This homemade Zucchini Fritters Recipe is oh-so-easy to make and you’ll get perfectly crispy fritters every time. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
We love zucchini recipes from Crispy Fried Zucchini to Zucchini Casserole. If you are a fan of zucchini recipes, this Zucchini Fritter recipe is a must-try.
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Zucchini Fritters Recipe
We love growing squash in the garden, from Yellow Squash to Zucchini and Spaghetti Squash. If you grow your own zucchini, you know they mass produce. We love them fried, baked, grilled, and even in Vegetable Stir Fry. We are always on the lookout for creative zucchini recipes like this one; fun, simple and so tasty!
Zucchini Fritters have been a family favorite for years and a staple in our home all summer long. As soon as our zucchini are ripe, there is a batch of fritters sizzling on the stove. Here’s why you will love this recipe:
- Kid-friendly – Our children love zucchini fritters which makes me feel so good knowing they are getting a healthy portion of veggies.
- Great texture – Crispy on the edges, tender in the middle, and never soggy.
- Versatile – We enjoy them for breakfast as an alternative to hash browns, for lunch, and even as a snack when the craving strikes.
Zucchini Fritters Video Tutorial
Watch Natasha make this easy zucchini fritters recipe. It’s such a simple recipe but worth discovering.
Ingredients
Zucchini fritters have simple ingredients. If you have the zucchini and green onions, everything else is just pantry and refrigerator staples. Scroll down to the print-friendly recipe card for ingredient quantities.
- Zucchini – While you can use large or medium, I find that medium zucchini is best because the seeds aren’t as big and the skin is a little more tender. This makes a difference if you’re grating by hand.
- Salt – I prefer cooking with sea salt, but table salt will do.
- Eggs – Lightly beat these in a small bowl.
- Green onions – Also known as scallions. You can substitute chives for a milder flavor if you’d like.
- All-purpose flour – Just enough to hold the fritters together.
- Baking powder – Key to a nice, light texture.
- Ground black pepper – For a bolder flavor, you can use fresh, coarsely ground peppercorns.
- Olive oil – As much as you need for sautéing.
Pro Tip: The trick to getting these crisp around the edges is to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. You can do this with your hands over a colander or using a cheesecloth. Homegrown zucchini tend to hold even more water, so you may need to toss in an extra zucchini just in case it shrinks down too much after draining.
How to Make Zucchini Fritters
- Prepare the zucchini – Grate zucchini on a box grater or in your food processor, transfer to a large mixing bowl and toss it with a teaspoon of salt.
- Drain – After 10 minutes, squeeze the zucchini over the sink or through a cheesecloth to release the excess liquid. You’ll need to measure 3 1/2 to 4 cups of zucchini once it’s drained.
- Add egg and green onion – Stir the green onions and eggs into the bowl
- Finish the batter – Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir into the zucchini.
- Cook the fritters – Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Add a heaping tablespoon of batter to the hot pan for each zucchini fritter. Flatten slightly, then cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy, reducing the heat if needed.
- Serve – Plate the fritters and serve them warm with a dollop of sour cream.
Pro Tip: I like to use a trigger-release ice cream scoop to easily scoop the mixture and create equal-sized fritters.
Common Questions
Zucchini fritters combine shredded zucchini with flour, seasonings, and other ingredients to create crispy little cakes. In American cuisine, zucchini fritters rank up there with corn fritters and apple fritters as the most popular fritter recipes.
Yes, this zucchini fritter recipe is easily made gluten-free by using a measure-for-measure all-purpose flour substitute.
Yes, yellow squash is interchangeable with zucchini in most recipes, and it works here, too.
While you can make zucchini fritters in the oven, they won’t be as crispy, so I don’t recommend it.
Yes, this recipe can be doubled. To make cooking faster, you can use two skillets for cooking instead of one.
To Serve
Our favorite way to serve Zucchini fritters is for breakfast or brunch, paired with:
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt – dolloped over the fritters
- Chives – a tasty and pretty garnish
- Tzatziki Sauce – a great dip or topping
- Marinara – warmed and served as a dipping sauce
- Aioli dip – one of our favorite dips
Make-Ahead
Here are some tips to help you get a head start on your fritters.
- To Refrigerate: You can grate the zucchini ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to a day. The finished zucchini fritters can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze zucchini fritters in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Reheat your fritters in a 350ºF oven until they’re warmed through, in a skillet over medium heat, or in the microwave.
These zucchini fritters are a great way to use up a bumper crop of zucchini from your garden. They are easy to make, perfectly crispy, and even kids love them.
More Zucchini Recipes to try
If you love this zucchini fritters recipe, then you won’t want to miss these zucchini recipes.
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Crispy Fried Zucchini
- Pasta Primavera
- Grilled Vegetables
- Roasted Vegetables
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Morrocan Vegetable Skewers
Zucchini Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb zucchini, about 2 large or 5 medium
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, divided
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- olive oil for sautéing
- sour cream, to serve
Instructions
- Wash zucchini and trim off ends. Grate on the large holes of a box grater or use the grater attachment for the food processor. Place zucchini in a large mixing bowl, stir in 1 tsp salt, and set aside for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, squeeze handfuls of zucchini tightly over the sink to remove extra water. It helps to wring it out in a cheesecloth if you have one. It is impressive how much water comes out! You should end up with 3 1/2 to 4 cups of squeezed dry zucchini. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Add 1/2 cups chopped green onion and 2 lightly beaten eggs.
