Quick Meals

Greek Zucchini Tots (Mini Fritters)

July 2, 2025

Ingredients in Greek Zucchini Tots

Here’s what you need to make these. Over the years I’ve made them since I originally published the recipe in 2015, I’ve found that it’s a very versatile recipe – easily make it gluten free, substitute green onion for herbs, switch parmesan for other cheeses, and oregano for other dried herbs.

1. FOR THE BATTER

Flour – I use plain flour / all-purpose flour. I also tried it with gluten free flour and it worked perfectly, you wouldn’t even know the difference,
Egg – The egg is what holds this batter together when it bakes. The best (natural) food-glue known to man kind!
Panko breadcrumbs – I have a feeling the original recipe called for regular breadcrumbs. But the larger sized panko breadcrumbs make the inside softer.
Parmesan cheese – This is what gives these fritters a savoury flavour boost so it’s not bland inside. I totally cheat and use the store bought sandy type of parmesan (from the fridge section, not pantry – if it’s on the shelf, it’s not natural cheese!). The fine strands would also work, and for those more virtuous than me, shred your own. 🙂
Dried oregano – Greece’s favourite herb? 🙂 We’re using a whole tablespoon here, a good amount! Substitute with the same amount of dried parsley or dill, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, or herb mixes (like Italian, herbs de provence or a generically named “mixed herbs”).
Garlic – Is it really Greek if there’s no garlic in it? No! 🙂
Feta cheese – Preferably Greek!
Green onion – For freshness and flavour. Substitute with finely grated red onion or eschalots (US: shallots), or 1/2 cup tightly packed roughly chopped baby spinach or kale (this works great, I’ve done both), or 1/2 cup loosely packed parsley.

2. YES you need Zucchini too!

Oh WAIT! I almost forgot – you also need zucchini. 😂 And salt to sweat excess water out so the tots don’t end up a watery soggy mess that never crisp up.

You can see in this photo (hopefully!) how the inside is nice and moist thanks to the zucchini but that the outside is crispy.

Other vegetables – I’ve also made this with carrots and they were fabulous. I was tempted to publish that but I resisted as I wanted to spruce up the original zucchini one first. Carrots coming next! So handy – I always have carrots in my fridge.

How to make Greek Zucchini Tots

The traditional recipe is made by shallow frying them. But I found it took quite a while (so many tots!!) and also, as regular readers know, I am selective about deep frying.

So I tried baking them instead. And what do you know, it worked fabulously! A spritz of oil is all that is required to create a golden crunchy crust, and it stays deliciously moist on the inside. 🙂

Grate the zucchini using a standard box grater.
Sweat the zucchini for 30 minutes to remove excess water. To do this, you just toss the zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon of salt (you really don’t need much) then leave it in a colander set over the sink or a bowl to let excess water drip out.

Squeeze – Then grab handfuls and squeeze excess water out. Note: there is no need to be 100% meticulous here and squeeze to death, you just want to get most of it out. In fact, the remaining water in the zucchini is what keeps these tots really nice and moist inside.
Mix – Put the squeezed zucchini into a clean bowl and add the remaining batter ingredients except the feta. I mix that in later to prevent it from getting completely smashed when mixing as I think it’s nice to have some little visible pops.

So, mix everything else first until it’s well combined, then gently stir the crumbled feta through.

Batter done – This is what it looks like when it’s mixed up. It looks a bit scruffy but holds when pressed together.
Tots – Dollop heaped tablespoon mounds onto 2 lined baking trays, then press into tater-tot / potato gem. I get 29 in total (one short of 30 didn’t bother me when I filmed it but it’s bothering me today….). Then spray generously with olive oil. The more generous you are, the better they brown!

Bake for 30 minutes in a hot 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced) oven, switching the trays at the 20 minute mark, until the surface is golden and crispy. You may find the bottom tray needs a few extra minutes.
Serve with plain yogurt or a simple Mint Yogurt on the side, or other dipping sauce of choice (yes, even good ole’ ketchup works here!)

These make a great party food because they reheat really well. Or you could make them bigger and have them with eggs for breakfast – or dinner! I would happily scoff these down for dinner any day! – Nagi x