Zucchini Chickpea Fritters with Red Onion Marmalade
These Zucchini Chickpea Fritters are made with shredded zucchini and chickpeas for a filling and nutritious side or snack. They’re also allergen-free!
Despite an allergy to raw pineapple that I developed a couple years ago, I’ve never had any allergy restrictions when it comes to food. When I’d go out to eat and servers would ask me if I had any allergies, I always answered no, never thinking twice about it.
Life in the past couple months has been different, as we’ve come to the bottom of a vomiting problem that James has been having, and the majority of the problem seems to be some food intolerances of his own (and I say “intolerances” because it’s not clear if they’re allergies or not at this age).
Since I’m nursing James, this has led me to do some elimination tests in my own diet. As I went through the testing period, I discovered what it’s like to not be able to eat certain foods. I always imagined how challenging it is for people with food allergies, and I’ve gotten a new level of empathy for the effort it takes.
If you have any food allergies of your own, I want to introduce you to my friend Heather Christo. Today’s recipe is from her book Pure Delicious, which has over 150 allergen-free recipes without gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, or cane sugar.
A couple years ago, Heather discovered that she and her daughters have a ton of food allergies that were causing them health problems, and they all had to change their diets completely. She writes in the book about what it was like to immediately give up so many of their favorite foods, and how she had to put her skills as a chef and recipe developer to work, to make delicious and creative recipes that met their new needs.
I think the biggest hurdles to having food allergies are not feeling like you’re missing out on anything, and keeping out of cooking ruts where you’re eating the same thing all the time. I know this is where Heather is appreciated by the food allergy community and beyond, by sharing recipes that aren’t subpar substitutes for allergen foods, but rather delicious dishes in their own right.
From the book, I’ve made her Greek Lemon, Chicken, and Rice Soup, the Beet Hummus (SO GOOD!), Lemon Artichoke Hummus, Shredded Beef Tostadas, Crunchy Taco Salad with Spiced Ground Turkey, and these Zucchini Chickpea Fritters. I can honestly say that I loved each one, and I say that as someone who has no food allergies (well, aside from raw pineapple, but it’s easy to avoid that one).
Let me show you how to make the Zucchini Chickpea Fritters!
To get started, shred up some zucchini. If you’ve got a food processor, it’s perfect for the job:
Remove the shredded zucchini to a bowl, then puree canned chickpeas until it forms a (mostly) smooth paste:
In a large bowl, combine the shredded zucchini, the pureed chickpeas, and chopped yellow onion:
Mix this all together with clean hands until it’s combined. It may seem at first like it won’t come together, but I was amazed by how cohesive it is once mixed:
Form the zucchini chickpea mixture into 10 cakes, then dip into seasoned chickpea flour:
Fry the fritters in hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side:
The fritters should be golden brown:
Once you’ve fried all the zucchini chickpea cakes, place them on a sheet pan and finish baking them in the oven:
Heather serves the fritters with a side of red onion marmalade, which I have to say is a *must* when you’re making these. It’s really easy to make. Basically just cook down some red onion in a skillet with oil, vinegar, sugar, and water:
Serve on a platter and enjoy while hot!
Also check out my Ultimate Guide to Zucchini! It covers how to store zucchini, how to pick a good one at the grocery, and 60+ recipe ideas using zucchini.
Zucchini Chickpea Fritters with Red Onion Marmalade
Ingredients
Red Onion Marmalade:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- kosher salt
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp granulated beet sugar (I used regular sugar)
Zucchini Chickpea Fritters
- 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- To make the red onion marmalade: In a nonstick pan or heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sprinkle with salt. Stir and cook until tender and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 cup water and cook for 10 minutes more, until the onion is very soft and the water has cooked off. Add the vinegar and sprinkle the onions with the sugar. Stir well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the vinegar has cooked off completely. Season with salt and set aside.
- To make the zucchini chickpea fritters: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- To a food processor, add the chickpeas and pulse until they are a thick paste. Transfer the beans to a large bowl and add the onion and zucchini. Use clean hands to mix well, then form the mixture into 10 cakes. Set aside.
- On a plate, combine the garbanzo bean flour and the salt. Gently dredge each cake in the flour, patting it onto all sides of the cake.
- In a heavy pan or skillet, over medium-high heat add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add 3 or 4 cakes at a time and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until the cakes are golden. Transfer the cakes to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until hot and a deeper golden color.
- Serve hot, with the red onion marmalade.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
33 Comments on “Zucchini Chickpea Fritters with Red Onion Marmalade”
I like almost all vegetables but the one that out ranks all the others is cucumber!
It’s a toss-up for me between Brussels sprouts, eggplant, Swiss chard and Bok Choy. Can’t get enough of any of those when I cook them!
I love asparagus.
Fresh green beans are the best.
Fresh green beans are at the top of my list!
This looks good! I love chickpeas. And red onions.
I know it’s a fruit, but I eat them like vegetables – my favorite is fresh heirloom tomatoes. I can’t get enough of them in the summer.
no lactose or fructose- become sick as a dog
Spinach for sure! Cooked or raw. Love it
My favorite vegetable is probably kale but really anything fresh is going to make me happy!
It’s hard to narrow down my favorite vegetable to just one. My top three are green beans, broccoli and cucumbers. I can’t decide which of the them I love the most.
O I love all your recipes. My favorite vegetable is potatoes: )
It’s so hard to choose just one! I’d have to say sugar snap peas – I feel like I could eat these everyday and never get tired of them.
I love fresh green beans!
Oh I love so many vegetables; one of my all time favorites would be the dill pickle green beans that my mother-in-law used to make in a crock with grape leaves; sort of like people make sour kraut. Then she would saute’ them in bacon grease. Yummy!
My favorite vegetable is asparagus
I love zucchini the most – it’s such a flexible vegetable (for desserts, dinner, snack..)!