Zucchini Cheddar Bites (Hidden Veggies Snack!)

These Zucchini Cheddar Bites are packed with hidden vegetables and are so addictive! With zucchini, carrot, and cheddar cheese, they’re great for cleaning out the fridge in healthy, delicious snacking form.

 

My dad puts zucchini in everything. Smoothies, ice cream, salads, cereal. It’s clearly quite the versatile food. But after the Zucchini Crisp we made a few days ago, I was about sweet-toothed out. (Okay that’s a lie. I’m never sweet-toothed out. But the nutritionist in me was begging for something that didn’t involve sugar.) And so these Zucchini Cheddar Bites came to be!

What’s so great about these bites is that they totally satisfy salty and savory cravings. They’re like a fried appetizer and could even be considered fritters! But, they have way more veggies than your average french fries or mozzarella sticks, making them an A+ snack choice in more ways than one.

Ingredients for these zucchini bites

Zucchini bites check the boxes for greasy, fried, and satisfying, so you may be surprised to know that they’re quite literally packed with other veggies besides zucchini. We even sneak in carrots!

• Zucchini: Zucchini makes up a bulk of the bite! We’ll shred then coax the moisture out of these, leaving the peel on of course for added fiber and vitamin K.
• Carrots: Most any recipe involving shredded cheese can also act as a vessel in which to sneak shredded carrots. Muahahaha!
• Egg: Egg serves as the glue that holds these flavor bombs together with a little punch of protein!
• Cheddar Cheese: High in fat? Yea. The very foundation of these warm, tender, flavorful bites? Also yea.
• Breadcrumbs: Use a whole grain variety to pack in a few more B vitamins and fiber.
• Onion, garlic, green onions: No dish would be complete without our favorite alliums.

How to make zucchini and cheddar bites

Only 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of bake time stand between you and the perfect marinara sauce-dipping appetizer. Only three steps are required, with the main labor involving a bit of chopping and shredding! Easy peasy.

1. Prep the zucchini: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Shred the zucchini with a food processor or box grater. Spread the shreds onto a few layers of paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Mix the filling: Shred, dice, and measure the remaining ingredients. Press the excess water out of the zucchini and then mix everything together. Spoon the golf ball-sized rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake: Bake for 30 minutes, or until the outsides are brown and crisp!

Zucchini bite tips

Discard excess water
After shredding the zucchini, optionally press with paper towels before adding the salt. The salt should remove most of the moisture, but the paper towels can help sop up a bulk of it. This will make for crispier bites!

Storage
These bites are like most other “fried” apps in that they’re best right out of the oven and don’t store as well as we’d like! However, thanks to the blessing that is an air fryer, you can toast these babies right back to near perfection in a few minutes’ time! In the meantime, keep leftovers refrigerated.

How to enjoy zucchini cheddar bites

These zucchini bites are great for serving as a zucchini appetizer recipe! They’re savory and light and crispy and so addictive. For pairing ideas, try one of these dishes.

• Pair these bites with this Pasta with Raddicchio & Goat Cheese for a carb-load meal!
• For something light, try the bites alongside Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.
• For an app fest, enjoy the bites with Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks or Truffel Fries!