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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
How to Make Chicken Zucchini Fritters:
1. Place zucchini in a colander. P.S. my OXO colander/bowl set 
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.
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.
Enjoy!
Chicken Zucchini Fritters Recipe
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.
Hi Natasha! Can I prep the meat mixture overnight and fry them the next day?
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.
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.
Has anyone tried these but with cottage cheese in place of ricotta? I usually swap them in recipes…. I am not a ricotta fan….
Hi Corinne, I have not tried that substitution but I think it could work well with a small curd cottage cheese.
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!!
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.
Good to know that you enjoyed it! Feel free to try it with a sauce that you prefer.
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.
Will farmers cheese / tvorog work in place of ricotta cheese? Looking to make these for my toddler!
Hi Sasha, I haven’t tried using those substitions yet to advise. If you an experiment, we’d love to know how it goes!
Hi! These were delicious! Can you please tell me if I can freeze them? I made a TON and have some left over.
Thanks!
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.
Can I bake the meatballs instead of frying them? Or using an air fry? Thank you.
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.”
I always squeeze zucchini in a cotton towel and it’s perfect!
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.
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……
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.
Hi Linda, I have not tried canned chicken with this recipe to advise.
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!
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.
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
You are most welcome, Joe. Thank you for sharing and I hope you will both love all the other recipes that you will try.
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
It is my pleasure, Joe. I hope you and your family will love all the recipes that you will try!