Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Greek Zucchini Tots (Mini Fritters) Recipe
Zucchini tots! These golden, crispy little fritters perfumed with garlicky oregano flavours could nicely turn into your new favorite zucchini recipe. Belief the Greeks to take one thing as plain as zucchini and switch it into one thing fabulous! Serve them for dinner, or cross them round at a celebration.
Greek Zucchini Tots
10 years in the past in 2015, I discovered a recipe for Courgette Rissoles (ie. Zucchini rissoles) from Alonnisos in Greece in a e-book known as The Meals and Cooking of Greece that I stumbled throughout after I was searching the cookbook part at my native library.
Do you try this? Borrow cookbooks out of your library? It’s an undiscovered secret. 🙂 You see, an obsession with cookbooks poses two issues – funds and house. What number of cookbooks have you ever purchased, solely to seek out you solely use a couple of recipes from it? And as for storage…my cookbooks are in all places. My bookshelf is overflowing!
As a cookbook creator, I totally respect the irony of encouraging individuals to borrow cookbooks from the library. 😃 However I do, and so does my staff. Fairly positive JB‘s on a primary identify foundation with the workers at our native library!
So, that’s the place I discovered The Meals and Cooking of Greece, filled with conventional home-style recipes. These cute little Greek Zucchini Tots (aka courgette for the Europeans!) caught my eye as a result of they seemed like humble, on a regular basis meals made with common components, however secretly scrumptious.
Plus, zucchinis are a cut price year-round right here in Australia, particularly in case you head to the Scruffy Veg part (my first cease, at all times!).
Elements in Greek Zucchini Tots
Right here’s what it is advisable to make these. Over time I’ve made them since I initially revealed the recipe in 2015, I’ve discovered that it’s a really versatile recipe – simply make it gluten free, substitute inexperienced onion for herbs, change parmesan for different cheeses, and oregano for different dried herbs.
1. FOR THE BATTER
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Flour – I take advantage of plain flour / all-purpose flour. I additionally tried it with gluten free flour and it labored completely, you wouldn’t even know the distinction,
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Egg – The egg is what holds this batter collectively when it bakes. The most effective (pure) food-glue identified to man sort!
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Panko breadcrumbs – I’ve a sense the unique recipe known as for normal breadcrumbs. However the bigger sized panko breadcrumbs make the within softer.
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Parmesan cheese – That is what provides these fritters a savoury flavour increase so it’s not bland inside, in addition to making them bake up with a golden crust. I completely cheat and use the shop purchased sandy sort of parmesan (from the fridge part, not pantry – if it’s on the shelf, it’s not pure cheese!). The nice strands would additionally work, and for these extra virtuous than me, shred your personal. 🙂
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Dried oregano – Greece’s favorite herb? 🙂 We’re utilizing a complete tablespoon right here, an excellent quantity! Substitute with the identical quantity of dried parsley or dill, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, or herb mixes (like Italian, herbs de provence or a generically named “combined herbs”).
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Garlic – Is it actually Greek if there’s no garlic in it? No! 🙂
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Feta cheese – Ideally Greek!
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Inexperienced onion – For freshness and flavour. Substitute with finely grated pink onion or eschalots (US: shallots), or 1/2 cup tightly packed roughly chopped child spinach or kale (this works nice, I’ve carried out each), or 1/2 cup loosely packed parsley.
2. YES you want Zucchini too!
Oh WAIT! I virtually forgot – you additionally want zucchini. 😂 And salt to sweat extra water out so the tots don’t find yourself a watery soggy mess that by no means crisp up.
You’ll be able to see on this photograph (hopefully!) how the within is good and moist due to the zucchini however that the skin is crispy.
Different greens – I’ve additionally made this with carrots and so they had been fabulous. I used to be tempted to publish that however I resisted as I wished to spruce up the unique zucchini one first. Carrots coming subsequent! So helpful – I at all times have carrots in my fridge.
Learn how to make Greek Zucchini Tots
The normal recipe is made by shallow frying them. However I discovered it took fairly some time (so many tots!!) and likewise, as common readers know, I’m selective about deep frying.
So I attempted baking them as a substitute. And what are you aware, it labored fabulously! A spritz of oil is all that’s required to create a golden crunchy crust, and it stays deliciously moist on the within. 🙂
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Grate the zucchini utilizing a typical field grater.
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Sweat the zucchini for half-hour to take away extra water. To do that, you simply toss the zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon of salt (you actually don’t want a lot) then go away it in a colander set over the sink or a bowl to let extra water drip out.
