When you have too much zucchini on your hands whip up a batch of these easy Italian zucchini fritters. Enjoy as an appetizer, side dish or snack. The secret to their crisp texture is carbonated water in the batter!

These crispy Italian zucchini fritters are delicious any time of year but especially during the summer months if you happen to have a surplus of fresh garden zucchini on hand!
You can enjoy fritters with a variety of vegetables and some of my favorites include my mom's cauliflower crispeddi (as we call them in Sicilian) or swiss chard fritters.
This recipe was inspired by my dear friend Elaine's mom (thank you Victoria!) who shared with me her fried zucchini flowers recipe. I thoroughly enjoyed her zucchini flowers and decided to transform her recipe into a zucchini fritters, or frittelle di zucchine.
The secret ingredient for crispy zucchini fritters is...
What makes these Italian zucchini fritters unique is the addition of carbonated water, also referred to as sparkling water, soda water or club soda.
This may seem quite ironic since a key step in making zucchini fritters is to squeeze out as much water as possible from the shredded zucchini only to then add more water to the mixture!
However, carbonated water is the secret to crisp and light zucchini fritters.
List of Ingredients
- Zucchini: 2 medium sized zucchini. Avoid larger ones that have many seeds in the center and contain more water.
- All-purpose flour
- Freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- Egg: 1 large
- Carbonated water: chilled
- Fresh Herbs: of your choice such as parsley, chives or basil. Use one or a combination of herbs.
- Oil for frying (not shown): I used vegetable oil due to it's lower smoke point. Sunflower, safflower and avocado oil also work well
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the zucchini
- Shred the zucchini using the side of a box grater with the largest holes. A food processor may also be used.
- Transfer the zucchini to a colander or fine meshed sieve and toss with salt.
- Place the colander over a bowl and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
- Liquid will begin to accumulate in the bowl. However, the rest of the water must be squeezed out by pressing down on the zucchini with the back of a wooden spoon until it is fairly dry.
- Alternately, transfer the zucchini to a clean tea towel and squeeze out the water.
- Set the zucchini aside.
Prepare the batter
- Stir together the flour, Parmigiano cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add the egg and carbonated water.
- Combine with a fork to create a thick batter.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and herbs.
Fry the zucchini fritters
- Heat enough oil, over medium heat, to cover the bottom of a non-stick skillet. I used ½ cup of vegetable oil.
- Use 2 spoons to scrape a heaping tablespoon full of batter into the hot oil.
- Use the back of the spoon to spread the batter into approximately a 2.5 inch circle.
- Fry for 2.5-3 minutes per side, until crisp and golden.
- Transfer to a paper towel lined tray while you fry the remaining fritters.
- Serve hot for the best texture.
Recipe Notes
-Squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini to avoid soggy fritters. You will not believe how much water there is in zucchini. I squeezed out over 1 cup of water.
-Make sure your oil is hot before frying the fritters.
-Keep the heat at medium-low. If the oil is too hot the outside will brown too quickly and the interior of the fritters will be gooey and undercooked.
-The grated Parmigiano cheese may be replaced with Pecorino Romano cheese.
-Add herbs of your choice.
I enjoy my fritters as is but you may serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degrees F preheated oven.
Wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a 350 degrees F preheated oven until warmed throughout and crisp.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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Check out these zucchini recipes!
- Baked Cheesy Zucchini Frittata
- Grilled Zucchini with Mint and Vinegar
- Prosciutto and Cheese Zucchini Roll-Ups
- Pasta with Zucchini and Mushrooms
- Creamy Risotto Pasta with Zucchini Pasta
- Spaghetti with Zucchini
- Baked Parmesan Zucchini Crisps
- Zucchini Meatballs with Ricotta
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini about 500 grams
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup Parmigiano cheese grated
- 1¼ teaspoon salt divided
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. carbonated water
- ¼ cup fresh herbs any combination of parsley, basil, chives or others of your choice
- Black pepper as desired to taste
- ½ cup vegetable oil for frying, or enough to coat the bottom of your pan
Instructions
Prepare the zucchini
- Shred the zucchini against the large holes of a box grater. A food processor may also be used.
- Transfer the zucchini to a colander or fine meshed sieve and toss with 1 tsp. salt.
- Place the colander over a bowl and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Liquid will begin to accumulate in the bowl.
- The remaining water must be squeezed out either by pressing down on the zucchini with a wooden spoon until it is fairly dry. Alternately, transfer the zucchini to a clearn tea towel and squeeze out the water.
- Set the zucchini aside while you prepare the batter.
For the batter
- Stir together the flour, Parmigiano cheese, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper in a bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add the egg and carbonated water. Stir with a fork to create a thick batter.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and herbs.
To fry
- Heat enough oil over medium heat to cover the bottom of a non-stick skillet. I used ½ cup of vegetable oil.
- Use 2 spoons to scrape a heaping tablespoon full of batter into the hot oil. With the back of the spoon spread the batter into approximately a 2.5 inch circle.
- Fry for 2.5-3 minutes per side, until crisp and golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined tray while you fry the remaining fritters.
- Serve hot for the best texture.
Notes
-Make sure your oil is hot before frying the fritters.
-Keep the heat at medium-low. If the oil is too hot the outside will brown too quickly and the interior of the fritters will be gooey and undercooked. Substitutions and Variations: -The grated Parmigiano cheese may be replaced with Pecorino Romano cheese.
-Add herbs of your choice. To serve: I enjoy my fritters as is but you may serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt. Storage: Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350 degrees F preheated oven. To Freeze: Wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost overnight or for a few hours in the refrigerator and reheat in a 350 degrees F preheated oven until warmed throughout and crisp.
Kendra Stiwich
These are fabulous. Used avocado oil for the frying. Dill, thyme, oregano and basil for the herbs. A little extra parm. Thanks for the great eats.
Nadia
Hello Kendra, love your herb additions and I'm so glad you enjoyed them!
Anna Bucciarelli
Love these Nadia ... have been making them for many years and always enjoyed by all, even fussy eaters. Thanks for sharing and keeping our traditions alive, passing them on, so they will hopefully never die. This work that you do is so important - keep up the great work.
Nadia
Thank you Anna, you're right, even fussy eaters would enjoy fritters! And thank you for your kind words, I think it is so important to preserve our traditions!
Annie
Thank you! Love this recipe!
Nadia
Thank you very much Annie!