These Gluten Free Zucchini Fritters with Feta are made with freshly grated zucchini, scallions and buckwheat flour. They are perfect for a light and healthy meal, savory breakfast or snack. Plus, the feta cheese adds some additional protein.
You can serve the fritters with poached eggs, top them with some sliced tomato and leafy greens or enjoy them just on their own. I like them with fresh dill and a dusting of smoked paprika.
What is a gluten free alternative to flour in fritters?
Buckwheat flour can be used as a gluten-free alternative to all-purpose flour when making fritters. It also adds a subtle earthy flavor, which works well in savory recipes.
For these zucchini fritters, I like to use light buckwheat flour. Light buckwheat flour is made from hulled buckwheat. Dark buckwheat flour, on the other hand, is made from unhulled buckwheat and is heavier in texture.
How to remove moisture from zucchini to make fritters
Removing moisture from your zucchini is an important step before making a fritter batter. This is because too much moisture can lead to soggy fritters. To quickly remove excess moisture from grated zucchini, I use kitchen paper towels:
- Lay out a few sheets of paper towel, then grate the zucchini in a thin layer across the paper towel.
- Place a few more sheets on top and press down so the paper towel absorbs moisture from the zucchini.
- Leave the grated zucchini to sit uncovered in a thin layer for about 10 to 15 minutes to dry out further. Alternatively, you can use it straight after squeezing.
If you have more time, you can also salt the grated zucchini and let it sit and drain before squeezing it. With this method, you place the grated zucchini in a colander, sprinkle it with salt, then let it sit in the colander over a sink while the water drips out. The salt helps to draw moisture out of the zucchini. After you have let it sit and drain like this for at least 10 minutes, you can proceed to squeeze out the remaining moisture.
Ingredients for gluten free zucchini fritters
- Zucchini: Grated zucchini, or courgette, is the base ingredients of the fritters. You want to remove excess moisture from the zucchini before using it in the recipe as I explain above.
- Scallions or spring onions: These give the fritters a flavor boost. I love their subtle sweet taste.
- Eggs: Eggs are needed to hold the fritters together. I haven’t tested the recipe with an egg replacement, but I expect that eggs will work best in this recipe to bind the mixture.
- Buckwheat flour: To give the fritters structure and help absorb any leftover moisture from the grated zucchini. You can use all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour if you don’t need the fritters to be gluten free.
- Baking powder: To lighten the texture of the fritters.
- Feta cheese: To be crumbled up and folded through the fritter batter. I love the burst of saltiness that you get from the crumbled up feta. You could use another cheese if you prefer, or leave it out altogether for plain zucchini fritters.
- Extra virgin olive oil: A small amount is added to the fritter batter and a little more is used in the pan for frying. You can use another oil or melted butter for frying if you prefer.
- Salt and black pepper: Essential for seasoning the fritters.
More savory breakfast ideas
- Shakshuka with Fresh Tomato and Spinach
- Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins
- Savory Sweet Potato Muffins
- Easy Hummus without Lemon and Garlic
- Easy Gluten Free Flatbread
You can find more recipes on the Savory Breakfast page.
Gluten Free Zucchini Fritters with Feta Recipe
Serves
8 small fritters
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 medium / 300 g zucchini
- 2 scallions or spring onions
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp / 50 g buckwheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2/3 cup / 80 g crumbled feta cheese
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil or butter, for frying
Method
- Grate the zucchini and squeeze out as much moisture as possible (see Note 1). Finely chop the scallions or spring onions.
- Place the zucchini and scallions or spring onions into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, olive oil and a generous seasoning of salt and cracked black pepper. Beat well to combine.
- Add the buckwheat flour and baking powder and fold everything together until just combined. Add the crumbled up feta and fold through.
- Heat a little oil in a frypan over a medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan, using your spoon to flatten the mixture out and tidy up the edges. Fry for a minute or so until browned, then flip. Keeping them small makes them easier to flip.
- Enjoy the fritters on their own or with your desired toppings.
Notes
- Removing moisture from the zucchini – I usually use kitchen paper towel to squeeze out excess moisture from grated zucchini. I explain how to do this in the body of this post above.
- Serving ideas – The fritters are delicious on their own. Or you could serve them with poached eggs, with sliced tomato and leafy greens, with hummus or with some natural yogurt, fresh dill and a dusting of smoked paprika.
- Storage – Any leftover fritters can be stored in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Leftovers can be enjoyed cold or reheated in a dry frypan to warm through before serving. You can also warm them up in a microwave, but I prefer the frypan method to prevent sogginess.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 fritter (when recipe made into 8 fritters)
- Energy: 86 Calories / 360 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 5.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 6.6 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.2 g
- Sugars: 1.4 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 148 mg
- Potassium: 197 mg
