These delicious and healthy air fryer zucchini fries with panko and parmesan are the perfect side dish for your next meal! Learn how to make zucchini fries in the air fryer that your whole family will love!
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Homemade Parmesan Zucchini Fries
If your family is anything like mine, you could probably eat traditional French fries or tater tots every night. These crispy air fryer zucchini fries with panko bread crumbs are the best way to enjoy a nice crunchy bite of flavor any night of the week, while getting an extra serving of veggies in too!
They’re made with a 3-step breading process to get the perfect texture every time, and are especially good dipped in your favorite sauce.
Keep reading to learn how to make the perfect zucchini fries in your air fryer!
Why We Love This Easy Air Fryer Zucchini Recipe
- Tasty: By combining seasoned breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese, each zucchini bite has a crispy, flavorful coating you won’t want to stop eating!
- Quick & Easy: Although they require a little more work than tossing a bag of frozen fries into your air fryer basket, these crispy air fryer zucchini fries come together much faster than you’d expect!
- Healthy swap: Make these healthy zucchini fries in your air fryer! They’re lower in carbs and a great way to sneak more fibre into your diet.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini slices: Slice fresh zucchini into thick matchsticks to get a classic fry shape.
- Flour: Choose whole wheat, white whole wheat, or all purpose flour to help adhere the egg wash to the zucchini slices.
- Eggs: Whisk together the eggs to make your egg wash, which will help give your air fried zucchini a nice crispy breadcrumb shell.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Provides that crispy texture in the breading. You can use either regular or whole wheat bread crumbs.
- Parmesan cheese: As the cheese melts, it will add a salty, savory flavor and a crispy, tender crust to these air fryer zucchini fires.
- Garlic powder: Add a little garlic powder to season your fries.
- Salt: Don’t forget the salt! It will help draw out the natural flavors in all of your ingredients.
- Freshly ground black pepper: A little warmth from the black pepper tastes wonderful on these air fryer zucchini chips.
How to Cut Zucchini Fries
- Cut ends off zucchini.
- Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.
- Cut each half in half again lengthwise.
- Cut the 8 long zucchini strips in half again widthwise.
- You should have 16 fries per zucchini.
How to Make Zucchini Fries in Air Fryer – Step by Step Instructions
1. Add flour to a medium shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. In a third bowl, mix together the panko, parmesan, salt and pepper.
2. Working in batches, dredge each piece of zucchini in flour, then eggs (letting the excess drip off), then panko mixture. Transfer to a baking sheet.
3. Working in batches, place zucchini fries in a single layer in the air-fryer basket. Spray lightly with olive oil. Cook at 400 degrees F until fries are golden and crispy, about 9-11 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips:
- For a really crispy texture: To get the crispiest crust, wrap your zucchini strips in a towel to remove excess moisture.
- Adjust the seasonings: Play around with the seasonings however you’d like! You can add Italian seasoning, onion powder, chili flakes, Cajun seasoning, and more to your breadcrumb mixture based on your preferences.
- Perfect the dredge technique: Place your flour, scrambled egg, and breadcrumbs into three separate containers. Use one hand to work with the dry ingredients and use the other hand for the egg. This will make it easier to dredge zucchini and minimize your mess.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! The air fryer is basically like a mini convection oven. Follow all of the same instructions, but preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and turn on the convection feature. This is a great tip to remember if you need to make a large batch at once.
Zucchini has tons of moisture, so it’s very easy to make soggy air fryer zucchini sticks. For the best zucchini fries, I highly recommend wrapping your zucchini slices into a kitchen towel or paper towel and gently pressing them to remove excess liquid. The longer you press your strips of zucchini, the better!
Typically, yes! These air fryer zucchini fries are lower in fat since they’re air fried instead of fried. Although they are breaded, they are lower in carbohydrates than regular french fries and you can use whole wheat flour and bread crumbs for extra fibre, too.
Plus, zucchini is lower on the glycemic index, while potatoes are higher on the glycemic index. Both foods can be part of a healthy diet, but these air fryer zucchini fries are a lighter choice and will make it easier to stick to your health goals.
Storage Guidelines
Store leftover zucchini fries in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat them, turn on your air fryer to 400 degrees F and pop them back in for 5-6 minutes or until crispy and warmed through.
What to Serve with Zucchini Fries
This is a great side dish to serve with a variety of meals, including lunch and dinner. You can use them as a replacement for traditional fries or simply add them as a tasty side.
- Air Fryer Boneless Turkey Breast
- Chicken Feta Burgers
- Mediterranean Salmon
- Blackened Cod
- Almond Coconut Chicken Tenders
- 5-Ingredient Meatloaf
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
What to Dip Zucchini Fries in
There are so many tasty dips to enjoy these air fryer zucchini fries with!
These are some of our favorites.
- Ranch dressing
- Tzatziki sauce
- Garlic aioli
- Marinara sauce
- Dairy free pesto
- Healthy BBQ Sauce
Recipe Variations
- Spicy zucchini fries: Add some cayenne powder or red chili flakes to the breadcrumb mixture for a nice bite of flavor.
- Change up the cheese: Replace the parmesan with another hard cheese, like aged gouda or extra sharp cheddar.
- Bread a different vegetable: Try this breading method on eggplant, summer squash, onion slices, and more! Adjust your air frying time as needed.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Healthy Zucchini Fritters
- Zucchini Turkey Burgers
- Chicken Zucchini Fritters
- Chicken Zucchini Casserole
- Spinach Zucchini Frittata Fingers
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How to Make Zucchini Fries in Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini ends trimmed and cut into thick matchsticks
- 1/4 cup flour (can use whole wheat, white whole wheat or all-purpose)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (regular or whole wheat)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cut ends off zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Cut each half in half again lengthwise. Cut the 8 long zucchini strips in half again widthwise. You should have 16 fries per zucchini.
- Add flour to a medium shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. In a third bowl, mix together the panko, parmesan, salt and pepper.
- Working in batches, dredge each piece of zucchini in flour, then eggs (letting the excess drip off), then panko mixture. Transfer to a baking sheet.
- Working in batches, place zucchini fries in a single layer in the air-fryer basket. Spray lightly with olive oil. Cook at 400 degrees F until fries are golden and crispy, about 9-11 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- For a really crispy texture: To get the crispiest crust, wrap your zucchini strips in a towel to remove excess moisture.
- Adjust the seasonings: Play around with the seasonings however you’d like! You can add Italian seasoning, onion powder, chili flakes, Cajun seasoning, and more to your breadcrumb mixture based on your preferences.
- Perfect the dredge technique: Place your flour, scrambled egg, and breadcrumbs into three separate containers. Use one hand to work with the dry ingredients and use the other hand for the egg. This will make it easier to dredge zucchini and minimize your mess.
Nutrition
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