Zucchini Pancakes

Zucchini pancakes are such a delicious summertime recipe when zucchini is abundant. This zucchini pancake recipe is really easy to make, big on flavor and even the pickiest eaters love it. If you are looking for a new tasty zucchini recipe, these zucchini pancakes are for you!

About these zucchini pancakes

You may have heard of zucchini fritters and are wondering what the difference is between those and zucchini pancakes. Sometimes the names are used interchangeably but fritters are usually fried up in lots of oil, and pancakes are made in a pan like pancakes.

There will be some oil used of course but these zucchini pancakes will not be deep fried. This recipe is the zucchini pancake version. I find it to be a little lighter than zucchini fritters but just as amazing.

The outside of the zucchini pancakes will have a really nice golden crust still but it is just not cooked in so much oil.

Who will love this recipe

Now, my family is not a big fan of zucchini but they love this dish! What is not to like about zucchini that is shredded with spices and flour and pan fried to perfection.

If you have picky eaters like I do and zucchini can be tough to get them to eat, you should check out my Italian zucchini too.

We actually have started to cook these outside on the large griddle grill because it makes a large batch so much faster! I have to make lots of these pancakes to keep up with demand!

cooking zucchini pancakes — Making a large batch of zucchini pancakes on my outdoor griddle.

The ingredients in this easy zucchini pancake recipe are very simple. You will probably already have all of them in your kitchen.

Ingredients you will need for this recipe

Zucchini. Any variety of zucchini will work.
Eggs. I always use large eggs for my recipes.
All purpose flour.
Baking powder. Make sure your baking powder is not old or it will not work as well in the zucchini pancakes. You should purge baking powder that is older than 1 year.
Parmesan Cheese. I like to use parmigiano reggiano.
Kosher salt. If you do not have kosher salt, you can use regular table salt but make sure to use only half the amount.
Vegetable oil.
Green Onions.
Sour cream (for serving).

How to Make Zucchini Pancakes

zucchini in cheese cloth — 1. Shred Zucchini.

This dish requires grating the zucchini and then draining off the excess liquid before you cook it so your pancakes will hold it's shape in the pan. This drying out time is an important step and can't be skipped or you will end up with soggy zucchini pancakes.

This helps ensure that you will crispy zucchini pancakes. What everyone loves!

zucchini fritter batter on pan — 6. Add zucchini batter to a hot pan with oil.

zucchini pancakes cooking — 6. Add zucchini batter to a hot pan with oil.

This makes a great weekend meal that you can start in the late afternoon and start cooking it up around dinnertime. The only time consuming part is grating the zucchini and drying it out.

That is why this step is the perfect thing to get a head start on earlier in the day if possible.

How to Serve Zucchini Pancakes

These pancakes are served with sour cream and chives or green onions and this really makes it taste amazing. The contrast of the hot pancakes and cool sour cream with the little bite of onion really make this dish what it is.

If you are not a fan of sour cream with the pancakes, you can serve these with a side of Italian San Marzano sauce. It makes a delicious dip for the pancakes.

Pro-Tips:

When you are making these, make sure your pan is nice and hot and much like making regular pancakes, the first batch never comes out as nice 🙂
To avoid mushy zucchini pancakes, give your shredded zucchini time to drain properly in a colander over a bowl. From time to time, press (or squeeze out excess liquid) until the zucchini begins to dry out a bit.

Variations

These pancakes are absolutely perfect as is but you could certainly add other vegetables to the mix. We love mixing it up a bit and adding shredded carrots or summer squash.

I find that sometimes I am looking for ways to use up more than just zucchini in the summer so get creative and make use of what you have. The quantities will be the same if you choose to use these other summer vegetables in the pancakes.

Recipe Faqs

What is a good size for zucchini pancakes?

Zucchini pancakes are usually made the size of small pancakes. They are great for stacking up on top of each other.

What goes well with zucchini pancakes?

Zucchini pancakes are great served with sour cream, chives, green onions or marinara sauce.

Pairing Ideas

If are wondering what to serve with these zucchini pancakes, here are our favorites:

More zucchini recipes:

Print Recipe

5 from 24 votes

A delicious pan fried zucchini pancake that everyone will love.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Servings: pancakes

Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!

Author: Melissa

Ingredients

4 cups grated zucchini dried well
4 large eggs slightly beaten
4 tablespoon green onion diced
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup vegetable oil divided
For serving: 1 cup of sour cream and finely diced green onions

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Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees (warm). Place an oven proof cooling rack on top of a large sheet pan and place inside your oven to warm. This will be where you keep your pancakes warm as you make your batches on the stove top.
Place grated zucchini in cheesecloth or a double layer of strong paper towels over a large colander.
4 cups grated zucchini
With your hands or the back of a large spoon, press down on the zucchini to remove as much moisture as possible. Do this a few times until the zucchini begins to dry out a bit and you see liquid coming through the colander.
Now take your strained zucchini and add it to a large bowl.
Mix together the flour, Parmesan cheese, baking powder and, salt. Mix this into your zucchini mixture.
1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
Now add your eggs and onion to zucchini mixture and mix well.
4 large eggs, 4 tablespoon green onion
Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium- medium low heat.
Scoop ¼ cup of zucchini batter on to the hot skillet making sure to flatten the pancakes to about a ½ inch thick and cook until deep golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Place on a cooling rack that sits on a sheet pan and then place in warm oven while you make the rest of your pancakes.
Continue to cook the remainder of the pancakes. You will need to add a little more oil to the pan before each new batch of pancakes.
Serve pancakes with a generous dollop of sour cream on the top or side and garnish with the extra green onions.
For serving: 1 cup of sour cream and finely diced green onions

Video

Nutrition

Nutrition Values are estimates only.

See full nutrition disclaimer here

Course :Main Course