As expected, our zucchini yield in our garden wasn’t as spectacular as it probably should have been this summer.  I don’t know what it is, but we just don’t have a green thumb when it comes to growing zucchini.  The first year we planted it, we got zero zucchini.  How depressing.  This year, our three seedling plants grew fabulously, flowered like it was there job (it was), and so far we’ve only gotten two zucchini (two more will be ready this week though).  From three plants, I don’t consider that to be a success.




But nonetheless, one of the zucchini we picked got chopped up and made into these baked zucchini fries.  And to be able to eat what we grew and picked from our own yard made for such a satisfying dinner – all of the dread of a low yield just melts away.  These fries are freaking awesome!  A quick run through a basic flour-egg-panko combination then into the oven for 20 or so minutes is all that separates you from zucchini heaven.

Because the fries aren’t actually fried, I feel like you are actually able to taste the zucchini and not just the grease (there is none of here anyway), which is certainly the goal with such fresh ingredients.  They come out of the oven crispy on the outside and tender and not mushy on the inside…and not at all watery, which I was slightly worried about since zucchini is such a watery vegetable.  While the zucchini fries were baking, I whipped up a batch of our favorite ranch dressing in the blender to dip them into – this should be a requirement when making these fries.  I have a few other recipes planned for the rest of the zucchini that we pick but it’s certainly going to take a heckavalot of restraint not to make these fries again this summer!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a 12×18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the eggs together until bubbly in a shallow pie dish or bowl.  In another shallow pie dish or bowl (glass baking dishes work great too), stir the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper together until well-blended.  Set both dishes aside.

Place the flour in a large zipper bag (gallon-size works best) and toss in all of the zucchini sticks.  Seal the bag well and shake up the zucchini until all of the sticks are coated with flour.

Taking a few sticks at a time, roll them around in the beaten egg then coat them in the breadcrumbs, lightly patting the breadcrumbs onto the zucchini if needed.  Try to not to handle the zucchini too much at this point or the breading with fall off.  Carefully transfer the sticks to the baking sheet, spacing them about 1/2-inch apart.  You’ll be able to fit the entire pound of zucchini on a 12×18-inch baking sheet, so push them close together if needed.  Repeat with remaining zucchini sticks.

Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and delicious-looking.  Serve with ranch dressing or marinara sauce.

If you have leftovers, they reheat ok in the microwave, albeit soft and fork-necessary.  The best way would be to reheat them in a 375 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until they are heated through.




2 eggs
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 lb zucchini, cut into 4-5-inch long sticks, about 1/2-inch wide




NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (126 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 1


Calories 32.6    Calories from Fat 11 30%    Total Fat 2.3 g 0%    Saturated Fat 0.1 g 0%    Cholesterol 3.5 mg 1%    Sodium 25.9 mg 1%     Total Carbohydrate 5 g 0%     Dietary Fiber 0.1 g 0%     Sugars 0.3 g 1%    Protein 1.5 g 1%




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