Baked Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters are decidedly delicious; however, most recipes call for frying with a lot of oil. This baked zucchini fritters recipe is a lighter version that’s just as crispy and delicious as as the fried ones, without the guilt.

Zucchini is a very versatile vegetable. You can eat it raw, bake it, roast it, pickle it, fry it, bake cakes with it and turn it into lasagna or even noodles. After eggplant, I think zucchini might just be my favourite vegetable. I have so many recipes and recipe ideas involving this beautiful vegetable, I’d need to start a whole new blog…now there’s an idea!

Anyway, fritters are fantastic inventions but they tend to involve messy frying with lots of oil and aren’t the healthiest. I decided this time to try baking zucchini fritters in the oven, and I’m very happy with the results. I didn’t sacrifice on flavour but I avoided the flying oil, greasy fritters, and even the dishes with this simple step. Since I’m trying to eat somewhat healthy most of the time, this substitution also helped me avoid eating too much oil all at once. It’s also a somewhat low-carb recipe; it contains a small amount of breadcrumbs to help bind it all together. What’s not to love?

Ingredients

1. Two medium zucchinis, coarsely grated
2. One egg
3. Two tablespoons bread crumbs
4. Two tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
5. Salt and black pepper to taste
6. Half a teaspoon garlic powder
7. One tablespoon canola oil
8. For the sauce: two tablespoons plain yogurt, one teaspoon olive oil, juice of half a lime, one teaspoon chilli-garlic sauce, one teaspoon maple syrup, salt to taste and a tiny pinch of chipotle powder.

Method

1. Preheat your oven’s broiler to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place the grated zucchini in a clean tea towel, wrap it all up and squeeze as hard as you can to get rid of as much water as possible. Zucchini is packed with water, if you skip this step you’ll end up with soggy fritters. Nobody likes soggy fritters.
3. Place the drained zucchini in a large bowl, mix in the bread crumbs, salt and spices.
4. Add in the parmesan cheese and egg and mix thoroughly.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush it with a small amount of canola oil.
6. Form the fritter mix into patties, if they feel too wet or squishy, squeeze them gently in your palms.
7. Arrange the patties on your parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking until the fritters are golden brown on top and crispy, about another 10 minutes. Monitor it closely while baking to avoid burning (every oven is different, always monitor baked goods to make sure they don’t burn)
9. In the meantime, mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
10. Serve the fritters hot with the sauce and some salad for an excellent meat-free meal. Enjoy!

Do you like vegetable fritters? What are your favourite veggie fritters? Let me know in the comments! If you liked this recipe and want to check out other meat-free recipes:

1. Chickpea Flour Fritters
2. Meat-free Eggplant Pasta
3. Crispy Tofu Zoodles

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