This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Whole-Grain Mornings, a fantastic book by a Seattle-based blogger. I’ve married the flavors of zucchini, mint, and lemon, which I love. This is yet another recipe book that I love all the recipes in; I’ve probably made over half of them already. I chose avocado oil because I feel like things never turn out when I try frying in extra-virgin olive oil.

I ended up with some monster zucchinis from a friend’s garden (thanks to my local Buy Nothing group), and I had already made several loaves of zucchini bread. I have an obsession for all things involving mint and a love of crispy hash browns, and so this was a perfect savory recipe for me. My 13 month old daughter loves them, too! The original recipe involves parsley and green onions, so you can use whatever herbs you have on hand. I’ve also done it with cilantro and black beans for an extra protein boost, served with red enchilada sauce. If you have a food processor, it will shred the zucchini in a few seconds flat.

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Whole Grain Zucchini Cakes

  • 3 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups cooked grains (farro, whole wheat couscous, wheat berries, quinoa, millet etc)
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint or oregano
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or panko
  • 2 Tbsp whole wheat or spelt flour (any flour you have on hand is fine)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ~2 Tbsp avocado oil

serve with

  • fried eggs (optional)
  • roasted tomatoes
  • goat cheese or feta

1. Toss zucchini with 1/2 tsp salt in a colander and set aside for 10 minutes in the sink. Drain by squeezing clumps of zucchini in your hands, within a cheesecloth if you have one.

2. Stir all remaining ingredients (except for oil) in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Form patties about the size of your palm about half an inch thick or thinner (I’m all about crispy, so the thinner the better).

3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium. Fry a batch of patties for about 4 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook on the second side 3-4 minutes. Place cooked cakes on a plate lined with paper towels to drain like you would with bacon. Repeat with remaining patties and add a little extra oil as needed.

4. Serve stacked and topped with a fried egg (optional), roasted tomatoes, and goat cheese.

Zucchini cakes can be refrigerated for 4-5 days or frozen. Reheat on a skillet, in the oven at 250°F, or in the microwave on high for 45-60 seconds.

I served them with Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted tomatoes, a fried egg topped with za’atar, and goat cheese. You could also make your own roasted tomatoes. Many recipes I see for roasted tomatoes involve sugar or maple syrup, but I think the cherry tomatoes bake up pretty sweet anyway. I don’t have the patience to make slow roasted tomatoes at 200°F for 4 hours, but that is also an option. When cherry tomatoes are out of season I like to roast vine ripe Campari tomatoes with garlic and sometimes balsamic vinegar.

Roasted cherry tomatoes (sweet, great with goat cheese)

  • 1 lb cherry tomatoes
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic glaze (balsamic reduction) optional

or Roasted Campari tomatoes (savory, great with feta)

  • 1 lb vine ripe Campari tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar optional

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine ingredients on a baking dish. Roast for 30-50 minutes, tossing occasionally. Tomatoes can be refrigerated for ~3 days. I’ve certainly kept them longer.

If you can halve the cherry tomatoes, more power to you. This step is too fussy for me (albeit a necessary skill with toddlers and babies in the house). I’ve seen that video of the dad halving tomatoes around Facebook, and I’ve tried it at least 3 times without any good luck. Perhaps this method between two rimmed lids would be better.

Enjoy!