A refined recipe that showcases zucchini fritters made in the air fryer. Making air fryer zucchini fritters doesn’t heat up your kitchen and results in a simple vegetarian snack. Make these fritters the next time you have too much summer zucchini, basil or corn from your garden or the local farmers market.
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Tips and Tricks
What do you serve with fritters? These fritters can be eaten as a snack or appetizer with almost anything. They would go great as a flavorful vegetarian appetizer or side dish with freshly grilled fish, burgers or sausage. A lot of times I’ll just eat four of them with a side salad or whatever leftovers I need to use up!
What do you dip them in? My favorite dipping sauce for these is my homemade sriracha dipping sauce. This is a spicy immersion blender mayo that goes great with the summer flavors. If you’re not a spicy fan you can try some ranch or lemon garlic tahini sauce. The fritters are tasty on their own but they definitely go great with a variety of dipping sauces! Sometimes I just top them with sriracha hot sauce.
How do you store leftovers? Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.
How do you reheat leftovers? I like to eat the fritters cold out of the fridge dipped in leftover sauce. If you prefer them heated up, you can reheat them at 350 F in the air fryer for two to three minutes or until warmed through. Reheating them in the air fryer gives the best texture but you can also microwave them until warmed through.
Why are my zucchini fritters soggy? If you zucchini fritters turned out soggy, you probably didn’t squeeze out enough water from the shredded zucchini. Zucchini has a lot of water in it, so it’s important to really squeeze out the excess. I usually give it an extra squeeze when I think I’m done to really make sure I get most of it out.
Ingredients
- Zucchini - shredded on a box grater
- Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (affiliate link) - if using another brand of salt, use half the volume and salt to taste
- Corn kernels from cob - frozen or canned corn will work here too
- White miso - the most mild form of miso, use less if using red or yellow miso
- Large egg - acts as a binder
- Chopped basil - fresh is preferred but dried will work
- Grated parmesan - any shredded cheese will work here
- All purpose flour - helps to hold fritters together
- Baking powder
See recipe card for quantities.
What type of miso should I use? I use white miso, it has a mild flavor. You can use a red or darker miso, but use about half what the recipe calls for because the flavor will be more intense. It can be found in most international aisle or sometimes in the fermented food section (I have seen it near kombucha or sauerkraut). If you can’t find it, a Whole Foods or specialty store should have it.
Can you make these with canned or frozen corn? Yes you can! I often use fresh farmers market corn on the cob because that usually has the best flavor especially during the summer. But if you’re craving these and only have canned or frozen, you can use that too. No need to defrost frozen corn kernels, they are small enough they’ll cook inside the fritter.
Method
How do you make air fryer zucchini fritters? Start by trimming ends from zucchini and discard. Next, grate the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater, being careful with your fingers. Place grated zucchini in a fine mesh strainer over another bowl and add ½ teaspoon kosher salt to zucchini, mix well and let sit for 10-15 minutes, allowing the liquid to drain.
In the meantime, while zucchini is draining, add corn, miso, egg, chopped basil and parm together in a large mixing bowl.
After 10-15 minutes, wring out liquid from zucchini until it’s as dry as you can get using your hands or a clean kitchen towel.
Next, add zucchini to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Finally, sprinkle flour and baking powder over the vegetable mixture and mix well until it forms a thick batter.
To cook the fritters, start by preheating the air fryer to 400F. Next, fold a piece of tin foil so it will fit on the bottom of your air fryer basket. Lightly spray or oil tin foil to avoid sticking. Using a small scoop or spoon take about 25-30 g of batter and place on tin foil in a single layer but not touching.
Place tin foil in the air fryer with fritters and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and firmly set. Remove from the air fryer and place cooked fritters on a plate to cool. Continue until you finish using the batter, making sure that each batch is cooked in a single layer.
This recipe makes about 15-16 fritters depending on how big you make them. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce like spicy mayo.
How do I squeeze out all the water from the zucchini? To avoid soggy fritters, make sure you let the salted shredded zucchini sit for 10-15 minutes. Allow the zucchini to sit in a mesh strainer (affiliate link) or colander. After 10-15 minutes, using your hand, squeeze the zucchini until most of the liquid is removed. It doesn’t have to be perfectly dry, but a fair amount of green liquid should come out. If you need to, add zucchini to a clean kitchen towel and wring it out well.
How do I know if my fritters are seasoned properly? Make a test fritter! Mix up your batter and cook just one fritter, let it cool slightly and make sure it tastes good. Adjust your seasoning levels as necessary.