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Squeeze – Then seize handfuls and squeeze extra water out. Word: there isn’t a should be 100% meticulous right here and squeeze to demise, you simply need to get most of it out. In truth, the remaining water within the zucchini is what retains these tots very nice and moist inside.
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Combine – Put the squeezed zucchini right into a clear bowl and add the remaining batter components besides the feta. I combine that in later to forestall it from getting utterly smashed when mixing as I believe it’s good to have some little seen pops.
So, combine all the things else first till it’s nicely mixed, then gently stir the crumbled feta by way of.
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Batter carried out – That is what it appears to be like like when it’s combined up. It appears to be like a bit scruffy however holds when pressed collectively.
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Tots – Dollop heaped tablespoon mounds onto 2 trays lined with baking paper (parchment paper), then press into tater-tot / potato gem. I get 29 in whole (one wanting 30 didn’t hassle me after I filmed it however it’s bothering me at this time….). Then spray generously with olive oil. The extra beneficiant you might be, the higher they brown!
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Bake for half-hour in a sizzling 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced) oven, switching the trays on the 20 minute mark, till the floor is golden and crispy. Chances are you’ll discover the underside tray wants a couple of further minutes.
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Serve with plain yogurt or a easy Mint Yogurt on the facet, or different dipping sauce of selection (sure, even good ole’ ketchup works right here!)
One tip earlier than I log off – these reheat exceptionally nicely. Zucchini is a good moisture retention ingredient so the within stays fantastically moist and tender even as soon as reheated.
In order that they make an excellent celebration meals as a result of they reheat so nicely, in addition to after all being very helpful as a make forward meal. They do finest reheated within the oven although relatively than the microwave, to protect the crispy exterior which does soften because it cools, although this hasn’t stopped me from utilizing a microwave when pace is of the essence. 🙂
If serving as a meal, it will serve 3 to 4, say 8 to 10 tots per particular person. Attempt a contemporary Greek Salad on the facet, or for one thing extra substantial, a Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad, Tzatziki Chickpea Salad, a buttery Garlic rice or a zippy Lemon Potato Salad. See right here for lots extra facet dishes, in case you’d prefer to have a browse! – Johnsat x
Watch learn how to make it
Ingredients
- 1 lb / 500 g zucchinis (courgettes)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/2 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour), can sub gluten-free flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1), can sub gluten-free flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup green onion , finely sliced (white and pale green parts only)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated (I use store bought sandy type), can also use shredded cheddar or tasty cheese
- 1 tbsp dried oregano (or 2 teaspoon other dried herbs)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 150 g / 5 oz Greek feta cheese , crumbled
- Olive oil spray
- Lemon wedges and oregano leaves , optional garnishes
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yoghurt , or any plain unsweetened yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh mint , finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced)
- Sweat zucchini – Grate the zucchini using a standard box grater. Place into a large colander, sprinkle with the salt, toss with your fingers and leave to sweat for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze out liquid – Working a handful at a time, squeeze out the excess water (as much as you can) and place the zucchini in a bowl.
- Tots batter – Add the Batter ingredients except the feta and mix well to combine. Add the feta and gently stir through.
- Form tots – Dollop heaped tablespoons 2 trays lined with baking paper / parchment paper (I get 29 in total). Then use your fingers to shape them into cylinder "tater-tot / potato gem" shapes.
- Bake – Spray generously with oil. Bake for 30 minutes, swapping the trays at around 20 minutes (for extra golden, spray again with oil), or until golden brown and a crunchy crust forms on the surface. The tray on the bottom might need a few extra minutes.
- Serve with Minted Yogurt, lemon wedges and sprinkled with fresh oregano leaves if using.
- Mix together ingredients and set aside for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
1. Panko breadcrumbs – Japanese breadcrumb that are larger crumbs than regular ones, makes things like schnitzels crunchier and when used inside things like fritters, makes them fluffier inside than using regular breadcrumbs, or more flour.
Staple at supermarkets in Australia these days, usually the Asian section (cheaper at Asian stores). Substitute with regular breadcrumbs, though it’s not as crunchy.
2. Stove cooking – You can pan fry these instead of baking them. Just shallow fry on medium high heat until golden on both sides. I suggest making them in fritter shapes to make it easier to cook evenly. You could also deep fry them, as per the original recipe.
Leftovers will keep for 3 days though they do soften. They reheat well in the oven – 200°C/390°F (180°C fan) for 5 minutes. Not suitable for freezing.
Make ahead – Best is to cook then reheat per above. Don’t form the tots and leave to bake later, the zucchini will sweat and make the batter too watery.
Nutrition per tot. Ridiculously low calories. Let’s eat LOTS! 🙂
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