Lightly crisped on the outside, tender on the inside, and makes use of summer's most abundant vegetable! And air frying the zucchini fritters keeps them healthier than actual frying without sacrificing taste or texture! Perfect as an appetizer, side dish, or healthy main course. Oven baking instructions also provided.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time13 minutesmins
Additional Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr28 minutesmins
Course: Air Fryer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer zucchini fritters, crispy zucchini fritters, dipping sauce for zucchini fritters, healthy zucchini fritters
Servings: 12
Calories: 52kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
3cupszucchinigrated (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1medium carrotpeeled and grated (or omit and use all zucchini and add 1/2 cup extra zucchini)
½white or yellow onionpeeled and grated
2or 3 cloves garlicfinely minced
2teaspoonssalt
1large egg
½cupshredded cheddar cheeseor another shredded cheese blend
6tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonfresh parsleyfinely minced; optional
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Using the coarsest blade of a box grater (or use the grating attachment of a food processor), grate the zucchini, carrot, and onion and add them to a large colander along with the garlic and set it inside your kitchen sink.
Add the salt and stir to combine. Wait 1 hour. During this time moisture from the vegetables will begin to release.
After 1 hour, tightly wring out the vegetable mixture in a clean tea towel or cheesecloth. Tip - Do not use paper towels because even the best ones will shred and rip and you'll be picking out paper shreds from your vegetable mixture.
Place the wrung out vegetables in a large bowl and add the egg, cheese, flour, optional parsley, pepper, and stir to combine.
Preheat the air fryer to 375F.* (See Notes for Oven Baking Instructions)
Using a 2-tablespoon medium cookie scoop for uniformity, scoop out and form the fritters and lightly pat each fritter into a semi-flattened round shape but don't overly flatten.
Spray the basket of the air fryer with olive oil cooking spray or a similar cooking spray, add the fritters to the basket, and lightly spray them too. Tips - They need a bit of oil to actually "fry" so don't skip this. Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket. You will likely need to air fry the fritters in two batches.
Air fry for 10 minutes.
Open the air fryer, flip the fritters, lightly spray the top side with cooking spray, and air fry for 3 additional minutes, or until done.
If desired, serve with sour cream, ranch or blue cheese salad dressing, or try one of these easy Homemade Sauces and Dips. Zucchini fritters are best hot and fresh. Extra fritters will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Either eat at room temp, gently reheat in the microwave, or place into the air fryer for about 3 minutes if desired. I don't recommend freezing these.
Notes
*Oven Baking Instructions: My recommendation is to use a baking sheet lined with either a Silpat liner. Or, if you have one, use a baking sheet with a wire rack above it which will help them crisp up.Bake your fritters at 375F for about 8 minutes, lower the oven temp to 350F, and bake for about 10 minutes. However keep an eye on them and judge doneness by how they look to you based on your oven and what kind of baking sheet setup you’re using.Keep the size at 2 tablespoons.Also make sure to check out my Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato and Zucchini Fritters or Baked Zucchini Corn Poppers recipes if you’re looking for baked zucchini recipes!