- In a small bowl, stir together 3/4 cup flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, or season to taste. Add flour mixture into zucchini mixture and stir until well combined.
- Place a large heavy-bottomed cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat* and add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the zucchini mixture a heaping tablespoon at a time** and flatten out the tops slightly to make them pancake-shaped. Sauté for 3-5 minutes per side or until golden brown. If they brown too quickly, reduce the heat. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
**Use a trigger-release ice cream scoop to easily scoop the mixture and create equal-sized fritters.
Taste was good but didn’t crisp up. Maybe I did something wrong…..
Hi Lisa! Be sure to let the oil get hot enough before adding the zucchini. If you try to add them too soon, they will be soggy and not crisp. I hope that helps.
Hey Natasha!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I was doing the “make something from whatever is in the fridge” thing tonight, and these were a hit. I also added an ear of corn to the fritters that I roasted on the grill, which I though gave them a nice added flavor. Served with a homemade Tzatziki sauce. Really appreciated the video! Thanks again
That’s great, Sam! Thanks for sharing.
These were the first fritters I ever made. I love any kind of fritter. Since God blessed me with an overabundance of garden fresh zucchini, I decided to give this recipe a try.
It was easy to follow and to substitute the green onions with regular ones. (I had no green onions)
It was delicious and I can’t wait to try your other fritter recipes. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Jill! I’m glad you loved the recipe!
Hi Natasha, thank you for sharing your recipes! I was wondering if these fritters could be baked instead of frying?
You can make zucchini fritters in the oven, but they won’t be as crispy, so I don’t recommend it.
We got gifted a bunch of zucchini from a coworker of my wife. My wife asked if we could use them to make fritters. I googled “zucchini fritters and found your recipe. So glad I did, these were simply fabulous. I doctored the recipe a bit.I didn’t have any green onion so I substituted an equal amount of red onion. I had some super thin stalks of asparagus left in the fridge that I diced up small and 3 leftover ears of steamed sweet corn that I cut off the cob and added as well. I added a quarter cup of freshly shredded parmesan and added a quarter cup of breadcrumbs. I also increased the flour and baking powder just a bit to get the batter to the consistency I wanted and seasoned with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Just be careful with the corn as stray bits tend to pop and fly out of the pan. These were SO TASTY!!!! Super easy as well and were completely filling as a stand alone dinner. Definitely going into my weekly summer repertoire. Will definitely be experimenting with using some other vegetables as well. Thank you so much for this great recioe.
Hi Natasha! This is the second time I’ve made these yummy zucchini fritters. But not times they were not crispy! Can you help please?
Hi Maureeb, it’s supposed to be crispy and not soggy at all. It’s hard to say what the culprit was without being there. I hope you give it another try soon!
This recipe is delicious! I did add some panko bread crumbs to provide a little more crunch.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Hugh!
Oh my goodness… These are so good! I’m eating them as I cook them. I’d make them again just for myself!
Is there a possibility to substitute the eggs in the fritters?
I have not tested a substitute but here is what one of my viewers said: “Flax seeds as an egg substitute work great to make this a vegan recipe.” Directions for making flax eggs are easy to find via Google.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but can’t wait until I do.
Thanks
Hello! I want to make these and freeze for future? Has this method been tried and proven successful? Any suggestions, especially concerning moisture. Thanks in advance!
Hi Donna! I have not frozen them before cooking. See my notes above for freezing after cooking.
YUM!!! Im adapting to a keto lifestyle so I swapped out the flour for 1/2 cup almond flour and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Was so satisfying and crispy! Natasha your my lifesaver!!
I’m so glad those substitutions worked for you, fay!
Natasha always the best recipes!!! anytime I see and read one, I can hardly wait to make it!! thanks, natasha for creating and/or sharing what you have learned with all of us!!!
ann
Thank you, hope you’ll enjoy it!
Again another winner from Natasha!! I added a little fresh grated parmesan and wow!
Thank you, that’s a great addition to the recipe!
I tried these today for the first time and I made them twice in a day !!!!, Made them in the morning for my daughter’s lunchbox and they turned out soooooo good that I made them for my friends who came over for lunch. They absolutely loved them and devoured them all.
Thank you Natasha for another amazing recipe xxx
I’m so glad they were a hit, Monica!
Has anyone tried these in a waffle iron?,,,………………………………………..
Hi Alein, I haven’t but this is an interesting idea! I bet that could work.
Loved these! the turned out crispy and tender inside. I halved the recipe as I only had 2 zucchinis. I added a bit of Boursin Shallot & Chive, as I had no green onions and it was great!
Very disappointed. There’s no where to say approx how much flour to add? My fritter came out like a porridge. This recipe it not for beginner cooks.
Hi Ali! Did you look at the recipe card for the instructions and ingredient amounts? The recipe card is at the bottom of the blog post and it indicates how much flour to use.
This recipe is very easy to follow. I think maybe you didn’t squeeze out all the liquid from the zucchini. It’s still a batter (on the thicker side)after the flour is added but crisps up as it’s fried.
All your recipes look easy and delicious….you are so fun and entertaining in your videos!
Thank you, Lee!
Perfect. I love they way they turned out, crispy. I used onion powder because I didn’t have green onion. That was fine.
Thank you for sharing, Sandy!
OMG!!! We Loved how tasty and easy these where to make! Dipping them in sour cream and yogurt was a perfect way to enjoy them even more!
Thanks Natasha
That’s wonderful to hear, Robin! You’re very welcome!