Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
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Whether you are preparing a side dish or appetizer, these Air Fryer Zucchini Fries are crispy, savory, and loaded with great flavor. You’ll definitely want to keep this recipe handy to use up all your summer zucchini!
This keto diet approved recipe comes together with fresh zucchini, pecorino romano cheese, almond flour, and a few spices.
Forget french fries, potato chips, and deep frying. With this easy air fryer recipe, you get a crispy and crunchy outside and tender inside without all the oil and calories.
Enjoy zucchini three different ways with my favorite zucchini recipes like Zucchini Meatballs, Zucchini Lasagna Rolls, and Air Fryer Zucchini Chips.
Air Fryer Zucchini Recipe
I love zucchini, especially in the summer when it’s super fresh! Whether I’m making a Zucchini Salad or a simple Air Fryer Zucchini side dish, it’s served weekly in my house.
This is truly a delicious way to air fry zucchini, especially if you’ve got a lot of it!
These crispy zucchini fries make for a great side dish for any occasion all year long. So whether it’s game day, 4th of July party, or a backyard BBQ, you can enjoy snacking on a healthy side dish that no one would assume is low carb!
I find the best way to enjoy zucchini is cut into fries, however, you can also slice zucchini into zucchini slices or zucchini wedges and follow the same recipe!
Ingredients You Will Need
Zucchini: as I write this post, it’s zucchini season, so if you are growing them fresh in the garden, this is a great recipe for you! Don’t have garden zucchini? You can pick them up at your local grocery store year-round.
Crispy outer shell: since this recipe has no breading and is low carb, we won’t be using bread crumbs, but we will be using, an egg, pecorino romano, and almond flour to give the illusion of “breading” without all the calories.
Herbs and spices: we are going to be seasoning with simple ingredients like paprika, garlic powder, onion powder.
*For a detailed list of instructions, ingredients and measurements, please reference the recipe card down below.
How to Make Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
1. Preheat the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400° F and lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil.
2. Slice the zucchini. Remove the ends from the zucchini. Slice it down the center, lay the flesh side down on a cutting board, and slice the zucchini into 4 strips (about 1 1/2 inch strips). Slice the strips in half horizontally to make 8 short zucchini fries.
3. Prepare the batter. Place the egg in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish mix together the pecorino romano, almond flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
4. Season the zucchini. Dredge each zucchini strip in the egg wash, then in the almond flour mixture. Place seasoned zucchini on a plate or baking sheet while you season the remaining zucchini. Lightly spritz the tops of the zucchini fries with olive oil.
5. Air fry the zucchini fries. Carefully place the zucchini fries in the air fryer basket in a single layer and cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway, until they are golden brown.
Dipping Sauces
Complete the dish by dipping your zucchini fries in the ultimate condiment!
Whether it’s ranch dressing, Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sauce, Big Mac Sauce, Spicy Mayo, or Chili Garlic Sauce, dip it, dunk it, and enjoy it.
Some other favorite dipping sauce options that pair well with keto zucchini fries are:
- Garlic Aioli
- Sriracha Sauce
- Sriracha Mayo
- Avocado Dressing
- Southwest Ranch
- Ketchup
Recipe Tips, Tricks, and Variations
Flour. This recipe can be made with or without flour. In addition, if you aren’t trying to keep the recipe low carb, all-purpose flour can be used instead of almond flour (almond flour being the healthier alternative).
Cheese. If you are looking for a cheese substitute, I recommend using parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast if you want to make it dairy free.
Seasoning. Shake things up with flavoring and try something new with Italian seasoning.
Bread crumbs. If you like, you can use panko breadcrumbs or pork panko.
How to Store Leftover Zucchini Fries
Once your leftover zucchini fries reach room temperature, grab an airtight container and toss them in the fridge for 2 days maximum.
How to Reheat
To reheat the zucchini fries, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grab a baking sheet and coat it with some nonstick cooking spray. Let bake for about 3-5 minutes. Remember, they are already cooked, so we aren’t cooking them, we are just tossing them in to get warm.
You can also reheat them in the air fryer at 350 F for 2-3 minutes.
How do you get the water out of zucchini fries?
Did you know that zucchini is 95% water by weight?
If you want your zucchini fries extra crispy, you can salt them before seasoning. Once you’ve cut the zucchini into strips, salt them generously and let them sit for about 20 minutes.
Then pat the zucchini dry with a paper towel to remove the excess moisture.
The salting process draws out the moisture and allows your zucchini fries to crisp up in the cooking process.
How do you keep fried zucchini from getting soggy?
To keep your zucchini from getting soggy during and after cooking:
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer. When there is too much in the air fryer, it will cause the food to steam instead of crisp.
- Don’t stack the zucchini fries as soon as they are finished cooking. Let the zucchini cool for a few minutes before plating, otherwise the heat will make them soggy.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Shallow bowl. Having a shallow bowl on hand is essential for recipes like this that call for you to dip in egg and then cover in seasoning, breading, etc. I find bowls like these to be the easiest to use!
Cooking spray. Never start cooking without it; especially in the air fryer. Whether it is an olive oil spray or avocado oil spray, keeping a can nearby makes easy air fryer recipes, even easier!
Other Healthy Air Fryer Recipes
Air frying is one of my favorite methods for cooking delicious food. I use my air fryer to make appetizers, fish, chicken, and more! Some of my other favorite air fryer recipes are:
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Air Fryer Zucchini Fries (No Breading)
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup pecorino romano
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400° F and lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil.
- Remove the ends from the zucchini. Slice it down the center, lay the flesh side down on a cutting board and slice the zucchini into 4 strips (about 1 1/2 inch strips). Slice the strips in half horizontally to make 8 short zucchini fries.
- Place the egg in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish mix together the pecorino romano, almond flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Dredge each zucchini strip in the egg wash, then in the almond flour mixture. Place seasoned zucchini on a plate or baking sheet while you season the remaining zucchini. Lightly spritz the tops of the zucchini fries with olive oil.
- Carefully place the zucchini fries in the air fryer basket and cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway, until they are golden brown.
Notes
- All purpose flour can be used instead of almond flour.
- This recipe can be made with or without flour.
