Air Fryer Zucchini is the easiest way to use up extra zucchini from the garden. It's ready in just 20 minutes and made with only 5 healthy ingredients. Enjoy this crispy vegetable side dish served hot with your favorite protein!
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📋 About the Recipe
- No need to heat up your oven. During the summer months, it's nice to avoid heating up the house by using the air fryer instead. Make sure to check out my other Air Fryer recipes for more oven-free recipes.
- Kid-friendly. If your kids love my Air Fryer Carrot Fries and Air Fryer Green Bean Fries, they will love these cheesy air fryer zucchini bites too!
- Healthy way to cook zucchini. This recipe is made with no breading and is made crispy with just a tablespoon of oil and parmesan cheese. For a similar recipe, try my stuffed Italian zucchini.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Zucchini - Although frozen zucchini will work in stir fried dishes, it will not work for air fried zucchini because frozen zucchini will release too much excess moisture. Only use fresh zucchini for crispy zucchini.
- Oil - My go to oil is olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil you like.
- Parmesan - Parmesan cheese is optional, but adds the best cheesy flavor.
📓 Instructions
- Chop zucchini into chunks. Do your best to keep the cuts uniform to encourage an even bake. If some chunks are significantly larger than others, they may be undercooked while others are overcooked.
- Toss in oil and seasonings. Unlike with deep frying, air frying requires minimal oil. All you need is 1 tablespoon to lightly coat the zucchini.
- Preheat the air fryer. Some air fryer models don't require a preheat, but if yours does, make sure to preheat to 400 degrees F.
- Layer in bottom of air fryer basket. Add the zucchini chunks in a single layer with space between.
- Air fry. The zucchini should be fork tender and golden brown after 5 to 7 minutes. If you cut your zucchini into larger chunks, you may need a few additional minutes.
- Toss in parmesan cheese. Transfer the warm zucchini to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over top. Stir until the zucchini is evenly coated.
- Serve while hot and crispy.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Switch up the seasonings. I kept the seasoning on these air fryer zucchini chunks really simple with just salt, pepper, and parmesan. Add additional spices to change the flavor profile, if desired.
- Can leave out parmesan. If necessary or desired, skip tossing the zucchini in parmesan.
- Try it with summer squash! Summer squash cooks up almost exactly like zucchini and could easily be substituted for all or some of the zucchini.
- Want to make zucchini chips? You can chop the zucchini into rounds and make zucchini chips, but note that this can cook more quickly than thicker chunks. If you are doing this, make sure to check the chips sooner and adjust the cook time as needed.
❄️ How to Store
To store: Just like french fries or any fried food, roasted zucchini is always best eaten fresh. As they sit out, they will become soggy.
To reheat: Although the zucchini will be soggy, it can be reheated if desired. For best results, reheat in the air fryer until warmed through.
🔍 FAQs
I do not recommend using butter instead of oil to grease the air fryer because butter has a much lower smoke point than olive oil. If you substitute butter, there is a much higher chance your zucchini will burn instead of get a nice golden brown color.
If your fried zucchini is soggy, it could be for a couple of reasons. The kosher salt in this recipe not only seasons the zucchini but helps draw out the excess moisture from the vegetable. If you did not use enough kosher salt, there could be too much moisture left in your zucchini. Secondly, if you crowded the air fryer basket, the air won't be able to circulate enough to make the vegetable chunks crispy.
These crispy zucchini chunks are great to serve as a healthier french fry alternative. Serve with Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken, Salmon Meatballs, Air Fryer Chicken Patties, or even BBQ Baby Back Ribs.
💭 One More Tip
Avoid using too much oil! It can be tempting to use additional oil to try and make these zucchini bites even crispier, but it will likely only make them soggier. Just a tablespoon of oil is enough to lightly coat them and make them nice and crispy!
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Zucchini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Then, cut each half in half again lengthwise. Cube zucchini by cutting widthwise into 1-inch thick pieces.
- Add zucchini, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Toss to evenly coat.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray. Place zucchini in a single layer on the bottom. You might need to cook in batches to ensure the zucchini cooks properly.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender and slightly browned.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and stir to coat. Serve warm.
Notes
- Serve immediately to prevent the zucchini from becoming soggy.
- Experiment and add any of your favorite seasonings.
- Omit the parmesan cheese to make this recipe dairy free.
- Air fryers come in many shapes, brands, and sizes. You may want to test cooking a few pieces of zucchini, before cooking the whole batch, to determine the proper amount of cooking time for your air fryer.
Nutrition
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