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, virtually guilt free, and a totally painless way to get your veggies. Try them with you favorite veggie dip, or with our Buttermilk Ranch or Homemade Pizza Sauce!
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.
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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
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.
This is an easy side dish and a fun snack that most kids will actually eat!
Serving Suggestions
Got Zucchinis? Here are some other recipes you might enjoy!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake
Lemon Herb Zucchini Pasta
Grilled Zucchini Caprese
Zucchini Caprese Frittata
FAQs
- 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!
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Baked Zucchini Fries
Description
Crispy baked zucchini sticks perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce!
Ingredients
About 1 lb. zucchini
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
1/4 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 Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.
Questions & Reviews
Panko burned, zucchini was soft. Fail. And I can cook, so that’s not it. I think the temp is too high. I’d cook them low and slow, as if to dehydrate.
Loved these! Had some sundried tomato pesto on hand so dipped it in that. Got a little tired of doing a few at a time so put them in a bag with egg, then a ziplock bag with the bread crumbs. Worked ok too. These really do need to be flipped over! Thanks!
loved them! We like zucchini anyway, but my kids devoured these. THanks for sharing the garden produce recipes!!!!
Tried these for dinner tonight and they were outstanding. My husband even asked what vegetable they were made from! Although, I only ended up with 8 planks from each zucchini, not 16. I cut them in half crosswise, then cut each of those halfs into 4 planks. Maybe I didn’t do it right!
Wanna fight? Classic I laughed my head off! Never seen your site before but I think I’m going to have to join! The fries sound good too 🙂
We made these last night. They were fantastic! I had some broccoli and mushrooms that needed to be eaten so I made them the same way, really yummy! I think I’ll even try onions next time. Zucchini fries are awesome, thank you for this recipe. I found it on Pinterest and I am also going to try another recipe I found for ranch dressing only you exchange the mayo for nonfat yogurt, much more healthy. That way we can feel much better eating them!
I love this idea. I tried it this afternoon and they turned out great. I tweaked the recipe by using what I had for the coating. I also eye-balled the amounts because I was only doing one zucchini as a trial run. At nearly 6000 ft, I had to adjust the time by about half and didn’t have to turn them over, which was a shock. But, all that is to say – Great recipe – LOVED IT! You’ve inspired me to try this with other veggies to get my toddler more excited!
Tried this today and 3 words: A. Maz. Ing! My kids were not fans, but hey, more for me, right? This is a new favorite (for me and hubbs, anyway)!
Just made these tonight and they’re AMAZING!!
YUM! Now I know what to do with the zucchini I’m starting to harvest!
Great recipe and I can’t wait to try it.
Just a thought though: I see a lot of comments out there on what the hubbies will and will not eat. If they don’t eat what you fix then they need to learn to fix their own side dishes or go without. Your health and weight is important and their picky eating shouldn’t derail your admirable efforts.
Made these tonight and they took a long time to make, but they were delicious! We dipped them in tomato sauce. I have been looking for a new recipe for zucchini and this one is a keeper. Thanks for posting a yummy yet healthy recipe.
I am munching these right now, hoping there will be enough left for the fam! So yummy… I added “Seasonello Bologna Aromatic Herb Salt”. Fab on anything, BTW!
Pampered Chef makes a french fry cutter that just came out in the Spring Catalog that makes slicing the zucchini a snap. Just thought I’d share.
These are fabulous!!! I am trying them for the 2nd time tonight with portabella mushrooms done the same way, can’t wait to try them!
I love fried veggies, especially with a GOOD dipping sauce, I do not like the calories though!! These are a great alternative!!! I actually make a light version of a mayo/horseradish dipping sauce which taste just like texas roadhouse’s sauce for thier onion blossom! Now everyone in the family will chow down on these!
thank you love this entry! just a quick idea.. the hungry girl show on food network did a twist on onion rings by baking them and covering them in ground up fiber one cereal ( the one that looks like twigs) with garlic ect.. added.. i’m going to try your recipe with this alternative.. i know that the fiber adds up and gives some kind of benefit for weight watchers.. so just a thought.. thanks for sharing the GREAT recipe!!!
This was very tasty! A healthier alternative to fried zucchini. Thank you!
These are absolutely amazing…I have made them three times already in the past two weeks! If only we could order baked zucchini fries out, think about how many calories you could save them! My fiance loves them too, we’ll make ranch dip and use light sour cream, pair it with a turkey burger…feels like you’re eating a burger and fries and cut half the fat. On another note, I love this entire website and I share this with any of my foodie friends!
I made these over the weekend and they were amazing! LOVE THEM! Even my “I-don’t-like-that-even-though-I’ve-never-tried-it” four year old who only eates grilled cheese, hot dogs and PB&J ate them and liked them! Ok, ok, I admit it… I did have to bribe her with ice cream to get her to take a bite but, whatever it takes, right? Woo-hoo for this MOTY (Mom of the year)!
Is there anything that can be used to replace the egg in recipes like this? I have a child with an egg allergy and would be grateful to learn or any tips.
Jana, you could dredge them in flour, then dip them in milk or buttermilk and then roll them in the bread crumbs–I imagine that would work just fine! 🙂
Why can’t I print this recipe??
Family loved them! Even my 2 year old little boy who wont touch veggies! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!