Get ready to turn plain old zucchini into something fabulous! Even my picky 4-year-old, who has never voluntarily eaten zucchini in her life, couldn’t get enough of these “chips” tonight. I was across the table trying to hold in my excitement (and shock) as she was busy chowing down. This might just be the perfect way to introduce zucchini to a child
that’s never had it before, and it could even work on those picky husbands too! After your child gets a good “first impression” of this veggie he/she might be willing to try it other ways as well. And don’t feel like you need to go “light” on the olive oil when you are making this recipe. Some unrefined natural fats can be a good addition to your diet. For more info on oils check out our post entitled “Mini-Pledge Week 10: No Refined Oils.
- 2 medium sized zucchinis
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups whole-wheat breadcrumbs (I found 100% whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs with a short list of ingredients at Earth Fare or you could make them yourself)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Thinly slice zucchini into ⅛” round pieces.
- Beat eggs in a shallow bowl.
- Using a small food processor (or a mortar and pestle) process the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and a couple dashes of salt & pepper together until fine. Put the breadcrumb mixture in a shallow bowl.
- Pour a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom of a medium to large sauté pan and turn the heat to medium. Let it heat up while you start preparing the zucchini.
- Make an assembly line in the following order: raw zucchini slices, beaten egg, breadcrumb mixture, and empty plate.
- With one hand (which will be your “wet” hand) coat a few of the zucchini slices with the egg and shake off the excess. Drop those pieces on top of the breadcrumb mixture and using your other “dry” hand coat them with breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess breadcrumbs and transfer the coated zucchini slices to the clean plate.
- As soon as you have enough zucchini slices breaded to make a single layer across the bottom of the pan, slide them in the oil to start cooking.
- Meanwhile, start coating the next batch of zucchini, but check the stove after 2 or 3 minutes to see if the bottom of the zucchini is turning golden brown. Once they are brown flip them over and add more olive oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the breaded zucchini “wet.” Once both sides are golden brown transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and keep warm.
- Repeat process until all the zucchini are cooked. Arrange them on a serving platter, garnish with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
[...] moments. I got off work early on Wednesday and came home ready to make Coconut Chicken Satay and Zucchini Chips. Now, Austin had just made kabobs on the grill last week… At the time, I looked at him funny [...]
[...] 7. Allowed me to show the hubby what he was missin’ for dinner. [...]
[...] Zucchini Chips [...]
Hi, I made the recipe. OMG I had to stop myself from eating it all!! I loved it, very tasty! I have a question. Do you know the calories, fat content?
Thank you!
Hi Ginette. We do not track the nutritional information, but, you can calculate it using one of the calorie trackers available online. Jill
[...] are different now. We have favorite new recipes like this and this and this. I make granola. I own an apron. I know what Tahini is and I can tell you the parts of a [...]
This is the exact same method (and recipe) my grandma taught me for cooking eggplant or zucchini to make a parmigiana. Just layer the slices with (homemade) tomato sauce and mozzarella and parmigiana cheeses in a pan, and then bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
[...] Zucchini Fritters [...]
Anyone have any ideas how to make this without eggs but still be yummy? My son has an egg allergy and it’s very hard since they are called in so many recipes!
Coat them chips in milk instead. We have dairy and egg allergies in the house so I use a Flax milk and it works great!
I make these all the time but I never use egg. I toss the zucchini in a bit of olive oil then toss it in the breadcrumb/parm mix and bake and they are delish! I’ve never tried it with the eggs so I can’t compaire but they are still awesome
[...] Recipe: This is from 100 Days of Real Food Blog: Zucchini Chips. I won’t repost, her instructions are great and I didn’t make any changes, so click on [...]
[...] Zucchini Chips [...]
Loved making these but a lot of my breaking came off. I am a new cook. Any idea what I did wrong? Thanks!
