Multiples in the Kitchen: Baked Zucchini Sticks

Zucchini tastes so much better when it’s in season! We’ve been buying a whole bunch at the farmer’s market and gobbling it up.

I came across a recipe at Always in Wonder for Baked (Not Fried) Zucchini. Jennifer grew zucchini in her own yard and came up with this crunchy yet healthier version of the deep-fried zucchini sticks that so many of us have enjoyed at restaurants. Jennifer is also mama to a little boy with Hydrocephalus. Even if you have not been touched by this condition, you will be moved by her strength and honesty. Thanks Jennifer for the recipe and for the inspiration, in more ways than one!

I thought my girls would enjoy breading the zucchini and would definitely love the crunchy results!

Baked Zucchini Sticks (based on recipe by Always in Wonder)

• 3-4 zucchinis, cut into spears
• Eggs, about one per zucchini
• Flour, about 3/4 cup
• Breadcrumbs (either regular or Panko), about 1/2 cup or more
• Seasoning to taste, such as salt, pepper and others such as garlic salt (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasonings Salute)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray/drizzle olive oil in a baking dish.

Take three shallow dishes. In one dish, beat the eggs.

In another dish, add the flour.

And in the last dish, add the breadcrumbs.

Add seasoning to taste to the flour and the breadcrumbs and mix with a fork.

Take a zucchini spear and roll it in each dish. First the flour, shaking off the excess.

Then in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs.

And place them into the baking dish.

When you’re done, spray/drizzle the top with olive oil and bake until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. You can turn them halfway through if they aren’t changing color.

Serve with ranch (yum!) or with marinara sauce (which I’ll try next time). Any other suggestions for dips?

We ate ours in place of fries during our July 4 BBQ. They were moist but still had a bit of bite on the inside, and the outside was crunchy. I liked the seasoning…it had a hint of cayenne to give it a subtle kick.

Notes and tips: 

Since they’ll be handling raw eggs, make sure your kiddos can follow directions (e.g. “Don’t lick your hands!”). If your kiddos can’t resist licking their hands (or if they don’t like the feel of the raw egg), maybe you should do the egg part. So kiddo #1 does the flour, then you do the egg and place it into the breadcrumbs for kiddo #2. But instead of kiddo #2 rolling the zucchini itself in the breadcrumbs, just have them sprinkle the zucchini with breadcrumbs. Then you place the finished zucchini into the baking dish. If they do handle the raw egg, have some washcloths handy so they can wipe off their hands. And expect to run to the sink a few times in the process! Things got pretty messy, so prepare accordingly with a tablecloth and splatmat on the floor. Or just do what my husband said (sweep it on the floor and vacuum).

Make sure your flouring kiddo shakes off the excess flour. This was my girls’ favorite part and there were gobs of uncooked flour on some of the zucchini after baking. I have tried this recipe with both regular and Panko breadcrumbs. Both taste good, but I think we like Panko better (came out crispier).

Hope you enjoyed the recipe, and many thanks again to Jennifer @ Always in Wonder!

-Steph-