Fried zucchini chips (Tηγανητά κολοκυθάκια)

Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

The best and easiest recipe for fried zucchini chips. Addictive and delicious!

Zucchini (also called courgettes by people with lovely British accents) are funny vegetables; they kind of just creep up on you.  If you have ever planted zucchini in your garden, we can bet the farm (we don’t actually have a farm) that you have had an Oh My! zucchini moment.  You know, those times where you check to see if there is anything to harvest, and somewhere, deep in the mess of prickly leaves and stems, you find a zucchini that you had clearly missed during previous pickings.  It seems that even an extra day or two of undetected growing leads to Steroid Squash; mammoth zucchini that we can’t help but pose for pictures with… you know… to give perspective.

Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

Zucchini are actually lovely and nutritious vegetables that are incredibly versatile.  You can eat them raw with some dip (how about fava?), you can stuff them, make fritters out of them, bread, muffins, and of course, you can make zucchini chips.  If you have a spiralizer (we now do!), you can also make zoodles (we do not!).  We’re old fashioned gals who prefer to use old fashioned regular pasta for dishes like spaghetti with meat sauce and spaghetti with oil and mizithra.  Yum!  In any case, regardless of how you prepare your zucchini, they have enough folate, provitamin A and potassium to contribute positively to your daily intake of vitamins and minerals.  They are also very low in calories, which is a good place to start when you decide to fry them into thin chips.  Life is short, we say.  Fry away!


Helpful hints

Are zucchini a type of squash?

Zucchini are summer squash, a class of squash identified by their edible, thin skin. Winter squash include vegetable such as pumpkins and butternut squash.  There are several varieties of summer squash, and all can be used for these zucchini chips, provided that you are able to slice them into thin rounds.

Preparing for the Greek fried zucchini chips, sliced for perfection
Preparing for the Greek fried zucchini chips, sliced for perfection

How do I slice the zucchini for zucchini chips?

The key to nice, crisp fried zucchini chips is ensuring that your zucchini are sliced as thinly as possible.  We tend to use a mandolin for such thin slicing, but a sharp knife and a steady hand will work just as well.  Remember that a sharp knife is actually safer to use than a dull one.

How do I know that the oil is hot enough for frying?

Another important factor for delicious chips is to ensure that the oil is hot enough so that it only takes a couple of minutes per side to obtain a nice, golden colour on your zucchini.  The best way to test the temperature of the oil would be to use a thermometer, but since our parents do not own one, we use their method instead.  Simply slip one sacrificial zucchini slice into the oil and when it starts to bubble up, your oil is hot enough to fry with.

The batter for the Greek fried zucchini chips
The batter for the Fried zucchini chips
Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!
Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

The batter which you will prepare for these fried zucchini chips is relatively runny.  After you coat your zucchini slice in the batter (you will coat each slice individually), wipe it along the side of your bowl to remove the excess.  You want a very thin layer of batter on each zucchini piece; this will lead to a lighter chip.

You may find that as your chips are cooking, even if you do not crowd your frying pan, your zucchini chips will stick together.  Gently tease them apart using tongs and a fork, or two forks.

Another relatively common occurrence when you are frying these up is that the batter may bubble up, leading to a pocket of air between the batter and a given zucchini round.  If this happens, carefully, with your tongs or a fork, break open this bubble.  If you don’t, you may get oil collecting there, and that is gross (and a bit dangerous if you take a bite while the oil is still hot).

These fried zucchini chips are best eaten soon after they are made, which frankly, won’t be a problem.  We have never heard of zucchini chip leftovers; we think that is a myth, like leftover wine.  Remember to drain your fried zucchini well however, lifting them out of the pan one by one and allowing the oil to drain back into the pan for a few seconds.  Then, allow the chips to rest for a few minutes on a paper towel, so that any remaining excess grease is soaked up.

Zucchini chips are delicious when served with tzatziki.  Like, really, really, delicious.

Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!
Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

Because we make these chips pretty often (no judging allowed!), we allow the oil used in frying to cool, and then we strain it and place into a glass container. We then store this oil in the refrigerator and reuse it (usually needing to add a little bit more) for our next batch of zucchini chips.  We usually use the oil 2 – 3 times before discarding it.

