Zucchini is one of my favorite summer vegetables. It’s cheap (especially if you have a friend or neighbor who is growing it), versatile, and totally delicious. So if you’re looking for extra ways to use up your summer zucchini, you’ve got to give these Baked Zucchini Fries a try. They’re crispy on the outside but creamy and delicious on the inside! Eat them plain or dip them into your favorite pizza sauce or marinara sauce.
Originally posted 7-28-2012, updated 8-12-2022.
Are Zucchini Fries Crispy?
Zucchini is a high water content vegetable, so it tends to get very soft when cooked. To counteract that, we’ve cut the zucchini into smaller pieces to allow for more evaporation and coated the fries in a crispy combination of panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan. The result is a zucchini fry that is crispy and tasty on the outside, but soft and creamy on the inside.
Do I Have to Use Panko?
I highly suggest sticking with panko breadcrumbs here instead of regular breadcrumbs because their light texture and larger pieces help make the zucchini fries extra crispy. Regular breadcrumbs tend to be smaller pieces and a bit more dense, which will produce a harder shell rather than a light, crispy coating.
Make Them Gluten-Free
To make these zucchini fries gluten-free you’ll need to make two swaps. Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour, potato flour, or arrowroot flour to dredge the zucchini before the eggwash, then use gluten-free panko crumbs for the final coating. I do not suggest using almond flour or coconut flour in place of the all-purpose flour because they will not absorb moisture as well as the all-purpose flour.
How Are the Leftovers?
The one caveat with these Baked Zucchini Fries is that they’re definitely best right when they come out of the oven. After they’re stored in the refrigerator the breading will absorb moisture and become soft. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t still totally gobble them up after reheating, but you definitely won’t get the same texture experience.
Baked Zucchini Fries
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 lb. zucchini ($1.69)
- 2 large eggs ($0.39)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs ($0.50)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.36)
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp salt, divided ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce (for serving) ($0.50)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Slice the zucchini into matchsticks that are ½-inch wide and 3-inches long. Set the zucchini aside.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the panko, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, and ¼ tsp salt.
- Add the sliced zucchini to a large bowl. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour and remaining ¼ tsp salt over the zucchini. Toss the zucchini until they are evenly coated in flour.
- Place wire cooling racks over a large baking sheet to lift the zucchini pieces and allow airflow underneath. Bread the zucchini slices by briefly dipping them in the whisked egg, letting the excess run off, then coating them in the panko-Parmesan mixture.
- Place the breaded zucchini on the wire racks with a small amount of space between each piece to allow for airflow.
- Bake the breaded zucchini fries for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Serve immediately with pizza sauce for dipping.
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Equipment
- Enamelware Sheet Pan
- Wire Cooling Racks
- Chef's Knife
Nutrition
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How to Make Zucchini Fries – Step By Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Slice about one pound of zucchini into ½-inch thick matchsticks (about 3-inches long).
Whisk two eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, and ¼ tsp salt.
Place the sliced zucchini in a large bowl and sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt and 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour. Toss the zucchini until they are evenly coated in flour.
Place two wire cooling racks over a large baking sheet. Begin to bread the zucchini fries by first briefly dipping them in whisked egg, allowing the excess to drip off, then coating them in the panko-Parmesan mixture. To make this process faster, I usually dip 2-3 at a time into the eggwash.
Place the breaded zucchini on the wire racks with a little space between each piece.
Bake the zucchini fries for about 20 minutes in the fully preheated 425ºF oven or until they are golden brown and crispy. Allow the fries to cool for a couple of minutes before wiggling them loose from the rack. If any of the fries are stuck, use a fork to scoop under the fry and lift it up off the rack.
Serve the zucchini fries with pizza sauce or marinara for dipping!
Came across this recipe on pinterest! Made it tonight and it was yum-o!
I’m going try this recipe this week but would like to know the recipe for the slow cooker marinara sauce. Thanks!
The link to the marinara sauce recipe is up in the introduction, but incase it’s not working for you, here it is again. I hope you enjoy it! :)
five stars
These were amazing! Everyone scarfed them! Genius!
I would like to try this recipe as an appetizer for Thanksgiving, but with all the cooking I need to do I was wondering if I could make them in advance and just reheat the next day? Can’t wait to try them and thanks for the great recipe.
No, unfortunately this is not one that can be cooked ahead of time and then reheated. Like regular fries, they get very soft very fast, so you definitely want to eat them right after cooking. :)
Made them last week making today so very good and easy love them
Thanks
try dipping these in prepared horseraddish mixed with a little lite mayo
my daughter made these and we dipped them in ranch dsg. so good, I almost couldn’t eat my chicken. I wanted more of these. very good
Tried these tonight and they were fabulous. Will definitely make again and again.
I tried these tonight. I will make these again only next time… I’ll use more salt and cook a wee bit longer. Otherwise, delicious!
thanks for sharing.
Unfortunately, this one didn’t really work for us. I thought they were kind of tasteless and definitely needed more salt — and I had used a little more than what was called for. I also increased the cooking time as a commenter above mentioned. But this is the first dud I’ve experienced from this site, so it’s hard to complain too much, haha. Maybe I can tweak it to work for us ;-)
This recipe is YUMMY! Thank you!!
Sorry I can’t rave about this recipe like everyone else did…I thought they were pretty good…but probably not a keeper recipe for us (Sad to say, my kids were not impressed–even my zucchini-lover son.) A few notes (the point of my comment): I felt they needed more oven time than listed to get the zucchini past the crunchy stage. Also, most importantly, if you’re omitting the Parmesan cheese (as I did), they need more salt.
These things are incredible! Really, after trying them last weekend I was awfully tempted to cook nothing but these for the rest of the week. It really took some effort to decide on other meals.