Oven Fried Squash (grain free, dairy free, paleo)
Coming from farm country, I grew up eating lots of good, fresh fruits and vegetables. I confess that they were not always prepared in the healthiest way, but we ate lots of them nonetheless.
One of my favorite summer treats was fried squash. Mom would slice garden fresh yellow squash or zucchini, dip the slices in beaten egg and milk and then dredge in a combination of flour and cornmeal. Then of course, fry them up in a skillet filled with vegetable oil and butter. Well, absolutely nothing about that process except the squash and the egg is on our menu these days, but fried squash is not something I’m willing to give up entirely.
It is my experience that almond flour does not pan fry very well. I find that it scorches and comes off from its food way too easily, leaving me frustrated and with a big mess to clean up.
So when I’m going for a paleo and low carb “fried” treat, I almost always opt for oven “frying.” I tried these squash one night on a whim when I had an abundance of zucchini from my garden and was shocked at how amazingly delicious and easy they were!
I’ve made them lots and lots since that first try and we all love them more each time around. The process is simple and fast and totally scratches that itch for fried veggies.
However, if you don’t care for breading on your vegetables but still want something a little indulgent, I have an alternative for you:
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add about 1 Tbsp. grass fed butter (or ghee) and allow to melt, coating the bottom of your pan. Slice squash pretty thin, like 1/8 inch and lay in a single layer in the skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the squash and don’t touch them. Let them cook until they are evenly browned on the bottom. This will take 6-8 minutes. Then flip and allow the other side to brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper on this side too. The squash will caramelize and the butter will brown a bit creating an amazing flavor. The only problem with this protocol is that one skillet full just feeds one. At least I can eat a whole skillet full!
Oven Fried Squash
Ingredients
- 2-3 medium summer squash – yellow squash or zucchini
- 4 Tbsp. lard or bacon drippings can substitute palm shortening, coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond milk or coconut milk or regular, old cows milk if you can
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Prepare two rimmed half sheet pans by covering with parchment paper or non-stick foil. Add your cooking fat to the pans, 2 Tbsp. per pan, and place pans in oven to heat.
- While oven is coming up to temperature, prepare your squash and batter:
- Wash and slice squash into 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices.
- Get out two shallow pans (I use pie plates) and add egg and milk to one and almond flour to the other. Add 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper to each pan.
- Beat egg and milk together very well.
- Stir together almond flour and seasonings.
- Dredge each piece of squash in the egg and milk mixture. Allow excess to drip off. It helps to keep one hand for the wet mixture and one hand for the dry mixture.
- Now dredge each slice in the almond flour. Tap gently to knock off any excess flour.
- Lay each piece on your prepared baking sheets in a single layer.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until nice and brown on the bottom.
- Flip each piece gently and brown the second side. This takes 8-10 minutes. Keep in mind, they will cook faster if you sliced your squash thinner and take a little longer if they are thicker. The times I've listed here are a guideline. You need to check on them periodically.
- Remove from oven when each piece is browned to your liking. Sprinkle on a little extra salt if desired. Serve hot!