Fried Zucchini Flowers

Name: Fried Zucchini Flowers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, drained; 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated; 1 tsp lemon zest, grated; 12 zucchini blossoms, trimmed; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 cup chilled club soda; 2 cups vegetable oil

A delicate appetizer featuring tender squash blossoms filled with herb ricotta and fried until crispy.

30 minMediumServes 4240 cal/serving

Italian-AmericanAppetizerStovetopVegetarianLow CarbNut-FreeSoy-FreeAlcohol-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeNightshade-Free

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, drained
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
12 zucchini blossoms, trimmed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup chilled club soda
2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1

Mix 1/2 cup drained whole milk ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and 1 tsp grated lemon zest in a small bowl until smooth.
2

Gently open each of the 12 trimmed zucchini blossoms and stuff with the cheese mixture, then twist the petals to seal.
3

Whisk 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 cup chilled club soda together in a shallow dish until a thin batter forms.
4

Heat 2 cups vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
5

Dip stuffed 12 trimmed zucchini blossoms into the batter and fry for two minutes per side until golden brown.
6

Drain on paper towels before serving.

Questions

Can I make Fried Zucchini Flowers dairy-free?

Not cleanly. Here the dairy (1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, drained, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated) is the backbone of the dish, and plant-based substitutes change both its texture and its flavor. If you need strictly dairy-free, start from the dairy-free appetizer collection instead.

Can I make Fried Zucchini Flowers gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Fried Zucchini Flowers keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat uncovered in a 400 F oven (or an air fryer) for a few minutes to bring the crust back; the microwave softens it.

Can I halve or double Fried Zucchini Flowers?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is a plain-text cooking reference of 3,876 recipes, free to read and cook from, with no account and no paywall. In the app, this entry scales itself: half, standard, or double batch, every quantity recomputed inside the step that uses it. No ads, no life stories, no photos of somebody else's dinner.

The entries are curated and public-domain sourced, written to a fixed template and checked against it: tested quantities, one closed vocabulary of methods, and precomputed half and double batches on every line. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser, instantly. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually, and the first 30 days are free.