These Vegan Oil-free Zucchini Fritters are not only oil-free, but baked, not fried and also gluten-free and just 8 easy ingredients and topped with a Creamy Lemon Pepper Sauce!
VEGAN OIL-FREE ZUCCHINI FRITTERS
Finally! You can eat a vegan corn zucchini fritter without oil or frying them. There are a bazillion zucchini cake or fritter recipes online, but they all have oil in them or are fried in oil. Guess what? You don’t need oil to make a delicious recipe!
I debated on calling these zucchini burgers, because they bake up and form a really similar burger texture. I would totally slap 2 of these beauties in between 2 buns and call my life complete.
In fact, this is one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever created. Maybe it’s because zucchini is my favorite veggie or maybe it’s the wonderful combo of sweet corn combined with zucchini. Maybe it’s the amazing spices of garlic and onion and smoky paprika that enhance these little cakes. OR, maybe it’s the out-of-this-world creamy lemon pepper sauce. Ok. It’s all of the above! Did I sell you on these yet?
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN ZUCCHINI FRITTERS
To make these amazing vegan oil-free zucchini fritters, you need just 7 easy basic ingredients.
- zucchini
- corn
- almond butter
- oat flour
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- smoked paprika
Only veggie you have to fool with is shredding the zucchini, which takes all of 5 minutes. Then mix everything up in a bowl as pictured below, form patties, chill them and then bake. SO easy.
I love easy recipes, don’t you?
These are not only oil-free, but also gluten-free with a wonderful crispy exterior. Baking them long enough on each side helps them crisp to perfection and also allows the veggies to really soften and cook through. This provides so much flavor. Frying them cooks them too fast and doesn’t really allow the zucchini to cook through.
Almond butter is another secret to these delicious cakes. The almond butter deepens the flavor of these, helps bind the patties and also helps them to crisp up.
Just because I’m so good to you guys, I’m sharing 2 recipes with you today. While these zucchini cakes are incredibly delicious on their own, if you are a person who loves to put sauce on everything, then you will love this Creamy Lemon Pepper Sauce.
The combo of lemon and pepper is a classic and adding it to a creamy base and a touch of onion powder made this sauce a new favorite. It would honestly be delicious on most anything.
I hope you love these Vegan Oil-free Zucchini Fritters as much as I did!
Vegan Oil-Free Corn Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 small zucchinis, shredded (274g is the weight BEFORE ringing out excess water, you will need 2 1/2 cups loosely filled of the shredded zucchini)
- 2/3 cup (90g) corn
- 3 tablespoons creamy almond butter
- 1/2 cup (64g) gluten-free oat flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
CREAMY LEMON PEPPER SAUCE
- 1/2 heaping cup (80g) raw cashews (cooked in boiling water for 10 minutes or soak overnight if you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. Drain, rinse and proceed.)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
- 6-8 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
First you will need to shred your zucchini and weigh 274 grams. Make sure you are using the larger wholes on your grater and not the tiny holes. Refer to photo above, but basically use the 1/4 inch size holes on your grater. You want them in the shredded strips, not the super fine grated. After shredding, loosely fill 2 1/2 cups to accurately measure.
- Place your shredded zucchini into a strainer and place a couple of paper towels on top and press down really hard squeezing out all the excess water beneath the strainer. Then wrap the zucchini in a papertowel and squeeze out any more. You don't need to obsess over every drop, just get most of the water out so the cakes cook up and aren't too watery. Place the dried zucchini into a large bowl.
- Add the corn and almond butter.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the oat flour (make sure it is finely ground into a powder if making your own), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and stir until well mixed.
- Add the dry mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir for a good couple of minutes until it all comes together. It will seem too dry at first, but keep stirring and pressing the batter with the back of the spoon and it will start to stick. It should be moist and somewhat sticky. It will seem like they won't hold, but trust me, they bake up and become much more firm.
- Divide into 4 sections and form balls and then flatten out into little patties about 1/2 inch thick. Place onto parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up some.
Once the time is almost up, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Bake the patties for 25 minutes, carefully flip them over with a spatula (they will be tender but should flip easily) and bake for another 10-15 minutes depending on how crispy you want them. They should be a very golden brown color. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.
