Thursday, January 26, 2012

Oh hey there small fry....

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Baked Parmesan Zucchini Fries


Look at me! Not only did I yet two post in two days but both are a big change from my normal posts and quite healthy. These baked zucchini fries are one of my new favorite things. I could eat bucket loads of these. Mmm with a nice tangy marinara sauce. Delish!

These a healthier take on the fried zucchini you can order out at most restaurants, which are usually just frozen breaded zucchini thrown in a deep fryer. The ones I made are prepared not just in a healthier way, but a more delectable way which you can actually taste the zucchini and the Parmesan but still have that nice crunch.

The crunch is due to the use of panko bread crumbs. These are great & I use them on baked chicken fingers too. They crisp up much more than your typical homemade, or store bought breadcrumb.
So go ahead and whip these up for a snack or a nice side dish they don't take long and a taste amazing. I prefer to dip them marinara sauce but I have seen several recipes with onion dips as well. Ranch dressing would be great, but ranch makes everything taste better :).
If you are sticking with the healthier route go ahead and just use marinara its a perfect combo.


Enjoy <3!

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 medium sized zucchini, cut into sticks

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment or spray with non stick cooking spray.
  2. In a shallow dish or bowl whisk egg whites.
  3. Place Panko, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper in a zip top bag and shake to combine.
  4. Dip the zucchini into the egg and then into the panko mixture a few at a time, shaking gently to coat.
  5. Place on the baking sheet.
  6. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
  7. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
*NOTE* By dipping the zucchini into flour before dipping into the egg will help the panko mixture really coat the sticks however I didn't mind the "rustic" coating I achieved by skipping this step. 

4 comments:

  1. Looks great!! I always get green bean fries as an app at restaurants too. Healthier ways at home rock!

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  2. What a great idea! I used to love fried zucchini (correction: I love fried anything) before I started cleaning up my diet. Going to try these soon!

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  3. These are my absolute favorite. I make them ALL THE TIME.

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