Hi Jeanine. I find using really fresh eggs, something about the consistency, works best. Could that have been it? Also, was the pan heated to a good sizzle when you placed the zucchini? ~Amy
I think they were fresh organic eggs, but maybe I did not leave them in the egg mixture long enough. Would that have done it? Thanks!
Hi again Jeanine. It is difficult to say with all the variables in cooking. I made a similar recipe with eggplant the other night and found that it helped to process my breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and seasoning pretty thoroughly. ~Amy
[...] Zucchini Chips [...]
Love this idea. My mom use to make something like this when we were kids (I’m sure they were deep fried in stead of light pan frying) but I remember dipping them in Marinara sauce. I think that would be tasty to have some homemade sauce to dip in (plus it adds another veggie to the meal or snack).
Is there an ingredient I could sub for the parm? Lactose sensitive.
You can omit the cheese, and just use breadcrumbs. It is tasty both ways! I also bake them instead of pan frying. I put a drizzle of olive oil on the bottom of the sheet pan, put my zucchini chips on top and drizzle with oil again. I have a large family, and this way I do not end up standing at the stove and frying while every one else eats.
Thank you! Got tons of zucchini in my house right now. I’ll be making these today. Yum!
Well duh, when you fry anything in oil of course a child will eat it. Not exactly healthy.
Is there a way to bake v. fry these? How long and at what temperature?
Hi Laura. I have tried a very similar recipe with eggplant that I have baked. I sprayed my cookie sheet with coconut oil and baked them at 400* turning them midway through. I can’t remember how long I baked them but I imagine it was about 20 minutes. They did not get as crispy as they do in the pan fry method. ~Amy
I wonder if this would come out tasty and gluten free with almond meal instead of bread-crumbs…
Great idea Amber! I was just thinking…. darn I need to sub, no gluten or cheese! Even cooking them like potato chips might be wonderful.
Hi Amber. If you try this with almond meal, please share your results! ~Amy
Such a major misconception about oil being unhealthy. Unfortunately healthy fats are often very lacking in children’s diets. Pan frying in olive oil is a great way to get the healthy fats into their diets!! Great recipe.
I’ve heard that it is bad to fry with olive oil and that you should only use olive oil as an ingredient for uncooked items such as salad dressings.
DMath and others, I also have read that cooking olive oil makes it bad even rancid. However, after much research: ALL oil turn bad when heated at or near smoking temperature. Pan frying food in a wee bit of olive oil is actually GOOD for us. Olive oil and coconut oil are the best for cooking and pan frying in minor amounts of oil, the healthiest oils (and avocados) per the tons of research I found. Olive oil is known for good levels of Omega-3. Yes some still say “never cook olive oil” and “coconut oil is solid so never use it”. Canola is touted as good, but is so highly processed, ugg! Google is a terrific research tool, just watch for websites that you feel are trustworthy, and check out many. Then make your own decisions. About this recipe, zucchini and eggplant really soak up the oil, so calories will be HIGH! But oh so YUMMY!
You know you can also bake these so you dont have to cook in the oil just give a mist of olive oil. I actually do this same thing with eggplant and bake to make somer really yummy eggplant marinara. You dont have the problem of your bread crumbs falling off and I seem to get a more even browning/cooking. Just a thought for those who like me loose all the bredding when trying to pan saute/fry
I have read that cooking olive at your average temperature (especially to fry)turns the goodness of olive oil into trans fat and using Red palm Oil is an excellent substitute to use as a cooking oil. Any thoughts?
Hi Natasha. Lisa does not use olive oil for high temperature cooking but does use red palm oil especially when popping corn.
Here is more guidance from Lisa on oils: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/14/mini-pledge-week-10-no-refined-oils/. ~Amy
[...] other one was Zucchini Chips. Becca and Matt liked these too but I think I liked them the most. They are a bit [...]
We also do this with green tomatoes. We actually grow tomato plants that produce the perfect sized tomato for frying. We grow other varieties for canning and eating other ways
I slice my zucchini thick so they don’t get mushy.