These crispy Bacon Zucchini Fritters combine fresh vegetables with savory bacon for an irresistible appetizer or side dish that’s ready in minutes — a delicious way to use up summer zucchini!
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🍽️ Zucchini is one of the most affordable vegetables, especially during summer months, and a little bacon goes a long way in adding flavor, making this recipe economical while still feeling indulgent!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Bacon Zucchini Fritters
- Keep Fritters From Falling Apart: Patty mixtures should be kept as cold as possible while preparing them, and kept cold until you cook them. The cold helps bind the ingredients together. Usually patties should be rested (about an hour) before cooking, as they “firm” up during this time.
- Non-Stick Tip: When the raw patty hits the hot cooking surface it will stick. And will stay so until the patty crust forms so causing a non-stick surface on the patty at this point you can lift the patty easily without sticking. So wait until the patties (with a gentle shaking of the pan or a light finger-twist of the patty) release themselves naturally from the frying pan surface (maybe a minute or two for meat patties maybe 3-6 minutes for a vegetable patty). If you try to flip it too early the burger will fall apart. The secret is to wait for the the patty to naturally release itself from the pan surface then flip it over once.
Zucchini is one of the best vegetables of summer because you can turn it into no less than one million different things. Sweet, savory, healthy, butter loaded, and everything in between; you can do it all with zucchini.
These zucchini fritters are extra delicious because they have bacon and cheese added to them. Serve them as a side or the main dish, both work great!
🩷 Melissa
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Bacon Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini medium
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded (I prefer sharp cheddar.)
- 5 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili paste optional
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (Or gluten-free all-purpose flour if desired.)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons oil for frying
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini with a box grater or food processor. Place into large bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt, wait 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, wrap zucchini in a cloth and squeeze dry with as much force as you can. You will likely get over ½ cup of liquid. Discard the liquid as it will be too salty to use.
- Return pressed zucchini to bowl, and add cheese, bacon, eggs, green onion, chili paste, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the flour and baking powder and stir to combine. Stir kind of gently so it's all mixed together but not smashed down and compacted too much! This will help the fritters be lighter and less dense.
- If the batter is too thick you can add water or milk or another egg; if too wet add more flour. It should be thick and should not flow when placed onto the frying pan.
- Preheat a frying pan (cast iron is best) over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and wait until it shimmers.
- Place dollops of batter, about 2 tablespoons each, into the pan, spacing them apart. With the back of a spoon smooth out each dollop to about 2 inches wide. Don't make the fritters too thick! You should get 3-4 fritters in an average-sized skillet.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes on the first side, flip, then fry the other side about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Repeat for the remaining batter, adding additional oil as needed.
- Place cooked fritters into a 200°F oven on a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet to keep warm as you cook the other fritters.
- Serve hot with a little additional salt on top as needed.
Notes
- Don’t over-mix the ingredients the resultant mixture will be heavy and dense.
- Make all the patties the same size so they will cook at the same rate. To get even-sized patties, use measuring cups or spoons to measure out your mixture.
- Dampen your hands when shaping patties so the mixture won’t stick to your fingers.
- If the fritter mixture doesn’t seem like it’s wanting to hold together, try letting the patties sit in the fridge up to an hour to firm up.
- Check the temperature of the oil by placing a few breadcrumbs into the pan they should take 30 seconds to brown.
- Do not overload the frying pan which allows steam to be trapped near the cooking food which might lead to the patties being steamed instead of fried.
- If you need to soak up excess oil place the patties on a rack to drain, do not place onto paper towels since steam will be trapped which can make the patty soggy, if you need to just press off the excess oil with paper towels then place onto a rack.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
The key is removing as much moisture as possible from the grated zucchini. After salting, be extremely thorough when squeezing out the liquid. Using a clean kitchen towel and applying significant pressure will help extract the maximum amount of water. Additionally, maintaining the proper oil temperature while frying will create a crisp exterior that seals in the moisture.
Yes! You can prepare the batter up to 4 hours in advance and keep it refrigerated. You can also fully cook the fritters, allow them to cool, and then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes or until crispy and heated through.
You can easily substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend at a 1:1 ratio. I also think almond flour or a combination of rice flour and cornstarch will work really well. Just make sure your baking powder is also gluten-free.
More Side Dish & Vegetable Recipes to Try
Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram.
Susan
I love all of the delicious flavors in these fritters and, of course, the heart shape is adorable.
teresa
these are so fun, adn look like something i would order in a restaurant, delicious!
vianney
How cute, delish flavored packed fritters!!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Love these heart fritters! They look simply tasty and satisfying.
Allison
I think, I don’t need to look some more because by eating this Delicious
zucchini bacon and cheese fritters and potato rosti is totally full.
Valérie ( France )
J’avais repéré ce genre de recette en Australie, j’adore
Je te souhaite une bon jeudi
Valérie.
Claire @ Claire K Creations
Aww, heart-shaped fritters are so sweet! Lovely and delicious.
angela@spinachtiger
A great recipe, but I particularly loved your tips, like the one about breadcrumbs for 30 seconds. Love your love hearts too.
kelley
THe hearts are adorable. How could you go wrong with bacon and cheese mixed with zucchini? YUM!!
Sue
These both look amazing and sound quite tasty! Love the hearts:)
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
Yum 🙂 these are perfect for breakfast ~ and thanks for the advice on patties I didn’t know that the coldness bound ingredients together 🙂
Deborah
I love that they are heart shaped! The zucchini fritters sound like something I’d absolutely love!
Asmita
The zucchini,bacon and cheese fritters look amazing! I love the little heart shapes, would be an instant hit with my daughter.
Audax Artifex
I adore the idea of the heart shaped patties so cute and wonderful that you like the zucchini recipe so much (it is a winner for me also). A great result on this challenge. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.
Susie Bee on Maui
Both sound amazing and look great! Nice job interpreting this month’s challenge.
Todd
They look great – nothing says Valentine’s day like a heart shaped patty 🙂 I love the idea of using half sweet potato – might have to try that.
Jenni
Both your patties look amazing, Barbara, as always! I love zucchini fritters, but I would love to try a sweet potato fritter, that sounds great!
Donna
Few things are as comforting as potato pancakes = and LOVE the heart shapes!
Cathy at Wives with Knives
What a scrumptious post, Barbara. My grandmother used to make crispy fried potato pancakes all the time and when I see your Rosti I think of her. Love using half sweet potatoes for the pancakes.
Rosa
Scrumptious! That is a wonderfully tasty combination.
Cheers,
Rosa