These vegan zucchini basil fritters are flavored with lots of fresh herbs, garlic and nutritional yeast. They are easy to make and makes for a fun appetizer, light vegan meal or side dish that everyone loves, including kids! Fully plant-based and gluten-free.
Well, let's welcome Mr. Zucchini Fritters over here.
I recently shared a classic zucchini recipe with these vegan zucchini muffins, but I definitively could not let this zucchini season close up without sharing a zucchini fritter recipe.
So here they are, crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside and deliciously herbed zucchini savory pancakes. I simply cannot get enough of their amazing texture and the boost in fresh basil and chives flavor makes them so. damn. delicious.
But, I have to say that even though the flavorful herbed and garlic combination was a keeper since the beginning of testing this recipe, holy moly, baking/cooking with zucchini can be quite the challenge.
Zucchinis are filled with water. Like, they are water. So, you have to take this into account with incorporating them into baked goods, as they will want to release all of their natural water while cooking.
But once you squeezed lots of their water out, then zucchini makes for an amazing 'base' for fritters. Just like in these Asian rice noodle pancakes, the zucchini threads become the back bone to the batter and form a hearty pancake with incredible texture.
So, if you are still overwhelmed by an invasion of fresh zucchinis in your garden or local market, then these vegan zucchini basil fritters should be next on your list-to-cook!
Easy vegan lunch box filling idea
I just wanted to start with this before I forget: these are adored by my kids! There is something magical happening when kids (or adults) are placed in front of finger food with a side sauce, right?
Anyway, these fritters can be made ahead, kept in the fridge and used as a lunch box fun food. In this case, I make them smaller or cut them in triangles so they can grab the pieces with their little hands and dip in the sauce. They are good even cold or at room temperature and I love how they are totally made nut-free, which is perfect for nut-free schools.
Ingredients to make the BEST vegan zucchini basil fritters
- Zucchini: choose the small zucchinis as they are sweeter in flavor with a thinner skin and a lesser amount of seeds.
- Nutritional yeast: for a cheesy flavor.
- Chickpea flour: I used this chickpea flour from Bob's Red Mill.
- Basil & Chives: brings a whole lot of flavor. Can be substituted for other fresh herbs such as cilantro or dill.
- Garlic: yummy garlicky pancakes.
- Water + salt.
Zucchini fritters that are vegan and cheesy
Really, vegan and cheesy?
If you are still unsure about nutritional yeast, then now is the time to jump in. Nutritional yeast is an AMAZING vegan ingredient that's so flavorful as it brings a cheesy little something to cheese-less recipe. And who does not want to cheese-up everything anyway?
On top of skipping on the real cheese, these fritters are made without any eggs, which are usually a key binding ingredients in regular non-vegan fritters. In this case, we are going to use chickpea flour as a binding ingredient.
What is chickpea flour and can I use regular wheat flour instead?
Chickpea flour, also called garbanzo bean flour, is simply dried chickpeas that were ground into a very fine flour. I recommend you to buy chickpea flour as it can be tricky to make it yourself at home, although Samira at Alpha Foodie makes grinding chickpeas into a flour seem very easy!
Chickpea flour is an amazing binding ingredient, even better than regular flour, which is why you can't substitute this ingredients for any other kind of flour when making these fritters. The chickpea flour is combined with water to form a thick pancake batter that work so well into bringing and holding all the other ingredients together while cooking.
Step-by-step how to make
Step 1- Prepare the zucchinis
Start by shredding them using either a hand box grater or use the grater option on your food processor. You want the thread to be on the bigger side though.
Then, measure the 3 cups that you need and transfer in a fine mesh colander. Add the salt and stir the zucchini shreds so they all get covered with the salt. Then, place the colander over a bowl and let it sit for 20-30 min.
Once that's done, then rinse thoroughly the zucchini under water (to remove the excess of salt) and use your fingers/hands to press on the zucchinis to remove the excess water. And don't be gentle, press hard! When done with that step, your fingers need to feel tired. You want to remove as much water as possible, so keep pressing until you feel like no more water is coming out.
Step 2- Make the batter
In a medium bowl, combined the pressed zucchinis with the nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, garlic, chives, basil and water. Stir well until combined, you want to make sure there are no dry pockets anymore.
It should look like a thick pancake batter, so if your batter looks too thin, then add 1-3 extra teaspoons of chickpea flour and stir again.
Step 3- Pan-fry
Warm up a large non-stick pan and add a little oil if desired. Once warmed up, then cook your pancakes using ¼ cup of batter at the time. Work in batches, I usually make 4 pancakes at the time.
Also, the batter is too thick to be poured in the pan, so you will have to scoop it and use the back of a spoon to spread the batter to a thin disc of about ½ inch. Don't leave it too thick or it won't cook well in the middle.
Cook on medium-high heat until browned (about 4 min), then flip and cook the other side for a few more minutes.
