Crunchy Oven-Baked Zucchini Coins
This may be the one time frying something was less delicious…
No joke, I had all intentions of making a greasy, fried recipe because I thought it would be amazingly tasty. I made this recipe first and friend the zucchini coins in oil, and they just were not good. I tried baking them, and they were uh-mazing!
That’s weird, right? I assumed friend would be better, but they were very oily, and not nearly as crunchy as the baked version.
The inspiration from these came from one of my high school jobs. My senior year of high school, I used to work at Carrabba’s Italian Grill as a hostess. The managers used to bring us appetizers up to our podium for us to snack on during the night, and one of my favorites was the Zucchini Fritte—breaded and fried zucchini strips that are served with a roasted garlic aioli.
My version is slightly different…I sliced my zucchini into coins, and they are baked instead of fried. I used a pretty interesting coating, too. It’s a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, for the crunch, and nutritional yeast, for a bit of a cheesy flavor.
The dipping sauce I used is my new favorite thing, ever. I found this garlic sauce in the refrigerated section of my grocery store, and I have been putting it on everything. Apparently the only ingredients are garlic, olive oil, lemon, juice, and salt and pepper, but oh man…if you guys can find this stuff, you have to try it.
PrintCrunchy Oven-Baked Zucchini Coins
Yield: 2-3 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp group flax
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 to 2 zucchinis, sliced in 1/2” coins (I used 1 zucchini and a large pattypan squash)
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- kosher salt
- dipping sauce of choice (I'm totally obsessed with this)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the flax, water, and garlic and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes until it thickens up a bit.
- In a medium bowl, combine the panko, nutritional yeast, and a pico of kosher salt.
- Dry the zucchini off with a paper towel. Dip each zucchini coin into the flax mixture, and then into the bank mixture. Use your finger or a spoon to really press the panko mixture onto the coins.
- Place the prepared zucchini onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for 10 minutes more.
- Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.
