Vegan Zucchini Fritters are crispy, light and perfect when you have abundance of garden zucchini! Made with just 7 ingredients and ready in about 30 minutes.
Zucchini fritters make a great light meal, appetizer or snack. I love eating them with a little vegan sour cream on top. If you have a garden with a lot of zucchini that needs to get eaten, then you will want to save this one!
You could make a lot of fritters at once and freeze the leftovers, simply double, triple or quadruple the recipe.
Want more recipes to use up all your garden zucchini? Try any of these:
- Vegan Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Roasted Squash and Zucchini
- Vegan Sour Cream Enchiladas
How to make vegan zucchini fritters
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Trim the ends of the zucchini, then shred using the large holes of a grater (or food processor with a shredding attachment).
Place the zucchini in a fine strainer over a bowl or in the sink, toss with a little salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible with your hands and place in a bowl. This helps the fritters not be soggy, so don’t skip this part!
While the zucchini sits, get out a large mixing bowl and add the ground flaxseeds and water to it. Mix a little and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken. When the zucchini has been squeezed out, add it to the bowl with the flaxseed mixture, along with the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, green onions and optional fresh dill or parsley.
Stir until well incorporated. Heat a large pan and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Place about 2 tablespoons of the zucchini mixture on the pan and flatten the tops with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook 2-3 minutes more.
Can I bake them instead?
Yes, you can bake them instead of frying in a pan. Use parchment paper or a baking sheet sprayed with oil. Place a few tablespoons of zucchini mixture on the pan at a time, and flatten somewhat. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then flip and bake 15 more minutes until crispy on the outside.
How to store leftover zucchini fritters
- Refrigerator: Place fritters in a covered container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven or an air fryer until warm and crispy.
- Freezer: Cool cooked fritters completely, then place in a freezer friendly bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat from frozen, place directly in the oven or air fryer until warm and crispy.
Frequently asked questions
If they are soggy there is too much moisture in the batter. Draining the grated zucchini in a colander with salt should help, but if the batter still seems too wet, you can add a tablespoon or so of flour until it comes together better.
I use flaxseeds and water for the egg replacement in this recipe, but you can use a different egg substitute, such as JUST Egg (1/4 cup).
If not serving immediately, transfer the cooked fritters to a large pan and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. That way they won’t lose their crispness.
What to serve with vegan zucchini fritters?
You can eat them as a light meal or snack with some vegan sour cream, or pair with more filling items, such as:
- Basmati Rice, brown rice or quinoa
- Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
- Vegan Baked Beans
- BBQ Tofu or BBQ Tempeh
- Marinated Tofu
- Vegan “Chicken” (Seitan based)
- Vegan Naan, hummus and vegetable sticks such as carrots and cucumbers
- Vegan Caesar Salad
Vegan Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 pounds zucchini (3 large or 6-7 small, I recommend weighing before shredding)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 5 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (or gluten free mix if needed)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch (or arrowroot)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3-4 green onions, chopped small (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or parsley, optional
- olive oil, for frying
Instructions
- Trim the ends of your zucchini and shred it using the large holes of a grater. You can also use the shredding attachment on a food processor if you have one.
- Place the shredded zucchini in a strainer over a bowl or in the sink. Toss with the salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
- While the zucchini sits, get out a large mixing bowl. Add the ground flaxseeds and water to it, stir a little and set aside to thicken for a few minutes.
- Once the zucchini has rested for 10 minutes, use your hands to squeeze out all of the excess liquid you can, and place the squeezed zucchini in the bowl with the flaxseed mixture. Don't skip this part or the fritters will turn out soggy.
- To the same bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, green onions and optional fresh dill or parsley. Stir with the zucchini until well incorporated.
- In a large pan (non-stick or cast iron preferred), heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add about 2 tablespoons of the zucchini mixture to the pan, and flatten the tops with the back of a spoon. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Repeat with all of the fritter mixture, adding more oil as needed. If you have a really good non-stick pan you may not need much oil at all. Place the cooked fritters on a paper towel lined plate.
- Serve immediately with vegan sour cream and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Serving suggestions: Serve as a light meal or snack, or with rice, roasted potatoes, baked beans, marinated tofu, naan or Caesar salad.
- Leftovers: Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and reheat leftovers in the oven or air fryer until crispy.
- Freeze: Once the cooked fritters are completely cooled, freeze in a freezer friendly container or bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven or air fryer directly from the freezer until crispy and warm.
- Gluten free? Substitute a quality gluten free flour mix. Almond flour might work as well but I haven’t tested it.
Can I sub flax meal for the ground flax seed?
Yes, it’s actually the same thing, ground flaxseeds and flax meal. Enjoy!
hi nora, do you think its fine to airfry them at the start instead of bake/fry?
Hi Karen. You probably could, but I haven’t tried it. I would spray them with oil to get them crispy. Check often to make sure you don’t burn them and they get crispy enough. I hope this helps!
Hello. I was wondering if instead of using the flaxseed mixture as an egg replacer, would Just Egg work in the same way? If so, how many tablespoons would I need?
I’m not sure if Just Egg would work as a binder the same way flaxeggs do, but it’s worth a try! You can use 2 to 3 tablespoons.
Thank you ?
You are welcome!
These are great – I used psyllium husk because I’d run out of flax, and it worked perfectly. I also added crumbled vegan ‘Feta’ to make them more like Turkish mucver, and also added big handfuls of chopped mint, dill and parsley. Really good served with garlic/mint vegan yoghurt.
