These delicious zucchini fritters are often thought of as a vegetable side dish. But they actually contain more protein per calorie than chickpeas.
People are always asking vegans where they get their protein, and it’s not very often that anybody will say that they get their protein from zucchinis (courgettes).
More often than not vegans will add beans and chickpeas to their meals to add extra protein sources.
But most people don’t know that zucchinis are actually higher in protein per calorie than chickpeas are.
If you ate one serving of these fritters for under 100 calories you’d get 6.3 grams of protein. And if you ate 100 calories worth of chickpeas, you’d only get 5 grams of protein.
And if you ate 100 calories of zuchhinis on their own you’d get a whopping 7 grams of protein.
Maybe this will help you think about zucchinis in a new way next time you’re deciding what ingredients to use in your cooking.
Sometimes vegetables need to be livened up a bit so that we keep on eating them and repeating the benefit, and that’s exactly what this recipe does to zucchini.
Take the humble zucchini and add it to a fritter, and all of a sudden you’ve transformed your meal from humble to gourmet in the blink of an eye.
Video Demonstration
If you’d like to see how easy it is to throw all this together, check out my video where I walk you through the recipe step by step. Click here to subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This recipe and all recipes on my website are suitable for the special diets, vegan, plant based, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, free from refined sugar, and vegetarian.
- This recipe contains 99 calories per serving.
- This recipe contains 6.3g protein per serving.
- This recipe contains 34% of your recommended daily vitamin C and 10% of your recommended daily calcium per serving.
- This recipe is made extra tasty by the addition of chilil seasoning.
- I have simplified this recipe by limiting the number of ingredients and using everyday ingredients such as zuchhini and chickpea flour.
Ingredients
Ingredient Substitutions
- Zucchini: This recipe would probably work with any vegetables but I haven’t tested it with anything else yet.
- Chickpea (gram) flour: This recipe would probably work with other flours but I haven’t tested it yet.
- Baking powder: This recipe would probably work without the baking powder but I haven’t tested it yet.
- Plant milk: I used soy milk but you can use whatever milk you like.
- Chili Seasoning: I added some spice with chili seasoning but you can omit this or use a different seasoning blend of your choice.
- Salt: You can remove this if you like but it won’t be as tasty.
- Olive oil spray: Use any oil spray of your choice but don’t use alcohol based sprays with air fryers. You can cook these without the oil but they won’t be as crispy.
The Structure Of A Plant Based Plate
Each of the recipes I create fits into my Plant Plate System. This system incorporates 5 food groups into every meal.
The 5 food groups are 1) Plant Protein, 2), Leaves, Fruit, And Veg, 3) Aesthetic Additions, 4) Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates, and 5) Taste
This recipe adds plant protein to any dish. It falls under the “vegan protein” category on the Plant Based Plate and is not a complete meal.
The diagram below helps you visually see how this element features on a Plant-Based Plate.
Click here to discover more about my Plant Plate System and some of the benefits of eating this way.
Recommended Equipment
Here are the main kitchen equipment tools I have used to create this recipe.
Non-Stick Pan
I highly suggest you use a non-stick pan for the vegetable and sauce part of this recipe. In a non-stick pan, this recipe cooks like a dream, with minimal stirring needed.
You can get the large pan that I use by clicking here. Please note, I bought the largest size.
You can get the 10-piece cookware set that I have by clicking here. Please note, this set contains a smaller version of the large deep pan that I bought separately.
Food Processor
I used my food processor for this recipe. I love this food processor because it has some handy attachments like a grater, and the ability to slice vegetables very quickly. It also has a smaller compartment for making smaller batches of food.
Air Fryer
My air fryer has been one of the best kitchen gadgets I ever invested in. And I’m absolutely obsessed with it. With 2 fussy kids who don’t eat the same food as me or each other, my air fryer gets used every single day to make them fast, nutrient-packed food that they will eat.
