Fried Zucchini Chips

Fried Zucchini Chips are an excellent way to enjoy fresh zucchini. These crispy outside are seasoned perfectly, with tender, sweet zucchini on the inside. Enjoy this family favorite recipe. It doesn’t get any better than the crispy perfection of fresh garden zucchini. 

Fried zucchini garnished with parsley on a platter.


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What makes crispy fried zucchini so good?

Fried zucchini chips are an excellent way to enjoy fresh zucchini. You can serve this as a side dish, making it the perfect appetizer. This recipe is very versatile. You can switch the coating, but making these fried zucchini chips remains the same.

Why you should try this recipe?

This recipe has been in my family for more than 40 years. This is how we prepared summer zucchini. It is a delicious way to enjoy fresh zucchini. Zucchini is a very prolific plant. If you grow some in your garden, you may get more zucchini than you can handle. You may need a stack of recipes in July and August to use up your zucchini. I will show you how to make fried zucchini rounds, but remember you could make zucchini sticks. We typically cut these into rounds because they fried up so quickly! 

Fried Zucchini Ingredients

These fried zucchini chips are light and crunchy. They are made with zucchini, saltine cracker crumbs, and eggs to make a fried zucchini batter.

Fried zucchini ingredients on a marble surface.

How to Make Fried Zucchini From Scratch

This fried zucchini recipe is straightforward to make. ​Click on the recipe card to receive exact quantities and full cooking instructions. Here’s how:

  1. Wash the zucchini and slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Pat the zucchini slices dry to remove any excess moisture, so the batter will stick better. Slicing them fairly thinly means they’ll quickly get soft in the middle when fried in the oil.
  2. Make a simple egg wash.
  3. Place the crushed saltine crackers in a bowl.
  4. Dip the zucchini slices in the egg mixture, and then cracker crumbs.
Collage of breading zucchini slices for fried zucchini.

How to Fry Zucchini

  1. Once coated, the zucchini rounds are fried in 350°F vegetable oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Space out your zucchini slices in a single layer in the pan, and don’t move them around too much while frying.
  2. Drain the fried zucchini on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
  3. You can keep the zucchini warm in the oven on the lowest heat setting while frying the batches.
Collage of frying breaded zucchini rounds.
A platter of fried zucchini.

Fried Zucchini Variations

Here are some ideas for different fried zucchini recipes:

  • Switch out cracker crumbs for bread crumbs.
  • Use panko crumbs for extra crispiness.
  • Use seasoned croutons crumbled in your food processor.
  • Add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the cracker crumbs
  • Add a tablespoon or two of parmesan cheese.
  • Add some garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
  • Use yellow squash or eggplant instead of zucchini.

What Goes Well With Breaded Zucchini?

When it comes to appetizers, fried zucchini is hard to beat. Serve with some ranch dressing or marinara sauce for dipping. Here are some other ideas to accompany your fried zucchini:

  • Marinara or your favorite dipping sauce.
  • Serve with fresh mozzarella and sliced tomatoes.
  • Fried zucchini is terrific with goat cheese and pine nuts.
  • These zucchini rounds are perfect for serving with fish, scallops, or a seafood salad. Think smoked or baked salmon, fried catfish, or baked halibut.
  • They also go well with grilled steak tips.

How Do You Keep Fried Zucchini From Getting Soggy?

The key to creating non-soggy fried zucchini is high heat and quickly pan-frying in one layer. The goal is a lovely brown caramelized surface and a just-cooked interior.

Remove as much liquid as possible from the sliced zucchini before frying. To do this, season the slices with salt and let them sit for a few minutes. The salt will pull water from the zucchini. Then, pat the slices dry with paper towels.

Serve cooked zucchini dishes immediately as cooked zucchini softens as it sits.

How Do You Get Breading to Stick to Vegetables?

When breading anything, remember this rule: 

Wet will stick to dry, and dry will stick to wet. Dry and dry and wet and wet doesn’t work.

To get breading to stick to your zucchini or some other vegetable, first pat the veggies until they are really dry. Then, dredge them in seasoned flour (rice flour or cornstarch produces a crispier end product). Next, dredge the veggies in your wet batter, e.g., an egg wash. Finish by dunking in whatever crumbs you are using. Don’t cake on too much batter, or it will just fall off during frying. Aim for a nice, even thin coating of your delicious batter.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Store any leftover fried zucchini in an airtight container with a few paper towels. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat fried zucchini in a 350°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Bake them on a wire rack over a baking sheet to help keep them crispy on both sides.

You can also reheat them in an air fryer. Please place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Spray them with cooking spray and air fry them at 350°F for 3 to 5 minutes.

Fried zucchini and a bowl of marinara sauce.

Best Zucchini Recipes:

More Fried Food Recipes

Be sure to look at more vegetable side dish and appetizer recipes.

Fried zucchini garnished with parsley on a platter.

Fried Zucchini

This fried zucchini recipe is super easy and perfect for summer.
4.90 from 19 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Fried Zucchini
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 328kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2 1/2 cups saltine cracker crumbs
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Wash the zucchini and slice into 1/4-inch rounds.
  • Place the beaten eggs in one shallow dish and the cracker crumbs in another.
  • Dip the zucchini rounds into the egg wash, then coat with cracker crumbs.
  • Heat the vegetable oil to 350°F in a deep fryer or large pot. Fry the breaded zucchini for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Remove the zucchini from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack before serving.

Video

Notes

  • Substitute the cracker crumbs for panko crumbs

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 301mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 570IU | Vitamin C: 11.7mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2.8mg

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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