Vegan zucchini fritters made with out eggs or parmesan cheese. These fritters are crispy at the edges with fluffy soft texture and very flavorful.
Made with season’s best zucchinis, these homemade vegan fritters get ready within 30 minutes & great for breakfast or snack!
About This Recipe
I love making quick and easy homemade snacks with veggies. When I bought a good stash of amazingly fresh organic zucchinis, these fritters were a given.
Classic zucchini fritters recipe uses eggs and parmesan cheese but in this recipe we are making it vegan, leaving those ingredients behind.
These fritters are so easy to make, one bowl recipe, ready in less than 30 minutes and tastes beyond amazing.
Once you try this recipe, I promise you will not miss eggs or parmesan in these fritters. This is a perfect and good recipe that tastes great with yogurt or sour cream dip.
Are you tired of your fritters turning soggy as soon as you make, do not miss my secret ingredient and a simple step that I follow to make amazingly crispy fritters that stay as fresh for a while.
Compared to the ones made with eggs and cheese, these fritters are lower in calories, light and contains loads of the vegetable.
I often make these fritters as after school snack for my kid as it is filling yet light, healthier and made in minutes.
These Zucchini Fritters Are
Vegan & can be made gluten free
Very easy to make
Simple ingredients
Quick recipe
Absolutely tasty & flavorful
Wholesome snack for kids.
We love zucchini fritter and I make it in many ways. While the base recipe remains the same, I throw in different veggies, herbs or sometimes even greens, leftover cooked rice or quinoa or millet.
This is a very adaptable and great recipe and most of the veggies go wonderfully well in this easy recipe.
Here I have added grated onions this time. You can also add grated carrots, boiled corn, shredded broccoli or cabbage.
Do not skimp on fresh herbs as they add so much flavor. Here I have used fresh parsley, scallion greens and cilantro leaves. You can also add dill leaves, mint leaves.
If you love zucchini, stay tuned for more zucchini recipes coming your way!
Expert Tips
What is the egg substitute in this recipe?
In this recipe we are using chickpea flour instead of eggs. Chickpea flour is amazing egg substitute in many recipes.
I have used chickpea flour earlier in this savory french toast, veg fritters, vegan omelette recipes. Here also it works very well.
How to grate zucchini easily?
If you are making these fritters in large quantity, use a food processor with grater attachment. You can also use a box grater or hand held grater with big holes.
Why are my zucchini fritters soggy?
Your fritters will turn soggy if your batter contains more water or moisture than required. Zucchini when grated leaves out loads of water which we don’t want in this recipe.
So to avoid soggy fritters, all you have to do it grate the zucchini, add some salt and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, just squeeze out the excess water and use the zucchini in recipe. This is the age old technique we always follow while making onion fritters.
Tips to make super crispy fritters?
While you want to avoid soggy fritters, you also want to make the edges super crispy right? Here comes my secret ingredient.
Add 3 tablespoons fine semolina or sooji to get that super crispy edges. You can also add corn flour but I highly recommend semolina.
Also adding some oil in the batter helps to make super crispy fritters. You can add olive oil or any neutral oil here. I have used light olive oil. Do not use extra virgin olive oil though.
Can I use whole wheat flour instead of plain flour?
Yes but the fritters will be denser compared to the ones made with plain flour. You can also use part wheat flour in this recipe.
I have made these fritters with wheat four. It tasted really good and the flavor was amazing.
Any substitute for parmesan in these vegan fritters?
While making vegan zucchini fritters you can add 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast in the batter for cheese flavor and good texture. You can also add crumbled tofu.
Vegetarians can add veg parmesan or crumbled feta cheese too.
How to make zucchini fritters gluten free
To make these gluten free just replace plain flour with chickpea flour itself or you can use any of your favorite gluten free blend you use for pancakes.
You can also add 1/4 cup almond flour if you are making gluten free version.
Step By Step Method
Prep Work
Rinse, peel the zucchini.
Grate the zucchini using a handheld or box grater or food processor. As I have made a very small quantity I used hand held grater. You can also use shredded zucchini in this recipe.
Add few pinches of salt to the zucchini and mix well.
Set aside for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, squeeze out the excess water. You can also use a tea towel or dish towel to squeeze and wipe off excess water.
In the meantime finely chop onions, cilantro leaves, scallion greens, mince ginger and green chilies.
Making the batter & frying the fritters.
Combine all the chopped veggies including shredded zucchini in a large bowl.
To that add all purpose flour or plain flour, chickpea flour, semolina or rava, ground turmeric, freshly cracked black peppercorn, two teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
Mix well the veg zucchini mixture to form a thick batter. The batter should be thick yet you should be able to pour.
Heat two tablespoons oil in a large seasoned and heavy cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat. I used a 10.5 inches pan here. Pour around 3-4 tablespoons batter into a small fritter and shape like patties using a spoon.
You can also use a cookie scoop to divide the fritter batter into equal sized portions.
Depending on the size of the skillet, cook 4-5 fritters at a time. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes for each side.
Add some oil at the edges and cook until the fritters become golden brown and crispy from both sides.
Remove the cooked fritters and place on a kitchen towel or paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Serve warm.
What To Serve Zucchini Fritters With?
These fritters can be served in multiple ways.
Serve them hot as side dish with creamy dip like yogurt sauce, sour cream dip, cream fraiche, tzatziki.
You can serve these as side dish with any veg salad.
More Snack Recipes
I hope you will try this recipe and enjoy as much as we did.
Recipe Card
Zucchini Fritters (Vegan)
1 CUP = 250 ml
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups grated zucchini from 2 medium sized or 500 grams zucchini
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion greens
- 2 green chilies finely chopped or minced
- 1/2 inch ginger piece minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- 3 tablespoons semolina or sooji or rava
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns black pepper powder
- 2 tablespoons oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse, peel and grate the zucchini using a handheld or box grater or food processor. As I have made a very small quantity I used hand held grater.
- Add few pinches of salt to the zucchini and mix well.
- Set aside for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime finely chop onions, cilantro leaves, scallion greens, mince ginger and green chilies.
- After 15 minutes, squeeze out the excess water. You can also use a tea towel or dish towel to squeeze and wipe off excess water.
- In the meantime finely chop onions, cilantro leaves, scallion greens, mince ginger and green chilies.
Making the batter & frying the fritters.
- Combine all the chopped veggies in a bowl.
- To that add all purpose flour or plain flour, chickpea flour, semolina or rava, ground turmeric, freshly cracked black peppercorn, two teaspoons oil and salt to taste.
- Mix to form a thick batter. The batter should be thick yet you should be able to pour.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a seasoned and heavy cast iron skillet or pan over medium heat. I used a 10.5 inches pan here. Pour around 3-4 tablespoons batter into a small fritter and shape like patties using a spoon.
- You can also use a cookie scoop to divide the fritter batter into eqaul sized portions.
- Depending on the size of the skillet, cook 4-5 fritters at a time. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes for each side.
- Add some oil at the edges and cook until the fritters become golden and crispy from both sides.
- Remove the cooked fritters and place on a kitchen towel or paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- Serve zucchini fritters warm.
Sangeetha says
Hi,
Would love to try this, looks so yummy!
Stacey Halio says
Can these be air fried? That way there’s no oil involved..