting a timer.
• Add more oil for the second batch, and keep in mind the pan will be hotter. The fritters will cook differently for the next batch since the pan is already very hot. Add a drizzle more oil as needed.

Remove the fritters to a paper-towel lined plate and taste. If you’d like, you can sprinkle with a little extra salt before serving.

Sauces for zucchini fritters

Zucchini fritters are great as is, but they’re even tastier when dipped or slathered in a creamy dipping sauce. There are lots of options here! Our favorite is tzatziki, that creamy Greek yogurt cucumber sauce. But there are many more ideas! Here are a few:

1. Tzatziki: This Greek yogurt cucumber sauce is perfect for dipping
2. Remoulade: Remoulade is mayonnaise-based, so it’s a little richer and has a developed flavor
3. Avocado Sauce: Creamy and zingy, it stars ripe avocado, Greek yogurt and cilantro
4. Sour Cream Sauce: A sour cream base makes this sauce irresistibly rich and creamy
5. Cilantro Lime Sauce: This cilantro lime ranch is just as tasty as it sounds
6. Creamy Cilantro Sauce: This vegan sauce uses cashews as the base.
7. Homemade Ranch Dressing: Speaking of ranch…it’s the perfect dipping sauce for fritters!
8. Chipotle Ranch Dressing: This spicy sauce brings a little heat.
9. Green Goddess Dressing: This herby green sauce makes magic with fritters.
10. Easy Tahini Sauce: This simple lemon tahini sauce is vegan and brings a pop to each bite.

More zucchini recipes

And that’s it! Let us know what you think of these zucchini fritters in the comments below. Here are a few more zucchini recipes for using this tasty summer vegetable:

• Make Stuffed Zucchini Boats or Zucchini Lasagna
• Try Creamy Zucchini Pasta
• Go sweet with Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Lemon Zucchini Bread or Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Browse all our 20 Favorite Zucchini Recipes

01

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

02

Lemon Zucchini Bread

03

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

04

25 Favorite Zucchini Recipes

This zucchini fritters recipe is…

Vegetarian. For dairy-free, use vegan Parmesan cheese and a vegan sauce.

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