Vegan Zucchini Fritters
These vegan zucchini fritters are extremely tasty, easy to make, and great for lunch, dinner or even for brunch! This recipe is naturally protein-rich, gluten free, eggless, soy free, healthy and it only has 118 calories per portion.
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These zucchini fritters taste great warm or cold, which makes them great for a party, picnic, or even for the road. They have extra protein due to the addition of chickpea flour and they’re super nutritious. The batter even has a flax meal egg but no one can tell!
Healthy Vegan Zucchini Fritters
Once upon a time, when I still ate eggs, I got to try American style zucchini fritters in a restaurant. I had one bite and I was done with it. They were super oily, they had too much white flour, and they were too salty for my taste. I never tried them again until I decided to create my own recipe. I had extra zucchinis from the Farmer’s Market so I was excited to create a new recipe with local produce here in Chicago.
The inspiration for this recipe came from my mom, who makes a fabulous vegetarian tortilla that is a bit similar. She is not vegan, so I changed the ingredients to veganize it and used zucchini as the main ingredient. The result was this amazing vegan fritter recipe! I love it because it’s:
Healthier than many zucchini fritter recipes I’ve seen.
Easy to make.
Ingredients are mostly whole foods.
Full of flavor and nutritious.
Ingredients
Zucchini
Yellow onion
Olive oil
Flax meal
Chickpea flour
Dried dill
Garlic powder
Nutritional yeast
Baking powder
Smoked chili powder
Salt and pepper
Cashew cheese (optional)
Don’t worry, you don’t taste the chickpea flour. The zucchini, dill, and a bit of cheesy flavor from the nutritional yeast are the dominant flavors here.
Zucchini: It’s really important that you press the water from the zucchini, otherwise your batter will end up being too liquid and the fritters could break when you cook them. See instructions below in the recipe.
Flour replacement: Instead of chickpea flour, you could use whole wheat flour, oat flour, or lupini flour. The latter will increase the protein content.
Nutritional yeast: Not all nutritional yeasts are created equal. If you are vegan like me, make sure to use a vegan nutritional yeast.
How to Make Vegan Gluten Free Zucchini Fritters?
You need a bowl, a strainer, a grater and a saucepan.
Grate the zucchini with a hand grater or food processor, place it in a strainer, add salt, stir, wait 5 minutes and then press out the water.
Make the flax meal egg.
Chop the onion into small cubes and, in a pan, sauté the onion in olive oil for 7 minutes, add the spices.
In a bowl, add the dry zucchini and flax egg. Stir, and slowly start adding everything else to the fritter mix while stirring.
Warm up a non-stick pan with olive oil. Start adding spoonfuls of batter to the saucepan. Sauté each side over medium heat until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes).
I make 8 small fritters with this recipe as seen in the image below.
This Vegan Zucchini Fritters Recipe Is
Gluten free
Egg-free
Dairy-free (without butter)
Healthier than many zucchini fritter recipes I’ve seen
Easy to make
Soy free
Amazing as lunch, dinner, or even for brunch!
Please let me know if you make it! Rate it and comment below. I love to hear about your creations too and any alterations you might make to the ingredients.
Also, don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @veggielation and #veggielation because I would love to see your take on this recipe!
Vegan Zucchini Fritters
These vegan zucchini fritters are extremely tasty, easy to make, and great for lunch, dinner or even for brunch! This recipe is naturally protein-rich, gluten free, eggless, soy free, healthy and it only has 118 calories per portion.
Ingredients (US Customary)
- 1 medium zucchini (2 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 flax meal egg
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1 1/2 tsp dry dill weed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked chili powder
- Pepper to taste
- Cashew cheese (optional)
Ingredients (Metric)
- 1 medium zucchini (270 grs)
- 1 medium yellow onion (156 grs)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 flax meal egg
- 56 grs chickpea flour
- 1 1/2 tsp dry dill weed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked chili powder
- Pepper to taste
- Cashew cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini with a hand grater or food processor.
- Place it in a strainer, add 1 tsp of salt, stir, wait 5 minutes so the zucchini starts releasing water and then squeeze it several times with your hands to press out as much water as possible. This helps to make the fritters more crispy. After you squeeze a fair amount of water, you might want to dry the grated zucchini a bit extra with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. If you want to be extra exact, it weighed 156 grs after I squeezed out the water.
- Make the flax meal egg: in a small bowl mix the 1 tbsp flax meal with 2 tbsp water and let sit until thick (8-10 minutes).
- Chop the onion into small cubes and, in a pan, sauté the onion in 1 tsp olive oil for 7 minutes. Add the spices to the sautéed onion during the last minute and stir well.
- In a bowl, add the drained zucchini and flax egg and stir. Slowly start adding everything else to the batter while stirring. Taste the mix and decide if you want more salt. This recipe is a bit spicy so skip the smoked chili powder if you don't like the little spicy kick.
- Warm up and non-stick pan with 1 tsp olive oil. Start adding spoonfuls of batter to the saucepan. I used a tablespoon to make them ping pong ball sized and made 8 small fritters with this recipe. Sauté each side over medium heat until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side) and serve.
- Optional: top it with your favorite cheese sauce or mustard. I made a cashew cheese sauce for this recipe in the food processor by mixing 1/2 cup cashews, 1/3 cup water, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp liquid smoke, and salt (to taste). Process until smooth.
Notes
Zucchini: it’s really important that you drain the water out of the zucchini, otherwise your batter will end up being too liquid and the fritters could break when you cook them.
Flour replacement: instead of chickpea flour, you could use whole wheat flour, oat flour, or lupini flour. The latter will increase the protein content.
Nutritional yeast: not all nutritional yeasts are created equal. If you are vegan like me, make sure to use a vegan nutritional yeast.
Visit VeggiElation.com for more plant-based recipes that are both healthy and tasty!
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 (two small fritters)
Servings: 4
| Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories 118 | ||
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 4g | 6% | |
| Saturated Fat 0.49g | 2.72% | |
| Total Carbohydrates 16g | 6% | |
| Fiber 3g | 11% | |
| Sugar 3g | 8% | |
| Protein 7g | 9% | |
*Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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