Description
These perfectly crispy oven-baked zucchini fritters are packed with deliciously bold flavors. Be prepared to take a ride to flavor town with one bite of these super tasty Buffalo Zucchini Fritters. Grated zucchini and carrots tossed with hot sauce and the perfect blend of spices are baked to crispy deliciousness! Then topped with our vegan ranch dressing is a match made in heaven. A healthy wholesome dish with a lil’ kick, the whole family will enjoy! A fabulous Whole Food Plant Based recipe, vegan, oil free, sugar free, gluten free, no processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis, grated – approx. 5 cups grated zucchini (skins on when grated)
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce (we used Frank’s Hot Sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons tahini
- 1 Tablespoon brown rice flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder (regular/mild)
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt (+/- to taste) *
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
Optional Topper Ingredients:
- Vegan Ranch Dressing – see recipe
- Chives or Green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a 14 x 20 baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Grate the zucchini and carrots, place in a large bowl. (See recipes notes on grating zucchini).
- Add all the other remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix well. (See notes).
- Take 1/3 cup of the zucchini fritter mixture and solidly pack it into the measuring cup, then plop the mixture down onto the parchment covered baking sheet. Just ever so slightly flatten it out and tuck in any stray gratings. The fritter will flatten out a little as it bakes. Continue making fritters until you have used all the mixture, and then slightly flattened them out.
- Place the baking sheet into a preheated 400 F oven for 20 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from the oven, and while using a short thin-edged spatula carefully flip each fritter over, and place the baking sheet back into the oven for another 15 minutes. (IMPORTANT – See notes).
- After 15 minutes, remove from the oven, allow to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to firm up before removing and serving with the Ranch Dressing.
Notes
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Grating Zucchini: If using large zucchinis, cut the zucchini into fourths lengthwise and remove the whitish pith and seeds before grating. This will create a better fritter texture. When grating, use a large grate, not fine grate. If using a box grater, this is the 2nd to largest holes. The largest is the coleslaw slicer. It looks like large “smiles”. Do not use that one, use the next largest. We use the grate attachment on our food processor. It makes grating a breeze. Done in a minute. Leave the zucchini skins on. If the zucchini gives off a lot of water, then place in a cloth and squeeze some of the excess water out.
*Zucchini Mixture: Stir the ingredients together to activate the sea salt and hot sauce with the zucchini. Once the sea salt and hot sauce hits the zucchini it will cause the zucchini to release a little water which will then make the brown rice flour pull the mixture slightly together. The mixture will not be sticky or feel like it will hold its shape. The key is packing the zucchini mixture tightly into the 1/3 measuring cup, then plopping it solidly down onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Once on the baking sheet, then slightly push the fritter down to form a slightly flattened “hockey puck”.
*Tips on Flipping Over the Zucchini Fritters: One key element for success is when flipping the zucchini fritters over, use a short thin-edged spatula (“short” meaning the spatula surface is small) and clean (wipe off crumbs) the spatula between several flips (or every flip with a damp cloth) so the edge of the spatula is always clean. If you don’t keep a clean edge on the spatula, and there are crumbs on it, these crumbs will drag through the bottom of the next zucchini fritter that you are flipping, and you could lose some of the beautiful crust that has formed on the bottom of the zucchini fritter. To start with the first flip, hold down the parchment paper with one hand (covered in an oven mitt to prevent burns), and in the other hand with a spatula, gently loosen all the edges around the zucchini fritter first to make sure that none of the sides of the fritter are stuck to the parchment paper, then once assured the zucchini fritter is not stuck to the parchment paper, then gently slide the thin-edged spatula under the zucchini fritter, and then gently flip it over. I’ve done this hundreds of times and it works every time if you follow these steps. Move the baking sheet around to allow for easy access to each fritter when flipping. I promise you will have beautifully crusty oven-baked zucchini fritters every time. Using a large baking sheet (14 x 20) allows you to get in between the fritters so you can successfully flip them. If the fritters are all crowded together, you can still flip them, but it is more challenging to get in between them to flip. If using a smaller baking sheet, you may consider using 2 baking sheets and switch the baking sheets around in the oven half-way through the baking process.
*Serving: Makes 8 fritters, Serves 2-3 as a main dish or serves 4 as a side dish
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within one week.