Zucchini Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Patties of shredded zucchini topped with buttery spread and cheese. Make these small for hors d'oeuvres or large for a side dish/vegetarian meal. A terrific way to eat an abundant vegetable.

I've been eating zucchini pancakes for over 30 years. Whoa. That's a long time for a staple dish like this. High time I put it on the blog.

Growing up, my folks gradually turned our backyard into an edible space. The old small in-ground pool was filled in and used for rhubarb and other perennials, and I distinctly recall having the responsibility of a hammer (!) to break up the concrete patio that became a strawberry patch. My dad grew up on a farm and with his skills we grew beans, corn, chard, squash and tomatoes. In addition to the strawberries we had cherry and apple trees. Urban homesteading before it was hip.

Although we grew up with a glut of vegetables at different times of the growing season, I don't recall my mom stuffing zucchini into endless loaves of zucchini bread. Perhaps like me she hadn't wanted to turn on the oven. She made these savory pancakes instead. In Mom's curling cookbook, where I found this recipe by Lois Robertson of the City View Curling Club in Ottawa, ON, the title is Zucchini Crepes but we always call them zucchini pancakes. These are similar in preparation/use to my Turnip Fritters and to Meghan's Kohlrabi Fritters. 

Use any summer squash you choose--just shred them as fine as your technology allows you and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. You can also freeze shredded squash for out-of-season pancakes. Freezing the squash breaks the cell walls so that when thawed the liquid seeps out and you get a nice dry squash. Since you lose more moisture after thawing, I generally freeze 1½ times the amount of zucchini that I'll want to use after thawing.

For more recipes using zucchini all day long, please see my Zucchini Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I've also got a Summer Squash Recipes Collection in case you've got a mixed bunch of summer squash and don't know what to do with it. I pin squash recipes of all seasons to my Squash Pinterest board, and share seasonal recipes and round ups from around the web on my FB page. For info on how to use this blog, click here.

Note: I prefer a fine shred for my zucchini pancakes and use my food processor to get it. I have this one (Amazon affiliate link) which has 2 sizes of shredding discs. Box graters work fine if you aren't processing a small dog's worth of zucchini to put up for winter.

I swear these things grow while my back is turned.

Zucchini Pancakes (makes 10-30 depending on the size)

3 cups shredded/grated zucchini, squeezed to remove as much moisture as possible

1 large egg

½ cup flour (unbleached all purpose for me)
1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)

¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-3 Tablespoons vegetable oil, olive oil, or cooking fat of your choice

to serve, buttery spread and parmesan cheese

In a medium size bowl mix zucchini and egg with a fork until thoroughly combined. Shake flour over, add the baking powder and spices, and mix well. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil. Drop spoonfuls of zucchini into mixture (depending on the size you want, up to ⅓ cup for the largest pancakes). Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until the bottom is browned, then flip over and repeat for the other side. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to hold until all pancakes are cooked. Spread with buttery spread and grate a bit of cheese over top. Serve warm or at room temperature. You can reheat these in the microwave or in a small skillet ( I prefer the small skillet for better texture).

Behind the scenes with a reheated pancake for breakfast.