If you're a fan of crispy goodness but want to keep things low-carb and keto-friendly, we have just the treat for you – Air Fryer Low Carb Zucchini Fries!
These delightful fries are not only irresistibly delicious but also a healthier option to the traditional potato version. In just under 15 minutes you can enjoy fresh and crispy zucchini in the air fryer.
Serve them with avocado dip, tomato sauce, or garlic aioli for a delicious treat.
Try more family-friendly zucchini recipes such as this eggless zucchini bread, chicken stuffed zucchini boats, or zucchini patties next.
Jump To
- Why You'll Love This Zucchini
- Love Easy Appetizer Recipes? Try These Next!
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 🥘 How To Make Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- ⏲️ Recommended Equipment
- Zucchini Fries Recipe Popular Substitutions
- 📋 Tips
- Storage Instructions
- 👪 Serving Suggestions
- For Dessert, Give These a Try!
- 🤷Frequently Asked Questions
- Side Dish Recipes
- Did You Like This Article?
- 📖Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Why You'll Love This Zucchini
- A nutritious and healthy snack - Fall in love with this low-carb, keto-friendly, and naturally gluten-free zucchini fries. Prepare perfectly crispy fries without heavy deep frying! We make the ‘’breading’’ with almond flour and parmesan which is a healthier alternative to traditional french fries.
- Versatility - These fries can be easily customizable, allowing you to experiment with various seasonings and flavors. Whether you prefer simple salt and black pepper or a mix of seasonings like garlic powder, paprika and dried herbs, this air fryer zucchini recipe tastes great both ways!
- We love to serve fries with garlic butter shrimp, juicy chicken bacon wraps, cheeseburgers, or beef lettuce wraps for a healthier meal.
Love Easy Appetizer Recipes? Try These Next!
Easy appetizers are often the show-stoppers at holiday and family gatherings. This recipe is a must for summer get-togethers, along with asparagus fries, tomato basil appetizer, and deli roast beef sandwiches.
🛒 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make these fries:
- Zucchini - choose zucchinis that are firm, heavy, and free of blemishes or bruises for this recipe. No need to peel them – just cut them into bite-size pieces or sticks for the fries.
- Crispy coating - to achieve that crispy outer layer, I whipped up a mix of beaten egg, parmesan cheese, and almond flour – it gives the illusion of breading without piling on the calories.
- Almond flour - when it comes to using almond flour, you have two options – make it yourself (with a grain grinder or food processor) or grab a package from the store. While almond meal works too, I personally prefer flour due to its finer texture. Check more substitutions below!
- Garlic - gives a tasty kick and goes perfectly with zucchini. If you're a garlic lover, feel free to double the amount. You can also use garlic powder as an alternative.
- Seasonings - I kept it simple, but you can stick to just salt and black pepper too. Or try the same seasonings without the Italian seasoning for a different twist, still delicious. Adding some chili or spicy seasonings would be a fantastic option here as well.
- Cooking oil - to avoid burning and ensure crispiness, a cooking spray with olive oil or avocado oil works wonders. You can use any cooking oil you prefer.
- Air Fryer - you can use a simple air fryer or Ninja foodi with air fryer function. If you are just planning to purchase one, I recommend a larger air fryer so you don’t have to keep the fries warm in the oven while you continue with the rest of the batches. I use air fryer which is quite large but not as large as French door air fryer. I still need to cook the fries in a couple of batches. But the first batch usually gets eaten right away!
✅ EXPERT TIP Use smaller zucchinis as larger ones tend to have moisture in them.
👩🍳 You'll find the complete list of ingredients below the recipe card.
🥘 How To Make Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
Before you start, ensure you have gathered all the necessary ingredients and prepared them in an organized manner for this recipe.
Get those zucchinis prepped by cutting them into ½-inch-wide and 4-inch-long strips. Pat dry them to remove excess moisture.
✅ EXPERT TIP There's not need to salt the zucchini before roasting in the air fryer, it can actually prevent them from becoming crispy.
Set up two bowls: Beat the egg in the first one. In the second bowl, combine paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, dried herbs, garlic, almond flour, and grated Parmesan cheese.
Dip each zucchini fry into the beaten egg, ensuring all sides are coated. Shake off the excess.
Roll the egg-coated zucchini in the almond flour-seasoning mix until fully coated. It might take a few rolls to get the breading to stick properly.
Place the coated fries on baking sheet, making sure they're all evenly covered.
