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Crispy fried zucchini and eggplant with creamy garlic sauce – an appetizer made for a glass of wine and good company.
There is something about deep fried zucchini and eggplant that no other cooking method gets close to. The outside has a sheer, glass-like crunch while the inside stays tender and juicy, and once you dip it into a creamy garlic herb sauce it is hard to stop. These crispy fried zucchini and eggplant fries come out of the oil and straight into a smoky spice blend. The dipping sauce is creamy, garlicky and tangy…exactly what you want for your crispy bites.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Zucchini & Eggplant Fries
Restaurant quality crispy is not an exaggeration here. The outside is golden with an incredible sheer crunch, the inside stays tender and juicy, and the smoky spice blend goes straight onto the fries right out of the oil.
The dipping sauce is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh herbs, lemon and a little agave. Five minutes, make it the day before, and it only gets better. Think aioli, but fresher and more flavorful. You will want to dip everything in it.
Why Deep Frying Works Best
There is a reason restaurants deep fry. The food is completely surrounded by hot oil at once, the surface moisture evaporates fast, the coating sets evenly on all sides, and the inside stays nice and juicy. This coating has potato starch and flour with no egg, which is what gives it that clean, glass-like crunch that stays crispy longer than a traditional battered fry. No other at-home method compares.
How to Get the Perfect Crunch
Salt and Drain: Zucchini and eggplant hold a lot of water. Any moisture left on the surface will prevent the coating from crisping, so press them as dry as possible before they go into the flour and potato starch. This won’t affect the tender, juicy interior.
Oil Temperature: A deep fry thermometer takes the guessing out completely, and this one clips right to the pot and reads instantly. Without one, dip the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. Steady, immediate bubbles mean it’s ready. Slow bubbles mean it needs more time. Aggressive splattering means it’s too hot.
Fry in Small Batches: This matters not only so the strips aren’t pressed together, but too many at once drops the oil temperature, one of the biggest mistakes you can make. The vegetables are julienned so each batch doesn’t take long, and it makes all the difference.
Wire Rack: Transfer to a wire rack instead of paper towels. Paper towels trap steam underneath and soften the crust. A rack lets air circulate on all sides and keeps everything crispy longer. Season with the spice blend immediately while the oil is still on them.
Other Cooking Methods
Pan frying can work but thin strips are harder to manage. The coating sits against the pan and can break, and keeping the oil temperature consistent is difficult. Deep frying solves both.
Baking and air frying won’t work with this recipe. A dry flour and potato starch dredge needs hot oil to form a crust. Without it the coating won’t adhere or crisp properly.
Tips for Cutting Julienne-Style
- Zucchini: Cut off both ends and slice into planks about ¼ inch thick lengthwise, then stack the planks and cut into thin strips the same width. You want uniform strips so they cook evenly and stay together in the oil.
- Eggplant: Same method – slice into planks lengthwise first, then cut into strips. Because eggplant is denser, make sure your knife is sharp and your strips are consistent so they fry at the same rate as the zucchini.
Ingredient Swaps
Zucchini or Eggplant: You can use one or the other if that’s what you have. Keep the total amount the same.
Sour Cream or Mayonnaise: Full fat Greek yogurt works as a swap for either. The sauce will be slightly tangier and a little less rich but still good.
Agave: Swap for honey 1:1.
Fresh Herbs: Dried parsley and chives can be substituted, but fresh makes a noticeably better sauce. If using dried, use one third the amount.
White Pepper: Black pepper works as a straight swap, the flavor is slightly sharper but barely noticeable in the spice blend.
Lawry’s: Any seasoned salt can be swapped in its place.
MSG: If you’re skipping it, just add a small pinch more salt. Read more about MSG below. It’s worth understanding before you leave it out.
Is MSG Bad for You?
