Make Crispy Fried Zucchini (With Creamy Parmesan Dipping)

These crispy fried zucchini are breaded in parmesan cheese and cooked to perfection.

This restaurant-style appetizer is just fantastic, served with a creamy parmesan dipping sauce and excellent with marinara.

Why Is This Recipe So Delicious?

• The seasoned breadcrumb coating gives a lot of flavor to the fried zucchini chips, and the double breading makes them SO crunchy. This will become your new favorite zucchini recipe!
• Fried zucchini is simple to cook, and if you’re feeding a crowd, you can easily double or quadruple the recipe.
• The creamy parmesan dipping sauce goes perfectly with the fried zucchini chips. Both contain a small amount of parmesan, and the smoothness of the sour cream and mayo mixture pairs beautifully with the crispiness of the fried breadcrumb coating. This sauce will be used on everything. If you like, you can dip your fried zucchini in ranch dressing or marinara sauce.
• This is an excellent dish for making ahead meals or snacks. Refrigerate the zucchini for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Reheat the chips in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit to crisp them up again, or in the air fryer.

Important Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, about 6 to 8 inches long – this recipe calls for 2 medium zucchini. I cut the zucchini into discs this time because it’s so simple, but you could also cut them into slivers (matchsticks) for zucchini fries! If you make too much zucchini, you can freeze the unbreaded zucchini to use later.

Breadcrumbs — These provide the perfect crisp covering for the zucchini. You may also use panko or gluten-free breadcrumbs to make fried zucchini (and gluten-free flour).

Parmesan cheese – The breading contains just the proper amount of parmesan cheese to complement the savory breadcrumbs and Italian spice. It’s flawless.

Chef’s Advice

• Before you put the zucchini discs in the oil, make sure it’s hot enough! The zucchini will not fry if the oil is not hot enough; instead, they will soak up the oil. However, if the temperature is too high, the zucchini will burn. The ideal temperature range for fry oil is 350°-360° Fahrenheit.
• Instead of using a pan, you may use an air fryer to cook your zucchini discs. Prepare the fried zucchini as directed below, then lightly spray them with air-fryer-safe cooking spray before air-frying the battered discs for 10 minutes at 380°F. Flip the discs after 10 minutes and fry for another 5 minutes or so, then serve with marinara and creamy parmesan sauce!
• Cut the zucchini into evenly sized discs using a very sharp knife or a mandoline. Keep in mind that if they’re not equally sliced, they won’t cook evenly. The fried zucchini chips will be crispier if the slices are thinner. You can slice them as thin as 14 inches.
• After the zucchini chips have been baked, allow them to cool completely before spreading them out on a baking sheet and freezing them for an hour or two. After that, place them in a freezer bag that can be sealed. To reheat, bake, broil, or fry them in a skillet or air fryer until they’re warm and crispy again.

Crispy Fried Zucchini

These crispy fried zucchini are breaded in parmesan cheese and cooked to perfection. This restaurant-style appetizer is just fantastic, served with a creamy parmesan dipping sauce and excellent with marinara.

Ingredients

For the Creamy Parmesan Dipping Sauce

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 1 pinch salt
• ground black pepper to taste

For the Fried Zucchini

• 2 medium zucchini sliced into ½-inch-thick discs
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs see Notes
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• olive oil or other neutral oil, for frying

Optional

• marinara for serving

Equipment

• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Bowls (4)
• Whisk or silicone spatula (3)
• Large pan
• Tongs
• Plate or cooling rack with paper towels

Instructions For Crispy Fried Zucchini

To make the Parmesan Cream Dipping Sauce

1. In a mixing dish, combine all dipping sauce ingredients.
2. Stir until completely smooth. Allow it to chill until ready to serve.

For the Zucchini Fritters

1. Combine eggs, salt, and pepper to taste in a mixing bowl. Place aside. Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and extra salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Place aside. To the third bowl, add all-purpose flour. Place aside.
2. Place pan over medium heat and pour in enough oil to produce a 12-inch-deep layer.
3. Using flour, coat zucchini discs. Shake off excess flour by tapping disc on edge of basin, then fully dip dusted zucchini in egg mixture, covering both sides. Allow any extra egg to drop back into the basin before dipping zucchini into the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Set aside and continue with the remaining zucchini discs after thoroughly coating both sides.
5. When the oil is hot, add the discs in batches to the pan, taking care not to overcrowd it. Place discs in a single layer, not touching or overlapping.
6. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the fried zucchini discs and drain any leftover oil on a platter coated with paper towels or a cooling rack set over paper towels. Continue until all of the zucchini discs have been cooked. Season fried zucchini discs with more salt right away if required. Serve with marinara and/or parmesan dipping sauce.

Notes

• Make it gluten-free by substituting gluten-free breadcrumbs for regular breadcrumbs and gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour.

This recipe serves roughly 8 people. Your desired portion sizes will determine the number of servings. The nutritional values listed are for 1 serving of fried zucchini out of an 8-serving recipe using the ingredients indicated.

The parmesan dipping sauce is included in the nutritional values, but not the marinara. The exact macros will vary depending on the brands and types of ingredients utilized.

Prepare the recipe as directed to get the weight of one serving. Weigh the final recipe, then divide the weight (excluding the weight of the container in which the food is stored) by 8. The weight of one serving will be the result.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 271kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 660mg, Potassium: 229mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 304IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 175mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 22g