This Crispy Zucchini recipe takes the humble zucchini to a whole new level with its crispy and flavourful breadcrumb coating. The zucchini slices are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a deliciously savoury flavour that will have you reaching for seconds (and thirds!).
This recipe is perfect for the summer grilling season and is sure to become a new favourite in your household. My preferred method of cooking them is on a flat top grill. If you don’t have one, you can place one of those cast iron griddles on the barbecue grill. They are the crispiest if you cook them this way and also much healthier as there is no frying involved. However, you can also grill them in a pan, fry or bake them. I provided instructions on how to cook these regardless of the method you choose.
Ingredients
- 7-8 medium-sized zucchini
- 5 eggs
- 120 g (1 cup flour)
- 450 g (4 cups) panko breadcrumbs
- a few tablespoons of olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Watch this video if you want to see how I made the crispiest zucchini ever and listen to our lovely birds chirping in the backyard ❤️:
Slice the zucchini thinly, lengthwise.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides and set them aside.
Beat the eggs and add a pinch of salt.
Once you add salt to the zucchini slices they will start releasing water. Because I prepared them outdoors, the wind almost completely dried by the time I beat the eggs. So you can let them (almost) air dry or pat them with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Otherwise, they will become soggy.
Pass each slice through flour, then egg and then the panko breadcrumbs. Note that I mentioned the zucchini slices should “almost” air dry because you still need them to be a tiny bit moist so that the flour sticks to them.
My preferred method of cooking them is on a flat top grill. If you don’t have one, you can place one of those cast iron griddles on the barbecue grill. Preheat your flat top grill or griddle on medium heat and spray oil generously. Place the zucchini slices on top and grill them for 10 minutes of each side, until golden brown and crispy. If you feel the zucchini slices are too dry, you can spray a bit of oil on them.
Other cooking options are:
- cooking them in a cast iron pan on the stovetop
- frying them, 2 minutes per side (add them to the hot oil, test it by adding a bread crumb to the pan and it should sizzle when it’s ready) and place them on paper towels after to remove the excess oil
- baking them in the oven at 220°C (425°F) for 30-35 minutes, turning them once after 15 minutes; spray them with a bit of olive oil before baking
They are great served with any kind of garlic sauce:
- aioli (mayonnaise + garlic + lemon juice + salt)
- Romanian garlic sauce also known as mujdei de usturoi (garlic + oil + salt)
- Lebanese garlic sauce (garlic + oil + lemon juice + salt)