Preheat your air fryer to 400 F (200 C) and place the air fryer basket liner into the air fryer.
If you don't have liners, an easy trick is to cut parchment paper sheets and punch a couple of holes in them. This is optional though.
Arrange the zucchini fries in a single layer in the preheated air fryer, leaving about half an inch of space between each fry.
This allows them to get perfectly crispy.
Air fry the zucchini for 10-12 minutes until they turn golden brown and get that crispy exterior. No need to flip them over during roasting.
✅ EXPERT TIP Remember, the cooking time might differ depending on your air fryer model and the thickness of the fries.
Once done, carefully take out the zucchini fries from the air fryer and let them rest for a couple of minutes.
Serve them hot with more parmesan as a healthy snack or side dish. Enjoy!
Depending on your air fryer's capacity, you might have to do 2-3 batches of this recipe. No worries though, just keep the first batch warm in a preheated oven while you fry up the rest!
⏲️ Recommended Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing Bowls
- Airtight Food Containers
- Air Fryer Cosori - 5.8 quart
- Air Fryer Basket Liners
- Ninja Foodi - this can be used instead of air fryer.
Zucchini Fries Recipe Popular Substitutions
- Zucchini - If you don't have zucchini on hand, you can substitute it with yellow squash, eggplant, or even sweet potato for a different twist.
- Parmesan Cheese - If you prefer a dairy-free option or simply don't have parmesan cheese, you can use nutritional yeast flakes for a cheesy flavor. Sprinkle them on top when serving rather than roasting them.
- Almond flour or almond meal - You can interchange blanched almond flour with regular almond flour or almond meal. Keep in mind that blanched almond flour provides a finer texture. If you are allergic to tree nuts, try regular panko mixture or breadcrumbs for coating, or pork panko (pork rinds). You can also try one of the almond flour substitutions like cassava flour, coconut flour, oat flour, cornmeal, crushed cereal, quinoa flakes, or wheat flour for coating.
- Ground sweet paprika - Depending on your taste preference, you can use regular paprika or smoked paprika to add a smoky flavor to the fries.
- Italian dried herbs (Herbs de Provence) - If you don't have Italian dried herbs, you can use a blend of dried basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary for a similar herbaceous taste. These pair well with zucchini and are used in many Mediterranean dishes.
- Minced garlic - If you're not a fan of fresh garlic, you can substitute it with garlic powder. Use about ½ teaspoon of garlic powder as a replacement for one teaspoon of minced garlic.
📋 Tips
- Keep your fries from becoming soggy - Don't cram your air fryer with zucchini – keep it spacious to avoid steaming and ensure perfect crispiness. Give the fries enough breathing room for proper air circulation.
- I don't salt zucchinis here, there is a couple of reasons. Sometimes if you add too much salt, zucchini will be too salty and will become a mushy mess after frying. So, if the recipe doesn't state to salt, don't do it. These fries are pretty crispy without any prep!
- Sometimes breading can get really messy and breading may start to clump. To avoid this, I make sure to divide the breading into two bowls as it will get messy in the end. And when breading I use one hand for egg bowl and the other for dry breading. Try not to touch the breading with your wet hand. Don't use both hands for everything as it will cause the breading not to stick and become clumpy.
- After cooking, resist the urge to stack the fries right away. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving. This way, they retain their delightful crunch without getting soggy from the residual heat.
- Be cautious of almond flour burning quickly, so check the fries towards the end of cooking.
- Ensure even coating when dipping zucchini in the egg mixture for consistent crispiness.
- Consider using a good non-stick air fryer basket or liners to prevent sticking.
- Use slightly thicker zucchini strips to maintain a crispy texture during roasting.
- Try zucchini chips instead of fries for a variation.
- Serve zucchini fries straight from the air fryer for maximum crispiness.
- Use a larger air fryer to cook more fries at once, avoiding the need to keep batches warm.
- Spray the zucchini fries with cooking oil before roasting to achieve golden brown crispiness.
- You may need to adjust the cooking time based on your air fryer model for optimal results.
- Although zucchini fries are low in carbs, be mindful of the other ingredients and condiments you incorporate to stay within your daily carb limit while on a keto diet.
Storage Instructions
- 🍱To Store Leftovers. Once the zucchini fries have cooled down completely, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They can be kept for up to 3 days.
- 🥶Freezing. Due to zucchini's high water content, freezing is not recommended as it will cause the fries to become soggy and lose their crispiness. It's best to only make the amount you plan to consume within a few days for the optimal taste and texture.
