Cheesy Baked Zucchini Bites
Hey there! These Cheesy Baked Zucchini Bites are delicious nuggets of savoury goodness! They are golden-brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
The crispy bottoms from the melted cheese are my favourite part.
In all, there are only seven ingredients including salt and pepper. They are so simple to prepare!
It's wonderful to serve as a snack, appetizer, or even as a side dish. It's tasty to eat on its own, but also scrumptious when dipped in ranch dressing, marinara sauce, or sour cream.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
How do you make these zucchini bites?
(Complete ingredient amounts and instructions available in the recipe card down below).
Place the shredded zucchini in a fine mesh stainer with a bowl underneath it. Sprinkle with sea salt and toss to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes (first photo).
In another large bowl, add the shredded cheddar cheese, Panko, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic power, and black pepper. Squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini with your hands (as much as you can) and add it to the bowl with the other ingredients (second photo).
Combine all the ingredients together until well incorporated (first photo). Scoop out heaping tablespoons of the mixture and place them on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet (second photo).
Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until golden-brown. Let it cool for a few minutes before enjoying!
Looking for more easy recipes featuring zucchini? Check out these four!
- Easy Zucchini Carrot Pancakes
- Zucchini Gratin with Gruyere and Panko Breadcrumbs
- Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Zucchini and Tomatoes
- Zucchini Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
In summary, these baked zucchini bites are:
- Tasty: Cheddar and zucchini is one delicious and savoury combination.
- Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The texture is pleasing to the palate.
- A wonderful snack, appetizer, or side dish option: It's perfect finger food.
- Fast and easy to put together: It uses few ingredients - many are pantry staples.
- Scalable: This recipe can be easily scaled up to make more or halved to make fewer bites.
- Adaptable: Switch out the cheese with another melty cheese of your choice such as gruyère, emmenthal, or Monterey jack.
- Great to eat on their own, but also wonderful to serve with ranch dressing, sour cream, marinara sauce, or even plain Greek yogurt.
- Vegetarian too!
Did you make this cheesy zucchini bites recipe? If you did, please leave me a rating and comment down below or tag me on any of my social media. I'm @yay_for_food on Instagram. Please share your photos!
Cheesy Baked Zucchini Bites
With only seven ingredients, cheesy baked zucchini bites are a delicious savoury appetizer, snack, or side dish with a crispy outside and tender inside.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (packed) zucchini, shredded
- 1½ cups white cheddar, shredded
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a food processor with a grater (shredder) attachment (or a box grater), shred the zucchini and place it in a fine mesh strainer (with a bowl below). Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the zucchini and give it a gentle toss. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare and measure the other ingredients and place them in a large bowl.
- Then, using your hands, squeeze the grated zucchini to drain excess liquid (it doesn’t need to be fully dry) before adding it with the other ingredients.
- Mix together until well-combined.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoons (I used a #50 cookie scoop, which holds 1.28 tablespoons) of the mixture and place them at least 1-inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden-brown. Let it cool slightly before eating.
Notes
- Nutritional information represents one zucchini bite for a total of 20 bites.
- Store cooled zucchini bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- You can freeze cooled zucchini bites spaced apart on a baking sheet (so they don’t stick together when frozen) and then transfer them to a airtight container or freezer ziploc bag for storage up to three months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and enjoy cold or heat it up in the microwave or oven at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 53Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g
Nutritional values are estimated based on the ingredients used by the author; your ingredients may differ. These values are calculated using Nutritionix.
What a delicious way to use fresh garden produce. These zucchini bites look like a great after school snack!
Thanks Scarlet! It's a great snack!
These are fantastic! I make pancakes or fritters with zucchini, but never anything this size. I love that they're bite-sized - perfect for appetizers!
I agree! Thanks Mimi!
These little Cheesy Baked Zucchini Bites are delicious. I am making them for the second time in 2 weeks. The first time I made them i didn't have any white cheddar so I used the mozzarella that I had. Today, I am using white cheddar purchased specifically for this. I froze some of the first batch and baked them from frozen. Not quite as good as fresh but still very good. They only lasted about 4 days in the freezer before I heard them calling to me so I have no clue how long they hold. Five star recipe for sure.
Thanks for the wonderful review, Becky!
So sad that we halved this recipe thinking we didn't "need" 20 bites. Going to double it next time as compensation!!
I had zucchini that I needed to use up so I decided to try this recipe. I have tried making zucchini fritters before and my family ate them but didn't love them. These cheesy zucchini bites are so delish!!! What a great snack! My family is all in with these little dollops of goodnes. I will definitely be making these again! Thanks for the recipe!
Can these be served at room temperature? The recipe looks delicious
Sure can! Let me know if you end up making these bites!
i have made these zucchini bites three times this “zucchini season”. They are simple to make and incredibly delicious! Everyone who has tried them has asked for the recipe. They are that good!
Thank you so much! This comment really made my day!
I tried that recipe: I had one half of the zucchini and I added a small carrot and everything else without measuring it. I used cookie scoop to form the balls. I cooked them in the air fryer for 10 min and they came out incredibly well and tasty. They held the shape well and had a healthy dense texture. I loved them!
So happy to hear! I need to use the air fryer more!
Oh man. Sooooo good. I grated in fresh garlic instead of dried (one clove) and added 3 Fineky chopped green onions (white and green parts both). Big hit and they disappeared in a flash. I grated and frozen zucchini in baggies last summer and they are perfect for this dish: once thawed they naturally release their liquid and it’s easy to squeeze out the liquid. I also convection baked these beauties and they came out with a lovely golden crispy crust. Two thumbs up.
Thank you for the wonderful comment and very helpful tips!
I’ve made these several time and they are a huge hit with the entire family. So easy! Tonight I am making them along with chicken breasts and have an entire meal done!
So happy to hear, Susan! I'm glad that your family enjoys the zucchini bites!
I added the zest of one lemon to the mixture. It was a nice subtle lemony flavor.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing, Kerry!
I making these for a party can I make them a couple hours ahead of time?
Yes! They will be fine. Leftovers also keep well for a few days when refrigerated and can be reheated in the microwave.
My friend gave me two gigantic zuchinnis and I was scrounging around for recipes to use all of it. So glad to have ran into this recipe! It’s sooooo delicious. After the first one, my husband told me to make more!
For larger batches, can I freeze them after letting them cool down? How should I thaw them?
Thanks so much!
Hi Jules! Good question. I will add this to the Notes area of the recipe card too to share with everyone.
You can freeze cooled zucchini bites spaced apart on a baking sheet (so they don’t stick together when frozen) and then transfer them to a airtight container or freezer ziploc bag for storage up to three months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and enjoy cold or heat it up in the microwave or oven at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
Yummy. Mine were a little burnt on the bottom at 425°. Next time I'll bake at a lower temp. Also, I added a little cayenne (I like spicy). Will add grated onion also, as mine seemed a bit bland. Also, mine were gooy in the center. Don't know if that is how they're suppose to be.
But flavorful enough to make again and will tweek the recipe.
Thank you for a good combination of ingredients.
A perfect recipe, exactly what I was looking for!
Made it and loved it! Thanks 😊!