Want Another Way to Use All That Zucchini From Your Garden?
If you grow zucchini plants in your garden, then you know they can be prolific producers! I have two Black Beauty variety in my container garden, and they’ve provided me with so much zucchini, even after giving some away, I still have an abundance! I’ve roasted it, grilled it, sauteed it, used it on pizza, put it in sausage hash, used in fajitas as a replacement for bell peppers, and even grated it for the freezer! Just be sure to save the juice so you can my refreshing Zucchini on the Rocks, which is a refreshing mocktail! But there is another way to make it, and this just might be my favorite! Zucchini patties! You can use fresh zucchini or grated zucchini from the freezer. Either way, these patties, or cakes as some call them, will taste amazing!
The secret to this recipe, well there are two secrets, is to make sure you express as much moisture from the grated zucchini as humanly possible. Even when you think you’ve gotten it all, squeeze again. You’ll be amazed at how much water is in these summer squash! Expressing the water will help ensure the patties don’t fall apart when you cook them. If they do crumble, don’t panic, they’ll still taste amazing. Just tell your family the recipe is called Zucchini Crumble!
The second secret is the flavor the green onions provide. Do yourself a favor, do not skip out on the green onions. If, for whatever reason, you don’t like green onions (I can’t imagine why anyone would not like green onions) then, use some other onion. White onion, yellow onion, sweet onion, purple or red onion, or even powdered onion if you must. You get to pick. Just don’t leave out the onion.
This recipe is a great way to use those over-sized zucchini. You know the ones you thought were borderline ready to harvest, but you gave them one more day. Then when you went back to check on them the next day, you found out they’d grown to the size of a baseball bat! Yes, those zucchini. You’re going to grate them anyway, so if they are a bit large, it won’t really matter.
This recipe makes about eight patties, although it depends on whether or not you use the average sized zucchini or the baseball bats. Also, the size of your patties makes a difference, too. You’ll find some guidance on the perfect size in the recipe.
Someone is going to ask, because they always do, Can you freeze these? Technically, I don’t know because I’ve never tried. However, because flour is involved and zucchini have a lot of water content (even when you’ve squeezed it out), I’m going out on a limb here to say it won’t work. But if you try it, let me know for the record.
This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, grain free, and approved for most autoimmune protocols. It calls for almond flour, but you can substitute another flour if you want to make it nut free. But if you do not have the dietary concerns that many of us do, don’t reject this recipe! It may be free of a lot of things, but it is not free of flavor. It really is good, and it is so good for you! So please give it a try, even if you can eat anything and everything under the sun without getting sick.
Zucchini patties are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, although we usually reserve them for the evening meal. You can relegate them to side dish status or promote them to the main event. Dress them up, or dress them down. They are definitely versatile. Regardless of when or how you serve them, just serve them because they are sure to be a crowd favorite! Enjoy!
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Zucchini Patties
Equipment
- cheese grater
- colander or cheese cloth to squeeze the moisture from the grated zucchini
- skillet and spatula
- mixing bowl and spoon
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbs coconut oil or oil of your choice
- 2 medium zucchini from your garden
- 2 green onions you can grow these in your garden!
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond flour or flour of choice (i.e. gluten free flour, etc.)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (not baking soda) if gluten free or grain free, make sure it is compliant. Or see notes below on how to make your own.
- 1 tsp salt (reduce if needed)
Instructions
- Wash zucchini. Using the larger holes, grate both of the zucchini into a bowl. (I used grated zucchini that I had in the freezer.)
- Sprinkle the salt on the zucchini and let it set for about 10 minutes. This will help draw the moisture out of the zucchini. After ten minutes, pour off the liquid.
- The easiest way I've found to express the liquid is to place the grated zucchini into a Ziplock-type of bag and squeeze the contents while you allow the liquid to drain out of the unzipped opening into a bowl. Or you can place grated zucchini in a colander with small holes and press with the back of a large spoon or another similar object to express the moisture into a bowl. Alternatively, use a cheese cloth to squeeze the moisture out. It is important that you squeeze as much moisture out as possible as this will help keep the patties from falling apart. (You can save the juice and use to make a mocktail like my refreshing Zucchini on the Rocks!)If you are using grated zucchini that you've stored in the freezer, thaw first and remove any excess moisture.
- Chop the green onions, mince the garlic and place both in the bowl with the grated zucchini. Add the egg, almond flour and baking powder and mix thoroughly.
- Heat skillet over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or oil of choice.
- Place approximately 1 slightly heaping tablespoon of zucchini mixture in the skillet. Flatten with the back of the spoon to make the patty. If you make them bigger than this they will fall apart easier. Bigger is not better in this case. Repeat to make 3 or 4 patties depending on what your skillet will allow. Do not crowd them. You may have to add additional oil if you find they are sticking.
- Once cooked on both sides, remove and place on a plate. Repeat until you've used all of the mixture. This recipe makes approximately 8 patties, but it depends on the size of your zucchini and the size of the patties. Enjoy!
