I love a good fritter and this is one of my absolute favourites. It’s fast and easy to make and is absolutely delicious, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Leftovers are also great for the lunchbox.
Health benefits
Although vegetarian, this is one protein-rich fritter! Zucchini is a high-fibre vegetable containing a decent amount of potassium and vitamin C. The mint is a powerful antioxidant and a great digestive herb.
Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit many specific dietary requirements.
If you’re looking to save money across pantry items such as nuts, seeds, besan flour and meals, I personally shop at The Wholefood Collective – great whole foods at heavily discounted prices (all home delivered), click HERE to take a look.
Zucchini, Mint and Haloumi Fritters
Ingredients
- 500 g zucchini/s - grated, moisture wrung from it
- 1 red onion/s - finely chopped
- 1 clove/s garlic - crushed
- ¼ bunch/s fresh mint leaves - picked off the stems and finely chopped
- 180 g haloumi - crumbled
- 1 lemon/s - zest
- ½ tsp sea salt - or to taste
- Ground black pepper
- 3 free-range or organic egg/s - whisked a little
- 50 g besan flour (chickpea flour) see alternatives below
Method
- Combine the zucchini, onion, garlic, mint and haloumi together in a large mixing bowl or food processor.
- Add the zest, salt, pepper, eggs and mix to combine.
- Lastly add the flour and mix well. he mixture should have the consistency of a pancake batter so add more flour if you feel it's necessary.
- Add a little ghee or butter to a fry pan and heat over a moderate heat. Add the batter (approx. heaped tablespoon) and cook until brown, carefully flipping.
Thermomix
- Chop the zucchini, 5 seconds, speed 5. Wring out the moisture well and set aside.
- Add garlic to the bowl, chop 3 seconds, speed 6. Add the onion, chop 5 seconds, speed 5.
- Add the mint leaves, chop 5 seconds, speed 5.
- Now chop the haloumi (broken into quarters), 5 seconds, speed 5.
- Add the zucchini back into the bowl and the rest of the ingredients. Blend, scraping the sides, 10 seconds, speed 4.
Serve
- With a leafy, green salad.
Make-ahead
- Re-heat under a low grill or in a sandwich press. The are also great cold.
Store
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Can also be frozen.
Variations
Change the flour (legume-free)
A blend of wholemeal spelt flour and almond meal or a gluten-free premix are a good alternative (you will just need to increase the quantity of flour to make a thickish, pancake like batter).Onion and garlic-free
Replace the onion with finely diced fennel and the garlic with a pinch of cumin.I hope you love these as much as we do. I love to hear what you think. Feel free to post a comment or question below!
Anne At Home says
Hi Georgia, I’ve just discovered your site & am amazed & looking forward to trying out many of your recipes. These fritters look delicious. I have 2 daughters, aged 5 & 10. The 5 year old is incredibly fussy & I find myself giving her plain pasta or rice for dinner most nights (I know, I know…!) and the 10 year old has just declared herself pescetarian. I am concerned particularly about keeping their iron levels up without red meat, do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much in advance, Anne
Georgia Harding says
Hi Anne
Glad you are liking it so far. I did write a post on protein which should give you some ideas. Just make sure she has a vitamin C rich food when she is eating protein (to help the absorption of iron). All the best G x https://wellnourished.com.au/simply-well-nourished-why-protein-packs-a-punch/
Georgia Harding says
Hi Anne, thrilled you’ve discovered my site and I hope you enjoy cooking and eating from it. In answer to your question, it’s important to make sure they have vitamin C rich foods with vegetarian sources of iron. Perhaps check out my post on protein for ideas beyond meat https://wellnourished.com.au/simply-well-nourished-why-protein-packs-a-punch/ Gx
Rosie says
Hi Georgia, is the mixture of these quite runny or have I left too much moisture in the zucchini?
Georgia Harding says
Sorry Rosie, maybe too late responding. It isn’t a thick, thick batter, but you can spoon it into the pan if that makes sense (so it’s thicker than water). You can always add a little more flour if it happens again G x
Belinda says
Hi Georgia, is the recipe asking for 4 zucchini’s or 400-500gms zucchini?
Georgia Harding says
400-500g zucchini approx. G x
Anna says
Thanks Again for this recipe Georgia. They’re cooking now and smell delicious!
My batter (500g zucchini) was also quite runny, so I added another 50g whole meal spelt and it’s working a treat.
Looking forward to lunch tomorrow now!
Georgia Harding says
Hope you enjoyed Anna G x
Tracy Taylor says
Hi Georgia, I’m brand new to well nourished. I have just returned from a 7 month trip driving around Australia with my husband and children. On the trip, we stayed with some friends who have a truly (organised) chaotic life with their 4 gorgeous little kids. My mate was a machine and I saw even with her hubby working insane hours and her carrying the weight of a 7yr old, 4yr old and 2yr old twins, she feed them all nourishing meals.
She showed me your website and how you have ‘normal’ recipes that are easy to make on a daily basis.
I was so impressed I have attempted to jump on board the nourishing train.
I gave this recipe a go and mum and I demolished them all. Can’t give you hubby’s opinion as we literally ate the whole lot. The kids were not crazy about them, unfortunately, so next time I’ll try the ‘grind it to mush’ style so they can’t see the onion etc.
