Healthy Baked Zucchini Fries – with a crispy “junk food” taste!
Do you count calories?
These crispy baked zucchini fries have just 35 calories per serving.
Even if you ate the entire recipe in a single serving—which would be quite a lot of fries!—it’s still under 200 calories. And if you don’t count calories and think the idea of counting calories is a complete waste of time? You’ll just fall in love with the crispy “junk food like” taste. It’s one thing on which calorie counters and carb-o-holics can agree:
These zucchini fries are almost impossible to stop eating!
Dip them in ranch, marinara sauce, or even my Healthy Ketchup Recipe.
I initially worried about trying these without the egg wash called for in most breaded recipes. But making egg-free and vegan zucchini fries turned out to be really simple and just as good as any egg-based breaded recipe I’ve ever tried.
I brought the zucchini fries to a Memorial Day barbecue… people were quite surprised I came with something other than dessert ;).
Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries
Crispy Healthy Baked Zucchini Fries
Ingredients
- 2-3 small zucchini, sliced into fry shapes
- 1/4 cup flour (I used chickpea flour to offer a gluten-free option, but I don’t see why regular flour shouldn’t also work.) (24g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (120g)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own by toasting Ezekiel bread and processing it in a food processor. If you’re gluten-free, use gf bread.) (40g)
Instructions
Zucchini fries recipe: Preheat oven to 420F. Lightly grease a cooling rack, place it on a baking tray, and set aside. Set up an assembly line: flour and spices in one bowl, milk in another, and breadcrumbs in a third. Dip each zucchini stick in the flour, then the milk, then the breadcrumbs. Place on the cooling rack. Bake 18-19 minutes, or until desired crispiness is reached. Makes 40-45 fries.
Do you believe in calorie counting?
I used to think counting calories was a ridiculous waste of time and energy. Going by calories alone, a white rice cake would be a “better” snack choice for someone on a diet than a highly-nutritious banana spread with a little peanut butter. However, in the years of writing this blog, I’ve met quite a few people who swear by counting calories, who say it’s the only thing that’s worked for them and that it offers a sense of routine and control, helping them lose unnecessary weight or make healthier choices. While I still don’t personally think it’s the best way to live, I now at least respect the practice and concede that it might be the best option out there to help some people turn their lives around for the better. Oh, and the carb-o-holics I mentioned earlier in the post? I would fall into that category. Mmmmm carbs… 🙂
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Where did you get that cooling rack, and is it stainless steel? We have an old Pampered Chef cooling rack, but it has started to rust, and I’ve been trying to find a new one.
I don’t actually know. I stole it from my parents’ house ;).
Are there any Amish/Mennonite stores around where you live? I find the highest quality baking supplies there, and I love my stainless steel rack I bought from one of those stores.
They have them here (: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cooling+rack&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acooling+rack
I just looked at the link, but didn’t see any stainless steel, rather only non-stick. ??? Did I miss something?
Looks delish!
I count calories.
It doesn’t mean making calories the only consideration.
It just a way to keep track of an aspect of food. It hopefully helps to moderate consumption.
Hi there! I’m sorry if this has been asked, but do you think it would be ok to use coconut flour for these? I just bought some and want to try it out 🙂
Sorry, I really don’t know.
This may be too late, but almond and coconut flours burn much more quickly than other flours, so that would be something to watch for. My mom has been experimenting a lot with almond and coconut flours and has yet to be able to bread and ‘fry’ with them, but baking may be different..
For those who are wondering about almond meal, I used it instead of the bread crumbs, and it worked well. I just kept an eye on them because they took a bit longer to get crispy, but I’d definitely use that option again.
Looks good. I should bake things more, and use my deep fryer less. It is pretty fun to deep fry stuff, though.
Katie – these look scrumptious! I love this idea! We typically roast our zucchini and squash – but this idea is genius! I think my kids will love these as well – very kid-friendly! Thanks for ANOTHER fabulous idea!
As far as calorie counting – I do it because I think it can be a really valuable way for people to stay on track. But I also monitor my carbs/fat/protein. It’s so easy to mindlessly nibble throughout the day, but when you have to record everything … it sometimes makes me think twice. I think it’s also important to remember not to ‘live’ by the number of calories you are allotted in any particular day – simply be mindful of what you eat. I’m definitely not going to deprive myself – anything in moderation! I should say that counting calories may not work for everyone – find what works for you!
Oh – and I’m totally a carb-girl, too!!
These look and sound amazinggggg!!! I do monitor both calories and nutrients – for health reasons 🙂 Thanks for your efforts and delicious recipes!!