Watch how I make these vegan zucchini basil fritters
Vegan courgette fritters cooking tips
- It is important to spread the batter in a thin layer on the pan. This ensures that the middle cooks well before the surface browns too much.
- It is hard to fully appreciate in my video, but you really have to press hard on the zucchini for maybe a good minute. You can place the colander against the side of your sink for support and use your hand/fingers/spoon to press real hard.
- You can keep your fritters warm while making them by heating your oven on the low setting and transferring the fritters to the oven after each batch so they stay warm until serving.
Can I make these vegan zucchini basil fritters completely oil-free?
You know how much I love oil-free recipes! There is no added oil/fat in the batter and you can definitively make these fritters without adding any oil to the pan. To do this, make sure you have a high quality pan to help the fritters stick to it and use a spatula when flipping to really grab the entire underneath section of the pancake.
You will get a better texture and crispier fritters if adding oil, so what I do is use an oil-spray and give a quick spray over my pan. That way I avoid adding too much. Or, add a little, then use a paper towel to remove the excess before warming it.
Can I bake them in the oven?
I don't recommend it. Frying them in a pan, even if not using any oil, is the best way to reach a crispy surface on the fritters. I find too that you can have a better control on how long to cook the fritters when frying them in a pan as you will have a better visual: you can see/touch them, adjust the heat and flip a few extra times until they are done.
Can I use frozen zucchinis?
If you have so many zucchini from your garden that you freeze some, then this is not a good recipe to use them. Frozen zucchini change in texture a lot after thawing, which could make your fritters soggy or even mushy.
Instead, use your frozen zucchini to make berry zucchini smoothie or a raw zucchini salad dressing!
Serving suggestions
These fritters are amazing served with a side sauce. In this case, I made a quick yogurt sauce combining coconut yogurt with fresh dill, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Other sauce ideas would be a marinara sauce, ketchup (my kids ultimate favorite, obv), salsa, hummus, avocado ranch sauce or even a lemony cashew ricotta. Top the fritters with more chives or fresh herbs and add a generous pinch of ground black peppers.
How to store and reheat leftovers
Although they are at their best when freshly made, they also hold well for a few days. This makes it a great recipe to plan ahead! They will lose on some of their crispiness with time, but the flavors stay amazing. Keep any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheating options
- Warm them up using a pan, only a few minutes on each side on medium heat. This is the best way to hold on to some of the crispiness.
- Use the microwave for a quick and convenient way to reheat them. They will get softer, but still really good.
- If you have a mini toaster-oven, then you can use it to warm them up too without having to turn on your big oven. Simply warm for a few minutes at 350º.
Other vegan zucchini recipes you might like
- Roasted vegetable hummus pasta
- Vegan Italien dressing
- Zucchini blackberry smoothie
- Vegan zucchini raisin muffins
- Vegan chickpea and zucchini burgers
I hope you enjoy these healthy veggie fritters as much as we do! If you try them, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how they were. Your feedback is so helpful!
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Vegan Zucchini Basil Fritters (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 3 cups zucchini - grated
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup chickpea flour
- ¾ cup water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 cloves of garlic - crushed
- 18 chive stems - roughly chopped
- 15 fresh basil leaves - roughly chopped
Instructions
- Combine the zucchini with the salt in a fine mesh colander and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Then, rinse the zucchini under cold water and use your fingers to press on the zucchini to remove the excess water. Press hard and long enough until your fingers feel sore! You want to get as much water out as possible.
- Transfer the pressed zucchini in a bowl and add the nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, garlic, chives, basil and water. Stir to combine until there are no dry pockets anymore.
- Warm up a non-stick pan (add a little oil if desired) on medium heat. Using about ¼ cup of the zucchini batter at the time, cook the fritters just the way you normally cook pancakes. The batter won't pour, so scoop it to the pan, then press with the back of a spoon to shape a thin disc (no more than ½ inch thick)
- Then, cook until browned, about 4 minutes on each sides, on medium heat. You will have to work in batches and using ¼ cup per fritters should give you about 10 fritters. I had better result when cooking on medium heat (instead of high heat) a little longer, so the middle of the fritters was cooked evenly.
Video
Notes
- You should have a thick batter. If your batter looks a little too runny, then feel free to add 1-3 tsp of chickpea flour and stir again.
- It is important to spread the batter in a thin layer on the pan. This ensures that the middle cooks well before the surface browns too much.
- It is hard to fully appreciate in my video, but you really have to press hard on the zucchini for maybe a good minute. You can place the colander against the side of your sink for support and use your hand/fingers/spoon to press real hard.
- You can keep your fritters warm while making them by heating your oven on the low setting and transferring the fritters to the oven after each batch so they stay warm until serving.
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Just made these Zucchini fritters. Had to substitute the chick pea flour with WW. We both loved them. ❤️
Oh great Bev! I'm glad you loved them! Thanks for your comment. 🙂