Vegan Greek zucchini fritters

Vegan Greek zucchini fritters

vegan greek zucchini fritters stack

Kολοκυθοκεφτέδες (kolokithokeftedes) or zucchini fritters are one of my favourite Greek mezedes (mezze). Here is my attempt at making them vegan (traditionally, they use an egg as a binder and often feta too).

I made three batches of these puppies and my last batch is pretty damn close to what you can get in the local tavernas here.

They are not hard to make at all, especially if you own an electric grater – I’ve had to do all my zucchini shredding by hand, but it wasn’t too bad as zucchini shreds easily.

As with most of these kind of dishes, they are best eaten warm, straight from the pan dipped in a bit of seasoned yoghurt or cashew cream. If you don’t have either, I reckon a mashed up avocado seasoned with garlic and lemon juice will be just as fitting a condiment.

vegan greek zucchini fritters before frying

vegan greek zucchini fritters for lunch

vegan greek zucchini fritters

vegan greek zucchini fritters top down

makes
16
PREP
30 min
COOKING
30 min
makes
16
PREPARATION
30 min
COOKING
30 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 kg / 35 oz zucchini or courgettes, coarsely grated (8 cups grated)
  • 2 spring onions, thinly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp salt, more to taste
  • generous amount of black pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp capers*, blotted in a paper towel and chopped (optional)
  • ¼ cup reduced** aquafaba OR 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • about ½ cup wholemeal flour, or rice flour for gluten-free version
  • about ¼ cup breadcrumbs, gluten-free for gluten-free version
  • olive oil, for frying
  • vegan yoghurt OR cashew cream OR avocado cream, to serve
METHOD
  1. If using flax meal, put it into a small bowl and add 4 tbsp of water to it. Mix well and put into the fridge for the mixture to thicken and get all gelatinous.
  2. Season grated zucchini with generous amount of salt (I used 2 tsp) and place it on a fine sieve over a bowl. Set aside for at least 30 mins.
  3. After 30 mins, squeeze all the moisture out of the grated zucchini by placing in the middle of a muslin cloth, gathering the ends and squeezing the ‘zucchini ball’ tight. Or you could simply use your hands squeezing the moisture out in small batches. Take care to do it properly as it is very important for the grated zucchini to be as dry as possible or else your fritters will get soggy and not that nice.
  4. Place squeezed zucchini in a bowl. Add herbs, lemon zest, pepper , grated garlic, chopped capers and spring onions to it. Mix very well.
  5. If using aquafaba, froth it up with a hand whisk first and add it to the zucchini mixture. If using flax seed, take it out of the fridge and add it into the zucchini mixture directly.
  6. Add enough flour and breadcrumbs to ensure that your mixture isn’t wet, yet you will still be able to form patties out of it easily.
  7. Put the mixture into the fridge for an hour or so that it is easier to form patties.
  8. Once you’ve chilled your mixture, form small patties (mine weighed 50 g each) with your hands. Grab a chunk of mixture and squeeze it well in your hand first to extract even a tiny amount of excess moisture. Then proceed to form a patty.
  9. Heat up 1-2 cm of oil in a small pan. Once the oil is hot (but not too hot or else they will burn on the outside), place a few fritters on it and fry them without turning for about 2-3 minutes. After 2 minutes, check one of the fritters and if it’s nicely browned gently flip it to the other size and fry for the same amount of time.
  10. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt seasoned with a bit of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

