Maybe this shocks me more than it does you but the mere fact that I created something baked and not fried is pretty much proof that I have made some changes in my life. Of course you can always fry these Baked Vegan Zucchini Fries but that I leave completely up to you. No judgment zone here.
The best part of this recipe isn’t the fact that it’s baked, though it does make them rather fantastic and more healthy for your heart. No, the best part is the dipping sauce and the fact that it is made from sunflower seeds and not cashews so even those with nut allergies in your life can enjoy it. Victory dance for all.
Quinoa-Crusted Baked Zucchini Fries
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 50 1x
Ingredients
- 3 medium zucchinis, sliced lengthwise into fries (should yield around 50 pieces)
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (or any lighter oil)
- 1 c. gluten-free panko crumbs, slightly crushed
- 1/2 c. hemp seeds
- 2 Tbsp. dry quinoa
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the gf panko crumbs, hemp seeds and dry quinoa. Set aside.
- Place the sliced zucchinis into a large bowl and drizzle in the oil, gently massaging it into the zucchini until all pieces are coated.
- Taking a few zucchini sticks at a time, place into the shallow dish and completely coat with the crumb mixture on all sides.
- Place on the baking sheet. You will probably need to do this in 2 batches total.
- Bake for 15 minutes and then turn the sheet to the other side. Bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
P.S. These zucchini fries would pair perfectly with my BBQ Hearts of Palm Sandwiches this weekend. I think you should make both to wow all your friends and family. Oh and go ahead and add the 4th of July Watermelon Cake for dessert. Look at that! I just planned your menu for you…
Sunflower Seed Herb Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. sunflower seeds, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 c. water
- 1/4 c. unsweetened nondairy milk
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 tsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp. fresh dill
- 1 tsp. dried parsley (or 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley)
- 1 tsp. dried chives (or 1 Tbsp. fresh chives)
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- salt to flavor
Instructions
- Place the sunflower seeds, water, unsweetened nondairy milk, garlic clove, and nutritional yeast into a high-speed blender until completely smooth. Add the fresh/dry herbs and blend on pulse until just mixed in (the chunks are a good thing).
Have a safe and fun holiday everyone!
Okay, so I just made these and LOVED them and my toddler is in the process of eating the coating off of them (but leaving the zucchini for dead). HOWEVER, your serving size needs to be altered. Even if 3 medium zucchinis made 50 pieces (which was not even remotely close to true for me), you are saying that you should get about 50 pieces out of it and a “serving” is 4 zucchini fries. So already that is saying that 50 pieces / 4 per serving = 12.5 servings. In other words, serves 12, not 50. Secondly, my fries were quite small (and again I didn’t even get close to 50 pieces – so I can’t imagine yours were much bigger), so I can’t imagine a planet where I would invite someone to my house and serve them 4 fries and consider that an appropriate amount of food per person (even if it was one of many appetizers).
Maybe I did something wrong but the bread crumbs didn’t stick. I baked them anyway, with what little bread crumbs I could get on there, and when I tried to eat them they just flopped over and lost the rest of the breadcrumbs. Very disappointed 🙁
Ahhh bummer to hear Rachel! Maybe place in the freezer for 10 minutes first before baking?
Hi! I wanted to make these today. I just bought some home grown zucchini. Would there be any substitute for hemp seeds? I don’t have those on hand.
No need to replace them, just omit them 🙂
Nice recipe, dressing sounds amazing.I attempted to recreate it, but the crumb mixture did not stick at all to my zucchini fries. I had to dip them in egg wash and it worked.
Great idea for the help seeds! I made something similar recently with nutritional yeast and almonds ground up and they were delicious! I’ll have to try this one too. Anything in any way, shape or form close to a fry is gold in my books 😉
Looks delish! When u say dry quinoa do u mean uncooked?
Sorry for the confusion Sam, yes! Uncooked quinoa = dry quinoa 😉
LOVE zucchini fries and the dipping sauce sounds so good!
I was recently gifted a bunch of zucchini and I’ve been looking for ways to use it up and this looks perfect. If I don’t have hemp seeds available can you recommend a sub or could they just be skipped?
Kar and myself made these for fourth of July, except we took out the panko added udis bread made into bread crumbs
and added garlic, seasoning salt and doubled the crusty coating it was so good this is such a fun and delicious recipe.thanks
These are in the oven right now! My coating wasn’t as heavy because I couldn’t find GF Panko, but it still looks good! I’m going to make a sriracha-ketchup sauce to go with them! 🙂
This looks great! I had a go at blogging my own healthy/vegetarian recipe but it looks no where near as good as this!
These look wonderful, such a creative use for quinoa! Thanks!
Wow, this IS amazing! Love that they are gluten-free and incorporate quinoa! Thanks for sharing 🙂
YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!!!! Now if only my zucchini plants were not just seedlings… This sounds great, kudos!
I’m going to start the Conscious Cleanse with my mom and sister soon! I’m really excited 🙂 I enjoyed your instagram photos from it.
Thanks for everything,
Megan
<3 <3 <3 🙂 🙂 🙂 Y U M M Y ! ! !
I love that you use quinoa to coat the fries! I’ve been craving zucchini fries lately. I can’t wait to make these! 🙂