While they are baking, prepare the creamy lemon pepper sauce!
FOR THE SAUCE
If you do not have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, then you will need to soak the cashews overnight in a bowl of water to really soften them, otherwise the sauce will be gritty. I repeat, your sauce will be gritty if you do not have a Vitamix or soak them. Drain and rinse and add them to a blender. I believe a food processor will work better than a standard blender if you don't have a Vitamix.
Add the cashews, lemon juice, water, onion powder, pepper and salt. Blend until completely smooth. You will need to scrape the sides a couple of times during blending. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. I thought it was perfect as is. It has a nice balance of lemon and black pepper flavor. Feel free to make it extra spicy if you like. This sauce also makes a great salad dressing!
- The sauce will thicken the longer it sits and especially after being stored in the fridge. Just thin out with a tiny amount of water if desired.
Hi Brandi,
I do want to make these again and I want to try making the Lemon Pepper sauce with Tahini this time. I am just wondering how much tahini you think I should use? I am not sure what amount of tahini would be equivalent to whole nuts. Thanks 🙂
Hi Christina, you would use the same amount as the almond butter, 3 Tbsp 🙂
Oh sorry I meant for the sauce. I was thinking of using tahini instead of the cashews for the sauce. Cause I figure tahini has to be better than macadamia nuts. Hahahaha. Anyway sorry I wasn’t clear. On the cakes I am good. I probably will use potatoes again. But my question was regarding the sauce. I have no clue how much tahini to use to replace the amount of nuts you use.
Oh! I’m sorry, I definitely wouldn’t use tahini for the sauce, it won’t taste good. Your best bet which I’ve seen other readers try is using white beans. It WILL change the texture, so keep that in mind, but some readers have done it and liked it. I’m not a big fan of using white beans, but it’s a personal taste. I would just try using a 1/4-1/2 cup to desired consistency. There isn’t really another sub other than that, that wouldn’t change the flavor too much.
I could eat the whole plate, Brandi! Not only two, I would eat the whole thing! Those look so mouthwatering with all the lemon pepper sauce! Cashews are an amazing base for so many things, like, sauces, dips, spreads absolutely versatile and delicious. I use cashews in my vegan cheese sauce, vegan aioli and many more. Love that you add corn to zucchini fritters so good! But I have to admit that you use here almond butter that’s totally a bomb, I bet it adds so much much flavor and texture. All of your pics makes my mouth watering and just drooling!
These look wonderful. Does one recipe make 2 servings (2 patties each)? Or is it 4 servings? Sorry, I cannot tell if I need to double or not. Thank you!
Hi Debra! This will make 4 good size fritters or 8 mini ones. When I want to make them as “burgers” I make 8 mini ones, but for regular, it will only make 4, so I would probably double the recipe. Most of my readers double them now because they make them so often 🙂
Made these awesome fritters today with your amazing sauce. Super healthy and satisfying! The smell when they’re baking is almost too much to handle 🙂 thank you, Brandi!
Thank you so much Lana! I’m so happy you loved them!
Made these last night…FABULOUS! Sauce was amazing too! Definitely going to try more recipes!
Yay! So happy to hear that, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!
I made these today for two omnivores and a vegetarian and they ALL loved them. I myself am a vegan, and I thought these were incredible, as are all of your recipes!! I have made several of your dishes and all of them are so delicious and simple. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Jennifer! I’m so happy to hear these were such a hit and that you have loved all of my recipes, that means so much, thank you!
Absolutely scrummy. I made these with besan flour because I can’t tolerate oats and they turned out like yummy vegie Bhajis without any of the yucky frying. I have also made them without the corn( we have a cornaphobe in the house)and added carrot, spring onion and red capsicum. Thankyou so much Brandi, I love that your recipes are simple and delicious.
I’m so so happy to hear you loved these Michelle, as well as my other recipes, thank you so much for the feedback!
So easy to make and delicious! Thanks for the recipe! They browned evenly in the oven just like your photos. Going to make these again. Next time, we may try these as veggie burgers. Any recommendation on how to adjust the recipe to add black beans?
