I remember when my kids were a little over a year old. They had finally gotten enough teeth in their precious little heads to make the big jump from baby food to “big people” food and I was so excited. I could almost hear my monthly grocery bill dropping. No more tiny little jars, no more cans of Wagon Wheels, no more rice cereal! Then as I got a few days in to feeding them a Gerber free diet, I realized I had no idea what to feed them. Sure they had teeth, but they were still figuring out the whole mastication process, and my son -who loves to swallow things whole, even to this day- kept gagging on his food. I know this sounds gross, sorry.
They were also kind of picky. I’m not sure how a 14 month old child knows they difference between a vegetable and a French fry, but mine were certainly holding out for the fries.
I had to come up with some kind of easy, healthy finger food that they could eat without gagging so much and something that preferably looked like a French fry.
Voila! Zucchini Fries! The kids loved them and they woofed them down with their yogurt and tiny little cubes of ham. Fast forward a couple of years, and the kids still love the Zucchini Fries ( and tiny cubed ham). I do still have to remind my son to chew though.
These are a perfect snack or side dish, even for adults. You can also try this process with yellow squash and carrots. Probably eggplant too, now that I think about it.
Preheat oven to 400. Slice zucchini into sticks.
In a shallow dish, mix together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper.
In another shallow dish, spread out breadcrumbs.
Toss zucchini slices in egg mixture
then toss in breadcrumbs until evenly coated.
Liberally spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Arrange zucchini in a single layer and then spray liberally with cooking spray.
Bake for 10 -15 minutes, flipping slices half way through. Zucchini is done when the breading has browned and zucchini has softened .
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 2 T milk
- 1/2 cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Slice zucchini into sticks.
- In a shallow dish, mix together eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper.
- In another shallow dish, spread out breadcrumbs.
- Toss zucchini slices in egg mixture
- then toss in breadcrumbs until evenly coated.
- Liberally spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Arrange zucchini in a single layer and then spray liberally with cooking spray.
- Bake for 10 -15 minutes, flipping slices half way through. Zucchini is done when the breading has browned and zucchini has softened .
Nutrition
Ooo…I'm getting a weekly farmer's basket tomorrow and if they put any more dang zucchini in it, I'll try this! Thanks
That is a great way to get my munchkin to eat her veggies. Ok, me too
Yum, I love breaded and fried zucchini but this is a healthier alternative. I'll have to give it a try.
Great finger food for me too! Love that he loves it so much he forgets to chew.
love it. thanks for your post.
great idea, love zucchini!
I like this, simple and nice recipe, thanks for sharing
Anytime a person can get veggies in their children is an accomplishment. Mine are 14 and 16 and still picky eaters.
this is a great idea Jodie, Something my husband and I would enjoy. I've done something similar with eggplant, so I know this is very delicious!
Oh heaven…I love these and they are baked:)
I love that the zucchini 'fries' are baked! Tomorrow we will be going to a farm where you can pick your own zucchini, I am looking forward to trying your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I love this and will totally make it for my daughter this weekend. Zucchini is plentiful and she has always liked both fries and zucchinis!
so simple and so delish – this is one of my favorite things to make …. hope ya'll are having a great weekend, trying to catch up on my reading,,,
Those look delicious! I can't believe I've never attempted to make zucchini fries before, I'll have to remedy that very soon! Thanks for sharing!