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.
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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.
Could I do the same with mushrooms 😊
Hi Cheryl, mushrooms are a little tough to do the same with since they soften and get juicy so I’m not sure you would be able to recreate the same crisp exterior. I haven’t tested it and being a mushroom lover, I’m so curious! If you decide try it out, let me know how it goes.
Guys it is so tasty it will pop your fly.
Lol, I’m glad you love it John!
Natasha you are amazing for sharing all your recipes! This recipe is delicious!! Yum Yum Yum!
I am trying all your recipes! They are delicious. I myself come from Kazakhstan and I swear your recipes are just like my grandma’s, my grandma was ukrainian. Keep it up, I book marked your blog!
Hello Marina! I’m happy to hear how much you are enjoying the recipes! Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging comments!
Loved this! It was awesome!
I’m glad you love the recipe Ashley! Thanks for sharing 🙂
We can’t have fried foods so would it be possible to bake them and then put them under the broiler to make them crispy?
I have not experimented that way, but I think that would work like you were describing it. You might spray with a cooking spray to get the golden crisp crust.
Thank you….I’ll be trying it soon.
Hello Joyce, How did the baked version turn out. I was wondering the same thing. Maybe even cooking them in an air fryer.
Yummy!
These are the bomb! Made them several times already. The only thing I change is I use plain yogurt instead of mayo for the dipping sauce.
That’s a great, healthy alternative! Thank you for sharing Dina!
Great recipe. For the dip I substitute the mayo with plain yogurt and add dill and no lemon.
Natasha these look amazingly good, want to make them today. just a quick question, I’m out of panco bread crumbs, could I sub with corn flake crumbs???
Thnx:)
Angel, you can totally do that. Let me know how you like them 😀.
These came out delicious! If you need a sub for mayo.. Try Greek yogurt with 1/4 tsp of sugar!
Thank you for sharing your healthy substitution! 🙂
I’ve never ever been as shocked as last night when my fussy lil boy eat those zucchini with the dip just like nothing botter him. He normally would say NO to any fruits n vegetables! Maybe next time I will try to make any vegetables this way 😂😂😂 Well done Natasha n husband! I love this recipe to the moon n back!
Ps: The Happiest Hopeless Mummy With Fussy Kid Eater
That is the best when kids love what we moms make 😁. That’s so great!
It’s my second time making them.
Fail proof recipe!
Delicious! Thank you!
Thank you for the awesome review! 🙂
About how many bites does this recipe make? I was just wondering because I’m planning to make them for church snacks, and I need to know if I need to double or triple, etc, the recipe. Thanks!
Hi Shannon, it depends on how large your zucchini are. Its about 20 to 30 bites. You’ll probably want to triple the recipe for a large crowd. I double it for 6 to 8 people.
It’s that time of year again… looking for new zucchini recipes! This recipe was great fun to cook, hubby and I fried up a giant batch along with a ton of aioli. One thing I feel everyone is missing out on is grated cucumber in the aioli… A dash of sriracha & a tbsp of vinegar don’t hurt either. Tastes just like the dip at black angus. *LOVE*
Kitti, thank you for sharing your tips, reading your comment is making me hungry 😋.
can u suggest a substitute for eggs as we do not eat eggs
I really haven’t tried anything else so I’m not sure what would work to keep the bread crumbs on. Does someone else have any ideas?
I use Greek yogurt (no need to use flour either) to dip chicken wings in before crumbing them. And believe me, they are delicious!! Maybe worth a try on the zucchini rounds!
Wow that does sound really good!! Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂
There are egg substitutes out there, experiment!
Try mayonnaise
These are awesome!!
So easy and delicious!
I have a few zucchini crisps/fritters recipes but this one is the best!
Thank you so much 🙂
Natasha- Any leftovers freeze well on a cookie sheet to bake and enjoy later!!
Thank you so much for sharing that awesome tip!
Yummy!!! I plan to add some Parmesan cheese into the breadcrumbs and add some cheese crunch 😋 Your recipes are amazing
Oh wow that does sound really good!
Hi…This looks great. Do you have a suggestion on how I can keep these crisp. I would need to take them to someones house for our gourmet group. So I am just afraid after frying them they will get mushy. Any thoughts?? thanks so much appreciate any help
They are most crisp when fresh but to keep them crisp longer, I would suggest keeping them in a single layer and place them on a papertowel lined plate once they are out of the pan. To transport, transfer to a clean paper-towel lined plate keeping them in a single layer and do not cover them while they are warm or the steam will cause them to soften. Sounds like a fun group! 🙂
How early can this be made .
Hi Polina, I think they are best the same day (within 3 to 4 hours of being made). They just aren’t the same if you refrigerate them since they lose their crunchiness.