So wonderful to hear Carol, so glad you loved these!
Mine stuck to the parchment paper and didn’t stick together. What did i do wrong? maybe didn’t get enough water out of the zucchini?
Hi Megan, that sounds like either there was too much liquid still or you didn’t let them cook long enough before flipping them or removing them, because once the full cooking is done, these are very firm and crispy and hold together exceptionally well.
ok, thank you! i think it was probably a combination of both…. even though they feel apart they still tasted amazing so i will definitely be making these again!
Seriously delicious! Made them tonight. I made the sauce but mine tasted not so great–I don’t have a great blender-and it was grainy. So I used a little home made Greek yogurt/tahini/lemon and it did the trick. My husband LOVED them. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Hi Cheryl! I’m so glad to hear they were a hit! Yes, unfortunately cashews will end up gritty or grainy if you don’t have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. A vitamix gets it 100% super smooth, which makes ALL the difference! You could also soak the cashews for about 12 hours, drain and then run them through a food processor for several minutes along with the other ingredients until smooth and that works well too. You will need to scrape the sides some.
Made these tonight and they were AMAZING! They mixture was really wet and I couldn’t even form them into balls. I just kind of plopped the mixture on the parchment paper and then flattened it a little. After the 30 minutes in the fridge I just left them on the same parchment paper and slid it onto the baking sheet because I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to move them to a new piece. Didn’t matter though because they cooked up perfectly! Me and my guy just loved them. The sauce was delish too! Thanks for another great recipe!
Yay! So happy to hear that Becky, thank you so much!! So glad you loved these. If they are too wet, make sure to squeeze more of the water out from the zucchini and that will help a ton. Also, they are pretty wet regardless, but like you said, they bake up and crisp up magically anyways in the oven!
These were delicious! So happy to add another tasty oil-free recipe to my arsenal, they are so hard to find! They taste so good on their own that the sauce didn’t make that much of a difference :)) I think they would be perfect for burgers or with mashed potatoes and marinara sauce! Thanks for the awesome recipe! 🙂
P.S. I was nervous they wouldn’t turn out because we had a 3-hour blackout while I was blending the sauce, right after I placed them in the fridge, so they didn’t cool properly and I had to wait so I could use my electrical oven. But they turned out lovely! 🙂
Just made these the second time. This time with mashed potatoes and tomato sauce. So good! Thanks again for the great recipe! 🙂
Awesome Camelia! So glad you love them!
This recipe is AMAZING – on our favorite list – especially during the summer when MANY zucchinis are ripe. My 26 yr old son even raved about them, and I told him I will turn him into a Vegan yet – ha ha. Thank you for this website and your amazing recipes!
My husband and I have been doing this WOE (way of eating) for 15 mos now. We are 56 and 58 yrs old and feel fantastic. Watched Forks Over Knives and decided to change our eating. We were both healthy and eating organic and “healthy” already (still ate meat, dairy, used oil, etc.) Our 5 adult children still can’t believe their parents are vegan.
I LOVE hearing how people are healed eating this way. Although still frustrates me sharing this info with friends/family who have health issues, but they “just can’t live without cheese” or imagine giving up dairy or cooking without oil. Oh well, like all things in life we can only set the example, keep sharing great food and hope beyond hope they will jump on board. <3
I’m so happy to hear how much you loved these Ramona, thank you so much for the lovely review and kind words!
I made these and while they have a good flavor, it has a bad aftertaste. Maybe I cooked them a bit too long, because it tasted burnt even though they were brown, and not black. I would recommend spritzing some olive oil on top, which might crisp it up better without cooking it so long.
