Baked Zucchini Corn Fritters
on Jun 20, 2022, Updated Jul 08, 2023
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A sheet pan is all you need to make these easy baked zucchini corn fritters. Served with a tomato salad, they are a great vegetarian appetizer or main dish.
No three ingredients say summer more than corn, zucchini and tomatoes. It’s my mission during the warm months to incorporate this trio of veggies into a single meal when and wherever I can. And it really doesn’t take much effort.
To go with these zucchini corn fritters, I make a quick marinated tomato salad using ripe cherry tomatoes. Once you add the salad, the dish feels really complete. Again, it must be the seasonal magic of tomatoes, zucchini and corn!
Why Baked Fritters are the Best
Besides the obvious that baked fritters are healthier than fried ones, they are just easier to make. It’s that simple.
No special equipment like a deep fryer with a vat of hot oil is needed. Just reach for a baking sheet and a piece of parchment paper.
Rather than cycling through multiple batches of fritters in a skillet to pan-fry them, you can take care of all of them at once on that single pan. And it’s more of a guarantee that they will turn out at the same level of doneness. Baking is such a controlled way of cooking fritters that it takes away the guesswork.
You still get some of those crisp browned edges when you bake the fritters, but set your expectations. They will never turn out as uniformly golden brown as they will in a fryer, but that’s not a bad thing. That’s because you will actually be able to taste and enjoy the zucchini and corn more.
Prepping The Zucchini
One of the most important parts of the recipe is getting the zucchini ready to be combined with the corn and the rest of the ingredients. This is done in 2 steps:
First, you have to shred the zucchini. You can use the large holes of a box grater or the shredding attachment on your food processor.
Then you need to to salt the zucchini to pull out the moisture. Zucchini is a vegetable with a lot of excess water. If you don’t remove it, you will end up with dense soggy fritters. Put the shredded zucchini in a colander and sprinkle it with salt.
After that, let it sit for 15 minutes. Some of the water will ooze out, but then you have to get your hands in there and squeeze it out. It can help to also press it on the sizes of the colander with a paper towel.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is what you need for the fritters:
- Zucchini: Look for zucchini that have smooth skin that’s a deep saturated green color. Overall they should feel firm and not have any soft spots. You can substitute with yellow squash. The color of the fritters will just turn out more yellow.
- Corn: My preference is to use fresh corn. Look for husks that are wrapped tight. The silk on the ends should be a little bit damp. You can substitute with canned corn. Drain and rinse it. You will need 2 cups of corn kernels.
- Scallions add a nice light green onion flavor.
- Parmesan cheese, finely grated, blends right into the fritter batter. You can use cheddar cheese instead.
- Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs act as the binder that holds everything together.
- Salt & pepper: You need kosher salt for the zucchini and black pepper for seasoning.
This is everything you need for the tomato salad:
- Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are best. A mix of colors looks beautiful. All red would be fine too.
- Garlic: The salad has a minced garlic clove.
- Scallions: Also in the fritters, these are mild and oniony with the tomatoes.
- White wine vinegar adds acidity to the dressing.
- Olive oil: Make sure to use high quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt & pepper season the salad.
How To Make Zucchini Corn Fritters
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Grate the zucchini. Then toss it with salt in a colander. Give it 15 minutes to sit and squeeze out the excess moisture.
Combine the zucchini, corn, Parmesan, flour, scallions, eggs and pepper in a large bowl. Stir the mixture together.
Scoop the fritters by the 1/4-cup-full onto the prepared sheet pan. Gently press them down. They should be about 2 inches apart.
Bake the fritters until lightly golden, about 8-10 minutes per side.
Make the tomato salad while the fritters are in the oven. Whisk together the garlic, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Then stir in the tomatoes and scallions.
Serving
What’s so great about this recipe is that it can be a vegetarian appetizer, snack or side dish or a fantastic summer dinner. It’s really up to you. Adjust the serving size depending on what else you’re planning to serve and how many people you are feeding.
Leftovers
Store leftover fritters in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. They can be rewarmed in a 350-degree F oven. I also like to eat them cold in a basic arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette.
If you want to keep the baked fritters longer, up to 1 month, put them in a freezer bag once they have cooled to room temperature. Thaw them in the oven at 350 degrees F.
More Corn & Zucchini Recipes
Zucchini Corn Salad
Black Bean Corn Salad
Tomato Corn Orecchiette
Zucchini Cacio e Pepe
Parmesan Roasted Zucchini
Baked Zucchini Fries
Zucchini Corn Fritters
Ingredients
- For fritters
- 1 pound zucchini about 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and shredded
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ears corn kernels sliced off cobs
- 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose or almond flour
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- For tomato salad
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 1 scallion thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Place the zucchini in a colander and toss with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Let stand for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water from the zucchini using paper towels.
- In a large bowl combine the zucchini, corn, Parmesan, flour, scallions, egg and pepper.
- Scoop the fritters by the 1/4-cup-full onto the prepared pan. Lightly press down into a 3-inch-diameter disc, spacing 2 inches apart on the sheet pan. You should end up with 10-12 fritters.
- Bake until lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes per side.
- While the fritters are baking, make the tomato salad. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes and scallions.
- Serve the fritters with the tomato salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds amazing! Unfortunately – I can’t have almonds. Can I sub wheat flour, and would it be the same amount? Thanks!
I’ve used wheat flour before. Just do the same amount.
These look amazing! Can you sub regular flour for the almond? If so, are the amounts the same? we’ve got a nut allergy in my house! Thanks!
Hi Elisabeth. You can absolutely use regular flour. Enjoy!
Do you remove the zucchini skin or leave it on before shredding? This recipe is great for someone who is on WW. Looking forward to making this recipe!
Randye
I leave the skin on the zucchini. Enjoy the recipe!
I added some chopped dill and cilantro to the recipe and used regular flour – Came out nice and this was an easy recipe to follow.
PS: what is an ounce of Parmesan in cups or tablespoons? I wasn’t sure, so I just added some to taste. Thanks!
An ounce of grated Parmesan is about 2 tablespoons.
Would like to make this dairy-free – can the parmesan be removed or replaced?
Hi Juli. I haven’t tested this, but you could try to use 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast instead of the Parmesan.
Outstanding!!!
Loved these the first one I made them. I have fresh corn & zucchini so planning on making this week. Have you paired them with any sauce before – maybe something a little spicy?
For sauce, you could try my herby tahini or avocado crema. To give them a spicy kick, add sriracha or red pepper flakes.