These savory keto zucchini fritters are easy to make, packed with veggies and downright delicious! They’re delicious served as a low-carb side dish or appetizer with sour cream or homemade ranch dressing. If you’re looking for an easy recipe to use up all that zucchini, you’ve got to try this one!
Crispy Keto Zucchini Fritters with Bacon
Make good use of that zucchini with this healthy recipe for crispy keto zucchini fritters with cheese and bacon. They are super simple to make, and cook in just a few short minutes.
This recipe makes little veggie pancakes that are crisp on edges, tender in the middle, and totally delicious. A short stack of these zucchini fritters makes a totally satisfying light lunch or dinner. And would you believe, they are even kid-approved!
For more keto zucchini recipes, check out Keto Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles, Keto Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, or this popular Keto Zucchini Bread with Walnuts!
Ingredients in Zucchini Fritters
As I’m sure you’ve guessed, the star ingredient in these keto fritters is garden-fresh zucchini. In this recipe, I pair it with a little Parmesan and crispy zucchini for a delicious veggie dish.
Zucchini is a great vegetable to cook with on a keto diet. It’s filled with vitamin C, A, and calcium — plus it’s low in carbs. There are just 3 grams of net carbs per 1 medium-sized zucchini.
Here’s what else you’ll need to make this recipe:
- 2-3 medium zucchini
- half and onion
- 6 strips of sugar-free bacon
- a little coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheese
- seasonings, salt, and pepper
The coconut flour, eggs, and cheeses all help to bind these zucchini fritters together in the absence of wheat flour or cornstarch. To help keep your fritters from falling apart, try not to leave out these binder ingredients!
How to Make Keto Zucchini Fritters
These keto fritters are simple to make — but there is a bit of a trick to getting them to be crispy!
The first step in making the fritters is to grate the zucchini, and then get as much water out of it as possible.
The fastest way to grate zucchini would be to use the shredding blade of your food processor. But if you don’t have one, you can easily use a handheld box grater to do the job. Zucchini is pretty soft so it grates really easily.
Then, it’s time to get the water out. Place shredded zucchini in a colander over a bowl (or in the sink), toss it with a healthy pinch of salt, then let it sit for about 10 minutes. Next, use your hands, cheesecloth, or even a clean dish towel to squeeze all the water out of the zucchini. Try to get as much out as you can — you’ll be amazed at how much water there is!
This “squeezing” step is essential to make fritters that stick together, fry up crispy, and aren’t a soggy mess. It’s the trick to getting those crispy edges, so try not to skip it.
After that, the rest of the process is a breeze. Mix the shredded zucchini with the onion, bacon, eggs, coconut flour, cheese, and seasonings together in a large bowl. I like to use a 1/4 cup measure, or a large cookie scoop, to scoop the mixture into a large frying pan.
Once they’re in the pan, press them to flatten them a bit. I tend to make the fritter relatively small (about 3 inches) because they’re a lot easier to flip that way. Cook them a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Tips for Making Crispy Zucchini Fritters
My number one tip for making the crispiest zucchini fritters possible is to make sure to squeeze out as much excess water as you can. And here are a few more pointers
Serve them right away! They’ll be the crispiest just after cooking
Use enough oil. Make sure to use enough bacon fat or olive oil so that the bottom of the pan is coated and there is a bit of oil around each fritter.
Don’t overcrowd the pan: In a large nonstick pan, I could fit 3-4 fritters. Give them enough room so that they can get crispy. You’ll need to make a few batches, depending on the equipment you have.
How to Store and Freeze Zucchini Fritters
If you have leftover, these zucchini fritters will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat them, place on a sheet pan and reheat in a 400F oven for about 10 minutes, until they are warmed through. (If you are only reheating one or two, you could also reheat them in a non-stick skillet for a few minutes on each side.)
You can also freeze zucchini fritters. After you cook the fritters, let them cool. Place them in a single layer on a small baking sheet or plate and freeze until solid. Then, you can transfer them to a zip-top bag for longer storage.
How to Serve Zucchini Fritters
Keto Zucchini Fritters are great at any time of day!
You can try them for breakfast with a fried egg on top. Have a few at lunch with a green side salad. And serve them at dinner as a side dish wherever you’d usually serve potatoes.
I like to serve them with either a dollop of sour cream or keto ranch dip. Even homemade mayo by itself is a delicious topping for these fritters.
Crispy Keto Zucchini Fritters
Savory keto zucchini fritters are easy to make and packed with veggies and bacon. They're a delicious low-carb side dish or keto appetizer with sour cream or homemade ranch dressing.
Ingredients
- 4 cups grated zucchini (about 2-3 medium zucchini)
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 6 strips bacon
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil, or reserved bacon fat
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini on a box grater or in a food processor. Put the grated zucchini in a colander set over a bowl, or in the sink. Mix with the salt, and leave for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze the zucchini out with your hands or cheesecloth, and place it into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain, and then chop the bacon. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the fat if desired for frying the fritters.
- In a large bowl, mix together the grated zucchini, onion, bacon, coconut flour, eggs, garlic powder, pepper, and cheeses.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat with half the olive oil or bacon fat. Scoop 1/4 cup portions of the zucchini mixture into the hot pan and gently press down to about 1/2” thickness.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the fritters to a wire cooling rack while you cook the remaining batches of fritters. (You can also place the cooked fritters in a low oven to keep warm while you make the rest of them.
- Serve hot with sour cream, ranch, or your favorite dipping sauce.
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Really delicious. Another tip is if you grate by hand until you reach the core/seeds it will be easier to eliminate the liquid.
I did not have enough coconut flour and I added little psyllium and came out fine! Great recipe!