Zucchini tots! These golden, crispy little fritters perfumed with garlicky oregano flavours may well become your new favourite zucchini recipe. Trust the Greeks to take something as plain as zucchini and turn it into something fabulous! Serve them for dinner, or pass them around at a party.
This is an old, old, old recipe from 2015 that desperately needed a spruce up – and most importantly, a Life of Dozer section added!
Greek Zucchini Tots
10 years ago in 2015, I found a recipe for Courgette Rissoles (ie. Zucchini rissoles) from Alonnisos in Greece in a book called The Food and Cooking of Greece that I stumbled across when I was browsing the cookbook section at my local library.
Do you do that? Borrow cookbooks from your library? It’s an undiscovered secret. 🙂 You see, an obsession with cookbooks poses two problems – budget and space. How many cookbooks have you bought, only to find you only use a few recipes from it? And as for storage…my cookbooks are everywhere. My bookshelf is overflowing!
As a cookbook author, I fully appreciate the irony of encouraging people to borrow cookbooks from the library. 😃 But I do, and so does my team. Pretty sure JB‘s on a first name basis with the staff at our local library!
So, that’s where I found The Food and Cooking of Greece, packed with traditional home-style recipes. These cute little Greek Zucchini Tots (aka courgette for the Europeans!) caught my eye because they looked like humble, everyday food made with regular ingredients, but secretly delicious.
Plus, zucchinis are a bargain year-round here in Australia, especially if you head to the Scruffy Veg section (my first stop, always!).
Ingredients in Greek Zucchini Tots
Here’s what you need to make these. Over the years I’ve made them since I originally published the recipe in 2015, I’ve found that it’s a very versatile recipe – easily make it gluten free, substitute green onion for herbs, switch parmesan for other cheeses, and oregano for other dried herbs.
1. FOR THE BATTER
Flour – I use plain flour / all-purpose flour. I also tried it with gluten free flour and it worked perfectly, you wouldn’t even know the difference,
Egg – The egg is what holds this batter together when it bakes. The best (natural) food-glue known to man kind!
Panko breadcrumbs – I have a feeling the original recipe called for regular breadcrumbs. But the larger sized panko breadcrumbs make the inside softer.
Parmesan cheese – This is what gives these fritters a savoury flavour boost so it’s not bland inside, as well as making them bake up with a golden crust. I totally cheat and use the store bought sandy type of parmesan (from the fridge section, not pantry – if it’s on the shelf, it’s not natural cheese!). The fine strands would also work, and for those more virtuous than me, shred your own. 🙂
Dried oregano – Greece’s favourite herb? 🙂 We’re using a whole tablespoon here, a good amount! Substitute with the same amount of dried parsley or dill, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, or herb mixes (like Italian, herbs de provence or a generically named “mixed herbs”).
Garlic – Is it really Greek if there’s no garlic in it? No! 🙂
Feta cheese – Preferably Greek!
Green onion – For freshness and flavour. Substitute with finely grated red onion or eschalots (US: shallots), or 1/2 cup tightly packed roughly chopped baby spinach or kale (this works great, I’ve done both), or 1/2 cup loosely packed parsley.
2. YES you need Zucchini too!
Oh WAIT! I almost forgot – you also need zucchini. 😂 And salt to sweat excess water out so the tots don’t end up a watery soggy mess that never crisp up.
You can see in this photo (hopefully!) how the inside is nice and moist thanks to the zucchini but that the outside is crispy.
Other vegetables – I’ve also made this with carrots and they were fabulous. I was tempted to publish that but I resisted as I wanted to spruce up the original zucchini one first. Carrots coming next! So handy – I always have carrots in my fridge.
How to make Greek Zucchini Tots
The traditional recipe is made by shallow frying them. But I found it took quite a while (so many tots!!) and also, as regular readers know, I am selective about deep frying.
So I tried baking them instead. And what do you know, it worked fabulously! A spritz of oil is all that is required to create a golden crunchy crust, and it stays deliciously moist on the inside. 🙂
Grate the zucchini using a standard box grater.
