The Healthiest Baked Zucchini Fries (Gluten-Free, Lectin-Free)

These crispy baked zucchini fries are a healthy, gluten-free, and lectin-free alternative to the classic snack. Easy to make, oven-baked, and served with a creamy garlic sauce—perfect as a side dish or appetizer.

Breaded Zucchini Made Healthier

One of my favorite childhood foods was fried, breaded zucchini served with a Romanian-style garlic sauce (called mujdei). I loved the contrast of textures—the crispy coating, the tender zucchini—and the spicy & umami kick from the garlic. But once I began reevaluating my diet, cutting out wheat flour and switching to a low-lectin, anti-inflammatory way of eating, zucchini fell off my radar for a while.

These days, I don’t eat them often, but when I do, I love recreating my beloved breaded zucchini—only in a much healthier form:

• No wheat flour, no gluten
• No frying in vegetable oil
• No lectins, thanks to peeling and deseeding

The result? Crispy on the outside, soft and subtly sweet on the inside—perfect finger food for spring or whenever zucchini are in season.

I especially enjoy serving them with a green garlic sauce in springtime, but a classic garlic sauce (or your favorite dip) works just as well.

What I Use for Gluten-Free Breading

For this recipe, I used a mix of cassava and tigernut flour, which gives the fries a lovely crunch. Other gluten-free flours, like sorghum or almond flour, also work great—feel free to experiment with what you have on hand.

How to Prepare the Zucchini

Zucchini are a high-lectin vegetable, so I like to remove both the skin and the seeds. Bonus: I actually prefer the texture this way, as the seeds can get mushy when cooked.

• Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
• Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.
• Cut the zucchini into fry-sized sticks.
• From here, you’ll coat the sticks with the breading mixture of egg and flour, and bake until golden brown and crisp.

Check out this printable Lectin-Free Foods Shopping List (PDF).

What is Green Garlic?

Green garlic, also known as spring garlic, is young, immature garlic harvested before the bulb fully forms. It resembles a scallion, but you’ll notice flat leaves and a white stalk with a subtle pink hue. Its flavor is distinctly garlicky but milder and more herbaceous than mature garlic.

If green garlic isn’t available, you can substitute it with regular garlic cloves. For this recipe, use about five medium cloves.

To make the garlic sauce, simply blend all the ingredients until smooth.

Complete List of Ingredients

For the zucchini fries

• 2 medium zucchini
• Salt & pepper, to season
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 sprig of green (spring) garlic, finely sliced, for garnish

Dry breading mix

• 3 tablespoons cassava flour
• 3 tablespoons tigernut flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika

Wet breading mix

• 3 pastured eggs
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Garlic sauce

• 3 small spring garlic sticks, chopped (or ~5 garlic cloves)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup hemp milk (or other compliant milk, avoid coconut)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or more, to taste)
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Note: If you eat dairy and you want some extra umami flavor, feel free to add some grated parmesan cheese (real Parmigiano Reggiano) to the dry breading mix. You can also use different herb and spice mixes, like Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning.

Step by Step Instructions With Photos

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel the zucchini, slice each one in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon. Cut each half in two crosswise, then slice each piece into four sticks—about fry-sized. You should get around 32 sticks. Season them lightly with salt and pepper, and pat dry if needed.

Prepare the breading station: in a shallow dish, mix together the cassava flour, tigernut flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper.

Coat each zucchini stick in the dry mix, then dip the zucchini in the egg mixture, and coat again in the dry mix. Arrange the breaded sticks on the baking sheet. It helps to use two forks for this process to keep your hands cleaner.

Drizzle the zucchini sticks with about one tablespoon of olive oil and bake for 15 minutes.

While they bake, make the garlic sauce by blending the chopped garlic (or garlic cloves), olive oil, hemp milk, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, combine 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of the garlic sauce—this will be used for brushing.

After 15 minutes, remove the zucchini from the oven and brush each stick with the garlic-oil mixture on all sides. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5–7 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the sliced green garlic, and drizzle with more garlic sauce or serve it on the side as a dip. Enjoy while hot!

If you are not a fan of garlic, you can use our carrot tops dressing as a dipping sauce.

I hope you enjoy this gluten-free and lectin-free baked zucchini fries recipe!

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