I love cooking with an air fryer because food cooks much more quickly, is more crispy and tastier, and saves a fortune when it comes to my fuel bill.
Air Fryer Silicone Baking Dish
I often use this silicone baking dish when I’m baking with wet ingredients. It is 8 inches or 20 cm and square. It fits my Cosori Air Fryer. Make sure you measure the inside of your Air Fryer before purchasing an Air Fryer baking dish.
This is the silicone air fryer baking dish that I use every day.
How To Make This Recipe
- Grate the zucchini and process with a bit of salt.
- Squeeze the water out of the zucchini and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
- Shape the mix into fritter shapes and bake in the oven, air fryer or pan fry.
What To Serve With Zucchini Fritters
Here are some of my favorite ways to use this recipe:
- Add it to another plant protein side dish, along with a dip to make a complete meal.
- Add one of the following carbs as a side dish, along with a dip to make a complete meal.
Side Dishes
Serve this recipe with any of the following side dishes:
- Mashed potatoes
- Cornbread
- Boiled baby potatoes in skins
- Boiled large white potatoes without skins
- White potato fries
- Sweet potato fries
- Baked white potato
- Baked sweet potato
- White rice
For more options, see all of my best vegan, gluten-free carbs side dishes.
How To Serve
Serve each person a quarter of the entire batch which works out at 3 fritters per person.
How To Reduce The Calories
It’s not possible to take out any of the ingredients to reduce the calories significantly, so I suggest you eat less fritters if you want to reduce the calories of this recipe.
How To Increase The Calories
If you would like to increase the calories for anybody who is going to be eating a serving of this recipe, I suggest you serve them a bigger portion or a bigger side dish. You could also cook these fritters in more oil to increase the calorie count.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your fritters are soggy it is probably because they contain too much water. Leave them longer to drain more of the water or spend longer squeezing out the water from the zucchinis before you start.
How To Store Leftovers
This recipe keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Defrost it before using it. Reheat it by warming it up gently in a pan, air fryer or oven.
More Tasty Plant Protein Recipes
This recipe is part of my plant protein series.
If you’re looking for easy, plant protein recipes, check out some of my other recipes:
- Quick Red Lentil Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
- One Pot Smoky Vegan Sausage Casserole
- Creamy Vegan Red Lentil Dahl Recipe
You can see all of my plant protein recipes here.
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Recipe
Vegan Zucchini Fritters
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Oven
- Large Pot or Large Frying Pan
- Medium Pot or Medium Frying Pan
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 600g (6-8 Large) Zucchini (Courgette)
- ¾ Cup (69g) Chickpea (Gram) Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ⅓ Cup (80ml) Plant Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Of My Homemade Chili Powder Or 1 Tablespoon Of Any Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini or process the zucchini in the food processor.
- Add ½ teaspoon of salt and mix.
- Add the zucchini to a sieve and leave sitting in a large bowl for 10 mins.
- Squeeze the remaining excess water from the zucchini.
- Mix chickpea flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and seasoning in a small bowl. Stir. Pour the mixture into the bowl containing the zucchini. Mix.
- Divide the mixture into 4 then divide each piece into 3 more pieces making a total of 12 pieces. Shape into fritter (burger) shapes.
Oven Bake
- Preheat your oven to 400C (200C).
- Add the fritters to an oven tray covered with parchment (greaseproof) paper and spray them with oil spray.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes in total, flipping the fritters over halfway through.
Air Fryer Bake
- Add the fritters to your air fryer basket and spray them with oil spray.
- Bake at 400C (200C) for 10-15 minutes in total, flipping the fritters over halfway through. You might need to cook these in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Pan Fry
- Spray a medium-large non-stick frying pan and add it to a medium heat.
- Place the fritters in the pan and cook them for 2-3 minutes until they are looking brown on the bottom.
- Flip over and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side until golden. You might need to cook them in batches depending on the number of pans you use at the same time.
Notes
Now it’s your turn to make magic with food.
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