Zucchini Fritters

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

• Zucchini boats
• Sautèed zucchini
• Zucchini ribbons salad
• Vegan zucchini bread
• Banana zucchini bread

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!