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Chicken Zucchini Fritters Recipe

These chicken zucchini fritters are healthier than regular kotlety; being half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful. Kids love these.

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Imagine if you will that a katleta (meat patty) married a zucchini fritter and they had babies = Chicken Zucchini Fritters. I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of this sooner. They are healthier than regular kotlety; being half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful.

One of my readers, Nataliya, wrote in with this recipe. I was convinced I needed to make them when she mentioned that her kids loved these patties. I get so much inspiration and ideas from you all, so thank you! Low and behold, my son loved these too, and so did the Mr. and so did I, oh and my sister and brother and law too. I’ll stop now. 🙂 Thank you Nataliya for this great recipe!

Ingredients for Chicken Zucchini Patties:

2 medium zucchini (about 1 1/4 lbs), grated (I used a green zucchini and a yellow squash)
2 tsp salt, divided
1 lb ground turkey or chicken
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup green onions or chives, finely sliced
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic, pressed,
8 oz ricotta cheese (or 1/2 of the 15oz tub)
Olive oil to saute

Chicken Zucchini Patties_

How to Make Chicken Zucchini Fritters:

1. Place zucchini in a colander. P.S. my OXO colander/bowl set made this step convenient. Sprinkle grated zucchini with 1 tsp salt and let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much juice as you can from your zucchini, squeezing it out by the fistful to get out the most juice out, or as one of the readers suggested, use double-lined cheesecloth to ring it out. You’ll be amazed how much juice actually comes out of these babies. Transfer drained zucchini to a large bowl. Wonder if anything delicious can be done with this healthy juice? Got any ideas?

chicken-zucchini-fritters-recipe

2. Add 1 lb fresh ground turkey or chicken, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 cup finely sliced green onion, 1 egg, 2 pressed garlic cloves and 8 oz ricotta cheese.

chicken-zucchini-fritters-recipe-1

3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 3-4 Tbsp extra light olive oil. Place a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and form a round patty about 1/3-inch thick. Cook over medium heat uncovered for 3 minutes, then flip, cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes more or until cooked through. Add more oil to the pan as needed for subsequent batches.

chicken-zucchini-fritters-recipe-2

These chicken zucchini fritters are healthier than regular kotlety; being half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful. Kids love these.

These chicken zucchini fritters are healthier than regular kotlety; being half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful. Kids love these.

Enjoy!

Chicken Zucchini Fritters Recipe

4.89 from 52 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
These chicken zucchini fritters are healthier than regular kotlety; being half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful. Kids love these.
Imagine if you will that a katleta (meat patty) married a zucchini fritter and they had babies = Chicken Zucchini Fritters. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of this earlier. They are healthier than regular katlety since they are half meat and half veggie and they are super juicy and flavorful.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 medium zucchini, about 1 1/4 lbs, grated (I used a green zucchini and a yellow squash)
  • 2 tsp salt, divided
  • 1 lb ground turkey or chicken
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 cup green onions or chives, finely sliced
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed,
  • 8 oz ricotta cheese, or 1/2 of the 15oz tub
  • Olive oil to saute

Instructions

  • How to Make Chicken Zucchini Fritters:
  • Place zucchini in a colander or bowl. Sprinkle grated zucchini with 1 tsp salt and let stand for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much juice as you can from your zucchini, squeezing it out by the fistful to get out the most juice out. You'll be amazed how much juice actually comes out of these babies. Transfer drained zucchini to a large bowl. Discard drained juice.
  • Add 1 lb fresh ground turkey or chicken, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 cup finely sliced green onion, 1 egg, 2 pressed garlic cloves and 8 oz ricotta cheese.
  • Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 3-4 Tbsp extra light olive oil. Place a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and form a round patty about 1/3-inch thick. Cook over medium heat uncovered for 3 minutes, then flip, cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes more or until cooked through. Add more oil to the pan as needed for subsequent batches.
Course: Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Russian, Ukrainian
Keyword: Chicken Zucchini Fritters
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
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Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

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4.89 from 52 votes (17 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Tatiana
    September 1, 2024

    Hi Natasha! Can I prep the meat mixture overnight and fry them the next day?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      September 1, 2024

      Hi Tatiana! That should be fine, you can prepare it ahead, store it properly in an airtight container and refrigerate but it should not be more than 24 hours.

      Reply

  • Natasha K Siso
    July 30, 2024

    AMAZING! I’ve made this at least 4 times now, twice for family and twice for dinner events, and it’s been a success every time. I follow the recipe exactly as it is and it’s perfect every time.
    Per other reviews, I saw that some people add a dipping sauce so I’ve tried spicy mayo and it’s great. I think home made Tzatziki would be good with this too so I’ll try that next time.

