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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 I Was Excited To 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. The reason for that is, my husband and I just got back from a wonderful beach retreat in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. 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.
Honestly, I have a hard time understanding how such bland food can be anyone’s idea of delicious, but they are probably staying on the safe side. Apparently “somewhat edible” for everyone is what they are going for, even if that means “boring” for most.
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 only 6 grams total carbs, and 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. The resulting recipe has 3 grams net carbs per serving.
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.
Baked Parmesan Zucchini Has The Best Crispy Coating
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. For this recipe, I got the zucchini extra crispy by breading it in Parmesan cheese mixed with garlic powder and black pepper. 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. The coating gets super crispy in the oven, which is fantastic. Who wouldn’t love crispy zucchini fries? Besides, the Parmesan cheese flavor is to die for.
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.
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!
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, 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! Here, I’ll show you…
Zucchini Fries Recipe (Low Carb Parmesan Baked Zucchini Fries):
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Video Showing How To Make Baked Zucchini Fries:
- 2 medium Zucchini
- 3/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large Egg
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line and lightly grease a baking sheet.
- 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 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.
- Prepare two shallow bowls - one with eggs 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.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, flipping the fries and rotating the pan halfway through, until golden and crispy.
Net carbs per serving: 3g
*One serving is 8 baked zucchini fries, about 4" long each.
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Want more low carb, gluten-free ideas for appetizers? Try these:
Renee Kohley says
My girls would love these! Super fun!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you, Renee! Yes, zucchini fries are such a great way to help kids get their veggies in. My daughter loves them!
Kathy says
Is just one zucchini “fry” a serving?
Maya says
Hi Kathy, I wouldn’t consider one fry to be a serving (that’s a crazy tiny serving!), but that is how the nutrition info was listed initially. I changed it to be more reasonable – 4 servings in the recipe, 8 fries per serving. Thank you for pointing that out!
KalynsKitchen says
Happy Friday! Just letting you know I featured this in my weekly Low-Carb Recipe Love on Fridays post. Hope a lot of my readers will click over here and get the recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you so much, Kalyn! I appreciate the share! I have one of your recipes in an upcoming roundup I’m doing, too.
Missy says
Oh my goodness…I know what I’m doing with my zucchini this week! Yum!
Marcee says
Just made a batch of these and they are delicious!!! I dip mine in ranch.
Michele says
Silly question, but did you use fresh parm here or the canned stuff? I never use the canned stuff, but I think here it might coat better?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Michele, I used the kind from a can but either one should work as long as it’s finely grated. Let me know how it turns out if you try the fresh kind.
Abby says
I used freshly grated Parmesan and they turned out great!!! Will definitely make again and again!
Ariel says
So the parmesan cheese, you get it out of the bottle like you would use on spaghetti? Could you use the bagged kind that’s with the cheese in the store?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Ariel, I use this parmesan cheese. Any finely grated parmesan will do – it doesn’t matter what container it comes in or if you want to grate it yourself. The only bagged kind I’ve seen is shredded, not grated, though.
Kaylyn says
Wow! I made these tonight and they will definitely be a new go-to side for me! So easy and delicious!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you, Kaylyn! They’re a go-to side for me, too.
Lisa jones says
Could you fry these? Are they really crispy baked like this?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Lisa, Yes, frying them should work too. I haven’t tried it, but they will likely be even more crispy that way. (Let me know how it goes if you give it a shot.) Otherwise, the fries do come out crispy right out of the oven, and you could put them under the broiler for a minute or two to crisp up more. But, they do lose their crispiness if you let them sit for a while, so they’re best eaten right away.
Hanya says
My fries stuck to the baking foil even after I put some grease on it. How can you prevent this from happening?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Hanya, You might need to grease it more generously if using foil. Another option would be to use parchment paper. Or, you could use these non-stick pans – they are truly non-stick and easy to clean even without lining them.
Jaygee says
This looks tasty and interesting. Have you tried, or do you think that, using an air fryer would work for this?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Jaygee, I don’t have an air fryer so haven’t tried it or had experience with it unfortunately. I don’t see any reason for it not to work, though. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it!
Andrea Hosage says
Delicious, thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you, Andrea!
Mari says
These were a nightmare to make and were no better than when I just saute squash. What a waste of my time and expensive Parmesan cheese!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Mari, Sorry to hear that they weren’t for you. What was difficult about making them? I have a video posted above the recipe card and it’s pretty straightforward. Other than that, I find them different from sauteed squash and have gotten the same feedback from others. If you prefer pan frying, you could try this fried zucchini and squash recipe instead, which is even more crispy.
Holly Woods says
I have been eating low carb for a month now and there are not very many veggies that I care for (including zucchini). But they looked so good I thought I would try these tonight. I made them for me and my husband. They were delicious! And so easy to make! My husband loved them too! Makes me very happy because I needed to add more vegetables to my low carb diet and these definitely do the trick! Thanks so much!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
You’re welcome, Holly! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed these.
Michele says
Do you think avocado could work? I used up our zucchini yesterday. 🙁
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Michele, Yes, that sounds like a great idea!