Thin & Crispy Oven Baked Paleo Zucchini Fritters PLUS, A Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce! :: Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free!

These oven baked crispy bites are about to  less hands on time and the most amazing creamy garlic dipping sauce!

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Summer zucchini overload!

I just never tire of it! It is my favorite summer vegetable to play with during this season, and zucchini fritters have been on my mind since June!

Sooo many versions…

It really just depends on what kind of a person you are! Do you like soft pillowy zucchini fritters? Then most fritter recipes you find will give you that crispy outside with a soft pillowy inside. I don’t mind those, but last year I accidentally squished my fritters in the pan super thin, and realized just how much I LOVE a thin, crispy zucchini fritter! It is serious heaven!

Oven baked freedom!

But what about all that hands on time? I love a good pan seared zucchini fritter, but honestly I would probably make it twice a summer if I had to fuss with standing at the stove for 30 minutes for one side dish. You can only fit so many in one pan, and with my large crew to feed, well…it takes a while! I timed myself the last couple times I’ve made these oven-baked zucchini fritters, and from start to finish including making the batter, and flattening them onto a tray for the oven and it takes me 10-15 minutes (depending on kid interruptions!). From there, it’s as simple as popping the tray into the oven and then your hands are free to make the rest of dinner, or tend to kiddos.

Thin and crispy secrets to success!

There is definitely a method to the madness!

• Get the water out of the zucchini. I know it seems like pain to drain the water from your zucchini before making your fritters, but this is really key. I like to speed the process up by adding the sea salt to the shredded zucchini. It draws the water out while I add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, and you can squeeze that water right out.
• Skip the other water-logged veggies. While I’m all about extra veg in my food, adding onion and other veggies just adds more water to the mix. I use dried herbs and dried onion/garlic for these to avoid the extra water.
• Baking sheet surface matters. I love my Silpat liners, but I have just found that things crisp up better without them. From roasted veggies to these zucchini fritters, I tend to fore-go the Silpat or parchement paper. I use this avocado oil spray to spray the pan down (you can spread butter or coconut oil if don’t have that), and the zucchini fritters crisp up and slide right off.
• Squish ‘em down! The cassava flour and egg really help these fritters come together, so they aren’t super fragile. Form them into your hand, get them onto that greased baking sheet, and use your hand to lightly flatten them a bit more.

That sauce though!

This quick sauce just takes these zucchini fritters over the top! It is so special, you’ll quite possibly lick the bowl clean! The smooth and creamy garlic dipping sauce is dairy free and you’ll never miss it. In fact you may just want to let everyone have their own little dipping bowl of sauce because you’ll definitely want to double dip this one! Here are a couple notes on the sauce to tailor it to what you have around, or what you have to do for special diets:

• I prefer whole plain coconut yogurt for the base. I get large 32oz tubs of plain So Delicious coconut yogurt at our grocery store.
• Full fat coconut milk or cream would work as the base as well as would raw milk/cream if you tolerate dairy.
• Sour cream or full fat dairy yogurt would work for the base if you tolerate dairy.
• Finally, tailor the garlic amount to your taste. I tend to boost the garlic on just about any recipe I come across, so my palate for garlic is pretty in love. If you prefer your food lighter on the garlic, I’d halve the amount.

Print Recipe

5 from 20 votes

Thin and Crispy Paleo Zucchini Fritters PLUS, A Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce!

These oven-baked crispy bites have a most amazing creamy garlic dipping sauce!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Paleo zucchini fritters, zucchini fritter recipe, zucchini fritters

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Renee - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com

Ingredients

FOR THE ZUCCHINI FRITTERS:

• 4 medium zucchini coarsely grated (I use the grating blade on my food processor to grate it faster. I have measured this a couple times for you and it’s been around 8 cups once grated.)
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp basil
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ cup cassava flour
• avocado oil spray or melted coconut oil, or butter, or olive oil for the tray

FOR THE SAUCE:

• ½ cup plain full fat coconut yogurt see above notes for other options here
• ¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 small avocado pitted
• 2 garlic cloves peeled
• 2 tsp raw honey
• ½ tsp sea salt

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Place a thin kitchen towel over a colander, dump the grated zucchini in, and toss the zucchini with the sea salt. Let the zucchini/salt sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients into a bowl. The sea salt draws all the water out of the zucchini, so you can squeeze it out easily.
• Put the eggs and seasonings into a medium mixing bowl and whisk together.
• Pull up the sides of the kitchen towel that the zucchini is sitting in, twist, and squeeze out as much of the water from the shredded zucchini as you can.
• Put the grated and drained zucchini into the bowl with the egg/seasoning mixture, add the cassava flour, and mix together.
• Spray 2 baking sheets with avocado oil spray – this helps with sticking and also helps the fritters crisp and brown up. DO NOT line your baking sheet with parchment paper or with Silpat – the fritters will stick more with them (trust me) and they get much crispier on just the plain baking sheet. Make flat disks out of the zucchini batter, place them on the baking sheet, and then lightly flatten the disks on the tray using your hand a little more.
• Bake the fritters in the 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Take the tray out, flip the zucchini fritters over, and bake for another 10 minutes until crispy, golden brown. Let the fritters cool before handling.
• To make the dipping sauce, put all of the sauce ingredients into a pint mason jar, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

More real food *ZUCCHINI* RECIPES you might like! ::

• Cream of Zucchini Soup
• Parmesan Baked Zucchini Spears
• Chicken “Zoodle” Soup
• GF Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Muffins
• Veggie Lo Mein Copycat with Zucchini Noodles