Food and Recipes Veggies Squash Zucchini Baked Zucchini Fries 5.0 (2) 2 Reviews Turn a bounty of zucchini into an irresistible side. By Pam Lolley Pam Lolley Pam Lolley developed and tested recipes for Southern Living Magazine in the Souths most trusted Test Kitchen for 19 years. She worked closely with the editors planning and packaging stories, collaborating with art and photo teams on food styling and recipe reproduction to ensure reader satisfaction, content quality control, and recipe authenticity history and cooking. Her area of expertise was baking and and pastry development and she acted as the point person for these areas in the Test Kitchen. With 30+ years of experience in the culinary field, Pam created and tested 1000s of recipes for Southern Living. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on April 1, 2023 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Active Time: 25 mins Total Time: 50 mins Servings: 8 French fries may be the Hollywood superstar of side dishes, but zucchini fries are the dependable sidekick. Secretly, you know you like them better—they make you feel good—and you also like telling your friends you like them. But this is a recipe for Zucchini Fries, not a supporting actor, so let's get to it. These zucchini fries are coated with a crust of Panko breadcrumbs and cheese that doesn't turn gooey and melty in the oven but instead gets crisp and nutty. Zucchini is a moisture-rich food, so we've had to pull out all the tips and tricks to make sure these zucchini fries are crisp and crunchy, not soggy and sad. Keep reading for the recipe and those tips. Ingredients for Baked Zucchini Fries If you've got a garden or CSA box overflowing with zucchini, you've come to the right place for using them. Zucchini fries are fun and easy to make as a quick side dish for summer meals—or any time of the year, really, because zucchini is available year-round. To make this recipe, you'll need zucchini of course, about 1 1/2 pounds of it. Then for the coating, grab from your pantry panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and all-purpose flour. You'll also need grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; you can buy it grated in a tub, or grate your own. To get the crust to stick to the zucchini sticks, you'll need the ingredients of a quick egg wash: 2 eggs and milk. Finally, we recommend serving these baked zucchini fries with jarred marinara sauce as a quick dip, but you can use or make whatever dip you want. Even ketchup would work if it'll help get the kids to eat these. How To Make Zucchini Fries The full recipe is below, but here's a brief outline: Mix together the crispy coating by combining the breadcrumbs, half the salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Make sure you can easily get your hands into this bowl so you can roll the zucchini sticks later.In a second bowl, combine flour and remaining salt. Again, make sure this is a shallow bowl so coating the sticks will be easier.Make the egg wash by mixing the 2 eggs and milk in a shallow bowl.Cut zucchini into sticks. It's not part of the recipe below, but we also recommend a quick pat dry before you go to coat them.Working in batches, roll each zucchini stick first in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and lastly the breadcrumb mixture. Press gently to help the breadcrumbs adhere.Place each zucchini stick on a greased wire rack that's sitting inside a cookie sheet. Bake at 425°F for about 25 minutes until the fries are golden brown. Test Kitchen Tips for Better Zucchini Fries The best advice our Test Kitchen has for getting great zucchini fries each time is making an assembly line for the dredging process—and then don't mix up your hands. You'll need three shallow dishes: one for the flour, one for the egg wash, and one for the panko mixture. Ideally, you'd use one hand to dredge the zucchini sticks in flour. Then, use the other hands for the next two steps. Why's that? If you get the flour mixture wet with egg wash, you run the risk of creating gloopy bits of flour that will stick to the zucchini and not cook well. But if you use one hand to move the zucchini fries into the egg mixture and one hand to move the fries out, you'll reduce the chances of this happening. What To Serve With Zucchini Fries Serve these crispy zucchini fries to kick off a meal or as part of a fun appetizer spread, along with cured meats, cheeses, and olives. Any jarred marinara sauce will work for dipping, but our Test Kitchen prefers Rao's brand. If you're not a fan of marinara, substitute Alfredo sauce or pesto. How To Store and Reheat Zucchini Fries Zucchini fries are best eaten immediately after they're baked. The longer they sit, the soggier they will become. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat them, place them back on the wire rack, and reheat in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes or until crispy again. Frequently Asked Questions Why are my zucchini fries soggy? Did you skip the flour dredge? The flour mixture acts as a barrier to keep the moisture of the zucchini locked in and to help the crust adhere. Don't skip it, and before you dredge next time, give each zucchini stick a quick pat dry with a paper towel. Can you make zucchini fries in advance? Zucchini fries really are best when served fresh from the oven. If you do want to make them in advance, you'll need to reheat them in the oven or an air fryer until they're mostly crispy again. But you may lose a lot of that crunchy texture. More Zucchini Recipes Looking for even more ways to use up your bounty of zucchini? These zucchini recipes might help: Zucchini Fritters Zucchini Lasagna Fried Zucchini Straws Sautéed Squash And Zucchini Zucchini Pie Ingredients Cooking spray 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 3 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3/4 cup) 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons whole milk 4 small zucchini (about 1 1/2 lb. total) Jarred marinara sauce, warmed, for serving Directions Ready the oven: Gather your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 425°F and generously grease an oven-safe wire rack set over another baking sheet. Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Prepare the breading ingredients: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Stir together breadcrumbs, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a shallow dish. Stir together flour and remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a separate shallow dish. Whisk together eggs and milk in a third shallow dish. Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Cut zucchini sticks: Cut zucchini into 3- to 4-inch x 1/2-inch sticks. Working in batches, dredge sticks in flour mixture, dip in egg mixture, and dredge in panko mixture, pressing to coat. Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Bake zucchini fries: Arrange sticks in an even layer on a generously greased (with cooking spray) wire rack set on a baking sheet. Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Bake at 425°F until lightly browned and tender, about 25 minutes. Serve with warmed marinara sauce. Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Rate it Print