These crispy zucchini hash browns are a great low carb alternative to traditional hash browns. They are crispy, cheesy and make a great side dish. They are also baked instead of fried.
I love using zucchini as a substitute for a lot of my favorite potato dishes. These zucchini hash browns are so delicious and only need four ingredients. Of course, you can always add more spices if you want to make them even more flavorful. I also love that they are baked in the oven because I hate having to fry hash browns.
Ingredients
- Zucchini
- Egg
- Parmesan Cheese
- Pork rind or Panko breadcrumbs
How to Make Zucchini Hash Browns
- Zucchini is first finely shredded and then dried.
- It’s then mixed with the egg and parmesan cheese. These ingredients help to bind the zucchini shreds. The cheese also adds flavor to the hash browns.
- The zucchini hash browns are then shaped on a baking sheet. They are then topped with breadcrumbs. You can use pork rind breadcrumbs if you are on a keto or low carb diet. You can use panko breadcrumbs if you don’t need these hash browns to be low carb. The breadcrumbs will give the hash browns a crispy finish, which is how I like my hash brown patties to be.
Drying the Zucchini
Zucchini releases a lot of water, so you need to wring dry the zucchini before mixing it with the egg and cheese.
To do this, first salt the zucchini and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. The salt will help draw out the water. Pour out the excess water. Then wring dry the zucchini using a cheesecloth or similar type cloth.
More Zucchini Side Dishes
Zucchini Hash Browns
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (368 g) finely shredded zucchini
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (49 g) shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup (20 g) pork rind breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add shredded zucchini to a large mixing bowl. Salt and let it sit about 10-15 minutes to draw out the moisture from the zucchini. (Salting is optional but it does help draw out some of the moisture.) After the 10-15 minutes, drain out the water and then wring dry the zucchini with a cheesecloth or similar type cloth. You should be left with 1 packed cup (141 g) of zucchini.
- Add zucchini, egg and cheese into your mixing bowl. Stir and mix until completely combined.
- Fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup with the zucchini mixture. Press down to compact it. Flip the cup over onto your prepared baking sheet. The mixture should slide out and should still hold the cup form. Gently press down on mixture with your fingers or hand to flatten it to about 1/2 inch thick and shape it into an oval or rectangle of whatever shape you prefer your hash browns to be. Repeat with remaining zucchini mixture.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the surface of each hash brown, coating the surface of the hash browns in a layer of breadcrumbs. See notes regarding how thick the layer should be.
- Place hash browns into oven and cook for about 20-23 minutes or until zucchini is cooked and breadcrumbs are golden. If you are using pork rind breadcrumbs, they may appear to be too wet at first, but once they are out of the oven and given a few minutes to cool, they should crisp back up. If you are using panko breadcrumbs, they should not appear wet. Let hash browns cool a few minutes so that they are set before removing them off the baking sheet. Serve while still warm. Uneaten hash browns can be kept in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- If you are doing the pork rind breadcrumbs version, the pork rinds add a lot of flavor to the hash browns so I didn't feel the need to add any more seasonings. If you are doing the panko version you may want to add a little salt and pepper to the zucchini mixture or other seasonings like garlic powder or onion powder.
- Some of the pork rind crumbs touching the zucchini will get wet and lose their crispness, so make sure your pork rind crumb layer is thick enough so that the top will still be crispy. This is not really an issue with the panko crumbs so you can keep them to a single layer.
- If you are using panko breadcrumbs, I recommend pre-baking the breadcrumbs first so that they are golden brown. You can read more about this in this recipe post.
- I used this cheese cloth.*
- I used Pork King Good unseasoned pork rind crumbs*.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no extra charge to you).
- Nutrition estimate is calculated using pork rind breadcrumbs.
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.
To avoid adding salt to the zucchini to get the water out of the zucchini. I put the zucchini in a salad spinner. And It got all the water out.
Tom
Thanks for that suggestion!
Can you sub the parmesan cheese with none dairy vegan cheese?
I have not tried, but I think so
If you want to be low-carb and vegetarian you could use almond flour in place of the pork rinds or panko crumbs.
We haven’t tried this, but thanks for the suggestion!
Please clarify if both side of the zucchini patties are supposed to be covered with the panko/pork rind crumbs. I’m assuming so, but it was not clear in the directions. Thank you.
You should coat the top of the patties with the panko and pork rind crumbs.
I don’t eat wheat, and don’t care to use pork rinds. I wonder if fried onions in a can will work?
We haven’t tried the crispy onions but they might work. Let us know if you tried it!
* sorry I didn’t check my spelling I don’t eat wheat
I don’t wait and don’t care to use pork rinds. I wonder if fried onions in a can will work?
Sorry, but we have not tried it with canned fried onions.
Have you tried spreading these out on a cookie sheet, sprinkling with rinds and then cutting them into squares when out of the oven? I’m always looking for shortcuts.
We haven’t tried that – you may need to adjust the cooking time if you cook it in one big rectangle and not sure how they’ll slice after. Let us know how it works!
Can these be frozen? I’d so, Thaw first or bake from frozen?
I haven’t tried, but I think so. I would bake them first and then freeze and you can reheat in oven, toaster oven, air fryer, or on the stove.