Baked Zucchini Fries



This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Jamie’s Cooking with Moxie. Secret Recipe Club is a gathering of food bloggers where bloggers are assigned another food blogger’s recipe site, selects and prepares a recipe, and on the designated day, shares the recipe made. It’s a great way to meet other bloggers and find new recipes. I truly appreciated how many savory recipes Jamie has featured on her blog since some months I’ve struggled finding something interesting that is not a sweet. Maybe it’s because she hails from a large, close-knit Italian family. I enjoyed all her family and friend pics on her About Me page. 
I bookmarked a few things:  chickpea cakes with tzatziki, bake pesto chicken because we have a ton of frozen, homemade pesto from this summer’s basil haul, and tilapia in caper sauce, Roman style since we eat fish at least once a week (and Craig would be thrilled it’s NOT salmon). But we needed a veg one night, and the zucchini fries with roasted garlic aioli caught my eye. These are easy and very tasty. The panko adds more crunch than regular breadcrumbs, and the zuc becomes almost creamy when baked. A great texture contrast. Even though I made it with grocery store zucs, this is a great use of overflowing, summer garden zucs. I cut the recipe in half for just the two of us, and we had it as an appetizer. When I went to roast the garlic for the aioli I realized we were out of a whole head (heresy, I know!) so we dipped them in (homemade, canned) marinara. We ended up eating all that I made, which was THREE zucchinis. Kind of addictive to say the least. Next time I may spice up the seasoning mix and make the aioli. 

Enjoy! The recipe below reflects the changes I've made to the original recipe.

Zucchini Fries
1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with Italian seasonings
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 medium zucchinis
Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil cooking spray.

Put panko breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Mix in grated Parmesan cheese. In another shallow bowl, add the beaten egg. Season both bowls with salt and pepper. Cut each zucchini into horizontal pieces to make the “fries".
Dip each zucchini piece into the egg mixture first, dripping off any excess, and then into the panko/cheese mixture, coating completely and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn. Bake another 15 minutes, until outside is crispy and browned.

We served them with homemade marinara. 



16 comments:

  1. Oh yum. Yes, please. I'd eat them right now for breakfast!

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    1. Thanks, Erin. These are super simple, kid-friendly, and really delicious.

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  2. Yum - whole wheat panko is one of my new favorite ingredients. Need to remember this recipe during the glut of zucchini come summer (cannot wait!)

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    1. Deanna, I agree that whole wheat panko rocks, nutritionally and taste-wise. We love its crunch. Thanks for reading.

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  3. Love these! I have long had the indulgence every once in a while to go to Carl's Junior for their zucchini chips. NOW I can make them at home. Nice SRC pick!

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. Surely these are healthy than Carl's Junior, and super easy.

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  4. as much as I like cold weather I am looking forward to our garden and zucchini. These look so tempting.

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    1. For sure these are a great way to use up boatloads of gaden zuc (and yellow squash) if you consider DH and I ate THREE zucs at one sitting! Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. I've had zucchini fries before, but have never made them. I really should -- they sound wonderful, and are so easy to make. Plus I like anything I can dip into marina!

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    1. Yes, super easy, John. You need to make them. And next time I think I will "coins."

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  6. Great idea for a good, healthy snack or side dish!

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    1. Thanks, Karen. Appreciate the comment!

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  7. Wow, such a healtly and tasty snaking bite....
    good jb my friend!!!

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  8. Thank you for the kind words and wonderful post!

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  9. Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Thank you for supplying these details.

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  10. Thank you very much for such a lovely and informative post.

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