    Reply

  • Corinne
    July 9, 2024

    Has anyone tried these but with cottage cheese in place of ricotta? I usually swap them in recipes…. I am not a ricotta fan….

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 9, 2024

      Hi Corinne, I have not tried that substitution but I think it could work well with a small curd cottage cheese.

      Reply

  • Laura
    July 8, 2024

    Delicious!!!
    I didnt drain the zucchini well enough (I knew, but didn’t care, haha) so they somewhat fell apart. They worked better when I made them really small though, and they tasted GREAT!
    They were really good on their own, but I also tried them with a garlic aioli, whichi was wonderful. The winnng sauce was sriracha mayo though!
    I couldn’t stop eating them!!
    Thank you for ANOTHER winner!!

    Reply

  • John
    April 22, 2024

    These came out amazingly well. Essentially a burger texture and a good taste. I think it was missing a flavor – it needs something like a burger sauce. Ketchup was’t a great fit, nor was buffalo sauce.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 22, 2024

      Good to know that you enjoyed it! Feel free to try it with a sauce that you prefer.

      Reply

    • Laura
      July 8, 2024

      I read your comment before I made them myself. I tried a few different sauces.
      Sriracha mayo was definitely the winner! Super easy to make yourself too.
      Garlic aioli was also fabulous with this.

      Reply

  • Sasha
    March 19, 2024

    Will farmers cheese / tvorog work in place of ricotta cheese? Looking to make these for my toddler!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 20, 2024

      Hi Sasha, I haven’t tried using those substitions yet to advise. If you an experiment, we’d love to know how it goes!

      Reply

  • Aliya
    October 18, 2023

    Hi! These were delicious! Can you please tell me if I can freeze them? I made a TON and have some left over.
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      October 18, 2023

      Great! I haven’t tried freezing these but here is what one of our readers wrote “These are so very delicious! I have made them with ground chicken, turkey and beef. I also make them ahead and freeze them between parchment paper. One tip that might help others is to put the zucchini in a double piece of cheesecloth and ring it out. Mine were sloppy until I did that and now they hold together so well. I also used cottage cheese purred when I didn’t have ricotta-equally good. My kids prefer these to burgers now!” I hope that helps.

      Reply

  • KayV
    August 21, 2023

    Can I bake the meatballs instead of frying them? Or using an air fry? Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 21, 2023

      Hi Kay, I haven’t tried baking them but one of my readers did and this is what she reported: “I tried to bake them and didn’t really like the result, they were not as good as when cooked on a skillet.”

      Reply

  • Jacqueline Carolan
    June 23, 2023

    Made these the other night. I sautéed some diced onions,garlic and half a jalapeño pepper to add to the mixture plus added some poultry seasoning. I will make them again.

    Reply

  • Robin
    December 18, 2022

    Delicious!! I didnt have ricotta, but added a healthy tablespoon of tzatziki and a +/1 tsp of Harissa seasoning. Served with a dollop of tzatziki on top. Mmmmmm……

    Reply

  • Linda G
    July 30, 2022

    Can I use canned chicken instead of ground chicken in this recipe? It sounds wonderful and I would like to try it. I have made other chicken fritter recipes using canned chicken.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      July 30, 2022

      Hi Linda, I have not tried canned chicken with this recipe to advise.

      Reply

  • Trisch
    March 2, 2022

    This is the first recipe I didn’t love. I thought they had really good flavor, but the texture was weird to me. May have added too much zucchini. I’m going to try some of your other chicken fritter recipes. Thanks for sharing so many great recipes and tips!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 3, 2022

      Sorry to hear that you didn’t like the result. It’s hard to say without being there but could be that if that’s the only thing that you changed in the recipe.

      Reply

  • Joe frady
    December 12, 2021

    Made this for dinner tonight it was delicious my wife and I absolutely loved it thank you so much I really appreciate you taking the time to share the recipes looking forward to more

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 13, 2021

      You are most welcome, Joe. Thank you for sharing and I hope you will both love all the other recipes that you will try.

      Reply

  • Joe frady
    December 12, 2021

    Made this for dinner tonight it was a big hit with my wife and I absolutely delicious thank you so much I really appreciate you taking the time to share the recipes looking forward to more

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 12, 2021

      It is my pleasure, Joe. I hope you and your family will love all the recipes that you will try!

      Reply

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