Crispy baked zucchini fries have a golden Parmesan-panko coating and a tender center. Serve them hot with marinara or my tangy lemonnaise.
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Our friend Ken dropped off some zucchini from his garden the other day~ remember Ken from my Grilled Shishito Peppers post? He couldn’t stomach one more bite of zucchini, but since I don’t have a garden this year, I was thrilled. Fried zucchini is one of my favorite things on earth, and these crispy baked zucchini fries have become a family favorite. In fact, baked zucchini fries are a delicious way to enjoy garden vegetables.
They’re baked not fried
➡ These baked zucchini fries have all the wonderful crunch of fried zucchini, without the vat of oil. Baked zucchini fries are healthier but still satisfy your cravings for something crispy.
➡ It’s a wow appetizer that nobody expects and everybody loves.
➡ The dipping sauces are half the fun, and there are so many possibilities!
How to get that crunch without frying
First slice the zucchini into (approximately 1/2″ x 3 or 4″ sticks. Do not peel! Making baked zucchini fries is simple, and preparation is quick.
After you slice the zucchini into sticks, it’s a simple 3 bowl dipping process that creates the crispy coating on these baked zucchini fries.
- The first bowl is for the flour
- The second bowl is for beaten eggs
- You might substitute buttermilk
- The last bowl is for seasoned panko bread crumbs.
- Panko are the extra crispy Japanese kind, you’ll find them right next to the regular crumbs in your supermarket. Panko help give these zucchini fries the ‘deep fried’ crunch we all crave.
Baking technique for zucchini fries
Place your dipped zucchini sticks in a single layer onto a baking rack set over a baking sheet. Spray the rack with cooking spray so nothing sticks.
This way the air can circulate all around the zucchini as they bake, and they will crisp up on all sides.
Air fryer instructions for baked zucchini fries
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Arrange the breaded zucchini fries in a single layer, leaving space between them, and lightly spray with oil. Air fry for 8–10 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden and crisp. Cook in batches as needed and serve right away.
The all important dips
My favorite Italian restaurant serves the deep fried version with marinara sauce, so I thought, in keeping with the lightened up theme, I’d go for a fresh tomato sauce, with a zippy ‘lemonnaise‘ alternate. These fries are so good I don’t think it much matters what you dip them into, but I’m partial to the lemonnaise.
Other dip ideas
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
- Strawberry Barbecue Sauce
- Remoulade Sauce in 30 seconds!
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Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries
Equipment
- metal baking rack
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk , or 2 well beaten eggs
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, I used whole wheat
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- marinara sauce , for dipping
garnish
lemonnaise
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 3 Tbsp Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, (1/2 lemon)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- Set a cooling rack over a baking tray and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Slice the zucchini into sticks, approximately 1/2" by 3 or 4". Do not peel the zucchini.
- Set out three shallow bowls. Put the flour in one. Put the buttermilk or beaten eggs into another, and put the breadcrumbs, cheese, salt and herbs into the third.
- Coat the zucchini in flour first, then immerse into the liquid mixture, making sure to completely wet it. Then coat it with the breadcrumbs, pressing them on to completely coat each stick. Place the sticks on the rack.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until crisp and golden.
- Eat right away garnished with parsley, and serve with tomato or creamy lemon dip.
- To make the lemonnaise whisk the ingredients together until smooth.
Notes
- These are best eaten hot from the oven. If you have leftovers and are desperate, you can wrap loosely in foil and heat in a 300F oven, or if you are super desperate, microwave in a single layer, very briefly, start with 20 seconds, but they won’t be very crisp.
- I used whole wheat panko because that’s what I had in the cupboard, and I liked the little deeper color it gives these fries. Regular will work just fine.
Nutrition
More zucchini recipes
Blue Ribbon Zucchini Pie
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Cheesy Italian Stuffed Zucchini
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Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
Cheesy Zucchini Casserole is a comfort food classic made with garden fresh zucchini, plenty of cheese, and a buttery crisp cracker topping.
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Zucchini Parmesan crisps are baked in the oven or air fryer until crisp on the outside and juicy inside. Delicious with fry sauce for dipping!
Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a moist zucchini walnut cake with a generous layer of fluffy cream cheese frosting!
I do this with asparagus all the time, but I’ve never thought to do it with zucchini. I found your site today and I don’t even remember how. I think I was googling summer garden veg soups or something über fascinating like that. : /
Anyway, I poked around here a bit and I’m an instant fan. I love the simplicity/ease of your recipe playfulness. Just nourishing, delish, and (great photos!) pretty. Kind of inspires me to figure out my Pinterest password, just to keep track of you. xo
Oh, this would be so good, if there was just a gluten-free alternative!
Try cornmeal, Ole!
I recently bought gluten free panko crumbs at Publix. Publix is a supermarket in Atlanta and throughout the South, but they shouldn’t be hard to find outside the South in your local supermarket.
Gluten-free panic rocks. Certainly available at any grocery in Colorado… (lol, north). Can also pulverize whatever GF crackers or toasted bread you like. IMO, it’s pretty hard to get this recipe wrong. And that’s one reason it’s such an awesome one. Thx Sue!
I can’t tell these fried are baked if you don’t tell me! The coating is perfect. Saving the recipe so we’ll have perfectly “fried” okra next time!
I’ve never had fried okra!
Omgosh, I experimented with this a lot because of a good friend who missed okra… fresh okra (soaked in milk) + cornmeal is the key, for sure. Frozen only works if it’s soaked in milk or buttermilk for…. um, a while. Like, a long while. : )
I can’t believe I’ve ever had zucchini fries. I need to do something about that and this is the perfect recipe. I love zucchini and I am craving them now at 7 am!
Oooo! This looks so good!
Yes please to guilt-free fries! I love the panko coating, brilliant as usual ;).
These look delicious! What a great way to use up all the summer zucchini.
I love that crunchy coating!!! Maybe this is finally the recipe that will get my hubby to enjoy zucchini! If not, there’s just more for me 🙂
Exactly, it’s a win win 😉
Yum! These look great! I love panko for recipes like this. It stays nice and crunchy! A timely post, Sue, what with zucchini season upon us!