These low-carb zucchini sticks have a cheesy coating that crisps up nicely in an air fryer. Perfect for keto food plans, serve with a favorite low-carb dip for a delicious meal.
If you are trying to kick a carb habit, I have shared my tips here.
Low Carb Zucchini Sticks Using an Air Fryer
A Dippable Snack Without the Carbs
This is one of my favorite quick snacks when there are leftovers to warm up.
Zucchini sticks are a good, low-carb option when you’re feeling like something different than the usual keto options.
I wrote the recipe for one medium zucchini but you may want to make a few batches at once and keep them in fridge for later.
It is a bit tricky to be precise with the ingredient amounts because ‘medium zucchini’ is rather vague. The one I used for my test was approximately 8 inches long (including the ends you cut off) and approximately 5 inches around, but that could be small or large depending on your source.
The coating on the zucchini that makes it crisp and delicious is a keto staple: almond flour and parmesan cheese. You’ll notice this combination used for all sorts of air fried low-carb recipes. With a dash of seasoning of your choice, it just works.
So why an air fryer? I’m sure you could bake these in the oven for similar results but I have an Instant Pot Duo Crisp which is a multi-purpose machine that performs pressure cooking, air frying, and a bunch of other things.
The air frying is fantastic for anything like fries, crisps, and so on, minus the cooking oil. And for those of us who follow a keto diet, it is our chance to have some of the fried experience while noshing on lower carb veggies free of the not-so-good-for-you cooking oils.
Zucchini is a vegetable that contains a lot of water. So, despite air frying it, it is still going to be moist inside. It’s the almond flour and cheese coating that crisps up the exterior.
Serve with a keto ranch dip and you’ve got yourself a simple, delicious appetizer.
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛
PS: You can also germinate seeds in an Instant Pot.
Low Carb Zucchini Sticks (Air Fryer Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Zucchini skin on
- 1 Large Egg beaten
- 1 Tablespoon Whole milk
- 1/8 Cup Almond flour fine
- 1/8 Cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- dash Salt and pepper or favorite seasonings
Instructions
- Cut zucchini into equal size pieces approximately ½-inchthick and 3-inches long.1 Medium Zucchini
- Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray.
- In one bowl, whisk egg and milk together.1 Large Egg, 1 Tablespoon Whole milk
- In a second bowl, combine almond flour, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.1/8 Cup Almond flour, 1/8 Cup Parmesan cheese, dash Salt and pepper
- Dip each zucchini piece in egg mixture and hold above it, allowing excess to run off.
- Gently press zucchini piece into dry mixture, turn to coat all sides. You can repeat this wet-dry step for extra coating.
- Place each coated zucchini stick in air fryer basket, close but not touching each other.
- Cook on Air Fryer setting (400F) for approximately 10minutes.
- Allow to cool and serve.
Notes
You can use a trivet with a grill on top to create a second cooking layer. The zucchini sticks may not cook exactly the same on each layer: one layer may require extra cooking time (a minute or two). Seasoning
Use what you like: any combination of chilli, garlic, or onion powder, taco seasoning, poultry season and so on are all possible. Depending on how strong you like it, for the recipe here you may want a teaspoon or two total volume of added herbs and spices. Crispness You may like them cooked for longer or shorter depending on how crispy you want to coating. Fast Method I have tried dipping and coating handfuls at once and it tends to get the dry ingredients too moist to cling to the zucchini. I get best results doing one at a time, making sure as much excess egg/milk mixture runs off as possible before coating. Carb calculation is approximate: will depend entirely on how much zucchini is used.