This zucchini flower recipe is a traditional cucina povera recipe from Italy. Minimal ingredients with fresh squash blossoms are fried, and the result is nothing short of marvelous!
When my brother was a little boy, he would wake up on a summer morning and run out to the garden and pick all the male zucchini flowers he could find. He’d run back to the house and present them to my mother.
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No, he wasn’t trying to earn points by being the most thoughtful child, he wanted them for lunch! He loved them so much that it was the first thing on his mind upon awakening.
In case you aren’t familiar with zucchini flowers or squash flowers or courgette blossoms, or whatever you want to call the flowers from this plant, let me answer a few questions. Those of you who already love fried zucchini flowers can scroll down to the recipe.
You may also enjoy this baked zucchini recipe from my Nonna Chiarina!
What are Fried Zucchini Flowers / Squash Blossoms?
Fried squash or zucchini flowers are the blooms on zucchini and squash plants. In order not to disturb the fruit that grows, we only eat the male blossoms (which don’t produce a zucchini/courgette). More details are provided below. When made using this recipe, they are cleaned, dipped in batter and pan fried for a tasty appetizer!
Can I Eat Squash Flowers and Zucchini Blossoms?
As you can deduce from what I wrote above, the answer is YES! Not only are they edible, but they are incredibly delicious!
How do the Zucchini Flowers Taste?
Honestly, they taste like nothing else I’ve ever had. They do not have a floral taste to them as some other edible flowers do. If you want to know, there’s only one way to find out!
Where to find Zucchini Flowers or Squash Blossoms for this Recipe.
That all depends on where you live. As you can see from the photo above, zucchini flowers are plentiful at the markets in Italy when they’re in season. However, if you’re like me and live in the US, sometimes you can find them. I’ve seen them at farmer’s markets here in LA, and even saw them in a grocery store once! I was so excited, but I will warn you, this is rare.
Try this easy zucchini flower frittata, too!
Your best bet, if you live somewhere where these glorious blossoms aren’t sold, is to grow them (if you have a garden spot), or ask a friend who grows zucchini to share! Many people aren’t even aware that zucchini flowers are not only edible, but delicious when battered, and/or stuffed and fried (either pan fried or deep fried).
If you’re cooking your pizza sauce, you’re doing it all wrong!
Do Zucchini Flowers Become Zucchini? How to Choose a Blossom for Cooking”
This is actually an important question if you are growing zucchini for the vegetable, and the answer is yes and no. When picking squash blossoms to cook, look for the blooms without a baby zucchini at the end of it. These are what I referred to as the male flowers. They will bloom, wilt and die; no fruit will come of them, but they help fertilize the zucchini flowers so the plant will bear fruit. The female flowers are also edible, but stick to the males so you don’t disturb the fruit production.
Here’s an Italian zucchini recipe to try!
How to Prepare and Serve Squash and Zucchini Flowers
I’m glad you asked! Let’s get to the recipe from my Nonna Chiarina. This is a traditional and authentic way to prepare the fried zucchini flowers. They can also be stuffed with cheese and anchovies, battered then fried, which is a traditional Roman way of preparing them.
My Zia Iolanda made fried zucchini blossoms when I was visiting her in Italy this past June. She deep fried them, which you can also do, but I just pan fry them. They’re like zucchini flower fritters, for lack of a better name.
Tips for Making this Zucchini Flower Recipe & Frequently Asked Questions.
Can you stuff zucchini blossoms?
Yes! Check out my recipe for mozzarella cheese stuffed zucchini flowers!
Can you eat the squash blossom stems?
Yes, the stems are edible, so no worries about eating the stem and the stamen and pistil, too. I remove them, but you don’t have to.
What’s the difference between a squash blossom and a zucchini flower?
Not much, except it’s just a matter of distinguishing the two. Squash as a term of vegetables includes zucchini, however, we usually refer to the yellow ones as squash (often “yellow squash”). The blossoms from both plants work perfectly fine. I’ve even cooked pumpkin flowers.
Have a glut of zucchini or courgette flowers? Use them in this frittata recipe.
