Zucchini Fritters

These Zucchini Fritters are easy to make with simple ingredients and eggless. They are crispy and hold together perfectly without falling apart. Full of amazing flavors thanks to a mix of smoked paprika, garlic, and nutritional yeast, these vegan fritters will be loved by kids and grown-ups alike. A family recipe for lunch, dinner, parties, and meal prep.

Zucchini recipes are the perfect way to make even the pickiest kids eat more vegetables.

Many of my kids-approved meals are made with zucchini, like the Eggplant Parmesan Zucchini Casserole, the Baked Zucchini Parmesan, or more sweet instead of savory the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. 

If you’re looking for more zucchini recipes you’ve come to the right place. My kitchen is always open for you: simply use the search bar.

With this Zucchini Fritters recipe no one will ever miss the eggs. They are naturally vegan and gluten free but no one will notice. These fritters are:

Simple, crispy, firm, they hold together, full of flavor, satisfying, filling, texture perfect in and out, addictive.

I tested these fritters a lot to make sure these are spot on in texture and flavor. It is important that you use flour, baking powder and starch, all of three to get it done right. These won’t fell apart and are seriously delicious.

What’s in this zucchini seasoning

First, let’s talk about the zucchinis themselves. They need a bit of seasoning, and I came up with my favorite mix. 

It contains:

• Nutritional yeast
• Minced garlic + garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• salt and pepper

 

What you need for this zucchini fritters recipe

When making this recipe vegan you obviously can’t use eggs which normally give a lot of firmness to the fritters. I finally came up with my favorite list of ingredients to get a result that lacks nothing:

• Shredded zucchinis
• Seasoning
• Potato starch
• flour + baking powder
• Tahini
• Oil

The tahini in the list above might seem a bit unconventional to you. But really you need this as replacement for eggs. I tried peanut, cashew and almond butter as well, but I find that only with tahini I truly got the best result. It will work with other nut butters but it won’t be the same.

Also don’t use dark tahini, which not only tastes stronger than regular tahini but it will also change the color of the final result. Just look at the pictures how nice and golden they come out! You don’t want to mess with that!

When you make this recipe, you will get 20 fritters out of it. It makes a really big batch, but once you’ve tried them you can’t stop eating.

How to shred zucchini

The key to having great results with this recipe is shredding the zucchini in the right way. The shreds shouldn’t be too small or too big. Things can turn out mushy or rough. Take a look at the step-by-step instruction picture to see the perfect shred size.

Before shredding, first wash your zucchinis. You have 2 methods that you could use: either use a manual grater, or use a shredding attachment of your food processor. For both methods, make sure to drain zucchinis of the excess liquid afterwards.

They should be dry and not watery at the end. This is important because otherwise they may not hold and can fall apart.

How to make Zucchini Fritters 

Add tahini, seasoning, starch, flour, and baking powder to a bowl. Mix everything well together with a wire whisk or spatula to a dough. Only then add zucchini, otherwise the flour might turn out clumpy.

You should get a firm dough-like mixture like in the step-by-step picture. If there is more water still coming out of the zucchini shreds and the mixture is too wet, add a tablespoon extra flour and mix again. Repeat until the consistency is right.

Now heat a skillet with oil.  Use 2 tablespoons of the mixture for a single fritter, place it in the pan and fry each side for about 3 minutes.

If you don’t like the frying you can also make Baked Zucchini Fritters. Preheat oven to 415°F. Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a pasty brush to cover them with a bit of oil. Bake for around 25 minutes.

Note that this baked version totally works, but I find is much better fried than baked to be honest. 

Variations and tips

Can I freeze these fritters? Yes you can. They are great for dinner, lunch, meal prep, or even breakfast. They freeze well, so you have it always prepared and can make them in advance.

Air fryer zucchini fritters: prepare zucchini fritters mixture. Use 1 tablespoon of oil, add the fritters to the air fryer and fry according to the directions.

Broccoli fritters: skip zucchini use broccoli for more variation.

If you try my vegan Zucchini Fritters, tag me on Instagram or Facebook with a snapped picture.

Show me all your remakes!

Cheers, Florian.