These crispy Zucchini Fritters with lemon garlic yogurt sauce are a fun and easy appetizer that is made in less than 25 minutes with only 5 ingredients! Kids and adults love this easy appetizer or side dish.
One of the best things about summer is all of the fresh summer produce from my garden! During the months of July, August and September, my garden is bursting with fresh zucchini and squash. I love zucchini because it’s versatile and delicious is a variety of recipes. You can add it to zucchini muffins, zucchini oatmeal, cupcakes, pasta, and more.
These 5-ingredient Zucchini Fritters with Lemon-Garlic Yogurt Sauce are an easy snack or appetizer that is ready in less than 25 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A great way to use an abundance of summer zucchini.
- Makes a great appetizer or side dish.
- Kids love them, even though there are veggies inside.
- These zucchini fritters are fried to create extra crispy fritters.
- This easy zucchini fritters recipe is made with 5 simple ingredients.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the crispy zucchini fritters:
- Grated Zucchini – This summer veggie is perfect for fritters because it’s soft and holds well together with egg and cheese.
- All-Purpose Flour – Helps absorb any liquid in the zucchini to make the perfect fritter. You can substitute with a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour. You can also substitute with whole wheat flour.
- Parmesan Cheese – Adds a salty bite and helps the fritters stay together. The cheese helps create cheesy zucchini fritters.
- Eggs – Helps bind everything in the fritter and creates a crust on the outside.
- Olive Oil – Used for pan-frying the zucchini fritters.
For the lemon garlic dipping sauce:
- Greek Yogurt – Makes the sauce creamy and tangy and adds protein. You can substitute with sour cream.
- Lemon Juice – Adds a perfect amount of acidity and fresh flavor.
- Olive Oil – Gives the sauce a rich texture.
- Chopped Parsley – Adds a fresh garden taste and pop of green color.
- Minced Garlic – Infuses the sauce with fresh garlic flavor.
How To Make The Best Zucchini Fritters
Step 1. Make the yogurt sauce. Whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and garlic until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Step 2. Assemble the zucchini fritters. Place the shredded zucchini in a colander over a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheesecloth, press down on the zucchini to drain any excess water.
In a large bowl, mix together the shredded zucchini, flour, Parmesan cheese, and eggs.
Step 3. Pan Fry the zucchini fritters. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. You can use a cast iron skillet for this recipe. Spoon tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flatten with a spatula, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat and place on paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Serve hot.
Pan frying helps create crispy zucchini fritters. To make them extra crispy, flatten them as thin as possible with a spatula.
Recipe Tips
- Chill yogurt dipping sauce. The lemon garlic sauce tastes best when it has a chance to marinate. For best results, chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Drain excess water. Make sure you don’t skip the step of draining the excess water out of the fritter. This will help them form and stay together and creates extra crispy zucchini fritters.
- Pay attention to heat. The heat on the skillet should always stay medium hot as they are prone to burning if the heat is too hot in the pan.
- Cook in batches to ensure they all cook evenly. You may need to replenish the olive oil between batches for the best results.
Variations
- To make gluten free crispy zucchini fritters: You can substitute the flour with gluten free flour. Make sure it’s 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour. This recipe was not tested with almond flour.
- Add green onions for more flavor. Use chopped or diced green onions.
- Try yellow squash for a fun twist. Substitute all or some of the zucchini with yellow squash.
- You can use zucchini noodles to make fritters. Just make sure they are drained of as much water as possible.
- Use different cheeses in your fritters. You can use grated pecorino romano or grated asiago cheese for a sharp salty cheese taste.
- Add other veggies. Shred up some carrots, or sweet potatoes to add to the mix for a veggie-packed fritter.
- Flavor the fritter by adding your favorite spices and seasonings to the mix.
FAQs
The reason fritters can become soggy is that there is too much water still in the zucchini. Make sure you squeeze out as much water as possible before adding the rest of the ingredients. This helps ensure crispy zucchini fritters.
To keep zucchini fritters from falling apart, you need the right ratio of flour, egg, and cheese. This recipe contains a proper combination of all that will hold up while frying.
The best way to get water out of shredded zucchini is to let it sit for 5 minutes after shredding. You can then press excess water through a strainer or add it all to a cheese cloth or a nut milk bag and gently squeeze until all excess water is removed.
Other Zucchini Dinners
Did you make these crispy zucchini fritters? Leave a recipe rating and review below!
Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
For the fritters:
- 3 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- To make the yogurt sauce, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and garlic until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To make the fritters, place the shredded zucchini in a colander over a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheesecloth, press down on the zucchini to drain any excess water.
- In a large bowl, mix together the shredded zucchini, flour, Parmesan cheese and eggs.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Spoon tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flatten with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 2 additional minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post originally published in 2017. It was updated in August 2021 with new process photos, expert tips and more.
These are really good! I especially loved the lemon garlic sauce, yum!
This was such a hit! Thank you for this awesome recipe
Can you substitute with almond flour? Thanks so much!
Hi, Abbie! While I haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour, you should be able to substitute it with success. Enjoy!