Dust off that waffle iron and make these savory zucchini waffles! It’s easy, super delicious, and a great way to use summer zucchini.
Savory Zucchini Waffles
I grow zucchini in my garden every summer, and I am always looking for new zucchini recipes to use them up. Someone recently asked me for a Savory Zucchini Waffle Recipe, so I made my zucchini tots into waffles. They turned out amazing! I love how the edges brown and get crisp in the mini waffle iron. They only have six ingredients and are a great side dish to get your family to eat their veggies. I also have these savory Zucchini Pancakes if you don’t have a waffle maker. You can see all my zucchini recipes here!
Is zucchini good for you?
Zucchini contains vitamins A, C, and K, manganese, and antioxidants. The high water and fiber content can aid digestion and “may improve heart health.”
Zucchini Waffle Ingredients
- Zucchini: Grate one medium zucchini until you have a packed cup. Squeeze out the excess liquid, using a dish towel or paper towels.
- Egg: You’ll need one large egg.
- Onion: Mince a quarter of a medium onion.
- Cheese: Use shredded sharp cheddar or dairy-free cheddar, like Violife.
- Panko: For gluten-free zucchini waffles, use gluten-free panko.
- Kosher Salt to season
How to Make Savory Waffles
- Make the Waffle Batter: Combine all the zucchini waffle ingredients in a bowl.
- Cook the Waffles: Heat a mini Dash waffle iron and spray with oil once hot.
- Add batter: Add 1/4 cup of the zucchini mixture and spread it around.
- Cook until browned. Close the iron and cook until the light shuts off and the edges are golden brown. Set aside and keep warm while repeating the process with the remaining batter.
Variations
- Zucchini: Swap zucchini with yellow squash.
- Cheese: Substitute shredded parmesan, feta cheese, or mozzarella for cheddar.
- Onion: Sub shallots or red onion.
- Herbs: Add fresh herbs, like chives, dill, or parsley.
- Spices: Season them with garlic powder, paprika, or any other of your favorite spices.
- Waffle Iron: You can use a regular-size waffle maker if you don’t have a mini one.
What to Serve with Zucchini Waffles
These easy zucchini waffles would pair well with any protein. Below are some main dish ideas, plus some side dishes to round out the meal. And if you want to top them with something, you could put a fried egg on these savory waffles.
- Chicken: Yogurt-Marinated Chicken, Baked Chicken Breasts, Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
- Red Meat: Grilled Steak with Tomatoes, Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops
- Pork: Air Fryer Pork Chops, Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Shallots
- Seafood: Grilled Crab Legs, Broiled Fish with Tomato Caper Sauce, Air Fryer Shrimp
- Sides: Grilled Corn Salad with Feta, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Arugula Salad
How to Store Zucchini Waffles
Refrigerate leftover zucchini waffles for up to four days or freeze them for three months. To reheat, pop them in the toaster.
More Zucchini Recipes You Will Love
- Three-Cheese Zucchini Quiche
- Easy Zucchini Casserole
- Zucchini and Feta Fritters
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Zoats or Zucchini Oats
Savory Zucchini Waffles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 packed cup grated zucchini, from 1 medium zucchini; squeezed of excess liquid
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup onion, minced
- 1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese , or dairy free cheddar, I love Violife
- 1/3 cup panko, plain or gluten-free crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat the waffle iron, when hot spray with oil and add 1/4 cup of the zucchini mixture and spread around.
- Close the iron and cook until the light shuts off and the edges are golden brown.
- Set aside and keep warm while repeating with the remaining batter and olive oil spray.
Can I use Acorn squash in place of the zucchini? If yes, then would the cooking time be the same?
I gave it a 4 stars because adding cheese made it a huge mess . My second batch i left the cheese out and it comes out easily from mini waffle maker. I used a gingerbread waffle maker . The time to cook is roughly 8 minutes.
Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray or you will be sorry.
Its very time consuming. I did this on Saturday when i have alot of time. One batch took 2 hours from start to finish.
And your tip was good leave out the cheese im glad. 10 minutes was perfect for cooking
Holy Cow! These are really, really good! Made them in my new mini waffle maker and then ate them all! 🤪
Loved these! I used mozzarella and dried minced onion. The waffles didn’t come out of the Dash mini easily but it’s small so I just tipped it over and they held their shape so well! We all loved these including my toddler.
