Best Fried Zucchini Recipe Side Dishes Noshing With the Nolands (2024)

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Enjoy some delicious crispy goodness with this Best Fried Zucchini Recipe! The zucchini is quickly sliced into fries, coated in a simple panko or bread crumbs, and then fried to a golden brown. Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce it is the ultimate summer treat when zucchini is in season.

We all love to indulge once in a while with some golden deep-fried food like these Best Crispy Fried Pickles and these Stuffed Meatballs! This is what Fridays or game nights are for! You may also like Soft Pretzels with Cheese Sauce or Pepperoni Pizza Dip for other game day winners!!

Hi there, it’s Melanie fromBon Appét’Eat. It’s been a lot of fun to be part of the Noshing with the Nolands team. I do have some goodness like this to share on the blog too! Check my Portobello Mushroom fries, you will not regret it. And I absolutely love zucchini and so do my kids with these Zucchini Roll Ups, 4-ingredient zucchini fritters, or Delicious Stuffed zucchini.

Best Fried Zucchini Recipe Side Dishes Noshing With the Nolands (1)

Fried zucchini is easy to prepare with very few ingredients and you can adapt and vary the flavor endlessly. Make this yummy fried vegetable to enjoy as an appetizer or side dish.

Table of Contents

Helpful Items for This Recipe

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Wok for frying

Stainless steel spider for frying

Bamboo Cutting Board

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How To Make Fried Zucchini

The steps to making the best crispy fried zucchini recipe are really simple. If you have kids, they can help until it is time to deep fry the veggies, let’s leave that for the adults.

Zucchinis

Try to choose the same zucchinis for uniformity and cooking time. Wash them well and cut the ends off.

How to Cut Zucchini Fries?

Slice the zucchini in half and then cut in 2 length-wise and then in fry shape. It yields 12 fries with each vegetable. Alternatively, you can make slices like coins using the thickness of a quarter of an inch or even make thin chip treats.

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The Preparation

Place all the zucchini sticks on a plate and add some salt to it. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare 3 shallow plates: one for the flour, one for the beaten eggs, and one for the panko.

Your next move will be to pat dry your zucchinis as the salt released some moisture. Then, roll in the flour, shake the excess. Place your zucchini stick in the beaten eggs, make sure it is evenly covered in the egg. Lastly, coat the zucchini with panko.

How To Fry Zucchini? How Long To Fry Zucchini?

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In a pot, wok, or frying pan, pour some vegetable oil and bring it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit on medium heat. Delicately, to avoid any splash, place the coated zucchini in the oil away from you and deep fry for 2-3 minutes or until it is golden brown.

Sprinkle with sea salt or Parmesan and enjoy when hot!

Cooking Tips for Fried Zucchini

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Do you peel zucchini?

No need to peel the zucchini for this recipe in fact, the skin is thin enough to enjoy.

How do you keep fried zucchini from getting soggy?

There are 2 important tricks to avoid sogginess. The first one is to do the very first step of the recipe listed above: putting salt on the zucchinis and letting them sit for 10 minutes. The other one is to enjoy the fried zucchinis right away, they may release some moisture while cooling down. It will still be delicious but less crispy.

How do you get breading to stick to vegetables?

Again, tackling the moisture is key here, make sure to tap dry the zucchinis with paper towel before rolling them in flour.

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Help, I don’t have a thermometer!

No worries, wait a few minutes to allow the oil to warm up and throw some panko crumbs (choose some ‘wet’ ones in the shallow plate), if you see the oil cooking it right away, it is ready. If the crumbs just float, wait for a little and try again. Or buy yourself the best thermometer around for every use in the kitchen. *affiliate link.

Can I bake my zucchini fries?

Absolutely! Spread them on a baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil on each stick or use a cooking spray – for some crispiness! I would recommend to set the oven to 425F, nice and hot, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Can I cook my fried zucchini in the air fryer?

Yes, make sure to spread them as a single layer. You will need to make a few batches.

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Variations To The Recipe

Vegetable: Any other veggie from the squash family would work for this recipe.

Shape: You can choose between zucchini slices or sticks.

Breading: You can substitute panko for bread crumbs. You can add flavour to it: Italian seasonings, garlic powder, or parmesan cheese.

Sprinkle: My sprinkle of choice is sea salt, but Parmesan would be great on these tasty fried zucchinis. Also, feel free to add some fresh or dried herbs like thyme or rosemary.

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What Goes Well With Fried Zucchini?

Marinara sauce: You can make your own or use a store bought one. This is a combo made in heaven! You can even choose cold or warm marinara, both very tasty ways to eat it.

Dip and sauce: A great Mexican dip would be a nice pairing and if you wish to stick to vegetarian food, this spinach and artichoke dip would work well too. Ultimately, my choice would be towards this buttermilk ranch dressing, a nice drizzle on the platter would be quite a success!

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Best Fried Zucchini Recipe

Yield: 36 zucchini fries

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Fried Zucchiniis a delicious treat to enjoy all of that summer zucchini from your yard or the farmer's market. Our Best Fried Zucchini Recipe has the zucchini sliced into sticks and then fried up in a light panko batter for extra crispiness!

Ingredients

  • 3 zucchinis
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup panko or bread crumbs
  • 3 cups vegetable oil
  • Sea salt
  • Dipping sauce of your choice, marinara, buttermilk ranch, etc.

