Fried Zucchini goes by many names; zucchini crisps, chips, or bites. Whatever you like to call them, one thing is certain – they are irresistibly good. You can never stop at just one, especially when you serve them with that irresistible zucchini dipping sauce (which is also super easy). Watch the video tutorial below and you’ll be craving them.
When zucchini season rolls in, we always have a surplus of zucchini from my Mom’s garden so we find creative ways to use them. Some of our favorites include Zucchini Fritters and Zucchini Casserole, but this Zucchini Crisps recipe is our kids’ favorite.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Fried Zucchini Recipe
It’s a winner! These fried zucchini chips have a perfectly crunchy outside that seals in all of the fantastic natural juiciness of zucchini. It even stays crunchy after it cools to room temp.
You’ll love serving these zucchini crisps with the (ridiculously easy to make) garlic aioli. It’s the same sauce we use for Chicken Patties and Shrimp Cakes. You will want to dip all of your fries and Popcorn Chicken into this sauce forever.
You’ll be happy to know that this recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled, but don’t forget to multiply the garlic aioli sauce, or you will be really disappointed when it is gone.
Fried Zucchini Chips Video
Watch Natasha make the best Fried Zucchini Chips and stay tuned for the taste test to hear that irresistible crunch. I’m craving these just thinking about them.
Ingredients
The ingredients for making fried zucchini are simple. You can actually use this same process to bread a variety of vegetables and even proteins like chicken. It’s a great recipe to have in your cooking repertoire.
- Zucchini – you’ll need 1 1/2 pounds which is about 2 medium/large zucchini.
- All-purpose flour – season your flour with salt and pepper to give flavor to your zucchini bites
- Eggs – beat 2 large cold eggs until well blended for your egg dip
- Panko bread crumbs – this is my favorite bread crumb for fried zucchini because it makes them extra crispy.
- Oil – use a high heat cooking oil. My go-to is extra light olive oil.
For the Garlic Aioli Sauce
The ingredients here are so simple but it’s a winning combination for the best zucchini dip.
- Mayonnaise – the creamy base for your sauce
- Garlic – pressed or grate 1 medium/large clove
- Lemon juice – please use freshly squeezed and not a concentrate version. It makes all the difference.
- Salt and pepper – add these to taste. You don’t need much.
How to Make Fried Zucchini
Once you have your basic breading stations set up, the process moves quickly and you can bread 2 or 3 at a time if your bowls have enough space.
- Create an assembly line: In the first bowl, mix together: 1/2 cup flour with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In the second bowl, beat two eggs with a fork. In the third bowl, add 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs.
- Dredge zucchini – coat all sides of zucchini chips in flour.
- Dip in egg wash – use a fork to transfer zucchini into beaten egg, letting excess egg drip back into the bowl
- Breading – coat zucchini in bread crumbs and set on a platter. Repeat with remaining zucchini rounds.
- Fry – heat 1/4″ of oil in a large skillet over medium. Once the oil is hot (350˚F on a thermometer, or when a bread crumb sizzles), add zucchini in a single layer and saute for 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels and repeat with remaining zucchini.
Pro Tip: To elevate the taste of fried foods, as soon as the fried zucchini come out of the oil, sprinkle with kosher salt to taste. It gives the crispy exterior the perfect little salty bite. We do the same with Easy Chicken Kiev.
To Serve
We love this fried zucchini as an appetizer or snack. Pair it with the Garlic Aioli Dip recipe or these amazing dips and sauces:
Common Questions
Yellow squash works great as a substitution since it is similar in size and flavor to green zucchini.
Fried zucchini can easily be made in the oven. Set breaded zucchini onto a rimmed baking sheet, spray both sides with cooking spray, and bake in the center of a preheated oven at 425˚F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
It’s even easier in the air fryer since you don’t have to flip the zucchini halfway. Spray breaded zucchini on both sides with cooking spray and air fry at 370˚F for 10-13 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
You can use an Italian bread crumb but we prefer the Panko Crumbs for the extra crunch.
More Summer Appetizer Recipes
These are some of our favorite summer appetizers (and we often sneak them into our rotation year-round because they are that good):
I’d love to hear about your favorite summer appetizers and how you love to use up all that summer zucchini. Maybe you’re making Fried Zucchini Crisps tonight?
