Appetizers & Snacks/ Summer Recipes/ vegetarian dinner

Sweet potato zucchini fritters with cucumber corn salsa

23 August 2019 | Last Updated: 11 July 2024 By Aleksandra

Delicious, well-seasoned sweet potato zucchini fritters, that are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. I served them with a refreshing and packed with flavor cucumber corn salsa and fried eggs on the side. This makes a perfect meat-free lunch/dinner or a warm appetizer.

sweet potato and zucchini fritters with cucumber corn salsa viewed from above
close up shot on sweet potato and zucchini fritters with cucumber corn salsa

The most important tip for making the perfect sweet potato zucchini fritters is getting from them as much moisture as possible – only this way their edges will be crispy. If you won’t do that properly they will be wet and soft. Sweet potatoes and especially zucchini have very high water content. All this extra moisture will make the patties more prone to fall apart. If you have time you can squeeze out the water from the vegetables then wait an extra 30 minutes and try again.

Sweet potato fritters step by step:

STEP 1: Prepare all the ingredients.

STEP 2: Grate the zucchini and sweet potato on the big holes of a box grater (or use a food processor), transfer to a bowl, add a teaspoon of salt and stir well. Let stand for about 15 minutes, the vegetables will release a lot of liquid.

STEP 3: Wrap the zucchini and sweet potato in a clean kitchen cloth and wring out the water (as much as you can).

STEP 4: Place the drained vegetables in a medium bowl and discard the liquid. Add the flour, grated Parmesan cheese, pressed garlic cloves, Italian seasoning, paprika powder, an egg, season with salt and pepper and stir everything together until combined.

STEP 5: Heat clarified butter in a non-stick pan (I used a pancake pan) over medium heat. When it’s hot cook the fritters until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess fat.

STEP 6: Make the cucumber corn salsa: cut cucumber and onion into small cubes, finely chop the coriander leaves. Combine with corn, season with olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.

SERVE: Serve the fritters with cucumber corn salsa and optionally with fried eggs and a little yogurt.

How to serve the vegetable fritters:

  • Cucumber corn salsa works absolutely best with this recipe. It’s so refreshing and delicious, you should really try it, also with other dishes.
  • Plain yogurt also goes great and makes the whole dish more refreshing.
  • You can also make yogurt herb garlic dip from this recipe for roasted trout or simple 3-ingredient sour cream yogurt dip with lime juice from this recipe for the chicken quesadilla.
  • Simple green salad with tomatoes.

Some tips on how to cook the vegetable fritters:

  • How thick should the fritters be: about 1/3 inch (8 mm). Make sure your fritters are thin. If they’re too thick, they will be brown on the outside but raw in the middle.
  • How to transfer the patties to the frying pan: I like to form with my palms (just how you would shape a hamburger patty) and place them on a plate, then slide them gently with a silicone spatula off the plate directly to the pan (you can also shape the fritters and place them directly on the pan, but from my experience, they look a little less nice),
  • Cook the fritters over medium heat so that they have time to be cooked through, if you’re cooking them over high heat, they will be quickly golden on the outside but not enough cooked on the inside.
  • Don’t turn the fritters on the other side too quickly, cook them slowly over medium heat until golden and more firm, then flip over. If you try to flip them over too soon it can be difficult, they are quite delicate and don’t have a lot of flour in them. Very helpful is a silicone spatula.
  • Use a non-stick pan, I love my pancake pan and I’m using it to make any kind of fritters, American pancakes, and European pancakes.

Other vegetable fritters that you may like:

Storage tips:

These fritters taste best just after cooking but can be also stored in the fridge and reheated the next day.

How to reheat the sweet potato zucchini fritters:

  • in a pan, either in a small amount of butter (or just water – but they won’t be crispy anymore)
  • or in the oven preheated to 320°F/160°C, bake then until they are warm.

If you’re looking for more sweet potato recipes, check out this sweet potato breakfast hash recipe!

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!

Sweet potato zucchini fritters with cucumber corn salsa

Delicious, well-seasoned sweet potato and zucchini fritters, that are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle.
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Sweet potato zucchini fritters with corn cucumber salsa on a white plate.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 servings (10 fritters)
Calories 805kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

fritters:

  • 1 large sweet potato 1.3 lbs/600g, makes 4 cups grated sweet potato
  • 3 small zucchini 1.3 lbs/600g, makes 3.5 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons flour 1.4oz/40g
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1.4oz/40g
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
  • 1 large egg
  • salt and pepper to taste

salsa:

  • ½ English cucumber
  • 2/3 cup canned corn
  • ¼ medium red onion
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander/cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • juice from ½ lime
  • salt and pepper to taste

additionally:

  • clarified butter for frying
  • fried/poached eggs optional
  • plain yogurt optional

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Instructions

  • Peel the sweet potato. Grate the zucchini and sweet potato on the big holes of a box grater (or use a food processor), transfer to a bowl, add a teaspoon of salt and stir well. Let stand for about 15 minutes, the vegetables will release a lot of liquid. In the meantime, prepare the remaining ingredients.
  • Stir the flour with grated Parmesan cheese, pressed garlic cloves, Italian seasoning and paprika powder.
  • Wrap the zucchini and sweet potato in a clean kitchen cloth and wring out the water (as much as you can). Place the drained vegetables in a medium bowl and discard the liquid.
  • Add the flour mixture, an egg, season with salt and pepper, stir everything together until combined.
  • Now you need to shape the patties. I like to form very thin patties and place them on a plate, then slide them gently with a silicone spatula off the plate directly to the pan. You can also shape the fritters and place them directly on the pan.
  • Heat clarified butter in a non-stick pan (I used a pancake pan) over medium heat. When it's hot cook the fritters until golden on both sides.
  • Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off excess fat.
  • Make the salsa: cut cucumber and onion into small cubes, finely chop the coriander leaves. Combine with corn, season with olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
  • Serve the fritters with cucumber corn salsa and optionally with fried eggs and a little yogurt.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • Some tips on how to cook the fritters:
  • How thick should the fritters be: about 1/3 inch (8 mm). Make sure your fritters are thin. If they’re too thick, they will be brown on the outside but raw in the middle.
– Cook the fritters over medium heat so that they have time to be cooked through, if you’re cooking them over high heat, they will be quickly golden on the outside but not enough cooked on the inside.
– Don’t turn the fritters on the other side too quickly, cook them slowly over medium heat until golden and more firm, then flip over. If you try to flip them over too soon it can be difficult, they are quite delicate and don’t have a lot of flour in them. Very helpful is a silicone spatula.
– Use a non-stick pan, I love my pancake pan and I’m using it to make any kind of fritters, American pancakes, and European pancakes.
  • Storage:
    These fritters taste best just after cooking but can be also stored in the fridge and reheated in a pan the next day.
  • Calories count: 805 calories / serving (= 1/2 of the recipe), inclunding an extra egg and a little yogurt pro serving. This is just an estimate.
  • I consider this as a vegetarian dinner, but if you are on a strict vegetarian diet, make sure to use vegatarian Parmesan cheese (rennet-free Parmesan).
Course Appetizer, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine international
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