Crispy, tender, salty, flavorful, baked zucchini fries. They’re a perfect little appetizer, side dish for sandwiches, or even a great after school snack. They’re inexpensive and a delicious way to enjoy your vegetables. Try them with you favorite veggie dip, or with our Buttermilk Ranch or Homemade Pizza Sauce! This is an easy side dish and a fun snack that most kids will actually eat!
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini – Use up that garden zucchini if you have it! Store bought also works well. In general, smaller zucchinis the best flavor and texture. Save those jumbo ones you forgot to pick for baked goods like this Chocolate Zucchini Bread.
- Italian Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs – Panko bread crumbs are usually found on the baking aisle. If you don’t have or can’t find any Italian-style panko bread crumbs, just add 1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder to 1/2 cup plain panko bread crumbs and you’ll be good to go.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Eggs
How to Make Baked Zucchini Fries
- The first step is to cut your zucchini into little planks. The easiest way to do this is to cut both ends off, then cut into several strips, then cut each strip into the fry shape. Larger fries will be meatier and taste more like zucchini. Smaller fries will cook faster and tend to be crispier.
- Once your fries are cut, set up a little dipping station. Panko crumbs are awesome because they add a lot of crispness and they’re actually lower in calories than traditional bread crumbs. However, they also soak up moisture like a sponge, so if you start dipping the zucchini in the eggs and then rolling the sticks in the entire 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, after a few batches, the bread crumbs won’t stick anymore. So you’ll want to work with a portion of the bread crumb/Parmesan cheese mixture at a time, and you may need to wash your hands frequently during the process.
- Once you are done you should have them all lined up, not touching each other, on your baking sheet. Then into the oven they go. They’ll bake for a bit, get flipped, and then bake some more. All ovens are different, so bake them until they look browned and crisp! Try them with your favorite veggie dip, or with ranch or marinara.
Storing and Other Tips
- These zucchini fries are definitely best eaten fresh out of the oven! If you have leftovers and you don’t mind them getting mushy, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat as desired.
- Because these fries are best served right away, make sure any dipping sauces are ready to go before you start cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
These zucchini fries are best made fresh. If you’d like, you could slice your zucchini up ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to dunk. The breadcrumb mixture could also be prepped ahead.
Can I make these in an air fryer?
In theory, these would be great in an air fryer, but I haven’t personally tested them that way yet to advise on cook time or temperature. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Using up that garden zucchini? Try these other favorites!
Baked Zucchini Fries
Crispy baked zucchini sticks perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce!
Servings side dish portions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound zucchini
- ½ cup Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese the crumbly stuff, not shreds
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray, or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.
- Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).
- Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.
- Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. If you have convection setting on your oven, that will help get them crispier, faster!
- Serve immediately with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing or Pizza Sauce.
Notes
- Flipping the fries over is a very important step; do not skip it.
Nutrition
Calories: 51kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 100mg, Potassium: 225mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 266IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 51kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
I so appreciate all the WW posts!! I get so stuck with the same meals over and over. A lot of times it ends up being chicken, rice and salad….BORING!!
I have tried many WW recipes you have on here and loved them all!!
Thanks for sharing your ideas…I will be stealing this one too!!
We have these all the time as a side with any italian food, but my fave is to pair it with meatball subs. I spray mine with a little pam because it helps with the crunchiness and doesn't add calories. They are yummy!
I love zucchini fries…
You are hysterical! I totally get the ice cream points as I'm
A newly diagnosed diabetic.
I have been doing WW for about a year and have a husband who rolls his eyes when I even mention that a recipe is WW or even WW related. And yes, he's only a corn and potatoes guy, too. He will eat fried eggplant, and I sneaked in some baked done like your zucchini with the panko crumbs last summer and he actually liked them! I haven't tried squash yet, but can't wait for the garden this summer. I also use egg beaters to cut down on the points a bit. I've done oven fried chicken and fried okra with the panko crumbs–they are a staple in my house now.
Thank you so much for this! My biggest problem since I just re-joined WW too is sides and snacks.
I will have to give these a try (and don't be afraid to share more ideas like this).
Yum! Those look absolutely amazing!
I struggle with the veggies thing. I love them, particularly cooked with my food or in my food. However, my darling boyfriend is anti vegetable — he does taters, not even corn though. Any other veggies I might convince him to eat have to be soaked in butter or fried, and even then its unlikely. These sound like they are worth trying to get him to taste!
I make zucchini fries all the time! They are sooo good!
Amy–You could TOTALLY make these with green beans–in fact, I was thinking of that as I was making these. 🙂
Such a good idea, especially during those bountiful summer months when everyone is trying to come up with another application for zucchini. Thanks.
Do you think the same technique would work for a baked version of fried green beans? (like they're serving at some restaurants)
Yes. I previously cooked green beans in this manner too. First though you want to blanch them, boiling them and then cold bath….and trim the steams. Turns out great! 🙂
Mmmm. These look delicious! Will have to try these out next week! And it's such an easy recipe to make gluten free. Always a plus 🙂
To make it gluten free what do you use instead of bread crumbs?
Not sure Jeri- we don’t cook gluten free. Sorry!
You could try either cornmeal or crushed or chips maybe?
You could use crushed pork rinds instead.
Yum! We eat these all the time in the summer with the zucchini from the garden! Delicious and healthy!
I can't wait to try these. These look like a perfect side dish to me!
I love that you are including weight watcher points with your recipes.
This is my favorite appetizer at Carabas….can't wait to try them.
I'm really excited to try these! I have a hard time with sides too, especially healthy sides. So I'm not familiar with weight watches, do you happen to know how many calories are in these?
Yummy! Can't wait to try them! Thanks….
Mary
We make these all of the time. Love them!
Yum! (And I totally agree – one must be prudent in choosing how to spend those extra WW points! Ice cream always wins.)
I cannot wait to try these.
What a great idea! My vegetable co-op group will love this recipe! I hate to admit it, but sometimes the zucchinis go bad because we get so many. So this is a great way to get the kids to like them!
it looks wonderful.I'll definitely give this one a try.
Wow, these look great. I pretty much hate veggies but know they are necessary, can't wait to try these!
These sound amazing.
I CANNOT wait to try these! I love zucchini and I'm gettin' kinda bored with my current low cal recipe. If I didn't know better, I thought I had written the first few paragraphs…dh only likes potatoes and corn, but, now shies away from even those because of the carbs! Salad every night does become boring. And, I am totally with you. Ice Cream over ANY veggie ANY day….gotta use those WW points wisely, I say!
OH MY GOSH! My husband LOVES Zucchini and my daughter loves French Fries! This could solve my "My Family Doesn't Get Enough Veggies" Complex except it's not Zucchini season. This is going in the recipe box until Zucchini season rolls around!
OH WOW!!!!! I even have a zucchini in the fridge right now that I can turn into fries tonight!
Thanks girls!
I also have a hard time coming up with veggie side dishes for weeknight dinners! My husband is like yours — he likes very few veggies. Potatoes and corn are at the top of his list, although he does also like carrots and squash. I've made fried zucchini very similar to this recipe, which he likes, so I'll definitely have to try the baked version. I usually dip mine in flour before the egg, to help the egg adhere, but I'll try without next time to save calories (and time!)
Sounds like perfect point budgeting to me!! LOL I saved 7 of mine for a fudge-filled drumstick tonight – and loved every bite!
These looks great – and I'm encouraged by you mentioning that the thin ones don't taste like zucchini because I am a non-zucchini lover but I feel so trapped by the same 6 veggies! We'll give these a shot!