- 🔥To Reheat. Preheat the air fryer to 400 F and heat the fries for 1-3 minutes until crispy again. Avoid reheating them more than 1-2 times to maintain their texture.
👪 Serving Suggestions
Zucchini fries are a versatile and healthy side dish that pairs well with various main courses or can be enjoyed as a tasty snack.
Here are some delicious options to serve with zucchini fries:
- Burgers, sandwiches, wraps - try our salmon burgers, beef lettuce wraps, cheddar burgers.
- Seafood meals, especially with garlicky shrimp or creamy shrimp chicken pasta.
- Grilled meats - serve these fries as an easy side dish for BBQ party.
- Soup and salad - we love to serve them with creamy butternut squash soup or gnocchi soup, Italian soup or classic chicken salad.
- With favorite dipping sauce - my preferred way to serve these fries! We love marinara sauce, homemade ranch dressing, avocado crema.
For Dessert, Give These a Try!
For all tasty treats, scroll through our Desserts archives.
🤷Frequently Asked Questions
It may be due to a couple of reasons: high water content in zucchini and not removing the excess moisture first; placing the fries too close to each other in the air fryer; wrong air fryer temperature.
You can salt the zucchini before cooking, for at least 10 minutes and then pat dry them and process as normal according to recipe. But for this air fryer zucchini it is not needed and in some cases can lead to oversalted and mushy zucchini.
Calorie wise yes zucchini are healthier and when cooking in an air fryer we don't use so much oil as with deep frying. Although this ''no breading'' option is healthier for some it is worth mentioning that almond flour is made with nuts (high fat content).
Side Dish Recipes
📖Recipe
Low Carb Air Fryer Zucchini Fries - Cookrita
Ingredients
- 1 pound zucchini , cut them ½ inches wide and 4 inch long strips
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup blanched almond flour, or almond meal
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Herbs de Provence
- 1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic
Instructions
- Before you start, ensure you have gathered all the necessary ingredients and prepared them in an organized manner for this recipe.
- Get those zucchinis prepped by cutting them into ½-inch-wide and 4-inch-long strips. Pat dry them to remove excess moisture.
- Set up two bowls:. Beat the egg in the first one. In the second bowl, combine paprika, salt, black pepper, onion powder, dried herbs, garlic, almond flour, and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Dip each zucchini fry into the beaten egg, ensuring all sides are coated. Shake off the excess.
- Roll the egg-coated zucchini in the almond flour-seasoning mix until fully coated. It might take a few rolls to get the breading to stick properly. Place the coated fries aside on a baking sheet or cuttign board.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 F (200 C) and place the air fryer basket liner into the air fryer. If you don't have liners, an easy trick is to cut parchment paper sheets and punch a couple of holes in them. This is optional though.
- Arrange the zucchini fries in a single layer in the preheated air fryer, leaving about half an inch of space between each fry. This allows them to get perfectly crispy.
- Air fry the zucchini for 10-12 minutes until they turn golden brown and get that crispy exterior. No need to flip them over during roasting. Remember, the cooking time might differ depending on your air fryer model and the thickness of the fries.
- Once done, carefully take out the zucchini fries from the air fryer and let them rest for a couple of minutes.
- Serve them hot with more parmesan as a healthy snack or side dish. Enjoy!
- Depending on your air fryer's capacity, you might have to do 2-3 batches of this recipe. No worries though, just keep the first batch warm in a preheated oven while you fry up the rest!
Notes
- There's no need to salt the zucchini before roasting in the air fryer, it can actually prevent them from becoming crispy.
- Keep your fries from becoming soggy - Don't cram your air fryer with zucchini – keep it spacious to avoid steaming and ensure perfect crispiness. Give the fries enough breathing room for proper air circulation.
- I don't salt zucchinis here, there is a couple of reasons. Sometimes if you add too much salt, zucchini will be too salty and will become a mushy mess after frying. So, if the recipe doesn't state to salt, don't do it. These fries are pretty crispy without any prep!
- Sometimes breading can get really messy and breading may start to clump. To avoid this, I make sure to divide the breading into two bowls as it will get messy in the end. And when breading I use one hand for egg bowl and the other for dry breading. Try not to touch the breading with your wet hand. Don't use both hands for everything as it will cause the breading not to stick and become clumpy.
Rita
Enjoy these air fryer zucchini fries - easy, crispy low-carb goodness with 15 minutes of cooking time!