Do you have to use tin foil for these? I find using tin foil makes it easier to get the fritters into the air fryer while it’s hot as well as getting them out of the air fryer. Parchment paper will also work in this situation.
Can you cook these all at once? Every air fryer setup is different. In mine, I can only cook four to five in a single layer at once. If you have an air fryer that you can cook more at once because it’s bigger, go for it! The important thing is to make sure the fritters aren’t touching and are in a single layer.
How do you know when they are done? The fritters should be browned and fully set inside when they are done. There should be no jiggling. If you have a meat thermometer (affiliate link), they should be at least 165F internally.
Can you make these on the stove top? Yes! Sometimes I’ll make them on the stove top in a cast iron pan (affiliate link) or large stainless steel skillet. To do this make sure you have enough oil coating the bottom of the pan to avoid skipping and ensuring a nice brown color. I cook them on medium for about two to four minutes per side.
Hint: Use two sheets of tin foil when cooking the fritters in batches. Allow one to cool before removing the fritters and use the other one to actively be cooking!
Substitutions
Can you swap out the basil for another herb? Any soft herb will work great here. Cilantro, parsley, mint or oregano. Another option is dried basil or Italian seasoning.
Can you use a different type of flour? I have only ever made this recipe with all purpose white flour or whole wheat flour. You can definitely try alternative flours but I’m not sure how well they will hold together or how the texture will be. Different types of flours absorb different amounts of liquid so you may have a wetter or drier batter with a different flour.
Variations
- Zucchini and shredded carrot fritters
- Zucchini and shredded cabbage fritters
- Carrot and sweet potato fritters
You may have to play around with the amount of each ingredient but you can use my recipe below as a guide. It’s a great way to use up vegetables from the garden.
Equipment
This recipe uses the air fryer because I like that it doesn’t heat up the house in the summer. It also cooks evenly and requires less active cooking time. If you’re curious what else you can cook in the air fryer, check out my tips, tricks and FAQ about them. I use the Ninja Air Fryer Max 5.5 Qt (affiliate link) but there are a variety of brands available.
Top Tip
Make a test fritter to make sure your seasoning and flavors are where you like them! Cook a small fritter and then adjust as necessary.
This recipe was inspired by Cook It Real Good’s Zucchini and Corn Fritters.
Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini 250 g or ½ pound
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt plus more to taste
- ½ cup corn 90 g or kernels from 1 cob
- 3 tablespoons white miso 75 g
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil 10 g
- ½ cup grated parmesan 30 g
- ¾ cup all purpose flour 100 g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder 10 g
- Sriracha mayo for dipping optional
Instructions
- Trim ends from zucchini, discard ends. Grate the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater. Place grated zucchini in a fine mesh strainer over another bowl. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt to zucchini, mix well and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
- While zucchini is draining, add corn, miso, egg, chopped basil and parm together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- After 10-15 minutes, wring out liquid from zucchini until it’s as dry as you can get using either your hands or a clean kitchen towel. Add the zucchini to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix well.
- Sprinkle flour and baking powder over the vegetable mixture and mix well until it forms a thick batter.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400F.
- Fold 2 pieces of tin foil so they are the same size and 1 will fit on the bottom of your air fryer basket. Lightly spray or oil tin foil to avoid sticking. Using a small scoop or spoon, take about 25-30 g of batter and place on tin foil in a single layer but making sure they don’t touch.
- Place tin foil in the air fryer with fritters and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and firmly set. Remove from the air fryer and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing.
- Using your second folded piece of tin foil, continue cooking batches until you finish using the batter, making sure that each batch is cooked in a single layer. This recipe makes about 15-16 fritters depending on how big you make them.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes and Accommodations
- This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, if you’re using table salt or Morton’s kosher salt use half the amount the recipe calls for.
- It is important to mix all ingredients except flour and baking powder first to make sure the batter combines properly.
- If you’re not sure of the seasoning level, always make 1 test fritter to check.
- Allow fritters to cool for 2-3 minute before trying to remove from foil or they may stick.
- Tin foil or parchment paper will work here to reduce sticking. Leave room for air flow.
- I cook 4 at a time and do 4 batches.
- If your fritters are larger, they may take longer to cook. Larger fritters may need to be flipped and cooked a few minutes on the other side.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
This recipe was originally posted June 2, 2021. It was edited for clarity and updated on March 6, 2022.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