Anyway, I wanted to say thank you for sharing and especially for all the encouragement and extra notes on your recipes like substitutions and alternatives. I’m not great at knowing what parts are important to a recipe so having your suggestions is invaluable to a newbie like me. Especially when my pantry is still packed with standard non-so-healthy processed staples.
Thanks again – off to try my next nourishing recipe!
Tracy
Georgia Harding says
Hi Tracy, your trip sounds amazing, what a great experience. I’m thrilled you’ve found me too, hope I can support you further. Actually this weeks post is a great place to start in tidying up your pantry https://wellnourished.com.au/food-swaps/. All the best G x
Janet says
We have an abundance of zucchini (and mint) in the garden at the moment, so this recipe seemed so appropriate. Oh my word! The smell whilst preparing it (by the way – many thanks for the Thermomix method in your recipes – much appreciated) was amazing and also whilst cooking them. We loved them. So very tasty and fresh. I found them to be quite moist whilst preparing, so only added two eggs then left them to “set” in the fridge for a while before cooking. Yet another of your recipes that I will cook over and over again. Many thanks Georgia for all the lovely recipes that so many people can cook and enjoy. (Sorry – only just noticed the recipe rating underneath – did not notice on previous postings, and know they are important).
Georgia Harding says
Thanks Janet. Thrilled you enjoyed them – I love these fritters so much for any meal really. I used to grow zucchini (when I lived on acreage and when they fruit – they really fruit!!). You’re very welcome – I love sharing my recipes, brings me so much joy G x
Holly says
Hi there, these look great. Just wondering if you’d had any success freezing them? Am thinking they’d be a great one to store away for lunchboxes. Thanks, Holly
Georgia Harding says
I persoanlly haven’t Holly but I can’t see why you couldn’t. I’ve found similar recipes are just fine for freezing G x
Susan says
These are very good. We had them with the Mediterranean potato bake and a very simple side salad. Like others have said, I needed to add 50-100% more flour.
Georgia Harding says
Glad you enjoyed them Susan. Yes because the zucchini is a very water dense liquid it may need a bit of adjusting (depending on how firmly you wring it – my hubby always manages to get more liquid from the zucchini, shows who has bigger muscles ha ha!) G x
katie says
Hey Georgia,
Been making a few of your recipes for dinners (many actually), delish recipes so though id post some comments. These fritters were easy and yum, but the next day (cold in lunchboxes) they were amazing!! All your recipes are simple. To look at them you think, gee lots of steps but thats just you explaining, the actual doing of the recipe is quick- thanks for the inspiration!
Georgia Harding says
Hi Katie, thanks for your comments. It really helps my recipes to reach more people so I really do appreciate it. Yes I’ve learned to write my methods in great detail – it really helps less experienced cooks learn how G x
Penny says
This is a regular recipe in our house! Among many others of yours. More often than not I don’t have Haloumi but I might use feta and I’ve even used cottage cheese. I often add peas as well.
Georgia Harding says
So pleased you are loving my recipes Penny. Love your variations too, thanks for sharing them (and for star rating the recipe) G x
Jodie says
Hi Georgia I’m new to your site and recipes but hoping to try this one! My kids are diary intolerant what’s a good exchange for haloumi to keep the right texture ect. I’ve found a coconut based cream cheese, the texture is smooth and thick, will this work or will likely just melt out when cooking? Always tricky working around their intolerances, dairy and gluten! Thanks!l
Georgia Harding says
Hi Jodie,
Welcome to my site. I try where I can to sub and test for dairy/ gluten free and you’ll see the variations for those recipes (often under the main recipe). I haven’t tested this one as DF as the haloumi is the hero of the dish (plus I haven’t found a DF cheese substitute available to me that I’m happy with). Your coconut cream cheese sounds good – can I ask the brand so I can keep an eye out for it as one of my kids has just decided to remove dairy from his diet.
So my answer is I don’t know if it will melt – my instinct is yes it probably will as haloumi is very firm. My favourite DF/GF patty is this recipe https://wellnourished.com.au/quinoa-patties/ (see the variations) or these falafel https://wellnourished.com.au/nut-falafel/ – you can add zucchini to either recipe. Hope this helps G x
Arina says
These are a regular here and also a solid lunchbox favourite! herbs and flour vary depending on what I have but I they always turn out delicious!
Georgia Harding says
So glad they are a fave Arina. It is a very versatile recipe, so great to play around with. Thanks for your comment and for rating the recipe too G x
Kim says
Hi can you make the batter the night before ie to eat for breakfast or best made and cooked straight away? Thanks
Georgia Harding says
Hi Kim, I think they are best made and cooked right away as the zucchini and the haloumi may get watery once grated. But if you give it a go, let me know how it turns out. Next time I make them I might keep a bit of the batter aside for the day and see what happens! G x
Rebecca Davidson says
The whole family love these! Another beautiful recipe!
Georgia Harding says
Thanks Rebecca, so glad they loved them and thanks for the 5🌟s – Georgia x
Misha says
Hi I love your recipes,can’t wait to try more – we loved these zucchini,mint & haloumi fritters – but just changed it a little- added dried chilli flakes,extra mint, half cup flaked almonds ( cos I love the crunch) and extra almond flour to adjust the extra moisture in mine as I didn’t have chickpea flour -they were great,thanks
I cooked one sample fritter first and just made my adjustments as needed
Shweta says
Hi Georgia, can the egg be replaced with something else in this recipe?
Regards Shweta
Georgia Harding says
I haven’t recipe tested it but a flax or chia egg should work out okay G x