I’ve breaded a lot of different things in the past but somehow courgette is one I’ve not done yet! They always look amazing though, soo crispy! Definitely one to add to the list 🙂
This looks so yummy!
I think this recipe idea is fantastic! I will be making these when i retun from my road trip for sure. As for counting calories, I have a huge problem with portion control. Counting calories helps me keep my portions in check on most things. If I didn’t keep track of the calories I would easily plow through every sweet thing I make.
These fries sound very nice.
To answer your question of the day: I have been a calorie counter, and it was pretty much crazy-making. These days, my husband and I are on an eating plan that does have calorie limits (lower as well as upper) for meals and snacks. It also has similar limits for carbs, plus an upper limit for added fat. So I do pay attention to calories, fat & carbs when choosing recipes, but just go for a ballpark figure when doing my meal planning. Basically, what I do is figure out what basic combinations work, and then switch out meal elements to suit our mood. I like having a little structure to help me control the amounts I eat. What we’ve been doing is learning how to eat well but in a healthy way, and that is working nicely for us.
1) Those look amazing! Must try 🙂
2) Calorie counting can work but really can’t be straight about the never. It has to be about nutritional bang for your buck. Much like your example – chose the banana 😉 I’ve used it to lose 90+ lbs and still use it from time to time just to keep on point. But it can also be dangerous as ppl can get wrapped up in the number not the nutrition. Always an interesting topic though 🙂
I have counted calories and I loved doing it because it taught me how small of a portion I actually need, since I was trying to stretch my allotted calories throughout my day. It just really put portions and nutritional value into perspective, because I’d make decisions like, Do I really want to waste 200 calories on these cookies? NO! I’d much rather eat something that will offer more nutritional value and that will be more filling for that amount of calories. I would never want to do it as a way of life, but if you do it for 2 or 3 months and get into a good routine with some good food options, it would be unnecessary to keep counting because at that point it’s pretty easy to estimate where you’re at. 🙂
Oh yummy… I love zucchini, but I always forget to buy it! These look great.
As for calorie-counting, I used to think it was only for people obsessed with weight loss because the only people I knew who did it were on some crazy crash diet and restricting themselves too much (like 1200 calories/day). But I think there are healthy ways to go about it, and I actually started doing it for myself a while back, initially just to see exactly how much I was actually eating on a normal basis. I found it quite surprising to see just how easy it was to go under or WAY over based on food and drink choices throughout the day, and I also realized that I wasn’t getting nearly enough protein, even though I’m not a vegetarian. Now I use calorie tracking apps to help me make healthy choices, both in total calories per day and in selecting things that give me a good balance of protein, carbs, and fats. Although I don’t worry too much about the fats category as long as my saturated fat intake is low, because there are plenty of days when my unsaturated fat consumption makes it look high!
I love your savory recipes, Katie! This is brilliant 🙂 Have a great day!
I think calorie counting can get in the way of enjoying your food. It may cause you to cut out the necessary nutrient, fat, because cutting fat will also cut calories. And as you said before, if you do count calories, you may end up choosing unhealthier options, such as rice cakes in place of nuts, just because they have less fat. I would rather just follow my personal food pyramid. For me that includes grains and starchy veggies, fruits, veggies, a fat source, a calcium source, and a complete protein source. I strive to get 20g of fat, 20 g of complete protein and 8 g of fiber at each meal.
These look great. Katie, why didn’t you make the bread crumbs in your vitamix??
I could’ve. Food processor was just closer at the moment I made them :).
Hey there!
So I’ve noticed this trend lately where all my links to your recipes are getting deleted from pinterest. I’ve been pinning your stuff for a while now because it is fab and even recommend it to people regularly, but now I’ve lost like half the things I saved and was wondering if you could speak to why you are taking these actions? The links go to your recipes so proper credit is given to you and your creations, and it doesn’t seem like you are anti-pinterest since you now have pin it buttons… whats going on?
I am so sorry! I’m having so many issues with Pinterest lately, and their help center has been COMPLETELY unresponsive. I don’t know what to do except apologize to everyone who’s been contacted. I am so embarrassed, and it’s not even my fault.
I keep sending them emails, to no avail. 🙁
It should be only the frosting shots, though. At least, that’s the only pin people are telling me they got an email about. They’ve taken other things of yours down as well?
Love zucchini fries! .. I usually use panko to make them crispy. When you make your own breadcrumbs.. did you toast the bread first?
yes
Will try this recipe soon. So delicious.