So glad!
Very tasty, BUT impossible to make it in the Belgian waffle maker. Had to carbonize them if I wanted to get them out. Someone suggested a panini grill that worked perfectly well for us as well. Use that rather.
Yes, I recommend a smaller machine.
This tasted very good but did not come out of the waffle machine very well. Didn’t look like waffles.
I used spray oil
These were sooooo good! I used “Italian” breadcrumbs because I didn’t have panko, garlic salt in place of kosher, and took the suggestion of adding paprika and black pepper. They tasted like crab cakes but with veggie. Will definitely put on my repeat list! Thank you!
Not bad at all. Added in some horseradish for a slight kick. Flavorful and delicious. Not as crispy as I had thought, but it is squash, after all. Maybe reheating in the air fryer will crisp it up.
Delicious! Used Reduced Fat jalapeños pepper Jack cheese. Cooked it on my George Forman grille (375 for 7 mins) because I don’t have a waffle iron. Came out great!!
These are really very good. My husband who hates zucchini asked for seconds 🙂
Really good, liked them a lot. I only got 4 though so one waffle was like two and I even measured .25 cup into my waffle iron. Maybe my zucchini not packed enough to up the volume, not sure but I would make them again.
We have always loved the zucchini tots, so I knew we’d love this! I added a minced clove of garlic and some black pepper. My waffle iron is not mini, so it only made two, which was enough, but I will double it next time. We loved the crispy, cheesy edges. 🙂
These are excellent! Will definitely make again
Good use of zucchini. I would make them again.
Good use of zucchini. My zuc was huge so I added an extra egg, more cheese and bread crumbs.
So easy to make!!!! I used Kraft FF shredded cheddar to boot and the flavor is superb 😋. It made 5. I make an over-easy egg to put on top…perfect breakfast. I don’t know how to add pix😂
FYI: These waffles don’t work in a Belgian waffle maker–the grooves are too deep! The first batch was a delicious mess, so we switched to the panini press and that worked much better.
So delicious and moist!!! Had to take a bite right away with the very first one!
I made these and add Jalapeño along with the onion with 1/2 teas of garlic salt and chili powered. My husband at them before dinner. 👍🏼 great recipe
These were so delicious, and packed with zucchini. Also so easy to make quickly. Checks all the side dish boxes! Froze some for a busy night. Had them with a little light sour cream since I had it in the fridge, but they don’t really need it.
Excellent! Super delicious and I love the crunch. No need for any sauce.
Fantastic! Used Asiago cheese. Otherwise made it as written.
Iread a lot of the replies and honestly, they were all so favorable. So, I just decided to dive in and I am making these today, but making a Breakfast Sandwich with them!
These were delicious and easy to make. I varied the cheese the second time to change it up.
Amazing 🤩
These were SO good Gina! Thank you for yet another 10/10 recipe! The whole family loved it and my kids ate it up with ketchup on the side!
Thank you!
I made this today and it was good! I made 2 batches, the first batch I went exactly by the recipe, I found the waffles were tasty, but not crispy at all, they were limp. I had used a ricer to remove the liquid from the zucchini, so it was pretty dry. I also only got 5 waffles from that batch, I had used a full 1/4 cup measure for each. For the 2nd batch I added about 3/4 tsp of minced garlic. I had read somewhere to put cheese on the griddle before adding the batter, then more on top. I did this and the waffles were much better. They were crispy and tastier. Also, I used a scant 1/4 cup for each and got 7 waffles.
So perfect! My grandma made zucchini fritters similar to this my whole life – but I never thought to turn it in to waffles!
This recipe was so delicious. Loved the crunchy edges. The flavor was so so good. They were good on their own, but also paired with a shrimp dinner. So good!
They tasted great and were easy to make. Will definitely make again.
These are delicious and easy! Had them with some leftover chicken tonight. Will definitely make again. Thank you for another great recipe.
These are so easy to make and delish!!!!! Even my picky husband liked them!!! Now we have a few zucs from the garden I will be making them regularly!!! Only suggestion would be to make sure you use a heaping spoobful on the waffle iron to get a full browning on both sides. They it, you’ll love it!!!!!
