I’ve enjoyed sharing my favorite zucchini recipes this month, but I couldn’t leave out these super tasty Zucchini Fritters! These zucchini fritters have been a favorite of mine for years. They’re made with simple ingredients and they’re quick & easy to whip up. Plus who can resist those crispy brown edges and tender inside. And did I mention they’re also budget-friendly coming in at under a dollar per serving? I mean seriously, what’s not to love? If you’re a zucchini lover like me, then you have to give this zucchini fritters recipe a try! ;)
Originally posted 1-22-11, updated 7-20-24.
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What Are Zucchini Fritters?
Zucchini Fritters are crispy little zucchini cakes made with grated zucchini, flour, seasoning, and a few other add-ins. They resemble little pancakes and are great to enjoy for lunch, as a snack or appetizer, or even as a dinner side dish.
Ingredients For Zucchini Fritters
Here’s everything you need to make this easy zucchini fritters recipe:
- Zucchini: Zucchini of course is the star of the show! You’ll need roughly 2 large zucchini and there’s no need to peel them.
- Onion and Garlic: Finely diced onion and minced garlic are the primary aromatics and add tons of flavor to these zucchini fritters.
- Flour: All-purpose flour adds body, structure and helps hold the fritters together.
- Parmesan: Just a little bit of grated parmesan cheese for an extra boost of umami flavor!
- Egg: The egg helps bind the ingredients together.
- Salt & Pepper: I tested this recipe a few times and decided to keep the seasoning simple with just a little bit of salt and pepper. Adding extra herbs seemed to overpower the taste of the zucchini. Plus there is plenty of flavor coming from the onion, garlic and parmesan cheese!
Serving Suggestions
I served these zucchini fritters with our creamy Tzatziki sauce. The cool and fresh flavors of the tzatziki pairs perfectly with the fritters. They also taste great with just a dollop of sour cream and finely sliced green onions. I also wouldn’t be opposed to dipping these in some tartar sauce or our comeback sauce!
Recipe Tips!
- Squeeze out the liquid well. You definitely want to squeeze as much water as you can out of the zucchini before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. This helps keep the zucchini fritters crisp and not soggy.
- Make sure your pan is hot. Make sure the pan and oil are hot before you add the zucchini fritters. I like to start my heat at medium-high heat and adjust if needed. If your pan gets too hot, the zucchini fritters might cook faster on the outside without fully cooking all the way through on the inside. So keep an eye on it and turn the heat down just slightly to medium if needed.
- Don’t use too much oil. You don’t need a whole lot of oil to fry these fritters. Just a few tablespoons of oil for a quick pan-fry is all you need.
- Serve immediately. Don’t wait too long to enjoy these tasty zucchini fritters. They are best when served hot and crispy. The longer they sit the more they tend to become soggy.
- Wondering what else you can add? One of my favorite ingredients to add to these fritters is fresh summer corn. Since corn on the cob is in season the same time as zucchini, I sometimes grab one ear of corn to include in the mixture. Just cut the corn kernels off of the cob and add them with the grated zucchini. Trust me, corn and zucchini fritters are also really good!! :)
Love Zucchini Recipes?
Here are a few more of our favorite zucchini recipes for you to try out:
Zucchini Fritters
Servings 4 (makes 7-8 fritters)Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. zucchini (2 large zucchini) ($2.00)
- 1/4 yellow onion, finely diced ($0.15)
- 1 garlic clove, minced ($0.08)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese ($0.40)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten ($0.16)
- 1 tsp salt, divided ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.04)
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.12)
For Serving
Instructions
- Wash the zucchini well, trim off the stem, then using the large holes on a box grater, grate the zucchini. You should end up with about 4 cups of grated zucchini.
- Place the grated zucchini in a fine mesh cheesecloth or a strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle ½ tsp of salt over the zucchini. Give the zucchini a quick mix and let it sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, using the cheesecloth or clean hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can into the bowl or over the sink.
