Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites
Simple and delicious, these baked cheesy zucchini bites are so easy to make and are a healthier alternative to a classic fried zucchini fritter!
Garden still overflowing with zucchini? I figure if that’s the case, you are probably feeling ecstatic…or frantically looking to pawn a ton of zucchini onto unsuspecting friends or neighbors.
I am a zucchini fiend. A lover of the humble green vegetable. In fact, it’s probably one of my favorite vegetables because it is so darn versatile.
Baked Zucchini Fritter
I posted this recipe for baked cheesy zucchini bites several years ago, and they continue to be one of our most oft-made recipes in the summer and late summer months when our backyard zucchini supply overfloweth.
They are so delicious and all of my kids (yes, even the veggie haters) love them to pieces.
Basically, these little cheesy zucchini bites are a baked variation on the usually-fried zucchini fritter.
Super Easy Recipe
And they are just as delicious, if not more so, than their less healthy counterpart.
Since they are baked at a high temperature, the edges crispify a bit while the insides stay tender and cheesy.
Major bonus? They are super easy to make.
All of the ingredients get tossed together in a large bowl:
- shredded zucchini
- bread crumbs
- egg
- shredded cheese (just a bit)
- garlic + basil + salt + pepper
Wring Out the Zucchini
Pro Tip: remember here is to squeeze as much water out of the zucchini as possible so the baked cheesy zucchini bites will crisp up as much as possible.
I usually use a nut milk bag {aff. link} or this awesome potato ricer {aff. link} for wringing out all the water.
Next, scoop out the cheesy, garlicky zucchini mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
And press into fritter-sized discs.
You can press as thick or thin as you like. We like them on the thinner side in order to maximize the golden, crispy edges, but if you want them a little heartier and more substantial, don’t press the quite as flat.
They’ll be yummy either way.
Once baked, these yummy zucchini bites are irresistible!
My kids will tell you the baked cheesy zucchini bites were elevated to otherworldly heights when dipped in their favorite ranch dressing.
While I don’t necessarily disagree, they are pretty stellar on their own, too, and make a fabulous side dish for just about anything.
Or just a mid-afternoon snack. Also, the baked zucchini bites freeze great for postponed enjoyment.
A Few Tips
I’ve edited the recipe below to include weight measures in case that makes your life a little easier (and because 1 1/2 cups of zucchini can be subjective depending on who is measuring).
I’ve come to rely on my food processor for easy shredding, but I don’t bother with this recipe. I quickly pull out my no-fuss box grater {aff. link} and go to town (or appoint one of the children to be on zucchini shredding duty).
The zucchini can be shredded as finely as you like – I prefer some zucchini texture so I use the large holes of the box grater.
Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites FAQ:
Yes. Several commenters have used gluten-free bread crumbs (1:1 as called for in the recipe). Another person used a gluten free flour blend for the bread crumbs with great results, and others have commented that almond meal subs in well for the bread crumbs.
The baked and cooled zucchini bites freeze great! Pull them out to reheat to serve as an appetizer or side dish or snack later on!
Yes, just make sure to thaw and wring out the zucchini VERY well of excess water (measure after wringing).
This recipe is really adaptable cheese-wise! Subbing in Parmesan or another type of cheese might work; feel free to experiment!
uestion: Can I leave out the egg or substitute it with something else?
Answer: I scoured the comment thread and from what I could see no one has tried making these egg-free (yet!). I don’t know of a great egg substitute; the purpose of the egg in the recipe is to act as a binder and for texture.
One Year Ago: Overnight Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes {Em’s Famous Recipe}
Two Years Ago: Homemade Chocolate Syrup for Chocolate Milk
Three Years Ago: Buttermilk Lime Shortbread Bars
Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (212 g) packed shredded zucchini (no need to peel zucchini)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ to ½ cup (28-56 g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese or a blend of cheddar and Monterey jack
- ¼ cup (21 g) panko or regular bread crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil, or 1-2 teaspoons fresh
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray or lightly grease an unlined baking sheet.
- Place the shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and wring out all the excess water over the sink until the zucchini is really dry. You should have a little over 1 cup after squeezing out the water (if you have a scale, you’ll want about 6 ounces of zucchini that’s been squeezed dry).
