I think it’s safe to say that the zucchinis have won. Dan and I are officially sick of the stuff — we’ve eaten zucchini in some form or another every single day this week. Roasted, mainly, but also sauteed, mixed in with scrambled eggs, and cut into strips for fries. These zucchini cakes were a last ditch effort to keep the fruits of last weekend’s labor from going to waste, but there’s still one gigantic squash left. Thankfully, my parents were happy to take that off our hands before it started festering in a dark corner of my fridge.
Tired as I am of zucchini, these cakes were still pretty tasty. Kind of like crab cakes, only filled with zucchini instead of crab meat. I seasoned them with Adobo spices for a little zest, and that helped temper the intense zucchini flavor. If I weren’t so zucchini’d out, I would actually really be a huge fan of these — they’re tender, flavorful, and relatively healthy. Definitely a great way to allow zucchini to be the star of the dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Adobo spices
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
** There will be a LOT of excess liquid, so I suggest you squeeze over the sink.
(2) In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
(3) Heat a large pan on medium, and spray with Pam. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and a half, or until the outside is golden brown.
(4) Finish the cakes off in the oven — stick them on a baking pan and broil them for 1-2 minutes.
** Note: I skipped this step when I made my cakes, so the sides were still kind of soft — not really a problem in terms of taste, but if you want a nice crust to form on the sides too, finishing them off in the oven should do the trick.
(5) Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.
** Hey! These cakes caught the attention of Glamour Magazine! And SHAPE Magazine!**
These look gorgeous. I love zucchini but my husband isn't keen so I have to make zucchini dishes for one when he is out!
These are beautiful
Thanks!
This is perfect! I have so many zucchini at home and no ideas of what to do with them! I've been making a lot of things with zucchini in them, but nothing that features zucchini.
How perfect! A great use for the bumper crop of zucchini!
These look delicious, and I'm betting I could get my 5 year old to eat them
They look really tasty. Am a bit over zucchini myself but would try making these.
I first saw this on Giada de laurentiis, your version looks so good, but im intrigued about them, Can't wait to try them! Pretty pictures
lovely site pancakes look delicious
It is a good vegetarian dish.
For gluten-free diet,I am going to try rolled oats instead of panko.
Eat Love and Pray.
I am proud of you, Tina!!!
Juliana (Leslie's mom )
These look so delicious! New follower! xoxo
I love zucchini cakes!
Congrats on the fashionable link! Well on your way to glamour, fame, and fortune. I can say that I knew you when…
Whenever I see zucchini cakes I think of the recipe in Amy Sedaris's cookbook. It says something like "after you think you have squeezed out all the water, keep on squeezing, because I can promise you, you didn't."
Thanks for the recipe! We too have tons of zucchini and I based dinner off this tonight, except I added feta and sun dried tomatoes! Sooo good. Thanks again!
Thanks, everyone!
@Juliana: Let me know how the rolled oats taste in the cakes. Sounds intriguing!
@Sam: I squeezed FOREVER. Who knew zucchinis had so much water in them? I basically went through 3 paper towels' worth and then gave up.
@Kelly Leigh: That sounds really good! I love feta! I bet goat cheese would be a good substitute too.
Try using a ricer to squeeze out the excess moisture. I use one when I make spinach dip to remove the excess moisture from the spinach, and it makes the job so much easier!
Ohhh, great idea! And I bet it’s less messier than squeezing with a paper towel. Must. Get. Ricer. Now.
This has always been a favorite at our house. Even the children like it! I always buy Zucchini and store it in our kitchen. I suggest that you add some whipped cream
We have been sharing in our neighbor's bumper crop of zucchini and I love this idea for a yummy tasty zucchini dish! That feta idea sounds amazing as well, I may make a tzatziki type dressing to go along with this!!
Hello my new blogger buddy… just wanted to let you know I loved this recipe. i made it over the weekend and posted my version (with lots of link backs to you).
http://erecipecards.blogspot.com/2011/08/hello-again-my-friends-old-and-new.html
Terrific post!
Looks yummy! I wish there was a way to connect all of the people with too much zucchini with the people who would like to have some!
Frugally Green Mom
How I adore zucchini, but in a “cake”- I wasn’t sure, but since your photos looked so good, I decided to take the plunge and make a batch. WOW! Good stuff, my only regret is that I didn’t find your recipe sooner! For all you zucchini lovers, I warn you, these are quite addictive!
I’m so glad you liked these! I made them on a complete whim, but they’ve turned out to be surprisingly popular. Who knew so many people loved zucchini?
These were so easy and delicious! I served them with lettuce wraps and then the next day served left over with a creamy ancho chili sauce on top. So versatile!
I’m glad you enjoyed these! I’ll have to give your serving method a try sometime; lettuce wraps are delicious!
“Intense zucchini flavor” is not something I have experienced before… but I do like zucchini a lot. haha. I made this double chocolate zucchini cake (with a touch of orange zest) when I have too much zucchini this summer. It is possibly the best quick bread type cake thing I’ve ever made/eaten. Your recipe looks awesome and I will be testing it on my mother who loves all croquet type fried cake things. http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/08/23/chocolate-chocolate-chip-zucchini-cake/
Haha, well it was one of my first few times eating zucchini, so I guess any zucchini flavor would be considered “intense”
I have a niece that won;t eat veggies, but she likes cakes and cookies. Maybe we can “trick” her into eating veggies with these. If not I know I will enjoy them!
Haha that’s awesome. Good luck!
You all know about spagetti squash. Instead use Zucchini. All you have to do is shred the zucchini and than pan fry it until its golden brown and cooked. Would suggest doing it on a low heat until cooked and than raise heat to brown.
Great idea, thanks!
This looks delicious, however I’m unsure what adobo spices are. I see some recipes online, but they all differ. Can you please suggest what to use for the adobo spices? Thanks so much.
“Adobo spices” are actually sold in grocery stores in the Hispanic Food aisle, so if you want to save some time I’d suggest just going out and buying some. BUT, if you want to make it, all it really is is a mixture of garlic, salt, paprika, and oregano. I’ve never made it myself so I can’t tell you what proportions to use, but you can probably just do it to taste. Good luck!
These look so yummy! But I have a couple of questions. How many cakes can you get with this amount of ingredients? Can I substitute the panko with normal bread crums? (it will be impossible to get that stuff in my country).
Thank you so much for sharing!!
This recipe makes about 12 zucchini cakes. I think you could probably substitute the panko crumbs with regular bread crumbs, but I’ve never tried it. I bet crushed up crackers would work too. Let me know if you try it. Thanks for reading!