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My Zucchini Fritters Recipe Is A Crispy, Cheesy Burst Of Summer Veggies
These zucchini fritters are such a fun way to enjoy my favorite squash ever. My grandma used to make a version of these when I was growing up (except she used flour), and it still brings back memories when I make them. Here’s why they’re special:
- Crispy, savory, and cheesy – Those crisp outsides (and especially the edges) are everything. But I also love the tender inside and cheesy flavor.
- Just 6 simple ingredients – Plus salt. Unlike many zucchini fritters recipes, I don’t use flour or breadcrumbs for mine — which also means they’re healthier and gluten-free. (I use this same method for my tuna patties and chicken fritters, too.)
- Quick and easy – It only takes me about half an hour to whip up a big batch! They also store well if you want to make them ahead.
- Versatile for any meal – You can serve this zucchini fritters recipe as an appetizer, a side dish, or even a snack. I’ve even topped them with fried eggs for breakfast!
Crispy and golden brown on the outside, soft and cheesy on the inside, these zucchini patties are nothing short of amazing with a dollop of sour cream. Make them with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my zucchini fritters recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Zucchini – You’ll need 8 cups of grated or shredded zucchini, which usually comes out to about 8 medium zucchini for me. You can also make my zucchini fritters using yellow squash or even patty pan squash. Other vegetables would need different ratios due to water content — I have a recipe for broccoli fritters you can try, too.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – This acts as a binder, doubles as a cheesy flavor booster, and helps the zucchini patties get crisp. You can substitute bread crumbs if you want to. You can also use other types of hard grated cheese, such as pecorino Romano or Asiago.
- Eggs – Another binder, and the main one. While I haven’t tested egg substitutes here, flax eggs might work.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh, but you can use 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder to save time.
- Italian Seasoning – You could also choose individual dried herbs, such as dill or oregano, or opt for fresh herbs (triple the amount).
- Sea Salt – Very important to draw out excess liquid from the zucchini.
- Olive Oil – For frying. Avocado oil works just as well.
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How To Make Zucchini Fritters
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Drain and squeeze the shredded zucchini. Place it into a large colander and sprinkle with salt. Drain over the sink, then wrap in a kitchen towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
- Mix with the other ingredients. Place the zucchini into a large bowl. Stir in the parmesan cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, and garlic. (The texture will look dry, which is normal.)
- Fry the zucchini fritters. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet and flatten. Fry until golden on the bottom, then carefully flip and fry the other side. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining batter.
I always top my zucchini fritters with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Sliced green onions or chives are nice, too.
My Recipe Tips
- A food processor is the fastest way to grate zucchini. You can use a box grater, but my food processor with the grating blade is much faster.
- Measure the zucchini before you squeeze. You need 8 cups of shredded zucchini for this recipe, loosely in the measuring cup (not packed). If you use too much squash by measuring after squeezing, the zucchini fritters will fall apart.
- Do squeeze out as much water as possible. Same thing here — they’ll fall apart if you leave too much water in the zucchini.
- Use a nonstick pan. I love my cast iron, but nonstick pans work much better for my zucchini patties recipe. Cast iron burns them more easily and they tend to stick. I like this nonstick pan, which is hard anodized, so it doesn’t scratch easily and has a good weight for nice browning.
- Make sure the oil is hot before adding the fritters. Otherwise, they can stick. I add a drop of water to the pan to check. If it sizzles, it’s ready to go!
- Keep your fritters fairly small, 2-2.5 inches in diameter. They are easier to flip that way and less likely to fall apart. Rounded tablespoonfuls are a good target, but see my next tip…
- Use a cookie scoop to get patties that are all the same size. It also makes the process go faster and gets you just the right amount of batter.
- Flatten the patties pretty thin. They don’t spread on their own and won’t cook through if you don’t. I aim for about 1/4 inch thick.
- Watch the heat. If it’s too high, the outside will burn by the time the inside is cooked through. Turn it down if they brown too much.
- Flip gently just once, and not too soon. Wait for them to form that golden brown crust on the bottom before you flip. I love this cookie spatula for flipping the zucchini fritters, because it’s so thin and makes it easier.
Zucchini Fritters (Easy Recipe)
By
Make my easy zucchini fritters recipe with just 6 ingredients, in 30 minutes! These patties are crispy on the outside and cheesy inside.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Place the zucchini into a large colander, sprinkle with salt, and toss together. Drain over the sink for 10-15 minutes.
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Wrap the zucchini in a kitchen towel. Squeeze and twist over the sink to drain as much water as possible.
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Place the zucchini into a large bowl. Add the grated parmesan, eggs, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic. Mix well.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of the batter onto the skillet and flatten to about 1/4 inch thick. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil if needed.
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Drain the zucchini fritters on paper towels. Serve with sour cream and parsley.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 4 zucchini fritters, or 1/6 of the entire recipe
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you shred the squash quickly and measure it correctly for this recipe, get the best texture, and prevent your zucchini fritters from falling apart.
- Storage: Place leftovers in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb any moisture. Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- Meal prep: Since these zucchini fritters store well, you can cook them ahead of time. I don’t recommend making batter ahead, as it gets watery, but you can shred the squash in advance and let it drain in the fridge over a bowl.
