Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries Recipe – Low Carb with Parmesan

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Have you ever made low carb crispy baked zucchini fries? If you haven’t… oh my gosh, you need to.  They are a much healthier alternative when you’re craving French fries.

Why Make Oven Baked Zucchini Fries?

Maybe I’m a bit biased about how excited I am about these Parmesan zucchini fries, but I’m pretty sure it’s more than the fact that I’ve been missing “real food” over this past week. My husband and I just got back from a wonderful beach retreat. It felt amazing to just relax! The food was quite good, but as is usually the case in a primarily buffet setting, it was extremely bland to account for varying palates.

For the reason of food alone, I admit I was a bit excited to get back. Who knew one could miss even the basics so much? Seriously, it’s like they don’t even put salt and pepper on anything. Needless to say, sprinkling them on food after it’s done cooking is not even remotely the same. Not to mention other spices.

My spice rack was a nice, warm welcome back home.

The other thing I missed? Parmesan cheese! For some reason the only cheeses they had were bland and mushy. Who wants that? I knew I had to immediately incorporate a rich Parmesan into a new oven baked zucchini fries recipe.

Carbs in Zucchini Fries

I have to admit, I had another motive for making baked Parmesan zucchini fries. I was craving something that felt like junk food, but was still healthy.

Even though I post lots of recipes, my usual staples are actually very simple meat, veggies and eggs. Although I make exceptions when I’m somewhere special (like Paris!), on most vacations I order the same kind of thing. And since they usually can’t make things low carb, I don’t get to have things like fries.

So when we got home from our trip, I wanted to make some low carb French fries! Zucchini was a perfect way to do it.

A medium zucchini has:

• 6 grams total carbs
• 4 grams net carbs

That means it was pretty much effortless to make these zucchini fries low carb. All I had to do was use low carb breading, which was super easy to do by using Parmesan.

Each serving of the resulting zucchini fries recipe has:

• 4 grams total carbs
• 3 grams net carbs

Don’t worry, though. Even though these are low carb zucchini fries, they taste delicious! My whole family loved them, including my 11-month-old daughter.

How To Slice Zucchini Fries

Slicing zucchini fries is super easy. Cut your zucchini in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise again. Keep repeating cutting lengthwise until you get thin enough pieces.

Once the pieces are narrow enough, just stack them and cut them across to get the length you want your baked zucchini fries to end up.

You can check the video below to see what the pieces look like before breading them.

How To Make Zucchini Fries Without Breadcrumbs

As I mentioned in my last post, I know summer squash isn’t exactly in season right now. But, my local Costco still has a fresh batch, so I’m taking advantage while I can. I’ll happily make a simple zucchini noodles recipe and these baked zucchini fries over and over.

For the zucchini fries recipe, I got the zucchini extra crispy by breading it in Parmesan cheese mixed with garlic powder and black pepper. Then, the broiler finished it off to make it crispy. It’s the best kind of coating I’ve tried so far!

I have to say, I’ve made healthy low carb zucchini fries with all kinds of breading, but this Parmesan one is my absolute favorite. Here is what I like about it:

• It’s easy to find and always around in your pantry. So, you can make oven baked zucchini fries on a whim!
• The coating gets crispy in the oven, which is fantastic. Who wouldn’t love crispy zucchini fries?
• The Parmesan cheese flavor is to die for. It reduces the need for spices.

If that wasn’t reason enough to make this zucchini fries recipe, I can’t go without mentioning how incredibly simple it is. You need just five ingredients! You might even have them on hand right now.

How To Make Zucchini Fries Crispy

The Parmesan coating does a pretty good job of making these oven baked zucchini fries crispy. But, here are a few extra tips to ensure that happens:

Watch for watery zucchini.

If yours is “wet”, it will have a harder time crisping up. Pat dry with paper towels if needed.

Use smaller zucchini if possible.

The larger the zucchini, the higher the moisture content.

Do not salt the zucchini fries.

I’ve tried a recommendation that involved salting the zucchini over the sink to drain some of the water before baking. I don’t recommend this, as the result was too salty and more mushy than crispy.

Broil if needed.

You can place the Parmesan zucchini fries under the broiler to crisp up at the end.

Lightly pan fry if you’d like.

To make the low carb zucchini fries even more crispy after baking, you can lightly pan fry them.

