Savory Carrot Pancakes Recipe

If you were to take a quick glance at the primary ingredients that make up this recipe — namely the carrots, zucchini, and scallions — you'd probably think you were making some sort of vegetable stir fry or maybe even a soup or stew of sorts. And those would be an entirely logical conclusions. A savory veggie pancake, though? That's likely quite less to be expected for sure, but once you take that pretty delightful first bite, you'll find these savory carrot pancakes to be a welcomed revelation. As a matter of fact, the only issue you'll probably encounter will be wondering whether to serve them as part of breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even dinner.

Chef and recipe developer Miriam Hahn of YouCare-SelfCare wants you to know there's really no going wrong when serving these savory carrot pancakes. "I like them with a big green salad," she says, adding, "They are great on a brunch menu [as well, and taste amazing when] dipped in ranch or a fresh green goddess dressing." And to sweeten the deal (not the recipe, FYI — that's all about the savory, not the sweet), Hahn also notes, "They are great to make ahead and warm up for a quick meal." So you can do the work in the kitchen when you have the time and quickly warm and serve a batch when you don't. Because even when life is busy, you still need to eat, and what you eat still should be delicious and nutritious.

Hahn says that this is a "great recipe to have on hand for summer when zucchini are plentiful — especially if you grow them in your garden." But even if you need to make a quick trip to the grocery store or farmers' market, all told there's nothing hard to find in this these savory carrot pancakes, it's all about making something yummy with the ingredients and enjoying the end result.

The ingredients include several medium zucchini, grated carrots, chopped scallions (meaning the white and green parts), chopped Italian parsley, beaten eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and olive oil. Most of these items are staples in your pantry, so you don't have to buy them.

Now that you have your ingredients ready, you can start with your first step of the recipe, which is chopping and prepping that fresh zucchini that you just picked from your garden or picked up from the market.

Overall, Hahn says of these veggie pancakes: "These are easy to make." But there is one point she stresses, explaining, "The main thing is you have to make sure the water is really drained well from the zucchini." So be very methodical, and don't skip any steps related to the zucchini, or they just won't come out well. So that's what we are going to work on now.

First, wash and dry the zucchini. Then, using the grating blade on your food processor, process the zucchini into slivers. You can use a knife if need be, just keep chopping and slicing until the result looks as well-chopped as you see in the above picture. Use the method that works best for you to get this end result.

Now, you'll want to transfer the zucchini slivers to a colander, and sprinkle some salt on the pile. Then, you're going to let the zucchini sit there for 10 to 15 minutes to draw out as much liquid as possible.

While the zucchini is sitting and draining, this is the time to grate the carrots and chop up the scallions and parsley. It's also when you will measure out the flour, pepper, salt, baking powder, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. In addition, you'll beat the eggs, and get the oil ready.

Once you have waited the time period of 10 to 15 minutes, you're going to press out the excess water from the zucchini. In order to do this, hold the colander with the zucchini over the sink, and use a wooden spoon to firmly press any remaining water out of the slivers. Or, alternatively, you can squeeze and press the zucchini with your hands to release the water. Either method works — just do the one that you're most comfortable with to get the job done.

Once you have all your ingredients chopped and measured, and the water pressed from the zucchini, you're on home stretch. All that's left to do is to pretty much combine everything together, and shape your patties. Then, of course, comes frying the patties for a bit.

In these last steps, simply combine all of the ingredients (except the oil), and form about eight equally-sized patties. It is easiest to use your hands here when mixing the ingredients and certainly when forming the burger-sized patties.

Now, heat the oil in a large frying pan, and put in four of the patties, cooking them for four to six minutes on each side. Repeat the process with the remaining four patties. When you're all done frying, you can put the patties on a platter for a super fun and colorful presentation. Don't forget to garnish the veggie pancakes with fresh parsley, and then you are ready to serve them along with your favorite dressing. They are delicious enough to serve all by themselves, so don't stress if you don't have dressing.

Savory carrot pancakes are such a perfect side to prepare. You can place an individual one on each person's plate, or you can prepare it for a buffet. It goes well with really anything and everything like BBQ steak, chicken cutlets, a poached egg, or even all by itself for a light and healthy meal. These will be some of your favorite pancakes ever.