Can I eat the blossoms raw?
Absolutely, zucchini flowers are an edible flower.
Can I refrigerate the blossoms before using them in a recipe?
For best results, pick the flowers in the morning when they are wide open and perky, and try to cook them as soon as possible. Zucchini blossoms are extremely delicate and will start to close and shrivel quickly. Technically, you can refrigerate them, but I don’t advise it. It will be more trouble than necessary. You can also stick the cut flowers in a glass of water (like flowers in a vase).
Now, let’s get to the recipe!
How to Make Traditional Italian
Fried Zucchini Flowers (Squash Blossoms)
recipe by Christina Conte (from my Nonna Chiarina) serves 4 as a starter/appetizer
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
What You’ll Need
Equipment: whisk, nonstick pan or cast iron pan
Ingredients
- flour
- salt
- milk (omit for vegan/dairy free)
- zucchini/squash/courgette blossoms
- oil for frying
Note: the amount of batter is more than you will need. Also, my Nonna never added anything to the flour and water mixture, but if you’d like to use sparkling water or a pinch of baking soda, go ahead).
Directions:
Clean the Blossoms.
Remove the pistil and stem of the zucchini flowers, then rinse gently and dry on paper towel. It’s okay if they tear a little or you open them completely. It’s easier to make sure there’s no dirt or bugs inside this way.
Make the Batter.
Put the flour and salt in a bowl which you can dip the flowers into. Add the milk, and then the water a little at a time and beat with a whisk or fork. Keep adding the water until a thick consistency is reached. Beat well for another minute or two. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes or longer.
Dip the Squash Flowers.
Preheat the oil in the frying pan. It should be hot when adding the flowers. You can test it with a drop of batter if you’re unsure.
Dip the blossoms in batter, coating well but allow a bit of the excess batter to drip.
Fry the Flowers.
Heat oil in the pan. Add the battered flowers to the hot oil in the pan (if you’re tired of buying non-stick pans, Scanpan CS+ is for you. I LOVE these pans). Again, you don’t have to deep fry these. Pan frying in a little olive oil is just as good.
Fry until cooked on one side, then turn and continue to cook until ready.
Remove and place on paper towel lined plate.
Best eaten while still hot/warm.
Traditional Italian Fried Zucchini Blossoms (Courgette/Squash Flowers)
Crispy fried zucchini blossoms made in a traditional Itailan way.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (57 g) flour
- 2 good pinches of salt
- about 3 oz (90 ml) water (sparkling water is optional)
- 1 tsp milk (omit for vegan or lactose intolerance)
- 8 to 10 zucchini blossoms (or as many as you want to make)
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
Clean the Blossoms.
- Remove the pistil and stem of the flowers, then rinse gently and dry on paper towel. It's okay if they tear a little or you open them completely. It's easier to make sure there's no dirt or bugs inside this way.
Make the Batter.
- Put the flour and salt in a bowl which you can dip the flowers into. Add the milk, and then the water a little at a time and beat with a whisk or fork.
- Keep adding the water until a thick consistency is reached. Beat well for another minute or two.
- Set aside to rest for 5 minutes or longer.
Dip the Flowers.
- Preheat the oil in the frying pan. It should be hot when adding the flowers. You can test it with a drop of batter if you're unsure.
- Dip the flowers into the batter, coating well, then add to the hot oil in the pan.
Fry the Flowers.
- Add the flowers to the hot oil in the pan. Again, you don't have to deep fry these. Pan frying in a little olive oil is just as good.
- Fry until cooked on one side, then turn and continue to cook until ready.
- Remove and place on paper towel lined plate. Best eaten while still hot/warm.
Notes
- If you used the JUMP TO RECIPE button, you missed my cheese stuffed zucchini blossoms recipe!
- Note: the amount of batter is more than you will need. Also, my Nonna never added anything to the flour and water mixture, but if you'd like to use sparkling water or a pinch of baking soda, it will make the batter a little lighter).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 3Amount Per Serving: Calories: 155Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 83mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
Have a glut of zucchini? Here’s a delicious recipe from Maria at She Loves Biscotti!