Sweat the zucchini for 30 minutes to remove excess water. To do this, you just toss the zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon of salt (you really don’t need much) then leave it in a colander set over the sink or a bowl to let excess water drip out.
Squeeze – Then grab handfuls and squeeze excess water out. Note: there is no need to be 100% meticulous here and squeeze to death, you just want to get most of it out. In fact, the remaining water in the zucchini is what keeps these tots really nice and moist inside.
Mix – Put the squeezed zucchini into a clean bowl and add the remaining batter ingredients except the feta. I mix that in later to prevent it from getting completely smashed when mixing as I think it’s nice to have some little visible pops.
So, mix everything else first until it’s well combined, then gently stir the crumbled feta through.
Batter done – This is what it looks like when it’s mixed up. It looks a bit scruffy but holds when pressed together.
Tots – Dollop heaped tablespoon mounds onto 2 trays lined with baking paper (parchment paper), then press into tater-tot / potato gem. I get 29 in total (one short of 30 didn’t bother me when I filmed it but it’s bothering me today….). Then spray generously with olive oil. The more generous you are, the better they brown!
Bake for 30 minutes in a hot 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced) oven, switching the trays at the 20 minute mark, until the surface is golden and crispy. You may find the bottom tray needs a few extra minutes.
Serve with plain yogurt or a simple Mint Yogurt on the side, or other dipping sauce of choice (yes, even good ole’ ketchup works here!)
One tip before I sign off – these reheat exceptionally well. Zucchini is a great moisture retention ingredient so the inside remains beautifully moist and soft even once reheated.
So they make a great party food because they reheat so well, as well as of course being very handy as a make ahead meal. They do best reheated in the oven though rather than the microwave, to preserve the crispy exterior which does soften as it cools, though this hasn’t stopped me from using a microwave when speed is of the essence. 🙂
If serving as a meal, this will serve 3 to 4, say 8 to 10 tots per person. Try a fresh Greek Salad on the side, or for something more substantial, a Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad, Tzatziki Chickpea Salad, a buttery Garlic rice or a zippy Lemon Potato Salad. See here for plenty more side dishes, if you’d like to have a browse! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Greek Zucchini Tots
Ingredients
Zucchini
- 1 lb / 500 g zucchinis (courgettes)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Batter
- 1/2 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour), can sub gluten-free flour
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1), can sub gluten-free flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup green onion , finely sliced (white and pale green parts only)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated (I use store bought sandy type), can also use shredded cheddar or tasty cheese
- 1 tbsp dried oregano (or 2 teaspoon other dried herbs)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 150 g / 5 oz Greek feta cheese , crumbled
Cooking and serving
- Olive oil spray
- Lemon wedges and oregano leaves , optional garnishes
Minted Yoghurt (optional)
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yoghurt , or any plain unsweetened yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh mint , finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or more)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced)
- Sweat zucchini – Grate the zucchini using a standard box grater. Place into a large colander, sprinkle with the salt, toss with your fingers and leave to sweat for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze out liquid – Working a handful at a time, squeeze out the excess water (as much as you can) and place the zucchini in a bowl.
- Tots batter – Add the Batter ingredients except the feta and mix well to combine. Add the feta and gently stir through.
- Form tots – Dollop heaped tablespoons 2 trays lined with baking paper / parchment paper (I get 29 in total). Then use your fingers to shape them into cylinder "tater-tot / potato gem" shapes.
- Bake – Spray generously with oil. Bake for 30 minutes, swapping the trays at around 20 minutes (for extra golden, spray again with oil), or until golden brown and a crunchy crust forms on the surface. The tray on the bottom might need a few extra minutes.
- Serve with Minted Yogurt, lemon wedges and sprinkled with fresh oregano leaves if using.
Minted Yoghurt
- Mix together ingredients and set aside for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2015. Updated July 2025 with sparkling new photos, completely re-wrote the post, tidied up the recipe writing, added a recipe video and most importantly, added a Life of Dozer section. That’s how old this post was – it was before I started doing Life of Dozer!!
More great zucchini recipes
I have a surprising number of zucchini forward recipes! Here are some of my favourites:
Life of Dozer
The Mum Cha RecipeTin X Plate It Forward reader lunch took place on Saturday, and it goes down in history as the most successful event we’ve ever done!
