These 2 Ingredient Parmesan Zucchini Crisps couldn’t be any easier. They are crispy, flavorful and make a great snack or side dish.
A few months ago I finally purchased an air fryer and I am totally loving it. I purchased mine at Costco for about $60.
It’s become one of the most used appliances in my kitchen. An air fryer is a healthier way to make “fried” foods with little or no oil with better and faster results than using an oven. It works by circulating very hot air around the food to cook it.
Making Zucchini Crisps
- Zucchinis are thinly sliced and then covered in a thin layer of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Similar to my keto cauliflower tots and avocado chips, these crisps rely on parmesan cheese to create the crispy texture. Parmesan is a dry cheese and when it cooks at high temperature, it crisps up. The parmesan cheese is cooked until golden brown to give these crisps a crispy finish.
- I chose to slice my zucchini to 1/4 inch thick rounds. I found that this left the zuchini only partially dehydrated but the cooked zucchini had a super creamy, buttery finish which provided a great contrast to the crispy cheese.
- If you prefer even crispier crisps with no soft creamy zucchini center, slice your zucchini to 1/8 inch thick rounds. You can use a mandoline slicer for easy slicing.
Air Fryer 2 Ingredient Parmesan Zucchini Crisps
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Place zucchini rounds into your air fryer in a single layer. (If your air fryer basket is nonstick you don't need to grease the basket first. If it is not nonstick, you should spray basket with cooking oil spray.) Add a thin layer of parmesan cheese over rounds, covering the surface of each round.
- Set your air fryer to 370°F (no preheat). Cook rounds for about 12 minutes, or until the cheese is dark golden brown. Let the rounds cool for a few minutes, which will allow the cheese to crisp up further.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Crisps are best eaten soon after they are fried. Because of the moisture in the zucchini, the crispy top will soften when fully cooled. If you are making a large batch, you can always re-crisp them again in the air fryer.
Notes
- If you want even crispier zucchini crisps, use a mandoline slicer and slice zucchini into 1/8 inch thick rounds. The thinner rounds will dehydrate during the cooking process so you won’t have a soft zucchini finish. You will need to reduce cooking time to around 8 minutes.
- I recommend using a mandoline slicer* if you are slicing to 1/8 inch thick.
- Depending on the material of your air fryer basket, you may want to spray the basket with cooking oil before adding the zucchini rounds. My basket has a nonstick coating so it did not need to be sprayed and the zucchini came off easily.
- *Some of the product links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Yummo! Thank you for the fun recipe! It’s a nice, healthy, yummy, cheesy, easy favorite for us!!! Each time I make it I make a bigger batch than the last one! : )
We’re so glad you’re loving the recipe!
Going to try them in the oven. I have a very small air fryer so they didn’t get crispy just burnt. Still somewhat good. A little disappointed, but I am anxious to try in the oven. Definitely a great flavor
We’re glad you liked the flavor – it’s hard to know why they burned. How thick did you slice them? Also, maybe they were cooked too long.
I’m a beginner with my air fryer and this recipe is very good and easy to make. I’ll definitely make it many more times.
We’re glad you liked it!
How do you keep them from flying around in the air fryer? My first attempt was a disaster ?
We’re sorry to hear that! We haven’t had that happen, but air fryers can differ depending on the brand. You could try slicing the zucchini thicker so they are heavier.
I am making these now as I type this. The only unfortunate thing is that I am making them for my lunch tomorrow and I didn’t read until after that these are best when eaten right away 🙁 the struggles of making food for your lunch for work…
You can reheat them in the air fryer the next day – they should crisp up.
Oven: 400 degrees til light brown. The thinner the slices, increased the crispy! I use calendar’s seasoning on zucchini prior to baking.
My air fryer is smaller Pwer XL, this recipe was magnificent in time and temp recommended. I press the Parmesan in thin slices to prevent air blown cheese!
Enjoy!!
Thanks for sharing your tips!
I made mine in planks. They were yummy! And will be making more! I used the basket and the metal tray. I used foil and olive oil with the flat metal tray. Both ways were perfect.
Thanks for letting us know!
can you use mozzarella?
mozzarella does not crisp up like parmesan
This was quick, easy and very tasty! Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed!
So you can’t layer these? It has to be a single layer? So this is only a single serving.
you can’t layer these because then only the top layer would crisp up. Just because it’s only one layer doesn’t make it single serving. These are not meant to be a full meal. And the recipe uses 1/2 cup of cheese which makes these pretty heavy
What dipping sauce did you use? I missed that somewhere. Thanks!
I used marinara sauce
Umm help! My Parmesan covered zucchini’s just flew everywhere when I turned on the air fryer!
I’m sorry to hear that. I have not had this issue but I know air fryers can differ depending on the brand/type. You could try slicing the zucchini thicker so that they are heavier.
When you cook them in the air fryer does it have to be a single layer?
Yes it should be a single layer
The slices went flying in the basket and the cheese is now in the bottom.
I’m sorry to hear that. I have not had this happen before. What air fryer are you using? You can try slicing them thicker so that they have more weight.
They are really good the whole family loved them
I’m so glad your family enjoyed!
This is really good, fast & easy and I don’t like vegetables
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
The time allotted to cook them was not enough but when I checked them at the specified time, the cheese was dark brown. It did not look like the picture and when they were done the cheese was too hard for my liking. I will try this again but with alternate temperatures and cooking time. I also seasoned them before cooking.
keep in mind that air fryers can vary and some run hotter than the temperature you set it for.
“once”
What kind of parmesan cheese did you recommend? Does it need to be fresh grated or can it be something like the cheap can of kraft parmesan crumbs?
pre-shredded parmesan cheese, not the shelf stable crumbs.
Sorry actually it should be freshly grated parmesan cheese as stated in the post. I confused this with another recipe when originally answering this
So, you only coat the one side obce thet’re in the fryer? No turning?
yes
How do you get the cheese to not drip in an air fryer basket?
the cheese stays on the zucchini
Who cares about healthy? Airfryer cooking is just FUN!!!
it is fun!
I just made grilled cheese today in my Vortex, the secret is make sure the cheese doesn’t hang over the edges
I use a piece of parchment. Not to big that lets air flow around and makes easy clean up.
thanks for sharing!
Is there a way to cook without an Air Fryer
You should be able to bake them as well. I haven’t tried though so I don’t know how long it would take.
I was going to try this in my oven and turn on the convection feature. We’ll see.