Instructions

    1. Wash the zucchinis and cut the ends off.
    2. Slice the zucchini in half and then cut in 2 length-wise and then in fry shape. I made 12 fries with each.
    3. Place all the zucchini sticks on a plate and add the salt to it. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
    4. In the meantime, prepare 3 shallow plates: one for the flour, one for the eggs, beaten, and one for the panko.
    5. Pat dry your zucchinis as the salt released some moisture.
    6. In a pot, pour your oil and turn the stove on medium-high.
    7. One by one, roll the stick in the flour, shake the excess. Place your stick in the beaten eggs. Then, coat the zucchini with panko.
    8. Using a thermometer, check that the temperature has reached 350F.
    9. Gently place the coated zucchini in the oil and deep fry for 2-3 minutes or until it is golden brown.
    10. Sprinkle with sea salt or parmesan, enjoy!
    11. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 36Serving Size: 6 pieces
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 195Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 178mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g

Recipe calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

Best Fried Zucchini Recipe Side Dishes Noshing With the Nolands (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep zucchini from getting soggy when frying? ›

Yes, you should always salt your zucchini before frying — especially if you're aiming to achieve a crispy texture. Salting your zucchini helps remove the excess moisture stuck in the zucchini that would otherwise make frying a challenge.

Is fried zucchini healthier than french fries? ›

Fried vegetables are way more fattening

The breading and the frying, in this case, boosted the calorie count by a whopping 900 percent. Heikkinen also adds that the fried zucchini is even higher in calories than a small order of fries from Carl's Jr., as one of those comes in at only 300 calories.

Is fried zucchini a Pittsburgh thing? ›

Pittsburgh owes a tip of the hat to Mary Tambellini Pelligrini, whose family version of Zucchini Fritti at her Downtown restaurant started our love affair with fried zucchini in the 1950s. There are variations on the dish, with different cuts of zucchini, some breaded, some battered.

Why do you soak zucchini in salt water? ›

Salt causes zucchini rounds to release excess water. This important extra step helps the zucchini to sauté rather than stew in its own juices.

How do you make zucchini not soggy Reddit? ›

Cutting them in half moons or full moons, giving them plenty of space apart, roasting them on the top or bottom rack, roasting for 8 minutes and then broiling, salting them an hour before roasting to draw out moisture and drying them off.

Does salt draw water out of zucchini? ›

By sprinkling the cut vegetable with salt and letting it stand in a colander over the sink, water will drip out, leaving behind a firmer vegetable. The zucchini can then be more easily sauteed or roasted to bring out its natural sugars and, hence, flavor.

What is the best way to get moisture out of zucchini? ›

You only need a little salt — half a teaspoon of kosher salt for one medium zucchini, say — to start pulling the water out. Use more, and the zucchini will simply taste like zucchini-flavored salt. If you try to rinse out the extra salt, you risk adding back in the water you just tried to get rid of.

Should you salt zucchini before sauteing? ›

Zucchini: Zucchini can nearly dissolve during the cooking process by steaming in its own water content (not always a good thing). Salt it first to taste the full potential of the herbs with our Sauteed Zucchini with Olives and Lemon side dish.

How healthy is fried zucchini? ›

Fried Zucchini
  • Calories 19.
  • Total Fat 1g 1%
  • Saturated Fat 0.2g 1%
  • Trans Fat 0g.
  • Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g.
  • Monounsaturated Fat 0.3g.
  • Cholesterol 8.5mg 3%
  • Sodium 27mg 1%

Is fried zucchini still good for you? ›

Boiling and frying zucchini also lead to a loss of plant compounds called antioxidants. While cooked zucchini still has benefits, raw zucchini does, too. You can eat it alone, but it tastes somewhat bland. Try it with hummus or other dips for more flavor.

Is fried zucchini healthy to eat? ›

Is Fried Zucchini Good For You? Fried foods don't have to be unhealthy. This fried zucchini recipe is a prime example of a healthy fried snack, but it also makes a healthy side dish. The key is to use a natural, low carb breading and a healthy oil.

Does Olive Garden have fried zucchini? ›

Photo: calamari & fried zucchini bites - appetizers

Even if you don't like many of the other choices on Olive Garden's menu, the all-you-can-eat soup, salad & breadstick combination should work for you.

What do Italians call zucchini? ›

Googootz” is also the Italian slang for “zucchini,” and refers to a squash-like vegetable that Italians and Italian-Americans grow called cucuzza.

What is the difference between zucchini and Italian zucchini? ›

These are the types of zucchini commonly sold in local summer markets in Italy. The fruits are long, green-striped, and distinctly ridged. The texture is less watery than the usual smooth, green zucchinis and the flavour is pleasantly nutty.

How do you keep zucchini firm? ›

Blanch the zucchini to keep it firm.

Blanching will deactivate the enzymes that cause the zucchini to turn mushy and discolored. To blanch the vegetable, bring a pot of unsalted water to a boil, then place the zucchini pieces in the water and boil for 1 minute. Immediately drain them in a colander.

How do you keep fried vegetables crispy? ›

Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.

In much the same way, putting fried food on a cooling rack means the excess oil will drip off, but there's enough air circulating underneath the food that the bottoms don't get soggy.

How do you keep zucchini from getting slimy? ›

Avoid storing zucchini in plastic, which can trap moisture and make the skin slimy. Either leave zucchini loose or place it in a paper bag.

Why did my zucchini turn to mush? ›

On the other hand, they may simply be waterlogging if your garden is poorly drained. Another possibility is squash bugs have damaged them and rot has set in as a result. In the meantime, keep removing the infected fruit as soon as you see signs of the problem.

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