Crispy Macadamia Crusted Zucchini Fries – Keto Recipe Fail & Creative Save!

Every now and then I’ll get a wild hair and feel like getting creative in the kitchen. Not often mind you lol, but it can be FUN when a really good recipe idea strikes me! 😉

That’s what this was: a GREAT idea.

The end result? Not so great, lol…

BUT wait until you see how I saved it!! 🙂

I think this recipe had great potential, until I screwed it up. 🙂

That said, a good “recipe fail” always gives me NEW creative ideas so I’m anxious to hear what YOU think – and what ideas come to mind when you read this… because I think there’s something to work with here.;)

Nothing went to waste, btw.

It’s rare I’ll put good food in the trash bin!

This all started because I was trying to figure out what to do with the Legendary Foods Wasabi Macadamia Nuts that I received to review.

They have sponsored a few of my posts here, so a big THANK YOU to Legendary Foods for supporting our community!! Anyway…

Not being a Wasabi (or spicy foods) fan, it was the LAST of their products I tried.

They’re GREAT. They put every other macadamia nut I’ve ever seen to shame – but they’re still too spicy for my wimpy taste buds, lol.

Then I had this brilliant idea. 💡

I had been craving zucchini fries – or something crispy like tempura vegetables or fried green beans. I’ve seen the low carb recipe for baked zucchini fries before, so I thought…

Why not make Spicy Macadamia Crusted Zucchini Fries ?! 🙂

I ran out and got some zucchini and quartered it into smaller sticks:

My plan was to use crushed macadamia nuts as the “breading” on the zucchini.

The original recipe calls for parmesan cheese, so I figured I would combine the two – which would tone down the Wasabi flavor too.

I wasn’t sure how many macadamia nuts it would take to make a full pan of zucchini fries, especially once they were crushed down to a crumbly powder. Or at least that’s what I saw in my mind – you know, like a lumpy macadamia flour type thing.

Obviously I have a good imagination. 🙄

Anyway, I decided on two servings of the macadamias and measured those out…

I don’t actually own a food processor.

Which in reality, is probably a good thing.

But I figured… a coffee grinder would work, right? 🙂

I’m feeling pretty smart at this point.

I was careful not to overfill it, guessed on the settings, and let it rip.

Um. 😯

This was NOT what I expected! 😛

Now we know how to make homemade macadamia nut butter. 🙂

LOL.

I was just sort of shocked for a minute to be honest. Thinking: what the heck do I do with THIS?! haha. Macadamia nuts are NOT cheap by the way, and I was NOT ready to admit failure – or throw away 56 grams of perfectly good macadamia nuts!

In hindsight, I probably should have skipped the “egg wash” since the “macadamia flour” (lol) turned to butter… but I went ahead with the original recipe.

I whipped up an egg, and measured out some finely shredded parmesan cheese in a second bowl to mix with the macadamia butter.

The parmesan/macadami mixture kept sliding right off the zucchini. 😐

That’s why I’m thinking I should have skipped the egg. Or maybe crushed my macadamia nuts with a hammer instead. Anyway, I’m already invested at this point with seriously messy hands – and an even messier kitchen, so…

I just tried to “make it stick” the best I could.

I cut some of the zucchini more flat because I thought that might work better – as a topping sorta thing. I was trying to do the best with what I had to work with. 😉

They turned out pretty! 🙂

I put them on non-stick foil that I smeared with a light coat of butter, and baked them at 425 degrees until they were golden brown – like I read on Google.

It made for a pretty plate anyway. 🙂

The dip is Primal Kitchen Ranch.

They make a lot of keto friendly, low carb salad dressings and also a Chipotle Lime Mayo that I love for making Parmesan Chicken.

You can get Primal Kitchen products at Netrition or on Amazon.

How did they taste?

I thought the “Macadamia Fries” were way too salty, which was my fault for adding a dash of salt – knowing full well how SALTY parmesan is by itself. 😛

The zucchini wasn’t quite as crisp as I wanted it either. My fault again for not cutting them smaller I think.

So they were a little soft on the inside but crispy and crunchy on the outside – and they had GREAT flavor!

The breading kept wanting to fall off of course.

I’m still blaming the egg wash for that. 😛

It was a GREAT flavor combo with the ranch dip, even if I did have to eat them with a fork – and three napkins.:)

I did eat a few of the “fries” but there was no way I could eat the entire platter, so I put them away figuring I would crisp them back up in the oven and finish them later.

Instead though, I turned them into dinner!

I chopped up the breaded zucchini, which was FULL of flavor between the wasabi and parmesan, and decided to mix it into hamburger steaks the same way I make my Spinach Burgers – but with this breaded zucchini instead of spinach.:)

Once I diced it all up, I mixed it in the hamburger meat the same way you would mix up meatloaf ingredients.

The “hole in the middle trick” is to keep your hamburger steaks or patties from puffing up on you. 😉

THAT turned out amazingly delicious! 🙂

So the leftover zucchini fries did NOT go to waste, and were actually BETTER in my hamburger steak than they were on their own!

I didn’t let the rest of the zucchini go to waste either. 🙂

The zucchini is just diced up and browned in butter hot & fast in a non-stick skillet on medium high.

It was a great idea mind you, the fries.

And it did make a pretty picture on the platter. 🙂

If they had 1) been easier to “bread” and 2) held together when you picked them up… I think this recipe would have been a winner! 🙂

I will say though… “Wasabi Macadamia Butter” was a GREAT flavor in my hamburger steak. It had me wondering if that spicy nut butter would pair well on or with salmon – or mixed with mayo as a perfect shrimp dipper maybe!

I dunno – lots of ideas came to mind. 🙂

I would love to hear yours!

For now, I am going to stick to my FAVORITE Legendary Foods recipe, which makes amazing low carb muffins and waffles from their delicious (intentional, lol) nut butters:

You’ll find that recipe here, with the others: Nut Butter Recipes

Writing this post made me hungry. 🙂

Now I’m torn between making blueberry muffins or apple pie muffins – or maybe pancakes. The same recipe makes perfect pancakes! All very low carb of course…

Anyway, I had to share this one with you because it was a GREAT idea (in my head at least) and I have a feeling you’ll have some good tips for either trying it again – or maybe what to do with Wasabi Macadamia Nut Butter. 😯 🙂

Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler

p.s. I have a post that details ALL of the Legendary Food products, with some FUN flavor requests here: Legendary Foods Coupon Code & Flavor Fun!

Our discount code is: LOWCARBTRAVELER – and here are links to each product:

• Pecan Pie Almond Nut Butter
• Blueberry Cinnamon Bun Nut Butter
• Apple Pie Almond & Cashew Nut Butter
• Peanut Butter Cup Nut Butter
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Nut Butter
• Cheddar Bacon Seasoned Almonds
• Tangy Ranch Seasoned Almonds
• Buffalo Blue Wing Seasoned Almonds
• Wasabi Soy Sauce Seasoned Macadamia Nuts

 

 

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🔎 Shop Low Carb / Keto at Netrition
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER

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