How To Store Baked Parmesan Zucchini

If you want crispy zucchini fries, it’s truly best to eat them fresh. But if you must store them, do so in the fridge layered with paper towels between them. They will get soggy, so you’ll likely need to pan fry them if you want them crispy again.

How To Freeze Baked Zucchini Fries

You can freeze zucchini fries. Just make sure to bake them first. After baking, place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag.

To serve frozen zucchini fries, do not thaw them. Place them straight into the oven until hot and crispy. If needed, you can lightly pan fry to crisp up more.

Dipping Sauce for Parmesan Zucchini Fries

My favorite dipping sauce for these low carb baked zucchini fries is organic marinara. Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce are such a classic combination. Can’t go wrong with that. I also think they are awesome with Dijon mustard, but maybe that’s just me. Any dipping sauce works, really.

Everything is better with dipping sauce!

And since there aren’t a lot of carbs in zucchini, you totally have room for a sauce even if you’re trying to be low carb.

That being said, these Parmesan zucchini fries are so good that the dipping sauce is totally optional. The cheese and garlic powder provide so much flavor that nothing else is needed.

But if you like a creamier sauce, I think these go perfectly with my spicy appetizer dipping sauce, or keto ranch dressing, too.

How do you like your low carb zucchini fries? Plain or dipped in a sauce? Let me know!

And if you’re not sure how to make crispy baked zucchini fries, don’t worry. It’s so easy! All the instructions are on the recipe card below, plus scroll down for the VIDEO!

More Low Carb Recipes To Love

Low Carb Parmesan Zucchini Fries Recipe:
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Tools To Make Oven Baked Zucchini Fries:

Click the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.

• Baking sheet – I love this one because it doesn’t stick and I get more crispy zucchini fries than using parchment paper. And, the non-stick coating is PTFE-free, PFOA-free and BPA-free.
• Chef’s knife – A good knife is a must in the kitchen, and makes it effortless to cut the zucchini.
• White bowls – This set is the perfect size for dredging and dipping.

RECIPE CARD

4.79 from 33 votes

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries Recipe - Low Carb with Parmesan

Crispy oven baked zucchini fries made with just 5 INGREDIENTS! Everyone will love this easy and healthy low carb Parmesan zucchini recipe.

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword baked, fries, gluten-free, keto, low carb, nut-free, sugar-free, vegetarian, zucchini

Calories 213 kcal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings 4 servings

★ Review Print

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Ingredients

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• 2 medium Zucchini
• 3/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large Egg
• 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper (optional)

Click to convert between US & metric measurements:

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

More TIPS about this recipe in the post above!
VIDEO + NUTRITION INFO + RECIPE NOTES below!

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). Line and lightly grease a baking sheet. (Parchment paper works best, but foil might be okay if you grease it very well.)

2. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise 4 times (to make eight long sticks from each squash). Then cut the sticks once crosswise, making 16 sticks from each squash, approximately 4 in (10 cm) long and 1/2 in (1 cm) thick. If the zucchini sticks feel "wet", pat them dry with paper towels.

3. Prepare two shallow bowls - one with beaten egg and one with a mixture of grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and black pepper. Dip each squash stick in the egg, shake off the excess, then press into the parmesan mixture, coating all sides. (Use one hand for the egg and the other for the parmesan, to avoid getting too much egg in the parmesan which will make it clumpy.) Place on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer without touching.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping the fries and rotating the pan halfway through, until fairly dark golden.

5. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until darker golden and crispy.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 8 baked zucchini fries, about 4" long each

Video Showing How To Make Baked Zucchini Fries:

Click or tap on the image below to play the video. It's the easiest way to learn how to make Baked Zucchini Fries!

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 213

Fat 15g

Protein 21g

Total Carbs 4g

Net Carbs 3g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 2g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List. Carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.

More Low Carb & Keto Support!

If you want to know more about how to start a low carb diet, want to substitute sweeteners, need a food list, or need support, check these guides:

Low Carb & Keto Diet Plan
Starter Guide Sweetener Conversion Calculator Keto Low Carb Macro Calculator Low Carb Keto Food List + Printable PDF

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. We'd LOVE for you to share a link to this recipe, but please DO NOT COPY/PASTE the recipe instructions to social media or websites. You may share a photo with a link back instead.

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