Hi Jayne. Your fritters sounds delicious, and so good with the garlic/mint yoghurt! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas and feedback!
I have no idea why but I can’t make zucchini fritters to save my life!
I left zucchini to drain and drained it through a cloth and still they’re soggy and slimy ?
Sorry to hear that, Maria! I like to wrap the shredded and salted zucchini in a cloth and squeeze the liquid out with my hands until almost nothing comes out anymore. If the mixture still looks wet, you can add a little more flour.
Delicious use of zucchini. This is the first time my vegan fritters stuck together from beginning to end. Thank you.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you loved the fritters!
Love it!
Can I prep the zucchini mixture the night before and fry the next day?
Yes, you can!
I’ve made these many times (I use buckwheat flour which works fine for me) and they are a real favourite. Always a popular dish to bring to parties and potlucks 🙂
I’m so glad you and all the parties are enjoying the fritters! Thanks so much for sharing your comments!
These were outstanding! I had my doubts not using eggs; but these were light, crispy, and delicious! Had them tonight with Mexican Street Corn and grilled peaches. . .perfect summer dinner on a very hot day.
Mmmm. Your meal sounds delicious! Thanks so much for taking your time to share your great review and comments!
Great recipe! followed the whole recipe, the only thing I had to add was 2 tbsp of water at the end because the batter was too dry. Frying them in my ceramic pan made them easy to handle and they came out perfect. Perhaps next time I’ll add a bit of black pepper or other something spicy.
I’m glad you enjoyed the fritters! The batter can be dry or wet depending on your zucchini and how well you squeeze the water out of it.
I used almond flower and baked them on parchment paper at 425 for about 30 minutes. Super delish!!!
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you loved the fritters!
I added shredded carrots too and it was loved by all.
How many cups of shredded zucchini is used? I already shredded all my zucchini.
I’ve never measured in cups, but if you can weigh around 2 lbs of shredded zucchini that would be about right!
Would chickpea flour work? 🙂
I think so, but I haven’t personally tried it.
This tasted great, but somehow didn’t quite come together for me. Because I’ve always had great success with Nora’s recipes, and because I only made a quarter batch, one can only assume the problem was me (I probably messed up the proportions somewhere). In any case, I’ll for sure give them another go — they were so good, squishy or not! 🙂
Did you squeeze the shredded zucchini very well? If not, they will be quite watery and not turn out as well. I’m guessing that’s what happened. 🙂
I also made a quarter of the recipe, and I found the batter was much drier than expected at first. I added a few splashes of water and formed the patty and it worked out alright. Maybe a bit more water was needed?
It’s going to largely depend on how well you squeeze out the zucchini, as it holds a ton of water. It sounds like you really squeezed! Making a quarter of the recipe is a little difficult as well, but I’m glad it worked out. I would not recommend adding more water, maybe just don’t squeeze the zucchini quite as well next time. Usually if there is an issue it’s that the fritter mixture can be too wet.
The taste turned out great. In the making process, is the mixture supposed to be so sticky?! I also baked them for the time recommended and couldn’t get them crispy. Any suggestions?
Hi Wendy. It’s quite sticky, yes. They don’t get very crispy when you bake them. You could try spraying them with oil before baking, but I’m not sure it will help that much. To get that crispy exterior, you need to fry them in a bit of oil. Hope that helps!
I messed up following the recipe instructions a little bit so my fritters turned out soggy, but still very flavorful! Remember the water in the recipe is only for the flax seed mixture, not to be added separately! Will definitely make this recipe again.
I don’t have flaxseed. Can you please recommend a replacement even if its not vegan? Is one egg sufficient?
I haven’t tried it with an egg, but that would probably work. Ground chia seeds would also work.
These turned out great. I made them in the oven since I was making supper for my family of 5.
Instead of flax, I used aquafaba because I just cooked up a batch of chickpeas this morning. It was the perfect binder.
Served these up with some roasted sweet potatoes and a small salad. The kids ate them right up.
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Hi, can I leave the flaxseed mixture out or is that the “egg replacer” in this recipe?
It helps the zucchini fritters stick together like an egg would, so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out.
Could I make this in my air fryer? If so, what would the cooking temp be?
You probably could, but I haven’t tried it. I would guess 350 degrees, for maybe 10-15 minutes, but check often to make sure you don’t burn them and they get crispy enough. I would also spray them with oil to get them crispy.
Hi, I made these last night and they were very good! I did use white onion instead of green, and sprayed my non stick pan with avocado oil spray.
My question is, they took forever, doing 4 at a time in my frying pan, do you think you could cook them in the oven on parchment paper? Ideally I would prefer to not use oil.
Thank you, I love your recipes!
Thank you! Yes, you can bake them instead, and I include instructions for this in the body of the post. You can bake them at 350 for 15 minutes, flip and bake 15 more minutes. It works pretty well!
Just made these the night before last! Our whole family LOVED them!!! I made them exactly according to the recipe except that I added 1 teaspoon of garlic salt because our family loves garlic. I used a good non-stick pan sprayed with avocado oil to “fry” them to a golden brown. I used a spatula sprayed with a little avocado oil to press them down a bit. Thank you for another fantastic recipe! You are my first “go to” for all of my vegan recipes! And I have recommended your website to everyone I talk to about vegan food! Your recipes are always easy, reliable, and the best tasting vegan food for busy families. Thank you for all of the hard work you do for all of us out here, trying to keep the world kind and healthy!
Thanks for the great comment!!
These sound so Good! Thanks for sharing.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks Nora!
You’re welcome!!