Zucchini, zucchini, zucchini … what shall I make of thee? Pancakes, of course! This is one of my favorite zucchini recipes ever which comes from my grandmother who would be 119 this year. We’ve been enjoying it for many, many years and I know you’ll love it too!
The fact that our gardens are plentiful doesn’t always translate to, “Oh, Mom, can we please have zucchini for dinner tonight!” In the heat of the summer, once zucchini starts to grow, it seems like you literally have zucchini coming out of of your ears! Luckily, there is one way most kids will eat this prolific vegetable and that is in pancakes –zucchini pancakes. These little treasures make a delicious side dish to accompany any meat and can be a complete meal all by themselves. No need for syrup, they are best with a little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
The key remember when making zucchini pancakes, is to be sure to wring out excess liquid from the grated zucchini before you make the pancake batter. I used to use a kitchen towel or cheese cloth, but now that I’ve discovered the mesh produce bags at Trader Joe’s, they are perfect for wringing out the liquid. You can save the liquid to use as vegetable broth for risotto or for making soup, so don’t throw it out if you like using vegetable broth in your cooking. The other thing I like to do is to grate the onion instead of chopping it. This way it’s finer and more or less the same texture as the zucchini.
You can use a handheld grater, which I did for years, and still do in a pinch, but if you happen to have a grater attachment on your food processor, it’s perfect for this! It makes the job so much quicker and you can always afford to save some time when making dinner!
Also to save time, you can make this batter several hours or even a day ahead of time. The batter might separate a little bit, but when you’re ready to cook the pancakes just give the batter a good stir and you’ll be good to go!🥒
Zucchini Pancakes
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups zucchini grated (approx. six medium-sized zucchini)
- 1 small red or yellow onion grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup flour white or whole wheat
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 3-4 eggs
- 2-3 tablespoons canola or olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Grate zucchini on the larger side of hand-held grater, or use grating tool on food processor.In several batches, wrap zucchini in cheesecloth, a kitchen towel, or mesh produce bag, and ring out the excess liquid. A mesh produce bag works great for this task!
- Place grated zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Peel and grate onion using the same grater and add to zucchini.
- Add garlic, salt, pepper, baking powder and paprika. Mix well.
- Stir in flour and breadcrumbs to integrate with zucchini. In a small separate bowl, beat eggs with fork and add to zucchini mixture. Stir until well-integrated.
- Drop by large spoonsful onto greased frying pan or griddle. Pancakes should be roughly 3-4 inches in diameter.
- Sauté at medium-high heat until cooked through and golden-brown on both sides, flipping from side to side.
- Once each side is browned, you can turn down to medium-low to let them finish cooking through.
- Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan and serve warm as side dish or as a meatless entrée. A dollop of crème fraiche would also be yummy on top!
