Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°F and prepare the baking sheet with the parchment paper. It’s all about the temperature of your oil here — too low and you’ll have zucchini that’s soggy on the inside, too high and your coating will burn before the zucchini cooks all the way through.

Step 2: Take your first shallow dish and combine the Parmesan, panko, flour, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix it all up with your hands – don’t be shy about it.

Step 3: Beat those eggs in your second dish until they’re smooth. No weird lumpy bits allowed here.

Step 4: Now comes the fun part. Take each zucchini slice and dip it in the egg mixture. Let the excess drip off – we want just enough to help the coating stick.

Step 5: Press each egg-covered slice into your Parmesan mixture. And I mean PRESS. Get aggressive with it. Make sure every single bit of that zucchini is covered. Flip it over and press the other side too.

Step 6: Line up your coated beauties on the baking sheet. Give them some breathing room – crowded zucchini equals steamed zucchini, and that’s not what we’re going for here.

Step 7: Slide them into the oven for 15-20 minutes. So here they are: 10 minutes set the timer, and when it goes off, turn them over. They’ll be ready when they appear golden brown and sound crispy when you tap them.

Step 8: Bring them up hot to the table. This is not the time to wait around – crispy coating waits for no one.