Zucchini Pancakes; unlike regular pancakes, are savoury and make a great side dish or appetizer! They are loaded with fresh zucchini and parmesan cheese.
They’re pretty easy to whip up; they’re crisp on the outside, with delectable herbs, veggies, and cheese folded into their tender inside.
Serve them as side dish to Lemon Garlic Baked Tilapia, Lime Coconut Chicken or Baked Honey Glazed Salmon.
For more easy side dishes, check Cabbage Salsa, Pan Fried Green Beans and Easy Vegetarian Sausage Rolls.
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What Are Zucchini Pancakes?
Zucchini Pancakes are similar to regular pancakes, except they’re savoury rather than sweet. Instead of devouring them with some sweet fruit, these pancakes are folded with vegetables.
Okay, maybe they’re not all that similar. But they’re similar in a way that they’re fairly quick to make, require little to no special skills and will never disappoint. Oh, and the batter is both prepped and scattered on a pan for cooking; just like with our English pancakes.
Why Does This Recipe Work?
- Easy zucchini pancakes recipe made with simple ingredients.
- Delicious side dish; the whole family will love it.
- The perfect way to insert more veggies into your diet.
- A good way to use up leftover zucchini.
What’s In The Zucchini Pancakes?
- Zucchini: The star of this recipe!
- Eggs: To make them thick and full.
- Green onion: Diced, used in making Thai Fish Cakes as well.
- All-purpose flour: The base for our batter.
- Parmesan cheese: To make the pancakes extra scrumptious.
- Baking powder: Available in the baking aisle of any grocery store.
- Salt: Just what you ordinarily use in your kitchen.
- Vegetable oil: Whatever you have at home should be fine.
"See the recipe card below for more information about the ingredients and quantities."
Variations & Substitutions
Though this recipe is perfect on its own, you can always add or substitute something to make it truly yours. Here are a few recipe variations for you, don’t forget to comment down below which ones you tried and how they turned out.
- Suppose you can’t get your hands on Zucchinis. Then, you can actually substitute the zucchini with yellow squash, courgettes or any other similar vegetable you can get your hands on. The recipe is the same; just be sure to drain the vegetable well.
- Though we’ve just included some salt, feel free to add spices and herbs to your batter, or dust them on after your pancakes are made. Some suggestions are black pepper and dry oregano. You can also add some fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, rosemary and chives.
- If you love the flavour of garlic, then you can also add a couple of diced cloves of garlic to the oil and then proceed to add the batter. This extra little step can make a world of a difference to the flavour, you’ll if you’re a garlic lover!
- If you can’t get your hands on green onions, you can substitute them for any onions; red, yellow, etc. However, you may not want to garnish the pancakes with them, but instead add them to the batter itself. It’ll make for some nice crunchiness in the mouth too.
- You can also substitute the flour for an ingredient that suits you more such as gluten-free flour.
- You can also use any oil that suits your health requirements more. We used vegetable oil, but you can use canola oil, coconut oil, olive oil etc.
- Add in more shredded vegetables such as carrots or cabbages.
How To Make Zucchini Pancakes?
One: First, we must ensure that all the ingredients are ready to go. This means, rinsing the vegetables and prepping them for the recipe. For this recipe, make sure the green onions are finely diced. Next, you’ve got to peel the zucchini and grate it down.
Two: Place the grated zucchini in a large colander and press down on the zucchini with your hand to get rid of all the liquids. This is important for the batter to come together; so this step should not be skipped.
Prepping The Pancake Batter
Three: Choose a large bowl that would be able to contain the entirety of the ingredients. In this bowl, add the strained zucchini, flour, eggs, parmesan cheese, onion, baking powder and salt. Mix all of the ingredients until they are well combined.
Four: Next, take out a large frying pan and pour a few teaspoons of vegetable oil over it. Once the oil is hot, we’re going to scoop ¼ cup of the pancake batter and pour it onto the hot skillet.
Five: Let it cook over medium heat until it is a beautiful golden brown (should take about 3 to 4 minutes) and then flip and repeat the same for the other side.
Six: Take ¼ cup more of the batter and repeat until all the batter has been used up.
Seven: Next, place the savoury pancakes on a serving plate, and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
That’s it, an exquisite appetizer is waiting to be devoured on your kitchen counter in just 30 to 40 minutes!
Top Tips
- Use an ice cream scoop, (the one where you can control when to release the liquid) to pour the batter. Not only will they make less of a mess, but they’ll ensure all pancakes use up the same amount of batter; thus they are all equal in size.
- You don’t want to over-mix the batter, nor do you want to wait after the batter has been mixed. You don’t want soggy Zucchinis so don’t leave your batter out for too long.
- Deciding the ratio of your pancake batter to your Zucchini shreds is up to you. We like a good 50-50 ratio, so that we taste more Zucchini, but you alter the recipe as per your liking. Perhaps you’d like some extra ingredients in yours.
Serving Suggestions
These healthy Zucchini Pancakes, also very well known as Zucchini Fritters make a wholesome meal of their own. Just serve them with a dollop of sour cream or some garlic sauce. Don’t forget to garnish your choice of sauce with some fresh herbs (such as parsley).
When it comes to garnishes, we also like to serve with toppings of some fresh produce such as cherry tomatoes or pieces of Avocado.
However, if you feel like having a more extravagant meal, or perhaps serve one then these fritters go really well, with one of the following dishes on the side:
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many ways that you can grate a Zucchini. You can use just your hands and a box grater. You can also use a food processor or even just a vegetable peeler. The shape or size doesn’t really matter, as long as it is shredded and drained well, it should be just fine.
There are plenty of dips that you can enjoy with these Zucchini Fritters. Try some marinara sauce, Guacamole, chutney, or Cashew aioli.
No, right now, this recipe is not gluten-free. However, you can make your Zucchini Pancakes gluten-free by doing one of the following things. You can use some gluten-free flour or chickpea flour to put together the batter of this recipe.
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Recipe
Zucchini Pancakes Recipe
Equipment
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 4 cups zucchini , grated, dried well
- ¼ cup green onion , diced
- 4 large eggs , slightly beaten
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese , grated
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Place grated zucchini in a large colander and press down on the zucchini with your hand to get rid of all the liquids.4 cups zucchini
- In a large bowl, mix together the strained zucchini, flour, eggs, Parmesan cheese, onion, baking powder and salt until combined.¼ cup green onion, 4 large eggs, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; scoop about ¼ cup of the zucchini mixture onto the hot skillet, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.¼ cup vegetable oil
- Repeat, put the zucchini pancakes on a serving plate and garnish with green onions and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
- Use an ice cream scoop, (the one where you can control when to release the liquid) to pour the batter. Not only will they make less of a mess, but they’ll ensure all pancakes use up the same amount of batter; thus they are all equal in size.
- You don’t want to over-mix the batter, nor do you want to wait after the batter has been mixed. You don’t want soggy Zucchinis so don’t leave your batter out for too long.
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