Zucchini corn fritters are made with two fresh summer favorites for a crispy, cheesy, all-around irresistible side dish!
There’s a lot to love about summer, from days at the beach to time off of school (okay, that one’s more for kids than the parents!), but if you’re a foodie, summer fruits and veggies are definitely a highlight. These zucchini corn fritters combine two summer favorites into one cheesy, crispy, and incredibly easy dish!
(If you have a lot of zucchini to use up, try my Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Casserole too!)
Crispy Zucchini Corn Fritters
While you can make these zucchini corn fritters with frozen or canned corn, they’re extra delicious when you make them with fresh sweet corn cut off the cob. It makes these fritters sweet, flavorful, and perfect for summertime!
The zucchini and corn are combined with cheddar cheese to amp up the flavor, along with garlic and green onions. Once the batter is pan-fried, the fritters are golden brown and crispy on the edges. Just add your favorite topping or sauce and dig in!
Ingredients
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Zucchini – Yellow squash has a similar flavor, so you can use that instead if you have it on hand.
- Corn
- Eggs – Here’s the best way to crack an egg.
- All-purpose flour
- Cheddar cheese – You can use mild or sharp cheddar.
- Garlic clove
- Green onions or chives
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Sweet paprika
- Cumin
- Vegeta seasoning or seasoned salt
How to Make Zucchini Corn Fritters
1. Grate the Zucchini
Grate the zucchini using a box grater or your food processor and place it in a fine mesh strainer. Season it with salt, then let it stand for 15 to 30 minutes. Squeeze out the liquid with your hands or by wrapping the zucchini in a cheesecloth and wringing it out.
2. Make the Batter
Place the drained zucchini in a large bowl, then stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Cook the Fritters
Set a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and once it’s shimmering, add the fritter batter to the pan one heaping tablespoon at a time until you run out of space. (Don’t crowd the pan!) Cook the fritters for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until they’re crispy and golden. For more uniform shapes, spread the batter quickly with the back of the spoon and even the edges into a round shape.
4. Finish and Serve
Cook the fritters in batches and keep them warm in a 400ºF oven until you’re ready to serve them. Garnish with parsley or green onions, and serve with sour cream, ketchup, or another dipping sauce.
How to Store and Reheat Zucchini Corn Fritters
These zucchini corn fritters are best when eaten fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to eat them, reheat them in a pan over medium heat until warmed through, or warm them in the microwave, air fryer, or 400ºF oven.
If you’d like to freeze the fritters, let them cool completely before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months and reheat them according to the instructions above.
FAQs
I like to pair zucchini and corn fritters with a protein like baked chicken breasts or grilled chicken. They’re also great on their own as an appetizer!
The key to keeping fritters from falling apart is to use enough oil to keep them from sticking to the pan when you flip them and making sure the pan is hot when you add the batter. Ensuring that the zucchini is dry before making the batter will help too!
There are a few reasons why your fritters might be soggy. One is that the batter is too wet, so again, be sure to drain any excess moisture from the zucchini before adding it to the batter. Another reason could be that the pan isn’t hot enough, in which case the fritters will absorb the oil and get soggy, rather than getting crisp. You can add baking soda to the batter for some extra crispiness.
Try dipping zucchini fritters in homemade ranch dressing, sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, fry sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, or even sweet chili sauce!
More Summer Veggie Recipes
Zucchini Corn Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 cups zucchini grated with skin on
- 1 cup corn cooked corn kernels or canned sweet corn
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup cheddar mild or sharp, grated
- 1 medium garlic clove minced
- ¼ cups green onions or chives chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon vegeta seasoning or seasoned salt
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini and transfer to a fine mesh strainer. Season with salt and let stand for 15-30minutes. Remove the liquid (as much as possible) by squeezing it out with hands or cheesecloth (or linen cloth does the job very well).
- Transfer zucchini to a large bowl and add all the rest of the ingredients. Mix to combine with a spatula.
- Heat a little cooking oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until crispy and golden brown. If you want more uniform shapes, spread out the batter quickly with the back of the spoon and even out the edges into round shape. A wooden spatula helps with that quite well. Cook fritters in batches and keep warm in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until ready to serve.
- Serve warm with parsley or green onions, sour cream or ketchup.
Notes
- Try to squeeze as much as possible liquid out of zucchini, this will ensure the fritters are not soggy and crisp.
- You can also add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to make them slightly thicker and even more crisp but it is not essential.
- Smaller fritters cook better and crispier than thicker ones. 1 tablespoon makes one small crispy fritter.
- Corn – you can use sweet corn, frozen corn or freshly cooked (grilled, baked or boiled) corn on the cob and cut the kernels off.