Fried Zucchini Crisps with the Best Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Fried Zucchini Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs zucchini, (2 medium/large) sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging, seasoned with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten, for egg wash
- 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- extra light olive oil, Use a higher smoke point oil for frying
For the Garlic Aioli Sauce:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 medium garlic clove, pressed or grated
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
To Make Fried Zucchini Crisps:
- Create an assembly line: In the first bowl, mix together: 1/2 cup flour with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In the second bowl, beat two eggs with a fork. In the third bowl, add 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs.
- Dredge one of your zucchini slices fully in the flour mixture, tapping off the excess.
- Next, use a fork to dip floured zucchini in the beaten egg mixture, turning to fully coat, and let the excess egg drip back into the bowl before transferring to breadcrumbs.
- Move the zucchini to the bread crumbs bowl and coat all sides of the zucchini with crumbs. It helps to scoop the breading on top of the zucchini pieces so they are easier to flip and coat. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining zucchini rounds.
- Heat a large, non-stick, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and add about 1/4" oil (enough to generously cover the bottom). Let the oil preheat to 350˚F on a thermometer or when a bread crumb sizzles in the oil then add breaded zucchini chips in batches in a single layer and saute 3 minutes per side or until golden brown on each side. If browning too quickly, reduce the heat. Once zucchini is done frying, transfer them to a rack set over paper towels and repeat with remaining zucchini. Serve warm with aioli sauce.
To Make Garlic Aioli Dip:
- In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup mayo, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir to combine and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
We first published this recipe in 2014 and it has been a classic ever since. We revamped the recipe in 2022 with a new video tutorial, photos, and new tips like how to make fried zucchini in the oven or air fryer.
This looks so delicious! Can I use a different ingredient instead of mayo?
To be honest, I haven’t tested the aioli sauce with any other ingredients. You could always serve it with a different sauce; even fry sauce! 🙂 You could give Greek Yogurt a try and then you’d have more of a tzatziki sauce 😉 https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/10/10/tzatziki-sauce-recipe/
spicy mayo (sriracha & mayo mixed together – it’s yummy and you get to control the heat)
I just fell in love with this recipe, Do you have any healthier suggestions for oil that has a higher smoke point? I know avocado oil is good but it’s way too expensive for frying use. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have fried foods with extra light olive oil before. Its not nearly as expensive as avocado oil, but it works pretty well.
thanks!!
Can u believe that your website made me an addict, I kept browsing all the recipes from last two days. Made cupcakes and zucchini chips with aioli sauce. Love the pictures which made to drool and cannot decide what to make first. My family loved the cupcakes and chips too.Thanks aton..God bless you.
I’m so happy you are enjoying the blog and recipes. God bless you too in all of your cooking adventures! 🙂
I love your blog! I especially loved this recipe! What host website do you use for this blog? I love how chic it is.
It is a wordpress blog with the Thesis 2.0 platform 🙂
Will regular bread crumbs work? I don’t have the Panko kind…:)
I’ve tried with regular bread crumbs and they do work but the panko variety gives you a crisp outside which I thought was better. 🙂
Hi Natasha!! Love your blog, I was wondering what font you use for the titles(appetizers, drinks, lunch, etc.) and the font you use for your photo recipe index. It’s really pretty and has style. I want to use the fonts on this class project…Thanks!
Love the recipes:) everything looks soooooo good:)
I’m not sure how to figure that one out. It’s coded into the site and our site designer did it for us. I’ll see what I can find out.
Hi-I was going to leave a comment on your resources to bloggers page but for some reason I wasnt able to, dont know why. But anyways i was wondering since a friend told me that like if you get enough views/followers companies would pay you to have their ads on your page…i dont know i was just wondering…
Thank you for bringing that to my attention, you should be able to leave a comment there. For the first two years of our blog, it was more of a hobby and we did not have any sponsors/ ads on the site. We currently work with BlogHer ad network and Lijit network. We have found that working with individual companies is very time consuming, but working with a network is more efficient and the ad quality tends to be higher. I hope that helps 🙂
Hi natasha! I made them and they are incredible ) probably the best way that I’ve ever eaten zucchini. And the sauce is just out of this world 😉 My son who’s almost 2 yrs old would dip the zucchini in it, lick it off and dip again and lick it off lol until I told him to eat thr zucchini too. Thanks for the recipe!!