NOTES
* These fritters do not contain capers traditionally, but I added them to replace little bursts of saltiness that feta gives to the non-vegan fritters.
** I reduced my aquafaba by 2/3 of its volume, by cooking it gently on the stove without a lid. I cooled it before using. It was thick and gelatinous after chilling.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
33
2%
sugars
2 g
2%
fats
0 g
1%
saturates
0 g
1%
proteins
1 g
3%
carbs
7 g
3%
*per fritter
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4.8
5 reviews, 19 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Pauline:
Super delicious, wouldn't change a thing. These got demolished by vegans and meat eaters too. Thanks for this beaut recipe.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thank you Pauline, I am so happy to hear that these were such a hit. And thank you for taking the time to review, much appreciated. Ania
Alyssa:
I must say that these are one of the best things that I have ever eaten. I LOVE them!!! I couldn't stop eating and now I must make a second batch. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Alyssa! I am delighted to hear that! x Ania
Hannah:
These look so good. Do you think these can be made in the oven?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Hannah,
    I am not sure as I haven't tried that, but I personally don't think they will be as nice as fried. Ania
Helene:
I just made these. They were lovely! I didn’t have a big enough sieve so I wrapped the zucchini in a clean tea towel, gave it a bit of a squeeze and then sat the bundle in the sieve I have. After wringing them out again, the zucchini was very dry!
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's great to hear, Helene! Using a kitchen towel is a great trick too! Ania
Emma Carroll:
Do you think I could sub some of the zucchini for grated carrot without detracting from the dish?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Emma,
    Yes, you can sub some, for sure, but they won't taste quite the same as carrots are sweet! Hope that helps! Ania
Doris:
I didn't make these yet, but I usually bake things like that in the oven for 25-35 min at 350 F This way I need less oil and i flipp them once after half the time.
Nicole:
Delicious once I got them right. First batch was an absolute mess. Then I added another 1/2 c flour and 1/4 bread crumbs (or more... I just kept going until it firmed up a bit). For me, it took more than 2 minutes to fry. Closer to 8 minutes for one side. Flipping them was work. They were so sticky and I had to move my spatula under the fritters with such care. I also couldn't fry as many at a time as I thought because I needed the room on the pan for maneuvering the spatula. I used all gluten free ingredients, so my theory is that it must have changed the consistency. I will use regular flour and bread crumbs next time and see if its less of a pain! Did anyone else have this issue? Maybe next time I will spread the zucchini on a baking sheet to get rid of extra moisture at the start. Squeezing the zucchini got rid of tons of water but maybe getting rid of even more would have made them less sticky too.... anyone else with the same experience?
Quentin:
Hello,
Me again, is there a generic equivalent for a cup in grams or ml? Google doesn't seem to help, and in Europe, Cups come in all size and shapes...
Thanks
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hello,
    I tend to use metric system for European readers and cups / oz for my US audience although admittedly some of my old recipes may be missing some conversions. It's really easy to convert cups to ml (1 cup = 240 ml) but when it comes to grams it's way more problematic as it very much depends on the substance in question. As a rule, I advise against using cup measurements for non-liquids in baking (although I try to provide approximate conversions as much as I can) as baking is not very forgivable ;) . Hope that helps! Ania
      Quentin:
      Hello Ania,
      Thank you for your answer. So for the flour and the breadcrumbs, we're looking at roughly 45g too right?
      Doing the fritters tonight too :)
      Thanks
        Ania
        Ania:
        Hi Quentin,
        This website may be useful. Breadcrumbs works out as 25 g and flour more line 60 g. Ania
Christina Pechlivanis:
I really missed kolokithokeftedes since i became vegan. I'll definitivly try out your recepy. Euxaristo!
    Ania
    Ania:
    My pleasure! Hope you'll like them. x Ania
Carragh:
These were amazing. Considering no Feta, they really tasted like the real deal! I didn't leave them to rest or cool as i didn't have time but didn't make much difference, still fab! Thanks for the recipe I've shared it with all the family :D
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Carragh! That's lovely to hear that you and your family enjoyed this dish! And thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment! Ania
David:
It was really helpful! though I adjusted a bit to my tastes and products I had. thanks for recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, David! That's so nice to hear!
Sal:
I made them yesterday and really liked them. Also the cold leftovers were a great snack. Next time I will continue baking them in the oven after frying, now they were still a bit doughy in the middle. Oh, and I covered the patties in bread crumbs before frying to add to the crispiness :) thank you for the recipe!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Sal, I'm glad to hear that they hit the spot! :) 'Doughiness' may be due to too short frying time, which happens especially when the oil is too hot. Great idea, making things even crispier has never hurt anyone, has it:) ? x
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