These days, I take a dedicated Dozer handler to events – for his own safety as well as the safety of guest meals, leaving me free to chat to guests without fretting about Dozer. This is Sofie, my assistant’s daughter, who did a brilliant job as Dozer’s handler at the Mum Cha event!
He looked very dapper in his tux, corsage and all….
….and showed his usual confidence as he waddled out onto the floor during speeches…..
With Dozer well into his senior years (he’s 13 years young!), he usually runs out of puff early on these days. He waddles around sidling up to everyone for a pat, but needs to flop regularly to recover.
As a result, I’m pretty sure Sofie spent more time on the floor with Dozer than on her feet!
You see? ⬇️ This is why I need a dedicated Dozer handler. SCAVENGER ALERT! He pulls out his best “please can I have a nibble, my mother doesn’t feed me” eyes for every guest. 🙄
I will share more in an update post about this lunch because there is much to say. But we are after all in the Dozer section, so I wanted to keep this all about him. 🥰
He did so well. I was so proud of him! He deserved to spend the entire Sunday like this:
LOVE YOU NAGI, DOZER AND EVERYONE. LOOKS LIKE DOZER AND EVERYONE HAD A GREAT TIME. ZUCCHINI TOTS LOOK GOOD. GIVE DOZER LOTS OF HUGS AND KISSES. HE IS A GOOD BOY.
The first time I made this it tasted so good I’ve subsequently made it innumerable times for friends. Each time they’ve raved about and it was doubly appreciated by a friend who wasn’t well.
Thanks for the feedback Nikki!
Can you please tell me how you “line” the pans? They look nicely brown on the bottom.
Love your recipes!
Hi Brenda, “lining” the trays means placing a sheet of baking paper on them 🙂
Good ‘ol parchment paper. I’ve even seen people line the bottom of their skillets and “fry” eggs, I’m not sure if I’d go that far though.
I thought it looked like parchment, but these little gems looked so nicely browned, I thought perhaps she had oiled the paper. I am going to make these this week, and want them to turn out just like Nagi’s!
They wil Brenda! The slightly hot oven temp + parmesan + oil spray is what makes them browned 🙂 – N x
They turned out perfectly! Made them as an appetiser, but we ate the entire sheet and didn’t need dinner. Thanks for another great recipe!
do you think i could use chopped up greens here? or do you have a recipe to use up a ton of fresh garden greens?? my greens have a life of their own and i can eat only so many salads. can you help????
I love anything that can be baked to avoid splatter and using lots of oil! And I know exactly who is going to love them in their lunch box.
I used to make something similar with spinach, and some rice to fill them up.
On a different note, is it possible most of article has been turned into a huge link? Most of the text appears in orange 🤔
Hi Nagi, someone ( many months ago ) asked if these could be frozen and then reheated? Has anyone tried to freeze them yet?
Hi Mark, I haven’t tried yet but we’re about to pop a couple in the freezer and give it a go! Will come back and update 🙂 – N x
Any feedback on this experiment yet Nagi?
It may have been added later on, but the post says they don’t freeze well. I was hoping they might because they sell veggie tots in the freezer aisle.
These look absolutely delicious! However can the eggs be substituted as a family member is severely allergic to eggs. Thanks in advance.
Love your fool-proof recipes Nagi but on this occasion feel the need to ask if you can please comment on a gluten-free substitute for Panko breadcrumbs? G-F breadcrumbs or flour? Also asking please generally offer gluten-free alternatives in your recipes for those of us for whom it is a necessity not a choice.
Emma! This should work well with GF flour and panko as it’s not like cakes. Let me add that into the recipe! N x
There are many companies that make gluten-free panko. My favorite brand is Aleia’s. They also make gf seasoned bread crumbs.
Perhaps almond meal or flaked almonds would do for a gluten free result Or Rice Bubbles/Cornflake crumbs depending on any associated allergies.
Thank you, Nagi, for your lovely newsletters…no further comment except to say Dozer is a dear and at 13 years of age he is entitled to a rest every now and then and as many treats as is healthy for him!
