Cheesy Zucchini Fritters/Bites

Cheesy zucchini fritters served with carrots and grape tomatoes

5 from 12 votes

These cheesy zucchini fritters are soft, tender, and perfect for babies and toddlers. They are loaded with nutrients from the zucchini and make a great, mess-free lunch!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: fritters

Author: Lily Payen

Ingredients

1 ½ cups shredded zucchini, packed (about 2 small, or 1.5 medium zucchini)
⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
½ cup shredded cheese
¼ cup onions, finely diced
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Shred the zucchini using a cheese grater. I used the smallest sized holes on my box grater to get the mixture to be as smooth as possible, but if you prefer larger chunks of zucchini in the fritters/bites, use a larger sized hole on the grater. You should end up with about 1.5 cups of packed shredded zucchini.
Use your hands or a towel to squeeze out as much moisture from the zucchini as possible. You may also place the zucchini over a sieve and use the back of a spoon to press down on it to remove the moisture. Once you remove the moisture, you should end up with about 1 cup of packed shredded zucchini.
Add the zucchini to a bowl along with the other ingredients. Mix well until combined.
Scoop out heaping tablespoon-sized portions onto a parchment paper-lined pan. Press down to shape the portions into small fritters.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges begin to slightly brown. If you are making zucchini bites, pack tablespoon-sized portions into a mini muffin pan and bake for around 25 minutes.

Notes

It is extremely important to remove as much moisture from the zucchini as possible. Excess moisture will result in an overmoist mixture that will cause the bites to be soggy. You can use your hands or a towel, but I find that using a nut milk bag is the easiest way to remove the most moisture.
This recipe makes about 12 small fritters or 16 mini bites.
When making bites, I like to use a silicone muffin pan to bake them as they pop out easily without any sticking. If using a regular mini muffin pan, be sure to coat with a cooking spray beforehand. Avoid using paper liners as these bites tend to stick.
Finely chop the onions as small as possible so that there aren’t too many large chunks.
I used 4-cheese Mexican blend as the cheese in this recipe for added flavor and cheddar cheese also works well. Mozzarella cheese is a good low-sodium alternative.
Add salt and other seasonings for a bit more flavor if serving to adults.

Nutrition