- Reheat: The crispy outside softens when you store these, so I prefer to crisp them up again in a skillet (over medium-low heat) or my air fryer. You can also use the oven, but they are softer that way.
- Freeze: Arrange the cooked zucchini patties on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper in a single layer, and freeze until solid. Then, transfer to a zip lock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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Zucchini Fritters Recipe
Recipe Variations
Want to add a little something? Try these add-ins to change the flavor of these zucchini fritters:
- Lemon – If you want a lemony flavor, I recommend a teaspoon of lemon zest to do this. Lemon juice makes them less sturdy.
- Onion – Add 2 tablespoons of grated onion to the zucchini mixture for extra flavor. Just pat dry first to remove excess moisture.
- Spice – I didn’t add any black pepper to my zucchini patties, but you definitely can. Or try cayenne pepper for a stronger kick.
- Corn – Replace 1-2 cups of the shredded zucchini with canned corn instead. (Add it directly to the mixing bowl.)
Serving Ideas
I’ve served these zucchini fritters in several ways. Here are some pairing ideas:
- Chicken – Keep your dinner easy with my simple pan fried chicken thighs or chicken piccata.
- Seafood – Zucchini fritters taste light, so seafood is the perfect match. Try my flaky grilled salmon if it’s nice out, baked salmon if not, or if you want to get fancy, pan fried scallops.
- Brunch – I mentioned above that I’ve served these with fried eggs, but they also make a nice brunch spread with coddled eggs, protein waffles, oven baked bacon, and cucumber tomato salad.
- Toppers – I usually just do sour cream, but these would also be amazing with my tangy tzatziki sauce or Greek yogurt. You could even dunk them in marinara sauce or drizzle with ranch dressing.
More Easy Zucchini Recipes
It’s no secret that I love (and I mean love) zucchini! You’ll find all my zucchini recipes here, but here are a few of my other favorites:
Gratitude Moment
I wasn’t even going to update this older post today, but my grandma isn’t doing well (she’s 98) and visiting her yesterday with the kids brought back memories of foods she made for me growing up. Zucchini fritters (she called them “aladushki”) is one of those. Always with sour cream.
Here’s my mom, my grandma, my kids, and me together — 4 generations of women in one photo.
To say I’m grateful to have this time with my grandma, and to have my kids know her, is a giant understatement. Nothing is forever and it’s hard to be positive in tough times, but it’s all the more reason to cherish the time we have.
108 Comments
Kristi C
2Hi! I have been making some of your incredible recipes for some time. I read all the reviews and thought it sounded fab and I wasn’t worried about too much moisture. I love to cook! Well I forgot one important thing. Salt the zucchini while in the strainer. I ended up with a delicious mix that was watery. I put a ball of mixture in my hand and squeezed out the excess moisture. OMG, the result was amazing. These are so good and a keeper. I can’t wait to try it the RIGHT way! Delish. Thanks for a great keto recipe for all the garden golden and green zucchini in my garden! MY husband liked it and he isn’t keto! I also made hashbrowns with the same recipe (minus the draining of liquid) for my 16 yo son who said they were amazing. Thanks again!
Sarah
2Wow, these were amazing! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made them for my Husband, who is on a diet.
They turned out perfectly. I spun out excess water, after the salting method, in a lettuce spinner instead of tea towel, and that worked fine. They held together in the frying pan. I fried them in coconut oil for diet reasons. Just perfect!!!
Eliana Garry
0Thank you for this idea! I never get enough moisture out with a towel. I am going to try my salad spinner. BRILLIANT!
Jeff
1I’ve made these 3 times and they have good flavor, they are NOT stodgy. Highly recommend the sour cream topping (I add chives). PS – third time I used a large non-stick skillet to sauté the moisture out of the zucchini instead of draining and strangling. It did not seem to affect the fritters.
Elisa Castagna
1Hi! Your site is my go to site for low carb recipes. I remember my mom breading and frying zucchini all season long and wanted to do the same with less carbs. This recipe was very easy and the results were great. Definitely use the food processor to shred; it makes life so much easier. Definitely salt the zucchini while draining it. I did try the salad spinner to get rid of the extra water and it did work okay, but you really have to work at it! Next time I will use a cheese cloth. My first batch fried up okay but they were soft on the inside. The next batches were better as I lowered the heat and did not watch the pan. I found if I watch, I want to turn them to soon. So I used the time to wash all the prep dishes! The later bunches turned out great and I actually put the first two batches back in the pan to darken. I served some with greek yogurt and some with red sauce. Both were good choices.
CJ
1These zucchini fritters were delicious! Even my picky kids loved them, and my daughter asked if she could take the leftovers to school for lunch. It was a bit labor intensive to get enough water out so that they would hold their shape and cook up nice and crispy but it was well worth the extra effort. I will be adding this recipe to our favorites. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Martine
0A trick that I came up with to squeeze water out of zucchinis. I used to do it for potato pancakes but it works well with zucchini. Use a potato ricer. It’s more effective than a towel and easier to clean.
