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
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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:
Thanks to a current lockdown, I realised part way through making these that I didn’t have all of the ingredients, so I butchered them a little and they still turned out great! I can’t wait to make them the proper way in the future! I didn’t have feta, so I used cream cheese in the wrong quantity. I put in lots of tasty cheese instead of parmesan, and I didn’t use enough shallots They still looked like the picture and taste great. Next time I might follow the recipe properly but add mushrooms
Any idea how long to cook in a air fryer please?
I found these when searching for Greek sides, so easy and yummy, definitely will make them again.
These are great, and baking them is sooo much easier than frying. I leave the ones in the middle a bit “blonde” so I can reheat them as it makes lots
I don’t have spray oil so gently brushed them with olive oil. I made them with self raising flour once because I didn’t have plain flour and it made them fluffier and more baby friendly. I’ve also thrown other leftover vegies in there (spinach, mushroom).
Awesome! First time making any thing like this. Between my partner and myself there was no leftovers! Love all your recipes that I have tried so far.
This is excellent!!! I was out of eggs, so I substituted plain yogurt instead. Otherwise I made it exactly and it was wonderful!
That’s great to hear Melissa 🙌
Can’t wait to try this. Here’s a tip. Use a potato ricer to squeeze out excess water from zucchini, potatoes, and spinach. Works like a charm.,
Great idea Diane!!
These were delicious exactly as written! Nagi, I have made countless recipes from your site and without fail they are always fabulous. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes with the world.
Much love,
Sarah from Langley, Canada.
Hi Nagi, I love your range of recipes! Do you know of a substitute for the panko breadcrumbs? Would almond meal work?
Hi Coco, you can use regular breadcrumbs, I haven’t tried with almond meal so can’t confirm if it will work – N x
These turned out so good! Thank you. Delicious and will be a regular on the weekly dinner list. Leftovers make the best little snacks!
Cooked these on the bbq last night (used a reusable cooking sheet but foil would probably work as well). Subbed grated mozzarella cheese for the feta (only because I had no feta) and added a bit of garlic in the sauce. They were fantastic! Ate a cold leftover one this morning and just as good. My new favourite veggie!
Nagi, You have done it again! I have cooked quite a few of your recipes and have loved all of them. This one, the flavour and texture is amazing.
One thing I did differently, I cooked in my pie maker. !/2 cup raw ingredient, 5 mins a side. Magic.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Christine – great to know about the pie maker, what a great idea!!
Hello. This may be a “silly” question, but I’ll ask anyway. I’ve already shredded my giant zucchini and then found your recipe here. What would the shredded equivalent be vs a pound of whole zucchini? 😬 Would I just weigh out a pound of shredded? 😊 Can’t wait to try this.
I always love your recipes! The flavors in this one were no exception….delicious! I had trouble with the texture, though. They were denser and spongier than I thought they’d be. Maybe I wrung the zucchini out too much, or maybe it just needed more zucchini for the amount of flour and panko. Or maybe because they sat in the frig a few hours before I baked them. Anyway, I will experiment a bit as they’re totally worth it. I’d love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thanks!
Hi Carol! Can you help me out here?? I am confused about it being dense and yet spongey!! Was it one more than the other?? 😄
Sorry! I guess the word dense wasn’t the right one. Maybe heavy is better? I expected a lighter texture on the inside. “Spongy” is definitely spot-on. 😆 I’m wondering if by sitting a few hours, the panko soaked up all the liquid. Could that be it?
Anyway, I am making another batch today and I’m going to add the panko and flour gradually, only until the mixture holds together enough to form a gem. I can report back if you wish.
Thanks for the fun!
My family and I went to Greece in March. While we were there we participated in a cooking demonstration of traditional Greek food and these were part of the class. I have to say-I like your recipe better! You use feta and Parmesan where is the ladies in Greece that made the recipe had no cheese in theirs & I am definitely always in favor of cheese! I really also like them baked better than deep fat friedThank you!
That’s terrific to hear Kameron! So glad you enjoyed this! N x
Hi Nagi, I wanted to make this for someone who is dairy free. I’m thinking homous instead of Tzotzil I, but do you have any suggestions for alternatives to the feta and Parmesan in the fritters? Thanks so much. Really enjoying your recipes
Hi Nagi,
When you say crushed garlic am I just smashing it down to release the oils into the batter and if so do I discard after letting the batter rest so someome doesn’t get a big mouthful of garlic (though I love garlic!)? I’m in Hamilton, Canada, so am wondering if crushed garlic refers to different techniques (eg. minced, pressed).
Thanks!
Becca
Minced! So it mixed through. Updating now! N x
Awesome. Thanks for such a speedy response! You’re the best Nagi!
Cheers,
Becca
These look amazing, but ideas for making them just as good but without cheese? I do my best not to eat dairy for digestional purposes. THANKS!
Hi Becci, I’m afraid I don’t have a suggestion, sorry! N x
So nice Nagi. Thank you for your easy to read and very well tested recipes.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Olivia! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
This recipe is amazing – prepped it the night before and borrowed an oven the next day for a workplace luncheon – the tots were gone in no time and lots of great comments – have made them several times since and prefer them baked rather than shallow fried.
Woo hoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Kym, thanks for letting me know! N xx