It's zucchini season, can you tell? I really can't believe I haven't posted these here on GreenLiteBites yet. I went digging for my own recipe (yes I do that) and had to look at my old site archives!
Anyway, these are on old favorite of mine. A little ketchup and salt, they take me right back to the good old North Eastern PA bazaars where I grew up on artery clogging potato pancakes, an old favorite of mine. They don't have the same exact texture but they are good enough knock off for me!
Ingredients
- About 1 and ½ cup grated zucchini (a medium-large zucchini will be fine)
- ¼ cup whole-wheat flour (30g)
- 2 egg whites
- About ½ of an onion grated or diced small
- Kosher Salt and Pepper
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
Grate the zucchini on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and press a to remove a little of the extra moisture.
Whisk the flour and egg whites with a pinch of salt & pepper together for form the batter.
Add the zucchini to the batter and grate the onion into the bowl. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
Heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Form the zucchini batter into patties. The batter may be moist, that’s ok, form it into a patty and plop it in the griddle and press it down a bit, it will hold once it starts to cook. Before you flip sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 4-5 minutes a side or until cake becomes a nice brown.
The best part is the WHOLE recipe is only about 240 calories, 2g of fat and 9g of fiber. I have made everywhere from 4-8 varying in size based on the amount of zucchini I used.
Zucchini Pancakes
Ingredients
- About 1 and ½ cup grated zucchini a medium-large zucchini will be fine
- ¼ cup whole-wheat flour 30g
- 2 egg whites
- About ½ of an onion grated or diced small
- Kosher Salt and Pepper
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and press a to remove a little of the extra moisture.About 1 and ½ cup grated zucchini
- Whisk the flour and egg whites with a pinch of salt & pepper together for form the batter.¼ cup whole-wheat flour, 2 egg whites, Kosher Salt and Pepper
- Add the zucchini to the batter and grate the onion into the bowl. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.About ½ of an onion grated or diced small
- Heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.Non-stick cooking spray
- Form the zucchini batter into patties. The batter may be moist, that’s ok, form it into a patty and plop it in the griddle and press it down a bit, it will hold once it starts to cook. Before you flip sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 4-5 minutes a side or until cake becomes a nice brown.
Stephanie says
Hey Roni - I made these last night and my only tweak was I added whole grain mustard. I then made a dip of greek yogurt and whole grain mustard to act as my "sour cream". They were amazing! Served with a simple salad of cucumber/tomato/feta and balsamic.
Diana says
I made these today, and they were delicious. I didn't have onions so I used a couple of garlic cloves, and I used almond flour instead. Will definitely make these again!
Michele says
This is my 3rd comment on this recipe! This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. One of my absolute favorite things to make!
Colleen says
I was looking for a recipe to use some zucchini and I didn't want the traditional saute. I came across this recipe and tried it last night. I was very surprised by ow similar these were to traditional "latkes" or potato pancakes. I used organic oat flour instead of whole wheat and I used 2 green onions, I will add cayenne pepper or other spice next time for more flavor. Even the boyfriend who traditionally is not a fan of the healthier dishes commented "These don't taste bad, they would be goo for breakfast with eggs!" That is a rave review if you knew my boyfriend ... Thank you for the recipe. I will be making this again and again.
Andy says
lol Lori, that's hilarious. Gonna have to try them, with zucchini that is, not cucumbers 😉
Lori says
I have to tell you, I put my husband in charge of making these for dinner last night before I got home from work. He made them and they tasted all right, not like I'd expected though and I asked him if he used the whole zucchini (it was rather large), he said yes. Later that night I was going through the crisper making lunches for today when I found the zucchini (we only had 1). Apparently my husband doesn't know the difference between zucchinis and cucumbers because last night we ate cucumber pancakes LOL!
Michele says
How funny I last commented on this over a year ago. I was craving these and just made them for dinner. They are so good! Just thought I'd let you know since I had to pull up the recipe anyway. 🙂
Michele says
I just made these! One of my zucchini was bad when I cut into it so I grated a small red potato and added it to the zucchini I had. Delicious and I will definitely be making them again!
Jenna says
first I want to say this recipe looks delicious and i so wanted to make it....however i used the last of my zucchini on the healthy beefaroni last night ( i love that dish and make several servings at a time and scoop it into tupperware by the serving for my lunches...its so good i can eat it everyday!) but I still loved this idea and wasn't gonna let it get me down that i didnt have the zucchini so i grated up an apple (as thats all i really had that might grate well)and just used fiber one pancake mix (3 points) and sprinkled in some cinnamon then took the advice of a another commenter and used applesauce over them....it was so yummy! but i do have zucchini on my shopping list (its one of my fav filler veggies and works as a filling food on the momentuem ww plan!
i love your site and get on it like everyday and i got my mom hooked too! I love your search by ingredent! And I have told everyone at ww about it! You are so genius and we have the same taste....everything you make sounds great!
