Every year, without fail, I start my summer vegetable garden on the foundation of a lie that I am going to cook and actually enjoy eating all of the zucchini I convinced myself into growing. Despite my lack of gardening skills and constant neglect, my zucchini grows rampant, giving me the false satisfaction of a job well done (which, let’s be honest, is why I keep the lie going every year). As the summer goes on, harvesting my zucchini quickly turns into a game of wack-a-mole. Despite my best efforts to pickle, grill, or even shave it into a salad night after night, I can’t keep up.
On top of all that, the big challenge with zucchini is that it can be fussy to cook, and usually needs help in the kitchen to taste great. Its mild flavor and watery texture can easily lead to limp, soggy, and flavorless results when not cooked properly. This baked zucchini fries recipe is a refreshing, incredibly snackable solution to that problem.
Okay, so I am fully aware these are not “fries,” and I’m not a five year old who needs to be tricked into eating her vegetables. But when these zucchini sticks are dredged in a Parmesan-laced panko coating and baked until crisp and golden outside, they are undeniably satisfying and perfect for dipping into its accompanying rich, dill-forward feta dip. To get to this great we result, we asked our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Julia Levy to methodically dredge batch after batch of zucchini sticks to come up with crunchy zucchini fries that even a zucchini skeptic like myself would love.
Tips to Guarantee Crunchy Zucchini Fries
Remove the watery seeds. As I noted above, zucchini is notoriously watery, so the biggest challenge is preventing moisture from sogging out the breadcrumb crust. Our solution: Cut the zucchini into spears and use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to quickly remove the inner seed pulp, which is the wateriest part of the fruit.
Pulse the panko and coat with oil. Another challenge with baking zucchini fries in the oven is getting the exterior crumb coating golden and crisp in the short time it takes for the zucchini to cook. We had to find a way to speed up the browning time for the panko crumbs. The first step was pulsing the panko into finer crumbs. The smaller crumbs not only cover the zucchini more evenly, but they cook and crisp quicker in the oven.
The other step we took to ensure a crisp coating is lightly tossing the panko with extra-virgin olive oil (about 1 tablespoon oil per cup of panko) before the zucchini is dredged in the mixture. Coating the breadcrumbs with fat speeds even heat transfer from the oven during baking, giving the breadcrumbs just the edge they needed to brown quickly enough.
Add Parmesan to the crumb coating. The Parmigiano-Reggiano in the crumb mixture not only adds a rich, nutty layer of flavor to the baked sticks, it creates a frico-like exterior around the zucchini, further enhancing a crisp fried-like exterior shell once baked.
Pair it with a cool and creamy dip. Like any good fry, these zucchini fries are best served with a dip. An herb-forward tangy feta and dill dip pairs well with the neutral flavor of the zucchini. Making the dip is as simple as combining feta with yogurt in a food processor with lemon, dill, garlic, and honey and blitzing until it's smooth. I recommend making it first, and refrigerating it to thicken while making the zucchini fries.
For the Feta-Herb Dip: In a food processor, combine feta, yogurt, water, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, thyme, and dill and process until smooth, scraping down sides of processor bowl as needed, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Zucchini Fries: Using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, shave or cut the seeds from the inner portion of each zucchini quarter. Halve each quarter lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise. (You should have 16 “fries” per zucchini that are roughly 1/2 inch thick by 3-inches long, depending on the size of the zucchini, about 48 total.)
Adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and a second oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 450°F (230℃). Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Arrange zucchini in an even layer on a paper towel-lined plate and pat dry. Set aside.
In a clean, dry food processor, pulse panko until finely ground, 3 to 4 pulses. Transfer to a shallow bowl or pie plate with Parmesan, oil, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Use fingers to toss until panko is completely coated in oil.
In a shallow bowl or pie plate, add egg whites and lightly beat until frothy. In a separate shallow bowl or pie plate, add flour. Working in 3 batches, dredge zucchini sticks in flour, dusting off excess, then dredge into egg whites, allowing excess to drip back into the dish, then transfer into the prepared panko mixture. Turn and press the panko into the zucchini to ensure an even layer on all sides. Divide prepared zucchini fries on the 2 prepared baking sheets, spacing them out at least 1/2 inch apart.
Bake both sheet trays at the same time until zucchini is starting to brown, about 12 minutes. Gently flip zucchini, then return to oven, switching baking sheets top to bottom and rotating front to back, and continue to bake until evenly browned and crisp, 10 to 14 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Transfer the zucchini fries to a serving platter. Drizzle the feta dip with honey, and sprinkle with additional thyme and dill and serve with the zucchini fries.
Special Equipment
Food processor
Make-Ahead and Storage
The dip can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It will thicken up after refrigeration; whip in additional Greek yogurt to loosen if necessary.
The zucchini can be cut as directed through step 2 and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Make sure to blot the zucchini dry before dredging and baking.
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