So, what do you call these blossoms? I call them zucchini flowers.
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[…] Squash plants grow both male and female flowers. The female flowers can be identified by looking for a tiny squash directly under the blossoms. Male flowers, which show up a week or two before the female flowers, grow directly on the stem. Male flowers tend to be smaller and far more numerous. Use extra male blossoms to make delicious fried squash blossoms. […]
Hi there, what cheese would you use to stuff them with? And would it be one anchovy per flower?
Hi Olly, I’d use mozzarella or scarmorza, or any similar type melty cheese. One anchovy or less per flower, yes! I take it you’re “Down Under”? :) Enjoy!
Could you share a suggested stuffing that you, your Nonna Chiarina or your Zia Iolanda would use if you chose to?
[…] having it several times near Sorrento (the origin of the dish). I made it while I was visiting my Zia Iolanda (The Gnocchi Queen!) which was rather intimidating, but with the best quality ingredients, it was […]
[…] the way, if you have zucchini, you are likely to have zucchini flowers! Here’s an easy, authentic Italian recipe to prepare them. They’re soooo […]
Why must we remove the stamens/pistils?
Hi Ann, it’s not a MUST, but my family has always removed them. Sort of how we dont’ eat the core of an apple or pear? Not as hard as those, but same principle. Enjoy!
Maybe I’m alone in my naivete when it comes to frying something, but it’s incredibly vague to say “fry until cooked” and “cook until ready”! How do I know those things are accomplished? At the very least, approximately how long might that be? 30 seconds? 5 minutes?
Hi Dannah, you’re correct, I’m assuming that there is a tiny bit of cooking experience involved since this isn’t deep frying, but pan frying. If I specify a time, then I’m in the same quandary as someone will write to me and say, “I fried these for x minutes, but they were still raw.” This is the reason for my “vagueness” for lack of a better term.
Depending on the type of pan used, how hot the oil is when the flowers go in, how thick or thin the batter is, how much milk is in the batter will make a difference in the length of time that the flowers will cook. What I can say is from my experience that I’ve never cooked them for only 30 seconds or as long as 5 minutes. You’ll see the raw batter cooking and changing, so when the bottom edges look like they’re cooked, you can flip them and see how the color looks, then continue to fry until the other side is cooked through (no raw batter). If nothing else, you can fry one, break it open and look at it. If the batter isn’t fully cooked, continue to fry it. If it’s ready, taste it, and this way you can even adjust the seasoning for the rest of the batter for the flowers. Cooking is like anything else, the more you do it, the more you’ll learn and be more comfortable in your skill. Let me know how it goes! CC
My grandmother called them flor di gagootz (cacuzza). It’s a long squash that you can buy in parts of NY that were heavily settled by Pugliese and Basilicata people. But she’d use eggplant or zucchini blossoms – whatever was available. I think she even cut some of my mother’s daylilies one time (the daylily flower is edible. Other lilies are not).
I was searching for a recipe similar to what I remember, but most of them were basically all parmesan cheese – hardly authentic cocina povera. Grandma’s people weren’t pouring a week’s earnings into cheese from Parma for squash flower fritters.
This is very close to her recipe – the flavor comes from the flowers. Glad I found your site.
Thanks, Regina! Absolutely agree! Most people who haven’t grown up within a poor Italian family don’t really understand “cucina povera” cooking. In the dialect I speak, we say, “cucuzz'” for zucchini, so yes, fior’ di cucuzz’ :) Enjoy and hope you enjoy my recipes!
If you are ever out on Eastern Long Island, you can sometimes find cacuzza squash in the farmstands late summer and early Fall. They are very similar to zucchini in glavor and texture, but firmer with smaller seeds. And the size of the squash is different – cacuzza are 3-4 feet long or larger and maybe 4-5 in in diameter. We had a bit of a puzzle wrestling one into the trunk of the car. If you like zucchini, they’re great (but that’s a whole lotta squash!).
My aunt grows them in Italy, and yes, a whole lotta squash! Haha! Thanks, Regina!
You can stuff them. So delicious