During the summer months, we grow our Zucchinis in the garden. We always end up with a surplus and often while, the zucchini are then turned into parmesan cheese flavored zucchini sticks.
Baked crispy, these make for a lovely meal addition or snack!
TL;DR
These zucchini sticks can be prepared with medium-sized or large, over-sized Zucchinis.
They are then divided into bite-sized sticks and coated with grated parmesan powder before they are baked crispy golden.
This recipe is prepared without eggs and the parmesan mainly acts as a flavor-giver. The zucchini are not parmesan “breaded” and therefore I don't call them parmesan zucchini fries.
Ingredients
- Zucchini — This only works with fresh zucchini. Frozen zucchini is too soggy when thawed. You can use medium or over-sized zucchini. Just make sure to use only the tender parts from the large zucchinis because they can turn fibrous when they are too big.
- Salt
- Black Pepper ground
- Parmesan — If you can get proper Italian Parmigiano Reggiano, get that instead. You can also use other grated Italian hard cheese, such as Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Olive Oil — to coat the sticks.
You can easily spice them up by adding a few drops of your favorite hot sauce or a dash of ground red chili powder.
Other flavor options can be achieved with a dash of garlic powder or oregano.
How to make it?
Step 1
Trim off the Zucchini end and remove bad parts if any.
Split the zucchini in half, then quarters, an eight and smaller if needed.
Step 2
Cut out thumb-thick long sticks.
Step 3
Toss the zucchini sticks with salt.
Leave for 30 minutes so that excess moisture from the zucchini can be drained.
Drain and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel.
Step 4
Season with ground pepper, grated parmesan, and olive oil.
Toss the mixture well so that your zucchini sticks are well coated.
Step 5
Place Parmesan zucchini sticks next to each other on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 30–40 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius), or until golden brown.
📖 Recipe
Baked Parmesan Zucchini Sticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Zucchini medium-size
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- ⅓ cup Parmesan grated
- 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Rinse zucchini well. Trim off zucchini ends and any bad parts. If the skin is damaged or tough, peel that part off.1 Zucchini
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise into half and then quarter. You will need thumb-thick and long sticks, so cut them accordingly. Try to make them all the same thickness so that they cook evenly in the oven.
- Place cut sticks into a large mixing bowl and throw in salt. Toss them so that the salt is coating your zucchini. We do that so that excess moisture comes out because zucchini is super wet.1 Teaspoon Salt
- Leave the zucchini and salt to sit for about 30 minutes at room-temperature.
- Drain and discard excess liquids that have come out. Pat dry your zucchini sticks with a kitchen paper towel.
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius).
- Season your zucchini with ground black pepper, grated parmesan and olive oil.¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, ⅓ cup Parmesan, 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Toss it all well so that the zucchini are coated properly, but be careful to not damage your zucchini.
- Place zucchini sticks next to each other, with some space in between, on a parchment baking sheet.
- Bake for about 30–40 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius), or until they appear a bit golden.
- Enjoy them warm as a side dish or as a snack.
Notes
- You can use small, medium or large zucchini to make your Parmesan zucchini sticks. If you use large overgrown zucchini, make sure to cut off though fibrous parts.
- Optionally, you can choose to flavor them further by adding a few drops of hot sauce, garlic powder or oregano.
Equipment
- 1 8" Chef Knife
- Kitchen Paper Towel to pat dry zucchini
- 1 sheet Parchment Paper
Nutrition
Serving
We mainly use the zucchini sticks instead of our usual baked potato fries as a side dish. You can serve them the same way as you would enjoy your french fries.
We grill or boil some sausages and serve them along with dippers. Apart from that, burgers, wraps, and fried chicken are great with Parmesan flavored zucchini sticks.
Our favorite zucchini dippers are the sriracha mayonnaise dip, curried mayonnaise and the curry ketchup. Other than that, we enjoy them too with a ranch dressing or a sour cream dip.
Storing
The zucchini sticks coated with Parmesan should be enjoyed right out of the oven, and they don't keep that well.
But it's always better to store and reheat them, vs throwing leftovers in the bin, to avoid food waste.
Try to use them up in a meal.
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