I couldn’t get the sauce to come out creamy, even after putting it in a blender, and then in a mixer so I strained it, and that did the trick. You definitely want to add the sauce; it’s like the icing on a cake
Hi Nina, it sounds to me like you definitely cooked them too long like you said. These do not have a burnt taste at all. There is over a hundred reviews above yours and all readers have absolutely loved these and never once mentioned a burnt taste, so not sure what went wrong on your end. Cook them less time and maybe lower your oven rack because they are delicious and shouldn’t have any burnt aftertaste. They definitely do not need any oil. I make these all the time without ever having any issues. Also, as I mentioned in the recipe, you must use a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or soak overnight if you don’t have one to have a creamy sauce. Cashews will be gritty (as noted on the recipe) if not using a high-powered blender. Otherwise, soak overnight and then process in a food processor and it will get smooth, it just may take a few minutes. You should not need to strain it this way. Hope all this helps.
I made these again the other day and I just had to do another review. These are just fabulous. And you’d never guess they were oil free. No, actually they are way better than any greasy fried fritter. I just had to thank you again.
Thank you so much Estee for making these again and leaving another review! I always love seeing your remakes on Facebook and Instagram, I really appreciate it and glad these are such a hit!
This has to be one of the best things I have ever eaten. I seriously can’t express enough how much I love this recipe. I know I have reviewed this before but back then I don’t think you had the star rating on your blog so I had to come back and give this the 5 star rating it deserves. This recipe is really is 5+ stars. I have no idea how it currently has a 3.5 star rating. That is an injustice because this recipe is perfect. It has a crispy outside and a soft warm inside and it has so much flavor. These things send me over the moon every time.
And the creamy lemon pepper sauce complements these so perfectly. I absolutely love the flavor I was licking it off the spoon. Hahaha. One quick thing I couldn’t get my sauce smooth. I do have a vitamix but I am not sure what I did wrong.
I have the professional series vitamix so the jug is shorter and wider then the original vitamix maybe it is too wide to get it smooth? I am not sure what the issue is. When you say soak in boiling water do you mean boil the water the entire time the cashews are in there. Or do you bring water to a boil take it off the heat then put the cashews in there? I am unsure why I couldn’t get mine smooth but believe me this is not a complaint and not your fault. The flavor was insanely good so I didn’t mind it wasn’t smooth. I was more just curious why that happened. Everything with this recipe is amazing and perfect.
Yay! Thank you so much Christina for taking the time to leave such an incredible review! I’m just so happy to hear how much you love them and have made them repeatedly! So sorry I’m just seeing this question. Yes, if your jug is extra wide (mine is the thin container) then it might be extra space that makes it harder to blend it all. In that case you would need more volume for it to be more effective, so I would double it and just make sure you scrape the sides and keep blending. I never, ever soak my cashews and it’s always 100% smooth each time. In fact, you don’t even need to soak them if you have a vitamix, but if your container is wide, it should help. Yes, sorry, that should say cook in boiling water, sorry for the confusion, I fixed it now! Or, you could always soak them overnight in water to make them even softer. Drain and rinse and proceed.
Awesome thanks so much for the tips I will try doubling the volume for next time 🙂 And I will just take this opportunity to give this recipe another 5 star rating. Because these zucchini fritters are everything and I am addicted they appear in my dreams. I have had to go to zucchini fritter rehab and it isn’t pretty. 😛
Oh, Christina, you are a sweetheart! Thank you for the additional rating! I’ve had at least a hundred plus amazing reviews all above but they were before I added my new star rating system so I need all those ratings I can get, haha! LOL, you are hilarious, in your dreams…haha, sounds like me and chocolate! 🙂
my vitamix is the same–i kinda like them “gritty” i find they stick to things better than when they are runny and smooth
OMG! These were so good we ate them all in one sitting. Definitely making a double-batch next time and taking some with me when traveling. Trying the brownies first. Now I know what to do with all the zukes. Love your recipes!
So wonderful to hear that Chris, thank you so much for the awesome feedback! If you get a chance, would you mind adding the star rating, thank you so much!
These are delicious! (And you’re right about the Lemon Pepper Sauce – highly recommended!) And they’re so easy to make and to form into patties, and they hold together well – don’t fall apart when flipped during the baking 🙂 Put it on a bun with the sauce – really, really good! Thank you for including weights in so many of your recipes. I think it’s so much easier to go by weights than measuring things in cups (and quicker clean up). I’m going to do a double batch next time, too, and try freezing a few. Thank you, Brandi!
