Crunchy baked zucchini sticks paired with a creamy, spicy queso dip makes for an awesome appetizer!

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I told you that there would be tons of zucchini recipes coming your way! This time, I was craving some fried zucchini; my mom got me hooked on fried zucchini when I was a kid, and now that I can’t just go out and get it at any ol’ restaurant it always sounds so good. But, I refrained from frying them, because the last time that I did I was dumbfounded by how much oil actually stays in the zucchini fries. (duh!)

So, I broke out the panko crumbs and invited a couple of girlfriends over for some baked zucchini sticks and brews (gotta even out the void that the oil left ;)). What a smarter person would have done is look up a recipe like what I was trying to accomplish and change it up a bit to their liking, but at least have a solid foundation. What I did was go into this without doing any of that and used my instinct and knowledge of ingredients to make something that was at the very least edible.

Do not fear, because not only were these baked zucchini sticks edible, they were delicious even without the savory, spicy queso dip that we poured onto them. The only thing I regretted not doing with this recipe was making more of them. They disappeared in mere minutes! (We were very hungry)

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Yield: 4

Baked Zucchini Sticks with Spicy Queso Dip

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Crunchy baked zucchini sticks paired with a creamy, spicy queso dip makes for an awesome appetizer!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs . Zucchini, Cut into 1/2" wide x 4" long sticks
• 1/3 Cup Hot Water
• 1 Tbsp . Ground Flaxseed
• 1 Tbsp . Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup or So Panko Crumbs
• Onion Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 6 Tbsp . Nutritional Yeast
• 2 Tbsp . Diced Green Chiles
• 1/2 Cup Finely Diced Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp . Dried Cilantro
• 1/2 tsp . Salt
• 1/4 tsp . Onion Powder
• 1/8 tsp . Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

1. Stir the ground flaxseed and AP flour together in a small cup, add the hot water in gradually so that the flour does not clump. Once fully mixed, pour into a shallow bowl and let sit for 3-5 minutes to thicken.
2. Cover the surface of a small plate with panko crumbs until it is roughly 1/4" deep; sprinkle a couple of pinches of onion powder, salt and pepper over the crumbs.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F and get a large baking sheet ready for placing the zucchini sticks.
4. Submerge the zucchini sticks, one at a time, into the flaxseed mixture and make sure to cover all sides. Next, press the zucchini into the panko mixture until all sides are crusted with crumbs.
5. Repeat crusting steps until all zucchini is used and place the breaded zucchini sticks on the baking sheet roughly 1-1/2" apart.
6. Bake zucchini for 7 minutes on each side of the stick (almost 30 minutes). While those are in the oven, in a small pot, bring the almond milk to a boil. Once boiling, add in the remainder of the ingredients and still until the nutritional yeast has dissolved.
7. Lower heat to low-medium and simmer for 5 minutes, taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve the sauce warm with the zucchini sticks straight from the oven.

Notes

Potassium: 420mg
Vitamin A: 9%
Vitamin C: 50%
Calcium: 3.2%
Iron: 7.5%

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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