Angela
1I made these the other night. I had used homegrown zucchini we had in our garden and let me just say for someone who doesn’t like zucchini… I absolutely loved them!! They were crispy and full of flavor and I will definitely be making this again!!!
Brea
1These were absolutely amazing!!! Thank you so so much! I made mine in a pancake maker and they were a dream!
Simone
0I made your recipe changed egg for replacement egg due to allergy. It was so squishy. Had wonderful flavor but very squishy. Would do it again maybe let the zucchini drain for more like 1 hour.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Simone, I haven’t tested egg replacer, so that might have been the issue. I’m glad you liked the flavor!
MonaLisa
0This is the perfect recipe for my zucchini abundance! I find that if I make them 3-4″ in diameter, they cook perfectly every time. Thank you for the wonderfully tasty recipe!
Wholesome Yum D
0That’s such a helpful tip, MonaLisa! I’m so glad this recipe is helping you use up all that zucchini.
Jeanette Voet
0Good afternoon, these were so good the first time I made them that I just finished making a double batch so I can have some in the freezer and also share with my neighbors. I highly recommend this recipe.
Wholesome Yum D
0What a wonderful compliment, Jeanette. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you for recommending it!
Jeanette
0I made these and they are so good! I used on of the zucchini that hide until it was giant and it was perfect for this recipe.
Wholesome Yum D
0I’m glad you found the perfect use for that giant zucchini, Jeanette. Thanks for trying the recipe!
Vicki Violette
0I would really appreciate your dividing up the total fat to include the total saturated fats as I am dealing with arterial blockage and need to keep track of the saturated fats.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for the feedback, Vicki. I don’t have that info right now but will consider this in the future. Best wishes.
KatyB
0These are delicious! I love that they don’t have flour of any kind and are made with all simple ingredients! So tasty!! I’ve loved so many of your recipes…thanks for providing me with great options!
Wholesome Yum D
0Thank you so much, Katy! I’m really happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the recipes, that means a lot! And I’m with you… simple, wholesome ingredients make all the difference.
Kim A Parfitt
0What did I do wrong? They stuck terribly to the pan and didn’t cook through plus they were bland. sorry. I really wanted them to work.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Sorry to hear you had trouble, Kim! Sticking to the pan is usually a sign of either not enough oil or not preheating the pan well enough before adding the fritters. Not cooking through means they were too thick, or you didn’t cook them for long enough. I find them very flavorful with garlic, Italian seasoning, and parmesan… did you make any changes to the recipe? I also included a bunch of tips in my post above to help you make these successfully.
Val lane
0Beautiful 4 generational picture!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Val!
Colleen Stewart
0Didn’t turn out well.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Colleen, Sorry to hear you had issues with the recipe. I’d love to help if you can describe what happened.
Chrismar
0I made the zucchini fritters the other night and again last night. I really like them. I made them exactly like the recipe the first time then adjusted the second time. I always let my zucchini set in a colander without salt for about 10 minutes then salt it and let it rest again. That was the way my grandma did it. The second batch, because I make a 2 serving recipe, I beat the egg then used half of it. I cooked my fritters in my waffle maker. I will make them with the waffler every time. They were crisp outside and soft inside. This recipe will make it into my regular rotation. I had a little sugar free apple sauce left over and had a couple of fritters with that. Loved it. Thanks for the recipe. The generational picture is so cute.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so glad you like these, Chrismar! Thanks for the tip on the salting, I’ve done this for other recipes but didn’t feel the need for this one. It might help though if people have trouble flipping otherwise! A waffle maker sounds delicious and I need to try that ASAP. And thank you on the picture!
MonaLisa
0Love this dish! Added a few tablespoons of finely chopped onion, and the last of my zucchini, both from the garden. Didn’t quite have enough zuc and supplemented with summer squash (also from my garden). Very yummy! I have leftovers and I’m thinking I will reheat either in the oven or the Instant Pot air fryer. Thanks Maya! May the memories of your grandmother help you through your loss.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so glad you liked it! What a treat to make them with garden zucchini. Appreciate the kind words!
deborahfaragisweet
0I really dislike frying, so I baked them in a convection oven at 425°. Used a little lemon olive oil to brown them, flipped 1/2 way through
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for sharing, Deborah! Glad to hear that worked for you.
Veronica
0Amazing!! I used avocado oil because that’s what I had.
Marsh
0These fritters did not turn out! I squeezed out as much water as I could from the grated zucchini using a nut milk bag and considerable force. The results actually looked pretty good, but adding in the 2 eggs and cheese simply made a very lumpy bunch of grated zucchini. When cooking, I flattened them to 1/4 inch as instructed. They did not fry well, and were just unformed mush when I tried to flip them; burnt on the outside, uncooked on the inside. They did taste good, but the appearance was certainly nowhere near the recipe photos. I might try them again with 4 eggs.
I have tried other recipes from this website with great results, this recipe not so much.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Marsh, Sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out. It might be that you packed the zucchini too tightly when measuring, or did you measure after squeezing. The 8 cups for this recipe are loosely in the measuring cup, before squeezing. Also, if they burned on the outside and the inside was raw, your stove heat was turned up too high. Hope this helps for next time!