To “sweat” the shredded zucchini, place it in a collander, then place the collander over a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and allow it to sit that way for at least 15-20 minutes - the longer it sits, the more water is drawn out.

Then, squeeze out remaining water using paper towels, a clean dish towel cheesecloth, or even a nut milk bag. This step is very important to avoid soggy fritters! Squeeze out as much water as possible, then squeeze one more time to get any remaining moisture.

While the zucchini sweats, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp, then drain and crumble, set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat, if desired, for frying the fritters.

In a large bowl, mix together the prepared zucchini, crumbled bacon, coconut flour, arrowroot or tapioca, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. If you rinsed the zucchini, you may want to season with a bit more salt to suit your taste (although the bacon adds saltiness too!)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat (non-stick is helpful), then add 1 tablespoon cooking fat (you’ll use 1 tablespoon per batch).

Scoop the mixture in heaping tablespoons (you can use a medium cookie scoop) into the hot skillet and gently press down to about 1/2” thickness. The smaller size makes these delicate fritters easier to flip.

Once the first side is golden brown, which should take about 2-3 mins, carefully flip using a wide spatula. Fry on the second side another 2-3 minutes until golden grown, lowering the heat a bit if necessary. Carefully remove to a wire rack while you make additional batches.

Make sure to adjust heat between batches if necessary to avoid burning the fritters, and add an additional tablespoon of cooking fat before each new batch.

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce - try my homemade ranch, mayo, or chipotle ranch. Enjoy!