Yay! Thank you so much Laura for this glowing review! So happy you loved these and you are so welcome about the grams, I totally agree, makes for accurate results and MUCH easier cooking!
Wow!!! These are absolutely delicious! I think they would be good as smaller sized fritters too. I ate almost the entire batch by myself, will definitely double the recipe next time around. And I ate these plain, I can’t imagine how good these would be with the sauce.
OH yay, I’m so happy you loved them Iris! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
I made these last night. They were delicious and so easy! Using the hand shredder was quick, and my ninja single serving cup worked great for making oat flour from rolled oats. I also used the ninja cup to make the cream. Even though I have a vitamix, I always use the ninja single serving cup for making my cashew cream, a couple of times a week (I learned from YOU just how versatile and delicious cashew cream is). Out of hunger and being late making dinner, I made a couple of mistakes, which was to skip the 30 min in the fridge, and I also put them in the oven when it wasn’t fully pre-heated. This resulted in them being a little drier than they would have been if I’d followed the instructions. HOWEVER, it was a good excuse to use more of the delicious, healthy, cashew cream! Thank you for another great recipe. I have never made one of your recipes that I didn’t like!
Thank you so much Laurel, I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much!!
I just made these tonight. OMG! So delish. Love how crisp they became and the sauce is divine. Love your recipes. Thank you so much. I could make this for a dinner party!!! Love, love, love.
Yay Abby! So happy you loved these!
Sauce paired perfectly with the fritters! Love them both.
I’m so glad you loved these Nina, thank you so much for the feedback!
These look amazing and I would love to make them soon! What do you think would go good with these for a dinner? Thanks!
Hi Sophia! They are great served with roasted potatoes or my buttermilk mashed potatoes and any roasted veggies you like! https://thevegan8.com/2014/11/17/fluffy-buttermilk-vegan-mashed-potatoes/
Hi!
what would you substitute for the cashews?
i am allergic to them…
thanks
sue
The cashews are pretty crucial to the flavor and texture. Some people try subbing with white beans but honestly, I don’t like the texture of it that way. There isn’t really a sub that will give the same result as cashews. You could try doing half raw sunflower seeds and white beans? I have not tried that though, so can’t vouch for the result.
I was looking for some veggie recipes with courgettes as we have a few in our garden and came upon this. So we tried the fritters last night and WOW…. they are delicious!!! Unfortunately I didn’t have enough cashews in house to make the sauce but that’s no biggie as we’ll definitely be enjoying these fritters again in the future and can make the accompanying sauce then. I just wanted to pop in and say how fab this recipe is (I don’t usually leave comments on recipes)
Thank you so much Viv, so glad you loved them!!
I made the fritters last night and they definitely did not disappoint. Love them. I didn’t try the sauce as I had some green chili sour cream made that I needed to use. Very good with that and a little cilantro on top. I’ll try the lemon sauce next time. Do you have any tips on how to get the almond butter out of a jar without making a huge mess? It’s so oily it’s really hard to stir together. The last time I used it to make your almond cake and ended up on the top of my dogs head. 😋
Hi Chris! Yes, for the almond butter, I always scrape everything from the jar into a separate container, then stir it all together until fully mixed and smooth. It’s impossible to do it inside those jars. This is how I store my nut butters. Much easier! Glad you loved the fritters!
First, the sauce…THE perfect blend of lemon (I added 40 g this time b/c my family members are lemon freaks!;) , pepper and onion. I licked the spoon. I licked the lid of the blender. I licked the spatula that scraped every precious drop out of the blender. This simple sauce is perfect on these fritters and your new chili recipe, Brandi! LOVE IT!!
Next, the fritters…crunchy on the outside, soft and incredibly tasty on the inside…PERFECTION!! The smoked paprika gave them a wee kick, and the corn (I shaved corn-on-the-cob) kernels offered a nice sweet snap against the creamy zucchini. Last but never least, I smothered them in lemon sauce. YUM with a capital Y!! Thank you for both of these scrumptious recipes, Brandi!!
Thank you so much Colleen, I love your description of them! Thank you for the glowing review!