How to Make the Best Zucchini and Potato Fritters (Crispy Every Time!)
This easy zucchini and potato fritter recipe uses just five ingredients and is a great way to enjoy fresh summer vegetables from your garden. The result is a crisp, flavorful fritter that’s perfect for dipping into your favorite sauces or serving alongside grilled meats. They’re so quick to make that they’ve become one of my favorite go-to lunches on busy days — and I have a feeling they’ll become one of yours too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It makes a quick and filling lunch for the whole family.
- It also works great as a side dish, served with roast chicken or beef.
- Zucchini and potatoes are rich in minerals, and this recipe uses 4 whole zucchini – perfect for making good use of the summer garden bounty.
- The recipe is endlessly adaptable – you can substitute white flour with sprouted whole wheat flour, almond flour, or chickpea flour. You can also add shredded cheddar or parmesan to the batter or on top of the ready fritters for a protein boots, or add fresh or dried herbs for different flavor variations.
- The fritters are quick to cook and the batter can be made in the morning and kept in the fridge until you are ready to cook the fritters.
How to Make Your Fritters Crunchy
- Make sure you squeeze the moisture out of the grated zucchini and potatoes. I find that it is best to squeeze them in my fist rather than in a sieve, because I can apply more pressure this way and do a really good job. When squeezing the potatoes, catch the juices in a bowl. When you pour off most of the liquid from the bowl, you will see the potato starch on the bottom (it looks a bit like white flour). Add this starch back to the batter – it will help to bind the fritters together.
- Add enough oil to the pan (1/4 inch layer is usually enough). Make sure the oil is hot before you add the fritters to the pan. To check if the oil is hot enough, place a little bit of batter onto the pan. It should immediately start to sizzle if the oil is ready.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan – only fry a few fritters at a time, leaving plenty of space between them.
- Place the ready fritters on a plate lined with a few paper towels or a cheesecloth. This way any remaining oil drains away and does not make the fritters soggy.
Ingredients
Step-by-Step: How to Make Crispy Zucchini and Potato Fritters
Before you start mixing your ingredients, make sure to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the zucchini and potatoes. This step is key if you want your fritters to turn out crisp instead of soggy. You can do this by squeezing small handfuls at a time with your hands. Or do it by wrapping the grated vegetables in a cheesecloth and twisting it into a tight bundle — be prepared to use some muscle!
Step 1
Place the well-drained zucchini, potatoes, flour, salt, and 1 large or 2 small eggs in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2
Mix everything really well together until you get a uniform batter with the flour and egg distributed evenly throughout the vegetables. I find that a large wooden spoon or a spatula works best fot this purpose.
Step 3
Heat a thin layer of coconut oil on the frying pan until hot. You do need some oil or the fritters will stick, but 1/4 inch thick layer is usually enough. I find that putting too much oil at once can result in greasy fritters.
Place four dollops of the batter onto the hot pan and flatten with the back of your spoon. Smaller fritters are easier to flip so I usually use a tablespoon of batter for one fritter. Fry the fritters a few minutes on one side until they crisp up well and turn golden.
Step 4
Then flip the fritters onto the other side and fry for another few minutes. Make sure that you fry them on medium high heat. Too low heat may result in soggy fritters, too high heat will burn the outside of the fritters while the middle will still remain uncooked. Zucchini are usually very quick to cook, but potatoes require some more time.
Step 5
Once cooked on both sides, transfer the fritters onto a warm plate lined with paper towels or a cheeesecloth. If you make a large amount of fritters, you may need to keep the ready ones in a warm oven – I usually just serve the fritters to my kids as they come out of the skillet, so they don’t have the chance to get cold.
What to Serve With These Crispy Zucchini and Potato Fritters
Here are some of my favorite ways to serve these fritters to get you started, along with a few delicious sauces and dips that pair perfectly with their crispy texture.
- Mexican style, with some homemade salsa and a large dollop of sour cream.
- With a large green salad with homemade vinaigrette.
- With poached or fried eggs and yogurt garlic sauce (to make it mix 1 cup of yogurt with 2 finely grated cloves of garlic and a pinch of salt, then stir together well).
- As a side for grilled or roasted meats.
- Other sauce ideas: tzatziki, aioli, sour cream with chopped fresh herbs, homemade tomato chutney.
- I personally also really like these fritters with homemade cottage cheese spread on top. Eaten this way they really make a complete protein-rich meal!
How to Store, Freeze & Reheat These Fritters
- Store any leftover fritters in the fridge either spread out in a single layer or with parchment paper in between.
- These fritters can be reheated on a dry frying pan or in the oven at 180°C/375°F for about10 mins.
- You can freeze the cooked fritters with parchment paper in between, so they don’t stick together.
Final Tips
- For frying the fritters you could use tallow instead of coconut oil.
- If you do not like potatoes, use grated carrots or sweet potatoes instead.
- For a gluten free version, you could substitute chickpea flour or almond flour for the white flour.
- My kids really like everything with cheese on top. You can either add the cheese when frying the fritters on the second side, or once cooked but still hot.
I hope you give this recipe a try! My grandmother used to make similar fritters for us when we were kids, and every time I cook them, I’m reminded of her and those summer holidays. Whether you’re feeding little ones, stocking the freezer, or just trying to use up a garden’s worth of zucchini, these fritters deliver on crunch, flavor, and versatility. If you do make them, I’d love to hear how you served them — share your ideas in the comments below!
Crispy Zucchini and Potato Fritters
Equipment
- grater
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 4 medium zucchini), moisture squeezed out
- 1½ cups peeled and grated potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), moisture squeezed out
- 1 large or 2 small eggs
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp unrefined salt
- coconut oil, for frying the fritters
Instructions
- Place the well-drained zucchini and potatoes, flour, salt, and 1 large or 2 small eggs in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix everything really well together until you get a uniform batter with the flour and egg distributed evenly throughout the vegetables. I find that a large wooden spoon or a spatula works best fot this purpose.
- Heat a thin layer of coconut oil on the frying pan until hot. You do need some oil or the fritters will stick, but 1/4 inch thick layer is usually enough. I find that putting too much oil at once can result in greasy fritters.
- Place four dollops of the batter onto the hot pan and flatten with the back of your spoon. Smaller fritters are easier to flip so I usually use a tablespoon of batter per fritter. Fry the fritters on medium high heat for a few minutes until they crisp up well and turn golden.
- Then flip the fritters onto the other side and fry for another few minutes.
- Once cooked on both sides, transfer the fritters onto a warm plate lined with some paper towels or a cheeesecloth.
- Serve immediately with some salsa and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
- Make sure to fry the fritters for a few minutes on each side to give the potatoes the chance to cook.
- Instead of coconut oil, you could use tallow for frying.
- For more serving ideas check the full blog post.
Thank you for your recipe of fritters. First time for me to cook fritters, and they were lovely. I served them as an evening snack with sour cream and shallots, Hummus and an Asian dipping sauce. Was yummy.
Thank you so much! I am very glad that you liked them.