Zucchini Breadsticks are a delicious alternative to traditional breadsticks, made with zucchini and topped with cheese and Italian seasoning.
ZUCCHINI BREADSTICKS
Zucchini is one of my favorite summertime vegetables to grow. And, if you grow it, you know that this time of year is when it grows in abundance! I already have many recipes to use up zucchini, from sweet to savory. These savory and cheesy breadsticks may be one of my favorites! It is easy to make and when cut up into breadsticks are perfect to dip in a side of marinara sauce.
CHEESY BREADSTICKS RECIPE
You will need a large sheet pan for this recipe. I used an 11×17-inch pan lined with parchment paper. And, it does help to have a second 11×17-inch pan for easy flipping of the bread.
Ingredients (full recipe below)
- Zucchini-Make sure you drain the grated zucchini as best you can to get out the most moisture.
- Onion-The grated onion also needs to be drained.
- Garlic
- Mozzarella cheese
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Toppings
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
HOW TO PREPARE THE ZUCCHINI
To grate the zucchini, don’t peel it or take out the seeds. Just rinse the zucchini well in cool or lukewarm water, cut off one of the ends, and simply grate it. I like to use the large size when grating for this recipe.
Then, remove any excess moisture from the grated zucchini. Gently wrap the zucchini in a paper towel (or a clean dish towel) to dry it out a bit. Wrap it up in a paper towel again if there is remaining moisture. For the best results, you want to drain the zucchini as much as possible. You will need about 4 cups of grated zucchini.
HOW TO MAKE ZUCCHINI BREADSTICKS
After the zucchini has been grated and drained, put it into a large bowl. Add the drained grated onion, garlic, mozzarella cheese, eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together well. (If the batter seems too thick, let it sit for a while, but don’t add any more liquid.)
Spread out the zucchini mixture onto the lined sheet pan. It will be a thin rectangle once you get the batter covering the pan. Bake the bread for 25 minutes at 450°F, or until the edges are a golden brown. Remove the bread from the oven and reduce the temperature to 425°F. It’s time to flip over the bread and add the toppings.
FLIPPING THE ZUCCHINI
The most challenging part of this recipe is flipping over the large rectangular sheet of zucchini. Before you flip it, loosen up the edges of the zucchini with a spatula. You could use a couple of spatulas to carefully flip over the zucchini. However, I preferred to use a second baking sheet.
Place a piece of parchment paper over the zucchini. Cover it with the second 11×17-inch pan and flip the zucchini over. The zucchini should now be in the second baking sheet ready to be topped with cheese and Italian seasoning.
Top the zucchini with a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Put the zucchini bread back in the oven (at the lower temperature) and bake it for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh parsley.
Finally, cut the zucchini breadsticks into strips, and serve warm with marinara sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini, grated (about 4 cups) and well-drained
- 1/2 small white or yellow onion, grated and drained of liquid
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Topping
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line an 11×17-inch baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Rinse the zucchini under lukewarm water. Trim off one of the ends off the zucchini and shred on a grater. (I keep one end on to make sure I don’t get too close to my fingers when grating.)
Remove excess water from zucchini by wrapping it in a clean dish towel and tightly squeezing. You want to make sure to get as much moisture out of the zucchini as you can.
Add the drained zucchini to a large mixing bowl.
Add the grated & drained onion, garlic, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
Use a spatula to spread out the zucchini mixture onto the lined baking sheet. It should be an even layered rectangle. The layer should be very thin. If it gets thicker than 1/2 inch it will take much longer to bake and get crispy.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
Remove the zucchini from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 425°F.
Flip the zucchini breadsticks over. To flip the zucchini, use a spatula to loosen up the edges. Place another piece of parchment paper over the top of the zucchini, as well as another 11×17-inch pan. Using hot pads, hold the edges of the pans tightly together and carefully flip over the zucchini. (You could also use a couple of spatulas to flip the zucchini over onto the same baking sheet.)
Top the zucchini with a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
Bake an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Garnish with fresh parsley and cut the bread into strips. Serve warm with a marinara sauce for dipping.
