Zucchini fritters are an easy and healthy recipe with a caramelized outside and a tender inside. Have these savory pancake patties as a light meal, side dish, or appetizer.

You might also enjoy our black bean burger, chickpea fritters, lentil patties, and vegetarian meatballs.

Zucchini fritters.

Zucchini fritters are one of our favorite ways to turn fresh zucchini into something truly satisfying, healthy, and packed with flavor.

They’re made with simple ingredients, lightly pan-fried in heart-healthy olive oil, and filled with fiber, and antioxidants.

Zucchini itself is a low-calorie, high-water vegetable that’s so versatile.

Over the years, Louise and I have developed more than 40 zucchini recipes for the blog, and our readers love stuffed zucchini, creamy zucchini soup, baked zucchini boats, and zucchini salad.

But when you want something crisp and quick without turning on the oven, these fritters are our go-to. You only need a few simple ingredients, and they cook in minutes 💪.

They’re perfect for summer lunches, BBQs, or a wholesome weeknight dinner.

Zucchini fritter recipe.

Ingredients

ingredients for zucchini fritters

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

  • Zucchini: We use green zucchini (courgette for our UK readers). Substitute round zucchini, yellow zucchini, crookneck squash, and more. You can add other grated veggies to your zucchini fritters. Try grated carrots, beets, or sweet potatoes.
  • Egg: One large egg acts as a binder, helping the patties stay together and adding substance and nutrition. Substitute chickpea flour for the egg. You’ll need ⅓ cup or 50 grams of chickpea flour mixed with ¼ cup or 60 grams of water to replace one egg.
  • Flour: You’ll need all-purpose flour to absorb moisture from the zucchini and keep the patties together. We tried to make zucchini fritters without flour, using chickpea flour instead, but the result was disappointing. You can make this recipe gluten-free using a one-to-one gluten-free flour mixture and one egg. We tried King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten-Free flour.
  • Red onion: You’ll love the sweet and mild flavor of red onion with zucchini. Substitute yellow, white, or green onions for the red onion.
  • Garlic: We recommend using fresh cloves, grated finely. Substitute garlic powder for fresh garlic.
  • Herbs: You can use your favorite dried herbs like oregano, thyme, mint, dill, basil, rosemary, or sage. Or you can use finely chopped fresh herbs like parsley, dill, and chives.
  • Baking powder: allows some air into the cakes, making them light and fluffy. You can also make the fritters without baking powder; they’ll be a little more dense.
  • Extra virgin olive oil: adds a beautiful flavor and is an important ingredient in this recipe. Without the oil, the patties will taste different. Substitute avocado oil or another vegetable oil for extra virgin olive oil.
  • Cheese (optional): grated parmesan or crumbled feta cheese. The patties in the pictures are without cheese.

How to make zucchini fritters

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Drain the zucchini. Grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater or a food processor with a grating disc attachment.

Transfer them to a colander and toss with salt. Put the colander over a bowl and let them drain for 10 minutes.

grated zucchini draining in a colander

Now, squeeze the water out of the zucchini with your hands.

Tip: Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. You can squeeze them in a kitchen towel or cheesecloth, although hand squeezing is much faster, with less washing up.

Nico squeezing out the water from the grated zucchini

Make the batter. In a large bowl, add one large egg and beat it with a fork.

Add the shredded zucchini, thinly sliced red onion, grated garlic, your herbs of choice, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper.

Stir with a spatula until the ingredients are combined into a thick batter.

batter for zucchini fritters

Cook the fritters. Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat in a large non-stick pan or cast iron skillet (you’ll need more oil in cast iron).

Drop four heaping tablespoons of zucchini mixture into the skillet.

Flatten the patties with a spatula and shallow-fry them on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown.

cooking patties on a pan with olive oil

Turn the zucchini fritters and cook for two more minutes, adding more oil if necessary.

Arrange them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Add more oil to the pan and cook the next batch.

Zucchini fritters with cucumber salad.

Serving suggestions

We like to serve zucchini fritters with a dollop of tzatziki, sour cream, or marinara sauce next to a refreshing dish, such as Mediterranean salad, or chickpea salad.

Make a spread on the table with other small Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes, such as chickpea hummus, baba ganoush, shirazi salad, tabbouleh, and warm pita bread.

Variations

  • Cheesy zucchini fritters: add 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of crumbled feta cheese or grated parmesan cheese in the batter.
  • Vegan zucchini fritters: Substitute ⅓ cup or 50 grams of chickpea flour mixed with ¼ cup or 60 grams of water for the egg.

Questions

Why do my zucchini fritters fall apart?

Your zucchini fritters fall apart for one of two reasons:

1) You haven’t drained the zucchini enough, and the batter is too wet. Remember to squeeze out as much water as possible per our instructions above.

2) You haven’t added enough flour, which helps absorb the moisture and makes the zucchini fritter stick together.

To fix the problem, add more flour to the batter to make it thicker.