Teenage Veg Head says
I just made these this morning and they are AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipes!
Laura says
Can't wait to try these over the weekend. I am going to try Jewish style with home made apple sauce or Fat Free Sour cream. So it isn't quite Potato Latkes but it is close.
Chrissy says
I made this a couple of weeks ago and they were DElicous! yum yums. but they weren't pretty like yours, which is sad. luckily they didn't last long enough for me to dwell. i think my batter somehow ended up too soup-y. maybe cuz i didn't have whole-wheat flour? i dunno- but i was also very inspired by your pizza wontons and i put a little spin on them-
i sliced some figs and put one 'round' in the center of the wrapper, mixed 1 oz. of gorgonzola with 2 tbs. FF cream cheese, them spooned a dollop of that onto the fig slice, added one dot of honey to the top of that, then pinched the wrapper shut, spray with pam, bake at 350 for about 10 min.
holy yummy fancy pizza bites. you can do the same with goat's cheese. the mixing with FF cream cheese saves alot of points...
thanks for all your great recipes and your motivation! i love your videos. i will be trying the zucchini fries tonight 🙂
Diane says
I made these last weekend and they turned out great! DH wasn't so fond of them, neither were my toddlers. I guess it's one of those things you either love or hate.
April says
I made these last night for dinner, and they were super yummy! A good way to use up some of the zucchini from my garden. I was craving something sweet, so I left out the salt, pepper and onion, and added a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Then I drizzled some real maple syrup on top, and they were amazing! 🙂
Meghan says
Made these the other night and ate the entire patch myself. They were soo good. I added a little grated romano cheese to my batter for a little bit more flavor. Will def. be making again!
JoAnne says
Hi,thanks for the reply.I love your website ,I check it almost everyday-it gives me inspiration! I will let you know how the corn thing turns out....
roni says
JoAnne - You're right, I upped the time a bit, not sure what I was thinking. As for corn, I haven't tried but I have a similar recipe using Spaghetti squash...
https://greenlitebites.com/2007/12/20/spaghetti-squash-cakes/
JoAnne says
Hi,I was wondering if anyone thinks that you could do someting similiar like the zucchinni pancakes but with corn,almost like a fritter.Any ideas? By the way I tried the recipe,was really good,just needed to be cooked a little longer than a couple of minutes. I suggest keeping it low and putting a cover on the pan.
Kristi says
These look sooo good! I love making comfort food that's actually good for you.
Jenn Searls says
Yum! I have an abundance of zucchini right now. The kids are over zucchini bread (so are my thighs) and I'm tired of crudites.
Another zucchini/summer squash recipe for you riffed off one from Self magazine:
Cook a pot of whole wheat pasta. I like linguini with this recipe.
Saute 1 garlic clove in 2 tsp of olive oil in a nonstick pan. When it starts to get brown (but before it burns), pull it out of the pan and discard (you just need it to flavor the oil). When you take it out, dump in 1/2 sliced red onion and a sliced zucchini and a sliced summer squash. Saute until the onions become translucent and then throw in a pint of cherry tomatoes (1/2 the tomatoes). Let that cook down. Get about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and put that in your pan with a chicken boiullon cube (or you could use 1/4 cup chicken stock). Splash some half-and-half over the whole thing and let it cook down until the veggies are the consistency you like. Serve over pasta. It makes a TON of sauce for very few points. Even hubby who is anti-pasta sauces made with veggies loves it.
Julie says
Hey Roni, I tried baking these tonight and wanted to let you know. I looked at some other recipes online (not diet friendly ones at all) but found a baked zucchini cake recipe that said to cook at 350 for 40 minutes flipping once so that was my plan. I prepared everything just as your recipe said...then I got impatient and forgot to preheat the oven so I had to cook them a bit longer than the 40 minutes. But I think 350 would work for 40 minutes if you preheated it. I turned it on broil for the last couple minutes. They turned out great!!
Roni says
Kali - I answered this question awhile back on video, I hope this helps! https://greenlitebites.com/2008/06/11/ask-roni-qa-_v02/
Jan says
Roni - this is one of my "go to recipes" from when you posted it originally. I love love love these!