I’m so happy that you and your son loved the recipe :). Thank you so much for the great review, this recipe is also a favorite with our son too.
Natasha, these are da bomb!!! We love our zucchini and the combination of the crunchy outer and soft inside is just perfect. Made them 2 days in a row.Even my 3 yr old ate them but he dipped his in ranch because he’s not a fan of garlic(yet). Thank you for such a quick, easy and most importantly delicious recipe. Do you think this would work with eggplant?
My son ate them with ranch too! 🙂 Eggplant … Hmm… They might work but you might cut the slices slightly thinner. Eggplant does tend to attract and absorb oil so they might seem oilier. I think this recipe will work better with zucchini but I haven’t tested the eggplant to say for sure. I’m now curious how breaded baked eggplant would taste!
I just finished making these zucchini bites and they are absolutely delicious ! You are my inspiration to be more creative with cooking ! Thank you for the recipe !
I’m so happy you liked the recipe 🙂 You’re so welcome! I’m happy to be a source of inspiration.
Ahhh, pure perfection! On my way out to get zucchini… 🙂
Do you grow them? My parents garden is flooded with them right now. I think you’ll love these! 🙂
I planted a whole bunch this year but they were all destroyed by foxes (a huge problem in London!!) so I buy them. Thankfully, they are pretty cheap!
Wow! Foxes? That’s such a bummer. Yeah this time of year they are priced really well. 🙂
These bites look delicious! I can’t get over that garlic aioli dip. 🙂 I use a tip I learned on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives wet hand and dry hand, that way they never mix!
Oooh great tip! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 Yes that garlic aioli is so so good!
I love how crispy these are. I definitely want to try. Pinning!
Norma, thank you so much for pinning! I sure appreciate it 🙂
Oh, that looks wonderful! I too struggle with the whole breading and coating process!!
Oh well, it’s all worth it in the end! 😉
Have I mentioned that you are my kitchen hero?! These look amazing! I can’t wait to try these out on my husband the next time he is home (sadness…hopefully soon). That last photo? I almost passed out from desire! Yummy
lol. Your comments are the best! 🙂 I hope you and your hubs enjoy these!
Well wonderful people deserve wonderful comments! Amiright?! 🙂
I can’t wait to see what you are serving/eating this 4th weekend on IG!!!! I’ll have to live vicariously through you.
Sheesh you’re so nice Lindsey 🙂 Are you working this 4th of July? It also happens to be my hubby’s b-day 🙂
Yup my Hubs and I are working. One of the downsides to being self-employed, but at least we get to work together!
If I had to share my b-day with a holiday, I would choose the 4th! So much fun! Happy early b-day to your Hubby!
Absolutely; he always has fireworks on his birthday! 🙂 And there’s always a party every year 🙂 Happy 4th of July to you both. It is so nice to work together. Such a blessing.
Oh my goodness! I LOVE fried zucchini and never make it because it gets soggy too quickly. These look soooo good – I’m going to try your way with the flour coating first. You’ve added lots of good flavors and the sauce recipe too – bet they are delicious – thank you!!
These are amazingly crunchy. I was impressed that they stayed crunchy even at room temp and not just right after they were cooked. And they are so juicy on the inside, and the sauce, oh the sauce!! 🙂 You’re welcome Andi and I think you’ll love these!
Those look perfect!! Just in time for 4th of July
That’s a great idea! I’m adding them to the menu. 🙂
These look perfect! I actually just bought zucchini yesterday to make this same kind of thing but I’m sure there is no way mine will look anywhere near as good as yours!! Perfection!
Haha yeah, yeah your food is always perfection! But thank you Jaclyn, you’re so sweet 🙂
Thank you for the amazing zucchini chip recipe. In regard to keeping your fingers clean, I would try large tweezers. I have a pair that are about 6 inches in length. Should work I would think.
I like that idea! I have tried with tongs but they were too big 🙂 Thank you!
The pictures are incredible. I really like zucchini and this recipe I have to try!
If you like zucchini, you will LOVE these! My sister came over and tried them and called me in the evening for the recipe so she could make them again that night! 🙂