Panko Crusted Zucchini with Lemon-Garlic Aioli
I first made this quick and easy lemon-garlic aioli a few weeks ago and served it with some grilled asparagus spears. I noticed that my entire family ate every single asparagus spear on the plate (which is not typical) because they loved the aioli. I decided to see if it would work with zucchini, which is a veggie my kids have never been fond of. Sure enough, the plate of panko-crusted zucchini coins disappeared very quickly and so did the lemon-garlic aioli. They are SO delicious together! Now, what veggie will be next?
How to Make Panko-Crusted Zucchini with Lemon-Garlic Aioli
Pour the flour on a plate then season it with a bit of sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste; stir until well combined.
Whisk the egg in a bowl.
Pour the panko crumbs and parmesan on a plate then season with a bit of sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste; stir until well combined.
Dip the zucchini coins in the flour, then the egg, then coat them evenly in the panko mixture. Place on a plate lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining coins, separating layers with parchment paper. Place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Side Note: Don’t skip the last step because it really helps the panko crumbs adhere to the zucchini.
While the zucchini is in the refrigerator make the aioli by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and sea salt & freshly cracked pepper, to taste together in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined then place into the refrigerator to allow flavors to mingle.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the zucchini coins into the hot skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown; flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the excess grease. Repeat with the remaining zucchini coins adding more oil as needed. Serve immediately with the lemon-garlic aioli on the side. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- Panko Crusted Zucchini:
- ⅓ cup flour
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Dried basil to taste
- 1 egg whisked well
- 1 cup panko
- ½ cup Parmesan grated or shredded
- 2 zucchini sliced into thick coins
- Lemon-Garlic Aioli:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- Juice from ½ lemon or more if desired
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 large clove of garlic minced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper taste
Instructions
- Pour the flour on a plate then season it with a bit of sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste; stir until well combined.
- Whisk the egg in a bowl.
- Pour the panko crumbs and parmesan on a plate then season with a bit of sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, to taste; stir until well combined.
- Dip the zucchini coins in the flour, then the egg, then coat them evenly in the panko mixture.
- Place on a plate lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat with the remaining coins, separating layers with parchment paper.
- Place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Side Note: Don't skip the last step because it really helps the panko crumbs adhere to the zucchini.
- While the zucchini is in the refrigerator make the aioli by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and sea salt & freshly cracked pepper, to taste together in a small bowl.
- Whisk until well combined then place into the refrigerator to allow flavors to mingle.
- Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place the zucchini coins into the hot skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown; flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the excess grease.
- Repeat with the remaining zucchini coins adding more oil as needed.
- Serve immediately with the lemon-garlic aioli on the side. Enjoy.
wow these look super crunchy and delicious!
Omg. That looks amazing! I feel like you make it look easier than it is. I’m shit at cooking so this would probably take me hours!
But it looks yuuum!!
Now that is a dish worth eating zucchini for – fried is my preferred way and yours look and sound excellent.
Those look really good! That’s usually the way I bread chicken fingers or pork chops but I’ve never tried it with zucchini. I love the zucchini fritters from Simply Recipes, if you’ve never tried those you need to asap! The fritter sauce uses sour cream instead of mayo but it’s very similar.
I always find myself with a plethora of zucchini in the summers and no ideas on how to make it more appealing for everyone, so I have pinned this and will definitely be making it!!
OOH a yummy way to fix zucchini, I have a lot at this of year and need a new idea. Thanks so much.
Do you use coarse sea salt in this recipe? It looks like it in your photo.
Yes. I use freshly cracked sea salt.
The zucchini are coming! And we’ll need all the recipes we can find to cope with them. This looks excellent — great good looks, and I’ll bet the flavor is wonderful. Thanks!
That sounds delicious and what a great way to get the children to eat un-liked veggies. Diane
That lemon aioli sounds like such a perfect zucchini dip!
that’s some thick, cheesy coating, pam! zucchini slices never had it so good.
We just bought a bunch of yellow and green zucchini at the farmers market. I’ll be making this for sure, what a great way to use Summer’s fresh veggies.
Not a fan of zucchini, but this looks like I could give a try. My wife will sure love it!
If you don’t like zucchini, try yellow squash which I think has more flavor.
Can these be made ahead and freeze ahead of time?
I make a similar recipe with homemade raviolis and then individually flash freeze them to deep fry.
I was wondering if I could do the same with these?
Darrell,
I’ve never tried freezing them so I’m not sure how they would turn out. If you give it a try, please let me know how it goes.
-Pam
Since I have bushels of zucchini this year, and have never liked it myself until I made roasted eggplant and zucchini lasagna 2 days ago, Iām going to make this tonight to accompany ribeye steaks with baked sweet potatoes. Iām just wondering if thereās a way to oven fry them instead of pan frying? Weāre trying to cook healthy in our golden years!
I commented earlier regarding oven frying. I have another question: along with plenty of zucchini, I also have an abundance of eggplant and am wondering if I could substitute eggplant for the zucchini in this recipe?
Nanna,
You can definitely bake the zucchini coins on a baking sheet in the oven! I would use the same cooking process as my baked eggplant fries (https://fortheloveofcooking.net/2018/06/baked-eggplant-fries.html). The cooking process works great for both zucchini and eggplant!!! I hope this helps.
-Pam