Message of the day ❤️ Thanks Marjie!! I agree whole heartedly 😂
I have been wondering how you have been going with your new assistant. Will we meet her? Her daughter looks very comfortable with our Dozer, and he with she! Glad your event was so successful.
Yes! I am going to do an update post next week. She’s wonderful. I look forward to telling you all about her!! N x
“Nutrition per tot. Ridiculously low” – I think that means calories, they are high in antioxidants and other nutrients.
Ha ha yes Don, you are correct!!! Fixing, thank you 🙂 – N x
I accidently commented on another zucchini fritter recipe so sorry if you see this twice! Try adding chopped fresh mint and a little parsley. Best friends with zucchini. You can also sub with grated pumpkin or mix of both. Very sweet and moreish hot or cold.
I wondered how mint would taste when cooked! I will have to try it myself, thank you for the tip! And I did think about pumpkin, I thought it would get too mushy, but again, thanks for the tip! I will have to try this with pumpkin 🙂 – N x
I hope to make these courgette tots, can I prepare them in the morning and cook later on for an appetizer later in the evening or is that what most people do? Can’t wait to try them!!
Hi Hilary! You’d be better off baking then reheating, they reheat very well! The batter should be used freshly mixed else it will sweat too much and get watery as it continues to extract water out of the courgettes 🙂 – N x
my mum does this too. Slightly different recipe but very similar. She also does one with Eggplant. So yum. Now I need to go get her recipes for it.
My mum/nonna does this. Slightly different but very similar. She also does one with Eggplant. Now I need to go and get her recipe for it
Hi Michael, could you please share your mom recipe with the eggplant. Thanks so much!!
It took me a while to get from her as she is an old wog and doesn’t really do recipes, just vibes haha.
Unfortunately the amounts of this according to my mum is, “to taste”. So this might take a bit of experimenting like every recipe she gives me haha.
– 3-4 Medium Eggplants
– Bread Crumbs
– Finely grated Parmesan and Pecorino Cheese (we always have a ice-cream tub full of 50/50 mix of this in our freezers for putting on pasta, in schnitzel batter, in burger patties, in scrambled eggs and omelettes etc, )
– Vegeta (vegetable powder stock, it’s a wog go to- add to your bolognese as well and thank me later)
– MasterFoods All Purpose Seasoning
Cut Eggplants into quarters and place in boiling water. Cook until tender- for about 10-15 minutes.
Drain them in a colander and let them cool down.
When cool, squeeze excess water from each piece in your hands.
Chop each one finely and place in a bowl.
Now here’s the fun part(welcome to my world).
Add all the other ingredients into a bowl with eggplants, mix them well. How much of each thing? Who knows.
Make into croquettes (she makes them into kind of a flat oval shape, maybe 8cm by 5cm, but I don’t think the shape matters all that much), and cook in hot oil until golden brown.
Ohhhh thank you so much Michael, you’re a prince!! The explanation is just perfect and very interesting the way she precook the eggplant, I didn’t think about it in that way, so right there I just learned something new, and the recipe sounds lovely!! We love eggplant and always looking for new ways to prepare them. Please say thank you to your mom from us. ☮️&💜. You’re very kind!! Cheers!!
Well, I love zucchini! And I love baking! And I love things which look like balls. And I surely love baking! HUH – I obviously shall be nuts about these 🙂 ! Oh – I adore oregano 🙂 !!! Dozer – I know – saw you on Insta . . . all great fun but that rest afterwards was good . . wish I would have been there with you . . .
Dozer is a hero, just ❤️ him….and oh! I nearly forgot….love your recipes Nagi 🍾🍾🍾
I think you mean ‘spray generously’ with oil, not ‘generally’.
YIKES! Thanks Colleen, fixed 🙂
Have just discovered this recipe and have just made a batch…fabulous! I used to make very similar little zucchini bites in a mini muffin tin, which were nightmarish to get out of the holes no matter how you prepared them. Will be making this version from now on!
Hi Nagi,
Just a friendly request, could you maybe change the time at the top of the recipe because I don’t think it’s accurate. Thanks 🙂
You are correct Sarah! 🙂 I’ve fixed it. – N x