These cheesy courgette fritters are a great way to use up any excess courgettes you might have lying around the kitchen. They not only make a delicious side dish with your main meal, but you can also serve them as a light lunch or top them with an egg for a delicious breakfast.
**As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.**
Why you should make cheesy courgette fritters
I don’t know about you, but I always seem to end up with a few courgettes in the refrigerator that I don’t know what to do with. This recipe for cheesy courgette fritters is a great way to use them.
The fritters are packed with tasty cheese and grated courgettes, making them not only delicious but healthy too. In addition, they are shallow fried in only a tablespoon of oil which means they don’t turn out greasy.
Thanks to the egg in the batter, the courgette fritters develop delicious crispy edges when they first come out of the pan.
Courgettes are not only packed with potassium, which we need to keep our muscles working but are also a good source of Vitamin C and folic acid. 80 grams of raw courgette (or just less than 3 ounces) counts as one of your 5 a day. They are also packed with fibre, which helps promote healthy digestion.
The cheese in the courgette fritters provides protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamin B12, all of which should form part of a healthy diet.
The batter itself only takes 5 minutes to mix up, and with 3 minutes per side in the frying pan, this is an ideal dish to throw together when you’re short of time. Whether it’s for a quick after-school lunch, a delicious breakfast, or a quick side at dinnertime, these cheesy courgette fritters will fit the bill!
Just look how easy they are to make!
What you will need
Equipment
Not too much! A cheese grater for grating the courgettes and the cheese, a mixing bowl for mixing the batter and a frying pan for frying the fritters.
Ingredients
This recipe makes approximately 8 courgette fritters (depending on how large you make them). I made 8, but if you make them a bit smaller you will get around 12.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making cheesy courgette fritters on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Courgettes – depending on where in the world you live you may know these by other names. In the US they are known as zucchini, and my South African readers will know them as baby marrows. The larger the courgette, the more water it will contain, so try and get small or medium-sized courgettes for this recipe. The courgette should be coarsely grated and then pressed with a piece of paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
Some people like to sprinkle salt onto the grated courgette and leave it to stand for half an hour so that the salt can draw any excess moisture out. I don’t find this necessary.
I grate my courgettes with the skin still on (wash them first). If your courgettes are on the larger side and the skin has thickened, you may like to peel them before grating.
Eggs and flour – these form the batter. You can use plain flour or self-raising flour. If you use plain flour you should add a teaspoon of baking powder to help the fritters rise.
Mixed herbs – for additional flavouring. You may also find these in the supermarket labelled as Italian herbs. They are pretty similar in the combination of herbs and either mixed herbs or Italian herbs will be fine.
Cheese – I used a mixture of grated parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese.
Oil – this is used for frying the fritters. I like to use a neutral oil such as sunflower or canola, but you could use olive oil if you prefer.
Sour cream and chives – there are used for garnish.
You may also like to add half a teaspoon of salt and a grinding of black pepper to the batter.
What to do
Prepare the courgettes by rinsing them to remove any dirt. Grate the courgettes on the largest holes of a cheese grater (no need to peel them first) then press gently with a double piece of paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Repeat with a second layer of paper towel if the courgettes are very watery.
Place the flour, baking powder, eggs and herbs into a mixing bowl and optionally season with salt and black pepper.
Beat well until the mixture is combined and there are no lumps in the flour.
Stir in the grated courgettes and the cheese and mix until well combined.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add spoonfuls of the courgette mixture. The oil should just sizzle when you add the batter. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown.
Don’t let the oil get too hot or the fritters will burn before they are cooked in the centre.
Serve the fritters either as a side dish with a roast or garnish with sour cream and chives and serve as a snack or a light meal.
These cheesy fritters can be eaten either hot or cold. However, if you do want to reheat them you can place them in a hot dry frying pan for a minute or two, or place them on a baking tray in a hot oven for 5 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend reheating them in the microwave as they would become soggy.
If you’d like to be notified of any new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? As a thank-you gift, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.
Cheese courgette fritters FAQ
You can freeze the cooked fritters by placing them on a baking tray (lined with baking parchment to prevent the fritters from sticking to the tray) and freezing them until solid. Once frozen, transfer the fritters to a large plastic bag or other freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.
If you are concerned that the fritters will stick together in the freezer you can layer them between pieces of baking parchment.
To use place the frozen fritters on a baking tray and bake in a hot oven (200C/400F) for 8 to 10 minutes until piping hot and crispy around the edges.
Alternatively, allow the fritters to defrost and reheat them in a dry frying pan, turning occasionally until heated through.
I haven’t tried freezing the uncooked batter.
This can happen if there is too much moisture in the batter. Ensure that you have blotted the grated courgettes well with paper towels before adding them to the batter.
No, that shouldn’t be necessary. This is a ‘mix and make’ recipe and you can fry the fritters immediately after they have been mixed.
If you would like to mix the fritters ahead of time you can store the batter in a covered container in the refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours. Give it a quick mix before frying the fritters in case the grated courgettes have drawn water. If this has happened, stir in a small amount of flour before frying.
Save for later
If you would like to make these cheesy courgette fritters, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe you may also like to try some of my other recipes made with vegetables:
- Crustless vegetable quiche – a quick and easy quiche packed with your choice of vegetables and covered in a cheesy topping.
- Crustless tomato quiche – put a glut of tomatoes to good use by making this easy tomato quiche.
- Cheese and asparagus quiche – fresh asparagus in a creamy cheesy filling, baked in flaky cheese pastry.
- Mushroom galette – A delectable blend of cream cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms encased in a soft and flaky pastry.
- Cheesy zucchini bake with cream crackers – two meals in one! Serve this delicious bake as a side dish with a roast and pack leftovers into your lunch box for a midday treat.
The recipe
Cheesy courgette fritters
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated courgettes approximately 2 medium courgettes
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup / 120 grams plain flour or use self-raising flour and omit the baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs or Italian herbs
- ½ cup / 50 grams grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup / 60 grams grated cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil for frying
- ¼ cup / 60 ml sour cream for garnish (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the courgettes by rinsing them to remove any dirt. Grate the courgettes on the largest holes of a cheese grater (no need to peel them first) then press gently with a double piece of paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Repeat with a second layer of paper towel if the courgettes are very watery.2 cups grated courgettes
- Place the flour, baking powder, eggs and herbs into a mixing bowl and optionally season with salt and black pepper.2 large eggs, ½ cup / 120 grams plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon mixed herbs, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Beat well until the mixture is combined and there are no lumps in the flour.
- Stir in the grated courgettes and the cheese and mix until well combined.½ cup / 50 grams grated parmesan cheese, ½ cup / 60 grams grated cheddar cheese
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add spoonfuls of the courgette mixture. The oil should just sizzle when you add the batter. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown. Don't let the oil get too hot or the fritters will burn before they are cooked in the centre.2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Serve the fritters either as a side dish with a roast, or garnish with sour cream and chives and serve as a snack or a light meal.¼ cup / 60 ml sour cream, 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Notes
Alternatively, allow the fritters to defrost and reheat them in a dry frying pan, turning occasionally until heated through. I have not included sour cream or chives in the nutrition calculation as these are optional. Nutrition assumes you will make 8 fritters.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I’d love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you’d like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
If you’d like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.
Leave a Reply