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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.
Natasha,
This recipe is a keeper! Since I didn’t have Ricotta on hands I added Cottage Cheese and it worked. What I love about this recipe is not only the taste, but when you re-heat, the texture is the same as freshly made. I don’t always have time to comment, but thank you so much for your amazing blog!
You’re welcome Galina, I’m glad you like the recipe :).
Yum! I need to make these! A great way to use up those zucchinis!
This year we have abundance of zucchinis so this is a great way to use some up :).
This is how I make my kotlety all the time- except I skip the egg, which toughens them up, and skip the dairy, since we keep kosher. I’ve also use baby food instead of zucchini, or leftover steamed beans, or just about any veg purée.
I want to try your method. Do they fall apart without the egg?
Anything with zucchini is a MUST!! Love this new creativity of yours. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe 🙂
You are welcome Tina, I hope you’ll love it :).
What a great way to sneak some veggies in the kids food. Sounds delish, definitely will try these. I wonder how they’d be dipped in tzatziki or if they’d be as good in they were baked. I will try cooking half as the recipe says and half baked. Thanks, awesome recipe.
I think it might taste nice with tzatziki sauce. According to the original recipe author, she tried baking them and they weren’t as good as sauteed. Let me know your thoughts when you make them! 🙂
Natasha, I am glad you liked my recipe!
I tried to bake them and didn’t really like the result, they were not as good as when cooked on a skillet.
But, same idea, different vegetables, baked in tomato sauce and the result is amazing:
Ground chicken, ricotta, chopped spinach(put it in a boiled water for a minute before that), salt, pepper, crashed garlic.
Or instead of spinach you can use shredded cooked beets- boiled or baked, I use canned.
Mix everything well and form meatballs. The mixture will be sticky, rinsing hands in cold water might help.
Put 2 table spoons of olive oil in a baking dish, add two sliced garlic cloves, place meatballs.
Pour tomato sauce (I use canned, sometimes i use canned tomato roasted garlic and basil sause) on top, some more sliced garlic, fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper if needed. Bake in 350 for 30 minutes approximately. Depends on how big are your meatballs.
Let it cool down just a little bit before serving.
Thanks so much for sharing. I guess I have another recipe to try! 🙂 Thanks again!
I don’t know if you can read in Russian, but the original recipe is here http://elladkin.livejournal.com/423255.html
Thank you! That’s very helpful!
Ugh I just came from the store and saw this!
Oh man!! Next time, next time 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe — I’ve been keeping an eye on this post.
Will definitely try, hope it doesn’t end like my other adventures in zucchini…
Whatever you do, don’t give up on zucchini! I hope you love it 🙂
These look amazing! Do you think they can be baked instead of fried??
You know I haven’t tried that, but do let me know if you experiment. I’d probably lightly grease a non-stick pan or even put them on parchment paper. They are fairly delicate and tender so It would be a shame for them to stick to your baking pan and get ruined that way. Anyway, please remember to report back if you try the baking route 🙂
Is Ricotta cheese a necessary ingredient here? Do you think it would taste worse without it? I just personally never tried Ricotta cheese! What kinda cheese is that?
It kind of tastes like a blended cottage cheese. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s very bland. You could try without it, but I’d add maybe a Tbsp or 2 of flour to help hold it all together. The ricotta cheese makes it juicier so you could add a splash of milk to make it more tender 🙂
Completely agree, what a brilliant idea- half veggie/half meat. I kind of feel sad right now I haven’t thought of it myself! 😉 I can’t wait to try! Yum! As far as zucchini juice, I wonder if it could be used to make stock?
I thought about that too; maybe a zucchini soup of sorts?
The flavors sounds perfect together! Definitely I am making these soon :).
Thanks for sharing Natasha!!! 🙂
I hope you love the fritters. You’re welcome Lea and thank you for commenting 🙂 You’re awesome!
Oh these look wonderful! I think my fiance might actually eat them, which would be a huge step towards my goal of feeding him more zucchini!
PS- love your photos! Fritters are a challenge! 😉
Thank you 🙂 Pinterest and the Jerusalem cookbook brought inspiration for the final shot 🙂
That’s a funny goal to have, but a good one! Everyone deserves to enjoy zucchini 🙂
Another great way to use zucchini! Thanks
Anytime 🙂
These sound wonderful, I’ll be making them this weekend! Thank you 🙂
I hope you love them. I’m craving some again!
Looks scrumptious!!!!!!!!!!!!! yum thanks
You are welcome :).
What a brilliant idea! I love both chicken kotleti and zucchini, so I’m sure it must taste incredible! I’ll have to put this on my menu plan for the near future.
It is the best of both worlds. I hope you’ll love it as much as we did :).
ok, now I HAVE to try this!!! I love healthy spin on this Ukrainian deliciousness!!!
I know, I was so excited to discover this too!
I will definitely 100% will be trying these! They look delicious! Thanks for another fabulous recipe 😀
You are welcome Julia, I hope you’ll love the recipe :).
Hi Natasha – I made these today (with ground turkey) and they were delicious!! I was a little worried because mine took about 7 minutes per side to cook (turn that brown/golden color), but in the end they tasted great!! My husband ate 3 and my 7 year old daughter ate 3½ (she was aiming for 4 but got too full!) We had them with mashed potatoes & your spinach salad with the balsamic vinegar. Yum!
Oh, and I was so worried the kids would be picking at the “green stuff”, but nope!!! They were so surprised they ate zucchini! lol
How cool! It is a great way to get kids eating more veggies. 😉
I’m so gla
I’m so glad you all enjoyed the chicken zucchini fritters! You must have had them on a gentler flame. 🙂
Yum! Cant wait to try this!
Let me know how they turn out 🙂
They turned out totally wonderful and my whole family who is not a fan of zucchini enjoyed it. I even had enough to share with neighbors 🙂 I have to say your presentation photo of them is exceptional. Its hard to photograph such as fritters! yum! 🙂
Thank you Alla for such a sweet comment, I’m so happy that you all enjoyed it :).