- Place the zucchini and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until combined.
- Drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls on the prepared baking sheet and lightly press the mounds with your hands to flatten slightly.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes until the edges are golden.
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe at Skinnytaste (used more zucchini, omitted the onion, added basil and garlic, changed the type of bread crumbs, increased oven temp, etc.)
I have made these a few times, family loves them! I substituted corn meal for the bread crumbs which is delicious! I used Parmesan for half of the cheese which adds a nice flavor. I also omitted the basil once too and we liked that better.
These were so good! I think they beat out zucchini coins for our favorite savory zucchini dish. Plus they were much easier to make.
Has anyone found an alternative to eggs yet?
Use egg beaters.
Egg beaters has egg in it.
Aqua faba worked just fine for me.
3 Tbsp = 1 “egg”.
Aqua faba is the water you drain from a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans. Works great as an egg replacer in all sorts of baked goods.
I was excited to make this for my bebe but it didn’t exactly work. I DO NOT reccomend using parchment paper. I lightly coated it with oil, cooked it its designated time and my fritters stuck to the paper and it was almost impossible to get them off most of it stuck to the paper.
Very good. I would like to try adding the parmesan cheese next time. Really enjoyed theses fritters
I wonder if these could be deep fried in a fryer ?
Love this recipe. I added some finely chopped broccoli to the second batch (just cause I had some) and it added some nice additional flavor.
Nutritional info please!
Let me just say….DELICIOUS!!!!! They were so good I almost ate them all! LOL
Thank you for sharing!
Good recipe, baked longer for crispy bite. Made twice already!
Has anyone used ground pork rinds in place of the panko? I use the pork rinds as a substitute bread coating in lots of recipes, since I am on the Keto diet. It has worked as a great binding agent also. I want to try this since I love using zucchini in cooking.
This looked so good I doubled it, and substituted in about 1/3 of it with a mixture of grated yellow squash, grated onion, and grated red pepper (squeezed dry all together). Absolutely fabulous, thanks Mel!
Outstanding!!!!!
A new family favourite!! I added some frank’s hot sauce! Yum yum! So good! My two yo pounded back four of them for lunch! Yay!
I’m making the chocolate zucchini cookies today too.
My husband christened these “cheese cookies”, and now my two year old is obsessed! How good do I feel watching zucchini disappear into that little mouth? Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Haha, love the renaming of this recipe!
I have made these zucchini bites twice now and they are delicious. A great healthy way to get the family to eat zucchini.
Perfect recipe! Thank you.
Turned out amazing! So healthy and so easy to make..thank you!
This was so great! I got a little overzealous and started before I read to ring out the zucchini and it still turned out awesome. Hubs, who doesn’t actually like zucchini that tastes like zucchini, said they were good and that he would eat them again! I am going to try making it without the panko or maybe try with some almond flour if it needs a binder. I think this would be an awesome low carb “bun” option!
PS would have given it all the stars but that last one only showed up as a half:0(
i used almond flour and still came out very good. maybe not as crunchy but still awesome. (once i tried to toast the almond flour on a pan trying to make it crunchier but turned out the same)
i have made these so many times!! LOVE THEM
Delicious and Quick easy recipe. Thanks
Hi
Do you think does would freeze well if you make a big batch of them?
I’ve never tried freezing them, but I believe others in the comment thread have with success.
Do they freeze well?
Mel hasn’t tried freezing them, but I believe others in the comment thread have and they report it works great.
My whole family loves these!
Yay! One of our family faves as well!
Wonderfully delicious! I added about 1/2 T of dried onion flakes. After about 15 minutes, I flipped them and baked them about another 7 minutes. I used about 2 cups of zucchini, made 13 little fritters. I will definitely make them again! Thank you!
These were delicious. They were easy to make, but they disappeared so fast. I have to double the recipe next time. I will definitely make these again and again.
I made these. They freeze wonderfully. Cook them all and then reheat. At least double the recipe, and feel free to add other spices. Today I don’t have zucchini so I am going to use all broccoli
Awesome recipe. I used 2 cups shredded zucchini and upped the other ingredients a tad to compensate. Delicious. Will make again.
Are these freezer friendly and how long would they keep in the fridge please?
Yes, they freeze pretty well…they should keep a couple days in the fridge.