Looking for more zucchini recipes? Try these:

Greek stuffed cabbage rolls

Greek zucchini fritters with feta

Egg zucchini muffins

Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

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Greek fried zucchini chips. A delicious and easy recipe!

Fried zucchini chips

The best and easiest recipe for fried zucchini chips. Addictive and delicious!
5 from 4 votes
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Course: Appetizer, meze
Cuisine: Greek
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 110kcal
Author: Mia Kouppa

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 medium, to large zucchini sliced very thinly into rounds
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • In a medium size bowl combine the flour, water, salt, pepper and greek oregano.  Mix until combined.  You should end up with a batter which is relatively runny, so that the batter very lightly coats your zucchini rounds.
    1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
  • Pour enough oil into the frying pan so that it comes 1/2 to 3/4 inches up the side of the frying pan.  Heat over medium / high heat.
  • Take your zucchini slices, and coat each one individually with the batter. Prior to adding to the oil, wipe the zucchini slice against the side of the bowl to ensure that any excess batter is removed.
  • Carefully place one zucchini slice (battered) into the oil.  When it starts to sizzle, your oil is hot enough.  Add more zucchini rounds to your pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.
  • Cook on one side for a minute or so, until they are golden brown.  Using tongs or a fork, carefully flip the rounds over and cook on the opposite side for another minute or two, until golden brown.
  • Lift each chip out of the pan one by one, allowing any excess oil to pour off into the pan.  Allow to cool slightly on a paper towel lined dish.  At this point you can sprinkle some additional salt on them.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 589mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

Thanks for sharing!

20 Comments

  1. I know it’s a typo, Mia, but I can’t resist. 😃 It’s tongs not thongs. In Australia the latter is what you’d be wearing in summer.

    1. miakouppa says:

      Ha ha ha….and in Canada, thongs are the underwear you put on when you don’t want any panty lines to show through your clothes! This could have caused a serious cooking mishap. Good catch 🙂 🙂 Thanks

  2. Christina says:

    Yummy!!! I love fried zucchini chips! This recipe looks tasty! Great job 🙂

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thank you so much! Hope you try it 🙂

  3. Beautiful & delicious chips !

    1. miakouppa says:

      And highly addictive 🙂 🙂

  4. I just made these with an 8 ball zucchini right out of the garden, so they were half moon shaped. I also made tzatziki before making frying the chips. Delicious! Fun summer dinner! Thanks for the tips in the recipe.

    1. miakouppa says:

      You’re welcome Tiffany! Love those garden zucchini, and with tzatziki, these chips are great! Thanks for stopping by and for your comment 🙂

  5. valisesetgourmandises says:

    I came back from 2 weeks in Greece yesterday and fried zucchini was one of my favourite meze!! I love that they’re naturally vegan (we always asked to replace the tzatziki with fava or aubergine spread 🙂
    I wonder how they would turn out in the oven!

    1. miakouppa says:

      We bet they would be great in the oven; lightly coated with olive oil and baked in a very low temperature for a while we think that they would be delicious. We may actually try them!! And you are right, fava and aubergine spread would be great here…we’ve got recipes for both on our website, if you’re interested 🙂

  6. Omgoodness made these tonight, amazing and additive!!! My husband took leftover batter to fry fish too! Definitely a keeper!!!

    1. miakouppa says:

      So happy to hear that Libby! And we love your husband’s idea!! What a great way to use up leftover batter 🙂

  7. kate fellerath says:

    delicious and crispy! perfect recipe. thank you!!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Yeah!!! Thanks so much!

  8. Dora Stamatonikolos says:

    Could you cut them into sticks/ batons instead of discs? Would they work the same?

    1. miakouppa says:

      Hi Dora, Sure you can. The difference is that they will be thicker cut that way and so you won’t get the crispy crunch you get when you make thin, round zucchini chips.

  9. Could you replace vegetable oil with olive oil?

    1. miakouppa says:

      Sure you can! Just watch the temperature of the oil. You can also use a combination of both. xoxo Helen & Billie

  10. Gueniavros Lagoudaromakis says:

    An absolut delight with champagne !

    1. miakouppa says:

      Yes! You know how to live! xoxo Helen & Billie

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