Enjoy a healthier alternative to French Fries! Our Baked Zucchini Fries are crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. These baked zucchini are seasoned with za'atar and served with homemade tahini sauce. They will satisfy your craving for anything crunchy and savory!
Ingredients for Baked Zucchini Fries
- Zucchini: This vegetable is sometimes labeled as green squash.
- Flour: you may use whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
- Eggs: you may use unsweetened plant-based milk for a vegan option
- Panko bread crumbs. Highly recommended to add the crunch factor. You can also use gluten-free panko.
- Za'atar. A Middle-Eastern spice mixture containing sumac and sesame seed.
- Cooking Spray. Used to help crisp up the zucchini fries.
Ingredients for the Tahini Sauce
- Tahini (sesame paste): You can find this paste in the Mediterranean section of your local grocery store.
- Lemon Juice: I highly recommend freshly squeezed juice.
- Salt:
- Water: To get the proper dipping consistency.
- Fresh Chopped Parsley. You can also use any other herb, like cilantro o basil.
How to Make Baked Zucchini Fries
Recipes do not have to be complicated to be amazing. We use a simple, traditional approach for making this recipe. First, the veggies are coated in regular flour. The flour sticks to the moisture in the zucchini. Then the coated zucchini sticks are dipped in the egg mixture.
Lastly, the fries are dipped in the panko breadcrumbs and spice mixture. This mixture sticks to the eggs. The zucchini fries are then sprayed with cooking spray, spread out on a baking sheet, and baked in the oven. They crisp up beautifully!
If you have a convection setting on your oven, you can reduce the cooking time by 25% and you will basically be making air fryer zucchini fries since convection is how air fryers work.
FAQ
Can you use Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs or Almond Flour?
Yes. We would recommend gluten-free panko bread crumbs to get the crispiness you want with these zucchini fries. Almond flour will work but it will not crisp up like panko.
Do you peel zucchini before slicing it?
No. You can if you want to, but I have always considered it unnecessary. The peel has plenty of nutrients in it!
How do you make zucchini fries without panko crumbs?
Yes. The fries can be coated with only flour (any type) or nut flour, but they won't be as crispy. The panko bread crumbs are what give them the crispiness.
How do you make zucchini fries crispy?
A combination of three factors will help get your zucchini fries as crispy as possible. The first is a preheated oven. A hot oven helps moist foods avoid getting soggy as they cook. The second is the right breadcrumbs. Panko breadcrumbs are thing flakes that crisp up beautifully. The third is a little cooking spray. The addition of fat to the breadcrumbs helps improve that crunchiness tremendously. The addition of shredded parmesan cheese will also improve crunchiness if that is your goal.
How do you store baked zucchini fries?
Place them in an airtight container, refrigerate them for up to a few days, and reheat in a 200ºF oven to crisp them up. If you can't use them up within a few days, place them in the freezer.
Can you freeze baked zucchini fries?
You can prepare and freeze dipped zucchini fries with plans to thaw and bake them later. Once baked, zucchini fries can be frozen, thawed, and crisped up in the oven. Make sure to freeze them in an airtight container and use them within a few months.
What sauce is good for dipping zucchini fries in?
Any of these dipping sauces would be great: tahini sauce, romesco sauce, and chimichurri. Other options are store-bought marinara or our matbucha recipe.
How to Cut Zucchini into French Fries Sticks?
Follow the step-by-step pictures shown below to cut perfect french fries sticks from your zucchini every single time. First wash the zucchini really well, then cut the ends off. Next, cut the zucchini in half and half again. Turn them over so the flat part is facing down, and cut the quarters into strips. If you want you can then cut the strips again in half to make smaller fries.
How Many Calories per Serving?
Using our recipe, six zucchini fries are a serving and a serving is 88 calories.
What Dishes to Serve with Zucchini Fries?
- Corn Soup
- Cauliflower Crust Pizza
- Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Feta Cheese Tomatoes and Spinach
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Shakshuka
Variations For Baking Zucchini Fries
In place of za'atar, you can use parmesan cheese, Herbes de Provence, chili powder, chipotle powder for a smoky and spicy twist, shawarma, Garam masala, and anything else you can imagine working. For dipping, you can use ranch dressing, honey mustard, chipotle mayo, thousand island dressing, tahini sauce, or any dip you enjoy with vegetables.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Zucchini Salad
- Baked Feta & Cheddar Zucchini Frittata
- Turmeric Zucchini Cauliflower Soup Recipe
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Noodles
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
Zucchini Fries with Tahini Sauce
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 dozen 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Making zucchini fries at home is easy! These delicious, crispy zucchini fries are a healthier alternative to French Fries. Serve them with Tahini Sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini, cut into ¾ inch thick sticks. Unpeeled
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten (SEE NOTE)
- 2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 6 tbsp za'atar (see Note 2 for other options)
- 1 tsp salt
- cooking spray
- For the Tahini Sauce (see note 3 for other options)
- ⅔ cup Tahini (sesame paste)
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup of water
- 1 cup fresh chopped parsley (you can also use any other herb, like cilantro o basil)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
- Prepare 1 large bowl, 2 medium-sized bowls, and a small plate. Place flour in the large bowl (season to taste with salt and pepper), place beaten eggs in one of the medium bowls, add Panko, za'atar, and salt in the other medium bowl and add about ¼-1/3 cup of Panko mixture to the small plate.
- Place all the zucchini sticks in the flour bowl and mix until the zucchini is well coated with flour. Dip zucchini sticks one at a time in the egg and finally coat with the panko that is on the small plate. Place the coated zucchini fries on the lined baking sheet. As you finish the panko on the small plate add more from the bowl.
- Generously spray each piece with cooking spray
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn them over and spray again with cooking spray. Bake for another 15 minutes
- In the meantime, prepare the tahini sauce: In a small bowl, combine tahini paste, salt, and lemon juice and whisk until it thickens. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix until well incorporated and you reach the desired consistency. For a thinner sauce, add more water (note: the sauce will thicken slightly when refrigerated, you can thin it by adding a little water). Add chopped parsley and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve zucchini fries hot fresh out of the oven with tahini sauce
Notes
- For a vegan alternative use unsweetened plant-based milk, instead of egg.
- If you don't have Za'atar or don't like try adding grated parmesan cheese, Herbes de Provence, Smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano etc.
- If you prefer not to use tahini sauce you may use marinara sauce, chimichurri, pesto, bbq sauce, mustard, ketchup etc.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Side
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 zucchini fries without sauce
- Calories: 88
- Sugar: 2.3
- Sodium: 326.3
- Fat: 1.8
- Saturated Fat: 0.5
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 14.1
- Fiber: 1.3
- Protein: 4.1
- Cholesterol: 0
Cindy
This is an easy delicious alternative to French fries. I had fun dipping them into already made dips. I took the easy way out.
Vicky and Ruth
LOL! Nothing wrong with that! Glad you enjoyed them!