These were delicious, except I kind of doubled it, used the same amount of zucchini, added about 1/4-1/2 cup chopped green onions, about 1 cup of grated cheddar, than doubled everything else. I had a chili lime dill sr cream & yoghurt dip, and a pesto tomato sauce that you could dip in either, will definitely make this a go to favourite! Thank you.
oh I forgot to say, I substituted dill for the basil, no particular reason, just felt like it, seems that this recipe is very flexible from all the comments which makes it a wonderful way to use your harvest. I found that this method is easy for pressing water out of zucchini: lay a clean drying towel in a long pyrex pan then putting grated zucchini on top, folding it, turn it over with thicker folds facing down and put something heavy on top (I used flour and sugar cannisters), all the moisture is out in about an hour or so, or you can let it sit as long as you like.
Made these that were great used yum yum sauce as a dipper
I was looking for a savory zucchini recipe. These are Delicious! Made recipe as stated. I will definitely make these again but will cut the salt in half. A bit salty for my tastes.
I made these for a side for dinner, but they didn’t make it that long. They are so good that we ate all of them WHILE we made dinner.
These were wonderful. I added fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder to pronounce the garlic flavor and added a couple tablespoons of parmesan just because I like the flavor. I didn’t really NEED to do anything to your recipe though. It is perfectly delicious. I’ve made it a couple times already. I am diabetic so the fact that you only add 1/4 cup of panko is so great. Most diabetic or low carb recipes call for a lot of cheese as the binder. This recipe was reasonable and lets the zucchini shine. These are delicious hot or cold. Thanks so much for posting your recipe.
Family loves these, thanks!
Very good! Will definitely make again. My husband likes them crispier, I don’t mind either way. Served with Andouille chicken sausage and a salad. Thanks!
Delicious! A hit at our dinner. Will be making again and again
Nutrition information please?
Mel doesn’t do nutritional information (probably because most readers don’t really want to know how many calories are in white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake…).
But you can get it calculated super easily using online calculators (the easiest & best one I found was on happyforks).
Just made these. YUM!!!! Definitely a keeper!
The whole family loved these!!!! Simple. . And quick to make!!!
Just made these tonight and used the suggestion to replace the bread crumbs with Almond flour. Simply delish, will be making these again and again
I made these last summer, and after a trip to the farmer’s market today, planning on making them again. Because I also had summer squash, radishes, and carrots, I added them in also. Beautiful and even more nutritious, with the green, yellow, red, and orange vegetables. This recipe makes a delicious treat, appetizer, or side. Granted getting all the water out of the shredded vegetables was a big pain, and had shreds all over the counter, but I don’t care, ’cause these bites are yummy!
I also flipped them halfway through to get them crispy on both sides
Love all those add-ins, Lisa!
Thank you Mel, they were really colorful
Can these be made ahead and frozen?
I haven’t tried that but I believe others in the comment thread have and they report it works great.
I just wanted to say that I’m doing the Keto diet but wanted to try these.
I replaced the breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup of almond flour and they came out great!!
My family loved them and there are never any leftovers!!
Thanks for keto variation!
These look ah-mazing!! I’ll try them very soon.
Loved this recipe! Thank you!
Yep made this recipe. But I also put in finely grated carrot plus finely chopped spring onion.
Turned out very nice.
Did you add carrots in addition to the recipe or replaced half the zucchini with carrots?
Wow!! I can’t believe how well these turned out first time trying…they were snarfed down in minutes and inhave to make more now! Good thing I have lots of zucchini. I used gluten free breads and tex mex cheese and tons of garlic. Yum. This is such a fast and easy recipe too; especially if you rope the future tasters into grating zucchinis for you 😉
Just made it..
I added more spices- cayenne pepper, made it more spicy.
Thinking to add sunflower seeds next time or poppy seeds on top to give some crunchiness…
I like it…
Loved them
Iloved this, substituted gluten free flour (rice, quinoa, tapioca) for same quantity breadcrumbs, and it was fabulous!!
Easy and delish! My non-zucchini eating teenagers loved it too!!!
Delicious! My husband is on a very restricted diet and he could have every ingredient in this recipe…they came out wonderfully and we ate every single one of them! A keeper!