Crispy Zucchini Fritters

Are you here for the crispy zucchini fritters?

When you’re craving something utterly and insanely delicious, pull out your box grater and a few zucchini for the crispiest and most savory fritters you’ve ever tasted!

Featured Ingredients

• Zucchini: One of the tricks for making the best zucchini fritters is to make sure to salt it, and then wring out all the moisture.
  • Wet zucchini is the enemy of the crispy fritter!
• Cheddar Cheese: Goes so well with zucchini, and so well in these fritters. It provides a crispy, cheesy crunch edge when pan fried.
• Panko: These coarse breadcrumbs give the fitters the perfect amount of crunch and body!
  • Even if you have to make a special run to the grocery store, make sure to use panko. Your taste buds will thank you.
• Dried Basil: You don’t need a lot of dried basil in these fritters, but you definitely want to have it in the mix.
  • It adds just the right amount of robust herbal notes to pair with the zucchini.
• Red Pepper Flakes: Again, you don’t need a lot of them, but they add just the right amount of heat for these crispy zucchini fritters.

Recipe Substitutions & Alterations

• Instead of zucchini: If you’re a fan of bright and sunny summer squash, feel free to substitute it for the zucchini.
  • They’re essentially twins, so prep the summer squash the same way you would zucchini.
• Instead of cheddar cheese: Try nutritional yeast.
  • The cheesy-tasting powder is full of antioxidants, is a complete protein, and has trace metals like zinc and manganese.
  • Also, it has a hefty amount of vitamin B12, which is mostly found in animal products – so score one for vegans in your group of friends when you make these crispy zucchini fritters for brunch!
• Add more veggies: You could always add in a little grated carrot, onion, or celery into these fritters to really ramp up the veggie quotient!
• Add herbs: During the summer when garden herbs are full in bloom, a little fresh basil, oregano, dill, chives, or tarragon would really take these to a whole new level!
• To make them gluten free: Use gluten free breadcrumbs.
• To make them dairy free: Use nutritional yeast instead of cheddar cheese.
• To make them vegan: Use nutritional yeast instead of cheddar cheese and use an egg replacer or make a flax 'egg' instead of the regular eggs (although I haven't tested this).

Serving Tips

• Dipping: I love to serve these fritters with a spicy mayo.
  • But, they would also be delicious dipped into marinara, basil pesto, or a parsley purée.
  • Or, they could be topped with a little bit of sour cream and chives for a delicious flavor and temperature contrast.
• Keeping them warm: If you want to serve these for a crowd, keep them warm in the oven at around 250 degrees until you’re ready to serve them.
  • A helpful tip is to keep them on a rack over a cookie sheet so they stay crispy.

Chef's Tip

To make sure the crispy zucchini fritters turn out extra crispy, be sure the pan is really hot and the oil is really hot before adding the batter to the pan.

This will also ensure the fritter batter doesn't stick to the pan.

Other yummy zucchini recipes:

• Sweet Corn & Zucchini Gnocchi Skillet
• Ricotta & Beef Zucchini Roll-Ups
• Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins
• Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Banana Bread
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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