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.
I added some dil to the dip. To die for!! Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Love it,
Love your recipe’s. Keep up the great job! I have cooked many of your dishes and became a hero in my house lol Thank you for all the great meals. My favorite so far are ricotta pancakes, philly cheesesteak, chicken chow main the list does go on
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
I made these for lunch and it was so awesome. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I used grapeseed oil to fry them. Thank You Natasha now all my dishes are from your recipes.
I’m so happy you enjoeyd this recipe!
This was so good! We couldn’t believe how a few simple ingredients made such a killer aioli. And the zucchini was also not hard at all to do and came out SO crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Will be making this one again. 🙂
That’s just awesome, Nevena! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Can you make this recipe in the deep fryer?
Hi Tiffany, I think a deep fryer would work, but I just did it on the stove.
can i put these in the oven and for how long
Hi Maria, I haven’t tried baking them so I don’t have specific instructions for it.
These are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing all of your wonderful recipes! My 11 year old absolutely devoured these, and said mom these are like tempura!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
The aioli sauce makes this. Fast and easy! Try this, it will make a zucchini lover out of you.
It is our favorite! Thank you for that wonderful review!
For the guys…It will knock your socks off!
Thank you for that wonderful review Diana!
Natasha these were awesome!! I couldn’t keep enough on the plates for my daughter and her hates every veggie best friend! Only thing I changed is that I threw them in the air fryer instead of the pan. Yummy!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed these Tina! Thank you for the wonderful feedback!
Thanks for your Zucchini bites page. I tried it today and these came out very well. The Garlic Aioli Sauce was the star, I feel. Breading for me too was bit of a mess, not good to dip the bites into the bread crumbs making it lumpy and quite unusable to coat. Will keep small portions of bread at a time or scoop it over each bite, next time. Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing that with us, I hope you love every recipe that you try!
These were delicious .. loved the zucchini and the dip was perfect. Thanks for the tip on breading all of them before starting to fry. I lined them all up on a sheet pan and I was ready to fry! The leftovers warmed up well in the airfryer too.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Excellent crunchy little wonder!
These were so easy and such a hit. The aioli is a nice bright punch of flavor to go with it.
Glad you loved this recipe, Rachelle!
Our zucchini was delicious!! Wasn’t going to make the aioli but decided to, what a nice extra flavor to the zucchini.
Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Michele! Thank you for that awesome review!
Could these possibly be baked or cooked in an air fryer instead of being fried in oil????
Hi sandra, I think it would work if you sprayed both sides with cooking spray. Without testing it myself, I couldn’t really give you exact baking times.
Hi! Will this work for eggplant? I’d i slice them?
I haven’t tried this with eggplane Snizhana! If you experiment I would love to know how you like it!
Hi Natasha!
Thinking of making these for guests on Sunday… how long do they stay good and crispy for ? Can I make them on Saturday?
Thanks a lot for amazing recipes!
Hi Larisa, these are crisp when they are made. I think you might be able to crisp them up again in the oven but they are best served fresh.
Great recipe. We love it. Glad I came across it when searching for fried zucchini recipes.
That’s so great! I’m happy you discovered our blog. Welcome!
Hi Natasha. Love love love your recipes and the care you use in giving nutritional info. I’m new to low carb (Dr.s orders) so I often feel like I’m wading through thick mud. You help me more than you can know. So!? About these zucchini bites. Do you think I can substitute almond flour? I’m not Keto. 50 to 100 carbs. Thanks my dear. Hey, I’m from WA state too. We have retired to FLorida but still go home often.
Hi Kathy, we are working through adding nutritional info for the recipes but it’s a slow process since we have to do them one by one, going through about 800 recipes. I haven’t tried making these with almond flour but I do think it’s worth experimenting. I checked the comments and no none has reported using almond flour for this either. If you experiment, let me know how it goes 🙂
Just tried this recipe as an appetizer to Sunday dinner and needless to say this was one of the greatest apps I’ve made. This dipping sauce compliments to the zucchini so well while the crunchy outside adds amazing texture. I will be cooking up some of these slices of heaven later this week. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Ashley! I’m happy to hear how much you love the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!