Directions
I am so thankful for friends and family, and the wonderful people at our local Farmer’s Market, who are able to actually grow beautiful vegetables in the summer time. If you’re an avid reader of Chew Nibble Nosh, you know that the only thing I manage to grow successfully is basil, oh…and children. I think the kids are still doing alright. (Yay, Me!)
Aaron’s aunt had an overabundance of beautiful zucchini in her garden this summer, and we were the lucky recipient of some of the bounty! Thank you, Cathy!
If I’m given beautiful produce, I can’t let it go to waste, so once I had it, it was time to figure out what I was going to do with it.
Enter these baked zucchini sticks.
I figured they would be a delicious, healthy, kid friendly way to work some of that amazing homegrown veggie success into our dinner, and I was right!
I started by cutting some of my zucchini into big, chunky fry shaped pieces. I guess you could say they were the zucchini equivalent of steak fries.
Once I had my zucchini prepped, it was time to bread them. I poured some skim milk into a small bowl. Then, some flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder were mixed up in another bowl. In yet another bowl, I had some Panko bread crumbs on hand.
I dipped each zucchini fry into the flour first, then into the milk, and finally gave them a good roll around in the bread crumbs. I placed them on a cooling rack that I’d sprayed with some nonstick spray.
I highly suggest that, as you’re dipping the fries, you keep one hand as the wet hand and one hand as the dry hand. Otherwise, you end up looking like the Swamp Thing.
I speak from experience.
Anyway, after a few minutes, I had my zucchini fries coated and ready to pop in the oven!
I baked them for about twenty minutes, until they were crisp, toasty, and crunchy, and cooked through.
I served them up alongside some warmed Marinara, and my family gobbled them up. In fact, I was busy taking pictures of a few of them, and by the time I got to the table, the rest of them were almost gone!
CRUNCHY BAKED ZUCCHINI FRIES
Adapted from ChocolateCoveredKatie.com
- 3-4 small zucchini, sliced into long, thick fry-shaped pieces
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2-3/4 cup milk (start with 1/2, but you may need a little more)
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- Marinara sauce or Ranch dressing, for dipping
- Preheat your oven to 420*F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil, and place a baking rack over the baking sheet. Spray the baking rack with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Pour the milk into another small bowl.
- Pour the Panko into yet another small bowl.
- First, dip each piece of zucchini in the flour. Then, dip in the milk, and finally roll in the breadcrumbs.
- Place the dipped fries on the prepared baking rack.
- Once all of them are coated, place the pan in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are nice and toasty, and the zucchini is baked through.
- Serve with warmed Marinara sauce or Ranch dressing for dipping.
- ENJOY!