Kali Lilla says
Love your recipes and food pics! What kind of camera do you use? The pics come out so sharp up close. 🙂
Liz Rosenbaum says
THANK YOU for all of the zucchini recipes! Every summer I have no idea what to do with all of our squash and it ends up rotting. I tried these pancakes and loved them! What a wonderful idea!
Stacy says
Seeing this recipe made me take a trip in the way back machine and remember when Mom would make this for dinner. I will have to try this recipe out. They look delicious.
Julie says
Thanks Roni - I'm going to try baking them this weekend and I'll let you know how it works! The recipe sounds great so I can't wait to try it.
roni says
Julie - Hmmmm that's a good question! Not sure. Under the broiler may work! If you try it let me know!
-Roni
http://testsite.prdhost.com
Julie says
Hi, this recipe sounds wonderful! Do you think this would work well baked in the oven?
Susan says
I tried these the other day - they were great! I used a little ranch fat-free dressing as a drizzle. I will definitely be making these little guys again!!!
Christy says
Michelle - I LOVE to use zucchini when I am making pasta/pasta sauce. Normally I take my zucchini, peppers, onion and meat (if I am using meat) and cook them together in a skillet. Then once the pasta is ready I add the pasta to my mixture and cook for about 3-5 minutes before adding my red sauce.
BTW...Roni's recipe for homade sauce is super good. I froze almost all of it. I ended up liking it better when it came out of the freezer. It kept really well.
Michele says
Roni - if you're looking for a way to use up some of that zucchini, I have a great recipe that I use as a pasta sauce. Here it is:
About 1 lb. zucchini, cut in half length wise and then sliced.
1/2 chopped onion
garlic clove pressed or minced
teaspoon of olive oil and a spray of olive oil spray
1 lg. can crushed tomatoes
about 1/2 can tomato paste
basil
garlic powder
salt and pepper
Chop onion and garlic and brown in olive oil. Add sliced zucchini just as the onion starts to get translucent. Cook for about 10 minutes until the zucchini starts to get soft. Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes, 1/2 can tomato paste and about 1 cup of water (you want it to be thick and chunky, add more tomato paste if needed). Add fresh or dried basil, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. You can also add oregano if you wish - I just happen not to like it. Simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes until the zucchini is completely soft. Serve over pasta with grated cheese and red pepper flakes. I use one cup of "sauce" over 3 oz. of whole wheat pasta.
Michele says
I wanted to try these a long time ago and I never got around to it. I will definitely try them this time. I think they would be good with some reduced fat sour cream.
roni says
LOL - OK, I admit these aren't for everyone, but I love 'em! They allow me to eat a lighter version of a childhood love of mine, potato pancakes which really are deep fried heat attacks on a plate!
Tanya - Wilkes Barre/Scranton ALL the way! ;~P
Allison - I LOVE Paula, even though I don't make her food!
Laura says
Meaning no offense to your recipes, which I think are wonderful, I have to admit I had to smile over this one! We call them courgette fritters in New Zealand and they were the bane of my existence when I was younger. My mum still likes to remind me of the time when I was caught smuggling these into my bedroom and throwing them out the window into the neighbour's backyard! 🙂 As far as pancakes and courgettes go, I think I'll stick to your recipes for breakfast pancakes and stuffed zucchini/courgettes.
Tanya says
These look so good. Have to ask, what part of NEPA are you originally from? I'm here in the Scranton area and we are prime time in bazarre / church picnic season. I have to admit, I haven't had a potato pancake since I started WW, but these look so good I might have to try them!!!! Thanks again for your genuis!!!! :~)
Allison K says
These look pretty dang good! I know I probably shouldn't even mention her name on your website (I'm a Food Network junkie), but Paula Deen makes something similar - she uses zucchini and carrot, and green onion for a light onion flavor (and of course, pan fries with tons of oil). Oh my gosh - I just realized I have carrot and zucchini in the fridge. I'm going to try these with WW flour for the first time! Thanks for bringing back the classic hoecake in a healthy way!
erin says
You could go sweet with these by adding cinnamon and nutmeg, maybe a bit of sugar (of course leaving out the onions and salt). Serve with honey or syrup - more like zucchini bread.
MizFit says
YUM.
so remind me of the potato pancakes my mom would make...now ketchup? ick.
I wonder how applesauce would be!
Michele says
These sound so good, I'll have to try them....
Nicole says
I like zuchini bread, but i'm not so sure about zuchini pancakes!!!