Easy Zucchini Cakes Recipe

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Need another way to use up all of that zucchini? This Zucchini Cakes recipe is so delicious you won’t even think twice about all that zucchini that you need to use from your garden!

Zucchini Cakes Recipe

Zucchini Cakes Recipe

Once upon a time, I was trying to come up with something different to use zucchini for besides bars and bread and I remember having zucchini cakes a few times as a kid so I came up with a recipe to fit our tastes. It’s so easy and a great way to incorporate more zucchini into your meals!

Zucchini

Ingredients in the Zucchini Cakes Recipe

  • Zucchini. This can be fresh, frozen, or dried zucchini. Use a box grater or a food processor to grate up the zucchini for this recipe. If using frozen, be sure and squeeze out as much liquid as you can before using.
  • Bread Crumbs. Use some from the store or make your own. Seasoned bread crumbs add the best flavor!
  • Eggs. These are your binder in this recipe and are essential for keeping the zucchini fritters together.
  • Garlic. If you don’t have any fresh, you can use garlic powder in this recipe instead.
  • Parmesan Cheese. This really is optional but adds the best flavor. Leave it out if you are dairy-free.

quick zucchini recipes

Instructions for Making Zucchini Cakes

Try and drain all the water out of the zucchini that you can. I used frozen zucchini, so I made sure it was fully thawed out, and then I drained it the best I could. If you are having trouble draining the water from your zucchini, sprinkle it with a little salt to draw out the moisture, and then pat it with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel until it seems as dry as it’s going to get. There is no need to drain fresh zucchini.

Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, cheese, and garlic in a bowl with the shredded zucchini. I’ve also added a little bit of onion salt to a few batches, but in my opinion, they turned out too salty, so I would omit that unless you like salty foods.

Mix all the ingredients together. The zucchini mixture should be a fairly thick consistency.

Heat up a bit of olive oil (or whatever you like to use for frying) in a frying pan over a medium heat.

Drop flattened zucchini cakes into the warmed oil. Use a lid so it won’t splatter all over when the oil gets hot.

After a few minutes, flip over the cakes. They will get nice and golden brown on each side. Watch them carefully so they do not burn.

Pull them out of the pan when they are finished cooking and place them on a plate that is covered with some kind of clean towel to help remove any excess oil from the cakes. Enjoy warm!

These Zucchini Cakes do not store well so only make enough that you can eat at one time instead of making some for leftovers.

Variations to the Zucchini Cakes Recipe

  • Add in some chopped green onions for more flavor.
  • Add in fresh dill or other fresh herbs for different flavors.
  • Use different vegetables like carrots, beets, etc for different types of cakes.
  • Dip patties in sour cream (or make a sour cream herb dip).
  • Add in a little salt and pepper (after cooking or it will create too much liquid!) for more flavor.

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Zucchini Cakes Recipe

Simple zucchini cakes recipe so that you can use up the zucchini abundance!

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Zucchini Cakes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 90 kcal
Creator Merissa

Ingredients

  • 1 large fresh zucchini or 4 cups frozen zucchini(shredded
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

  1. Try and drain all the water out of the zucchini that you can. I used frozen zucchini so I made sure it was fully thawed out and then I drained it the best I could. If you are having trouble draining the water from your zucchini, sprinkle it with a little salt to draw out the moisture out and then pat it with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel until it seems as dry as it's going to get. There is no need to drain fresh zucchini.

  2. Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, cheese, and garlic in a bowl with the shredded zucchini.

  3. Mix all the ingredients together. It should be a fairly thick consistency.

  4. Heat up a bit of olive oil (or whatever you like to use for frying) in a frying pan.

  5. Drop flattened zucchini cakes into the warmed oil. Use a lid so it won't splatter all over when the oil gets hot.

  6. After a few minutes, flip over the cakes. They will get nice and brown on each side. Watch them carefully so they do not burn.

  7. Pull them out of the pan when they are finished cooking and place them on a plate that is covered with some kind of clean toweling to help remove any excess oil from the cakes. Enjoy warm!

Nutrition Facts
Zucchini Cakes Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 90 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Trans Fat 0.01g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 90mg30%
Sodium 236mg10%
Potassium 173mg5%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 314IU6%
Vitamin C 9mg11%
Calcium 170mg17%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Cakes

Use gluten free breadcrumbs in place of regular breadcrumbs in this recipe to make it gluten free.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

More Zucchini Recipes

Did you make this recipe and enjoy it? Be sure to leave a star rating on the recipe card and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and through Email using the sharing buttons below.

Have you ever made Zucchini Cakes before? Do you think your family will enjoy this recipe?


Me and Kady

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.


This Zucchini Cakes recipe was originally posted on Little House Living in October 2010. It has been updated as of August 2023.

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11 Comments

  1. Mmmmmm we all love zucchini in this house. Will do these tomorrow (Saturday) for lunch, my kiddies would love these in their lunchbox for school too 🙂

  2. Love this idea! When I was a girl and we had a big garden (and not much else!), my dad made yellow squash cakes very similar. They had such a lovely, almost sweet flavor to them – I just hadn’t thought of zucchini! Just found your blog and it resonates so much with me, so thank you for that!

  3. Will try this. I am not fond of zucchini but prefer yellow squash but my husband likes zucchini better. Maude this is a way that I will like. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. 4 stars
    We have been making these Zucchini Patties for years, always have added Chopped onions, salt, pepper and some garlic, can be served with Spaghetti Sause or maple syrup.
    We use the sliced Zucchini fried . or chopped and added to soups. or used like zucchini noodles instead of lasagne noodles to make casseroles and with lots of Shredded cheese… Yum… Try baking the breaded Sticks in air fryer…