MSG has had a bad reputation for decades, but the science doesn’t back it up. The FDA considers it generally recognized as safe, and health organizations around the world agree. The original claim that MSG caused headaches and nausea came from a single letter written in 1968 – not a study, not research – and it stuck. Decades of research since then have found no connection.
What most people don’t realize is that MSG occurs naturally in foods they eat every day: tomatoes, parmesan, mushrooms, soy sauce. It’s the same glutamate, processed the same way by your body. It also contains about a third of the sodium of regular table salt, so a small amount goes a long way.
If you still want to skip it, add a small pinch more salt to the spice blend. You’ll get some of the depth back but not all of it.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The fries are best eaten immediately, that’s when the crust is at its best. If you plan to have leftovers, cut and fry the same day. If you are cooking everything at once with no leftovers planned, the vegetables can be julienned up to two days ahead in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Salt, drain, and fry from there.
The sauce is the opposite. Make it a day ahead and it only gets better as the garlic and herbs have time to settle. Keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. If it smells sour, looks discolored, or has separated and won’t come back together with a stir, throw it out.
If you have leftover fries, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within a day. The coating is a dry dredge with no egg, which means it holds up better than a battered fry but still won’t be the same as fresh. To reheat:
- Air Fryer: 375°F for 3-4 minutes.
- Oven: 400°F on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes until hot and crispy.
- Microwave: Never. It’ll kill the crust.
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How to Serve Fried Zucchini Eggplant Fries
Serve these as a shareable appetizer alongside a Tinto de Verano, a light, fizzy Spanish wine cocktail that pairs perfectly with the garlicky dip. Follow it up with Chicken Milanese and Caesar Salad as the main, an Arugula Fennel Salad for something bright and peppery on the side, and wrap it up with Amaretto Peaches, warm, fruity, and just the right way to end the night.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, and that’s intentional. Egg adds moisture to the coating which eventually softens the crust. The flour and potato starch alone gives you a cleaner, glass-like crunch that holds up longer than a traditional egg-washed fry.
Drying the vegetables completely before coating is the main thing. Any moisture left on the surface will prevent it from adhering. Don’t skip the salting and draining step, this is very important if you want to achieve that crunch.
Pan frying is the closest alternative but the results are different. See the Other Cooking Methods section above for what works and what doesn’t with this recipe.
No. The skin on both is completely edible and stays on in this recipe. The eggplant skin helps hold the strips together during frying and the zucchini skin softens just enough in the oil without getting tough.
The strips are cut thin enough that the heat of the oil causes the moisture to release quickly, which makes them curl as they fry. It’s actually a sign the oil is at the right temperature and the cut is right. It doesn’t affect the taste or the crunch. And piled up on a plate it looks exactly like it should.
Equipment
- colander and bowl
- paper towels
- small bowl
- Large heavy-bottomed pot, or deep fryer
- wire rack
Ingredients
Zucchini and Eggplant Fries
- 2 large zucchini, julienned
- 2 small/medium eggplant, julienned
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- Neutral oil for frying, vegetable, avocado, or canola
Spice Mix
- 1/2 teaspoon MSG
- 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 squeeze lemon, plus wedges for serving
Topping
Instructions
- Sweat the Vegetables: Place the julienned zucchini and eggplant in a colander inside of a bowl. Toss with the kosher salt and let sit for 10 minutes to drain.
- Creamy Garlic Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic, agave, parsley, chives, black pepper. Mix and add a small squeeze of lemon juice, taste and adjust. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges for serving.
- Spice Mix: Combine the MSG, Lawry's seasoning salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and white pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Pat Dry: Using paper towels, dry the zucchini and eggplant extremely well.
- Coat: Whisk together the flour and potato starch in a large bowl. Coat the dried vegetables well and shake off the excess.
- Fry: Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with oil and heat and heat over medium-high until it reaches 350°F. Working in batches, fry for 2-3 minutes, until deep golden brown.
- Season: Drain on a wire rack and season with the spice mix while still hot.
- Serve immediately with the creamy garlic dipping sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
