Greek zucchini fritters, or kolokithokeftedes, are made with shredded zucchini, fresh herbs, and feta cheese. Bursting with fresh summer flavor, they make the perfect appetizer served with tzatziki sauce or yogurt.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Fresh, bright flavor. Tender patties made with zucchini, fresh herbs, and feta cheese are fried until golden brown and crispy.
Great way to use up garden zucchini. You'll need about 3 medium zucchini for this recipe.
Yield: 10 fritters
Serve with: Tzatziki or yogurt as an appetizer, or with a soup and side salad for lunch.
More fritters: Zucchini Fritters, Zucchini Corn Fritters, and Zucchini Potato Pancakes
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Zucchini - You'll need about 3 medium zucchini grated on the large side of a box grater for this recipe.
- Fresh herbs - You'll need about ¼ cup of at least two types of fresh herbs for this recipe. I recommend dill, mint, parsley, or chives. Today, I've made the fritters in the photos with fresh dill and parsley.
- Eggs - The eggs bind the ingredients together and prevent your patties from falling apart while cooking.
- Salt & pepper - Enhances the flavor of your fritters.
- Breadcrumbs - Helps bind the ingredients together.
- Feta cheese - Adds flavor and pockets of gooey, melty cheese throughout the fritters. Any crumbled feta works in this recipe. Smaller crumbles work best - very large crumbles can stick to the pan while frying.
- Oil - Any neutral cooking oil you have on hand works here. You may not need all of the oil listed in the recipe card.
How to make Greek zucchini fritters
- The most important step of the recipe is to squeeze the liquid from your grated zucchini before beginning. Excess liquid will make your patties wet and soggy.
- Mix fritter ingredients, along with your squeezed zucchini, in a large bowl.
- Carefully form into patties with your hands and place in a preheated skillet with oil.
- Cook until browned on the first side, then gently flip to brown the second side before transferring to a paper towel lined plate.
Tips and tricks
Squeeze the liquid from your zucchini - Squeeze out at much liquid as possible from your zucchini before mixing the batter. Excess moisture will make your fritters turn out limp and soggy.
Preheat your pan - Make sure your pan is preheated and oil is hot before adding the fritter mixture. To test the oil, drop a single shred of batter into the pan. If it sizzles right away, your oil is ready. If the oil isn't hot enough, the fritters will turn out soggy and greasy.
Don't skip the oil - Fritters will stick and create a mess if there's no oil added to the pan. Using oil not only prevents your patties from sticking to the pan, but helps create that crispy, golden brown crust.
Medium heat is best - High heat cooks the outsides quickly, but leaves the insides soggy and uncooked. If your fritters are browning too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.
Don't flip fritters until they're ready - If they're sticking to the pan, resist the urge to poke at them or scrape them off the pan. Once they're golden brown on the bottom, they'll release from the pan and flip easily.
Drain on paper towels - Transfer cooked fritters onto a paper towel (or tea towel) lined plate. This helps soak up excess grease and prevents sweating and moisture from forming on the plate, which makes them soggy.
Frequently asked questions
A few ways to prevent soggy fritters include squeezing as much liquid as possible from your shredded zucchini, preheating your pan, and draining your fritters on paper towels after frying. Check out the tips and tricks section above for more details!
Greek fritters are best served with tzatziki sauce or yogurt. Fritters also go well with a bowl of soup or a fresh garden salad.
Find more sides and sauces on my complete list: what to serve with zucchini fritters: 20 sauces and sides
Fritters can stick to the pan if the heat is too high, they're not ready to flip yet, or there's not enough/any oil in the pan. I highly recommend keeping your heat around medium and reducing if your fritters appear to be browning too quickly. Your fritters will release easily from the pan once they're golden brown and fried on the bottom.
Fritters are delicate, but shouldn't fall apart when handled or while flipping in the pan. The egg and flour included in the recipe act as a glue to hold the zucchini together so I don't recommend omitting either of these ingredients. You'll also want to be sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from your zucchini before beginning. Excess liquid can make the batter too wet to hold together while frying.
📖 Recipe
Greek Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 3 medium (405 g) zucchini, or 3 cups grated
- ¼ cup (15 g) fresh chopped herbs, choose two or more: mint, dill, basil, parsley, or chives
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (56 g) breadcrumbs
- ½ cup (56 g) crumbled feta cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup (50 g) cooking oil, *
Instructions
- Grate zucchini using the large side of a box grater (or a food processor with a grating disc). Wrap grated zucchini into several layers of paper towel (or a tea towel) and squeeze over the sink to remove as much excess liquid as possible.
- To a large bowl, add grated zucchini, eggs, breadcrumbs, feta cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until completely incorporated.
- In a skillet or sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Test oil heat with a single shred of batter. If it sizzles right away, your oil is ready.
- Add ¼ cup heaps of batter into the pan, then gently flatten with a spoon into thin patties. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until fritters are golden brown and release easily from the pan. If fritters are browning too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.
- Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel lined plate to drain off excess oil.
- Repeat with remaining batter, adding more cooking oil to the pan as needed to prevent sticking. Serve fritters warm.
Recommended Equipment
Notes
- * You may not use all of the listed cooking oil - use as much as needed to prevent sticking in the pan.
- Squeeze the liquid out: Do not skip the step of squeezing the liquid from your grated vegetables. This will make your fritters very wet and soggy.
- Calorie count: Calories are calculated assuming 25% of cooking oil is absorbed into fritters while cooking, and each fritter made with about ¼ heaping cup of batter.
- Storage: Leftover fritters will keep for 3-4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
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