- Add the grated zucchini to a large bowl along with the finely diced onion, garlic, flour, parmesan cheese, egg, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat the cooking oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add several spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture to the hot skillet to form small pancake-sized patties. Gently flatten the tops of each fritter with the back of a spoon or a spatula and cook each fritter until it is golden brown on both sides – about 3 minutes per side. Cook the fritters in 2 batches to keep from crowding the pan.
- Remove the fritters from the pan and drain on a wire rack or paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately and enjoy while they’re hot!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Box Grater
- Cheesecloth
Nutrition
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How to Make Zucchini Fritters – Step By Step Photos
Wash 2 large zucchini (or roughly 1 1/2 lbs.) well, trim off the stem, then using the large holes on a box grater, grate the zucchini. You should end up with approximately 4 cups of grated zucchini.
Place the grated zucchini in a fine mesh cheesecloth or a strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle ½ tsp of salt over the zucchini. Give the zucchini a quick mix and let it sit for 15 minutes to help draw out some of the excess water.
After 15 minutes, using the cheesecloth or clean hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can into the bowl or over the sink.
Add the grated zucchini to a large bowl along with 1/4 yellow onion (finely diced), 1 clove of garlic (minced), 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 large egg, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper.
Mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat 3 Tbsp cooking oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add several spoonfuls of the zucchini mixture to the hot skillet to form small pancake-sized patties. Gently flatten the tops of each fritter with the back of a spoon or a spatula and cook each fritter until it is golden brown on both sides – about 3 minutes per side.
Cook the fritters in 2 batches to keep from crowding the pan.
Remove the fritters from the pan and drain on a wire rack or paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately and enjoy while they’re hot!
Super flavorful. With the exception of the water drainage part for the zuc, it comes together really fast for an easy side dish. Honestly though, I could totally eat this for an entire meal…it’s that good!
These Fritters were awesome! I haven’t made the Z sauce yet but I’m sure they would make it SIX stars!
Elizabeth
BIG mistake, make as many as you can when zucchini is abundant and eggs are cheap then freeze as many as you can.
No need to eat ASAP.
I make enough to have several a week until the next growth season. Defrost in the fridge and reheat in a TINY bit of cooking oil in a frying pan. I swear you can not tell the freshly cooked one from the ones that were frozen,
At the top it says “You’ll need roughly 2 large zucchini and there’s no need to grate them.” But the recipe says to grate the zucchini—is there an alternative to grating?
Hi Karen, I just corrected that sentence to say “there’s no need to peel them” They do need to be grated. Thank you for letting us know. ;)
Aha! No peeling is good.
Thanks, Marsha.
Although this was delicious the amount of oil was way way too much an made my kitchen so messy. Next time I will only use 1/4 cup of oil an add a little more as needed.
This recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of oil. 1/4 c is 4 Tablespoons, 1 more than the recipe states. How much oil did you use? I started with 2 T and added #3 with the 2nd batch of 4 fritters that I fried. They came out crispy and delicious.
I think this recipe was re-written from an earlier post and my guess is that it originally had more oil. BB, if you mention that this is a reformulate recipe, would you mention it in the notes?
Hi Judy, yes you are correct, we updated this recipe this week. And great suggestion for adding an extra note. Thanks! ;)
Hi Janmaus, we actually just updated this recipe this week and changed the oil amount. The original posting was from 2011. I’m so glad you liked the recipe! :)
I used the concept of these as a jumping-off point– I salted the zucchini and let it sit for 10 minutes before squeezing it out a bit, then continued with the recipe. Changes I made included using Bob’s Red Mill’s vegan egg replacer as a binder in lieu of the egg, adding onion powder and garlic powder, and skipping the parsley because I didn’t have any handy. Turned out great! If you need a vegan modification, I’d recommend this.
These are fun to make although I rarely fry anything. We ate the whole batch and no sauce was needed. Thanks for another dependable, clearly written recipe.