Delicious and easy to make. Didn’t have a mini waffle maker so filled mine with the entire recipe. Wished I had made a double batch.
This recipe was super easy, so delicious and came together fast. I made 3 zucchini waffles using 1/2 cup measure in a regular waffle iron. Next time I will double to recipe.
These are delicious – used yellow squash instead of zucchini, but all the rest was the same.
Tip: use your potato ricer to squeeze the liquid from the zuccini, they crisp up perfectly in the waffle maker 🙂 I made it with yellow squash (from neighbor’s garden) subbed romano for cheddar (what I had in the fridge) and used red onion. I don’t have a mini waffle maker so used my All Clad and just put a 1/3 cup scoop in each of the four sections, sprayed with Avocado oil spray. Cooked on 4.5 setting and they turned out perfect!! Hubby loved them, ate 3 for dinner with the Perfect Airfryer Shrimp.
These were great! I added pepper Jack instead of cheddar because it’s what I had to shred and I love the subtle heat it gave them. A keeper for sure
A very tasty light lunch, appetizer, or side. I made as directed and added some cooked, crumbled bacon to the mix. My husband said, “Put it on the menu!”
Absolutely loved these!! I don’t have a Dash, so used a well dusted off waffle maker I forgot I had, and turned out great!! Like a sophisticated zucchini tot!
Another excellent recipe!
I had noticed comments about the amount of waffles people are getting. I made a couple where I did exactly 1/4 C. of batter but these would barely cover the bottom of the Dash Waffle Iron and wouldn’t make contact with the top. Maybe my Dash is defective 🤷♀️
I made a few with 1/2 C. of batter and these made contact and cooked evenly. So I’ll make them like that from now on
Hmm thats odd! 1/2 cup is fine if you have a large waffle iron.
These were amazing! I crisped them up in the air-fryer before serving with a dollop of sour cream. I made 3 batches. Huge hit with family & friends!
This was wonderful! I shredded a pattypan squash from my garden and added a little pepper and garlic. I also shredded a few basil leaves from my garden along with the squash and onion. My husband doesn’t care for zucchini and is very guarded about other summer squash, and he loved it too. I didn’t tell him what was in it until he was done wait. Thanks bunches, Gina! You’re the best!
Excellent! I did only get 4 using my 1/4 cup measuring cup – but they are delicious. A new recipe for the summer!
These are fantastic. I paired this with your Shawarma chicken thigh kebabs and it was a delicious meal. Don’t have a mini waffle iron, so I used my Belgian waffle iron. Made 4 halves. Do note you probably want to set your waffle iron a bit darker for these. They take a touch longer to cook if you want them a little crisp.
Easy to make and excellent taste. I did microwave the onions 1 minute to soften before adding to shredded and squeezed zucchinni. Used a standard 4 rectangle waffles and this recipe made 4.
Delicious and beautiful.
I added freshly thyme and chives.
The batter was really wet so I added 2 TBSP flour.
They need more time in than the waffle maker would lead you to believe but end up so pretty and tasty.
In my haste, I forgot the onion. These were tasty but since I didn’t have the extra bulk of the onion it made 4 instead of 8. Definitely a great base for all sorts of things. I had mine plain and were a satisfying snack/light dinner. I will definitely make these again!
Can anyone suggest something we can add to up the protein?
It’s a side dish, you can serve it with a protein.
Add bacon crumbles to the batter 😋
The mix was delicious but didn’t cook well in my waffle maker. Put the rest in a pie plate and cooking in oven.
These were fast and delicious.
Excellent! Another keeper!
I followed recipe with no alterations and none are needed. Easy, and good use of our abundance of zucchini this time of year.
SO happy to hear!!
I doubled this and somehow only got 10 waffles (including the one that I ate) despite using a 1/4 measuring cup. Maybe I missed something—still 5 stars and will make again!
Delish! I used my Belgian waffle maker. Two nice size waffles with a fried egg on top. 4 points for brunch and it tasted great!
GREAT!!!
Sounds really good & I’m always looking for zucchini recipes particularly come late summer when their in abundance. Can you use a regular size waffle iron? I don’t have a mini one. Or could you make them as pancakes?
Right, I was also wondering if it could be made as a pancake. Looks so good!
Yes! https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-pancakes-225-pts/ 🙂