Can I make zucchini fritters in the oven?

We don’t recommend making zucchini fritters in the oven because they won’t cook fast enough, and the zucchini will get soft and mushy.

You can try cooking them in an air fryer, although we found it a little hard to shape them when using the air fryer.

Storage

Make Ahead: Zucchini fritters are best when right out of the pan. However, we do like to keep leftovers for the week as their flavor is delicious even after several days. To crisp them up, reheat them in the air fryer.

Refrigerator: Store leftovers wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Let the patties cool down, transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw in the microwave or the fridge.

Reheat: The air fryer is your best friend for revitalizing your fritters and making them crisp. Alternatively, you can use a microwave or a pan with a drizzle of olive oil.

More zucchini recipes

If you tried this Zucchini fritters recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!

Zucchini fritter.

Zucchini Fritters

5 from 23 votes
Zucchini fritters are an easy and healthy recipe with a caramelized outside and a tender inside. Have these savory pancake patties as a light meal, side dish, or appetizer.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 fritters
Course: Main, Side dish
Cuisine: International

Equipment

  • Box grater with large holes or food processor with grating disc attachment

Ingredients 

  • 2 pounds zucchini about 4 medium + 1 teaspoon of salt for draining their liquid.
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large red onion thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano or dill
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil add more as needed to fry the patties.
  • ounces crumbled feta cheese optional

Instructions 

  • DRAIN THE ZUCCHINI: Grate 2 pounds zucchini with the large holes of a box grater.
    Put the zucchini in a colander, toss with 1 teaspoon of salt, and let drain for 10 minutes, over a bowl.
    Now, squeeze water out of the zucchini.
    Squeezing water out of grated zucchini
  • MAKE THE BATTER: In a large bowl, beat 1 large egg.
    Add shredded zucchini, 1 large red onion (finely sliced), 2 cloves garlic (grated), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
    Optionally, add 3½ ounces crumbled feta cheese.
    Stir with a spatula to form a thick batter.
  • COOK THE FRITTERS: Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large non-stick pan or cast iron skillet (you'll need more oil in cast iron).
    Drop four heaping tablespoons of mixture into the skillet.
    Flatten patties with a spatula and shallow-fry them on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown.
    Turn and cook for two more minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
    Arrange them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
    Add more oil to the pan and cook the next batch.
  • SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Zucchini fritters are lovely as a light main dish, appetizer, or side dish, sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, or dill), flakey salt, and lemon wedges.
    Try them with a dollop of tzatziki or marinara sauce next to a refreshing salad such as creamy cucumber salad.
    Zucchini fritters with flaky sea salt

Notes

Nutritional information is for 1 zucchini fritter out of 8 made with one egg.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Egg: Substitute ⅓ cup or 50 g chickpea flour mixed in ¼ cup or 60 g of water for one egg.
Red onion: Substitute white, yellow, or green onions.
Olive oil: Substitute a neutral vegetable, canola oil, or other.
Garlic: Substitute garlic powder.
Dried oregano: Substitute with thyme, dill, rosemary, sage, or your favorite dried herb. You can also use finely chopped fresh parslely, dill, or chives.
Baking powder: It’s optional, you can leave it out.
Feta cheese: Substitute grated parmesan cheese.
STORAGE
Make Ahead: Zucchini fritters are best when right out of the pan. However, we do like to keep leftovers for the week as their flavor is delicious even after several days. To crisp them up, reheat them in the air fryer.
Refrigerator: Store leftovers wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Let the patties cool down, transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw in the microwave or the fridge.
Reheat: The air fryer is your best friend for revitalizing your fritters and making them crisp. Alternatively, you can use a microwave or a pan with a drizzle of olive oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 238mg, Potassium: 445mg, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 265IU, Vitamin B6: 0.2mg, Vitamin C: 22mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 9µg, Calcium: 76mg, Folate: 55µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.3mg, Magnesium: 26mg, Zinc: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or mention @theplantbasedschool on Instagram. We love hearing from you ⭐️ 💚.


Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.

Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.

5 from 23 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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37 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious! Made these for my husband recently & he loves it! FYI, I’ve been struggling to make his favorite zucchini dishes lately and decided it was time to attempt zucchini fritters! Thank you for such a simple & tasty recipe! Will be adding this to my weekly rotations!

    1. That’s just wonderful, Ree! Happy husband, happy life 🥰

      Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here, we appreciate it! 🎉

  2. The flavor is great but the vegan option using chickpea flout was an epic fail (I was out of eggs). The 1/4 c water added made it mush which would not set up AT ALL. It ended up as a bowl of dip.

    1. Hi Jane,

      I’m so sorry that the fritters did not turn out well. Typically, the mushy fritters would happen when there is too much juice left from the zucchini and they make the batter too liquid.

      Just curious; did you squeeze the juice out of the grated zucchini before adding to the batter? Thanks for clarifying.

      Kindest, Louise