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Cheesy Zucchini and Corn Fritters

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Zucchini and Corn Fritters | If you're looking for a dish that combines two summer classics - zucchini and corn, this is the perfect fit. These cheesy, crispy fritters are pan-fried and super easy to mix together. Crispy savory veggie fritters are great for a weekend breakfast, an appetizer or an easy weeknight dinner with a side salad.

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.
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The recipe is quick and easy to make, and the fritters are packed with flavor. Whether you're looking for a new way to use up your summer produce or want to add more vegetables to your diet, these zucchini and corn fritters are a must-try.

Even the veggie hesitant people in your house will probably love these crispy little zucchini and corn fritters with all of their cheesy goodness.

Adding a bit of cheese to vegetables is a top tip to encourage veggie skeptics to try new things.

The ingredients for this fritter recipe are super simple. Zucchini and corn in an egg and flour batter with cheese and spices. So simple, so delicious!

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.

How to Make Sure the Fritters Aren't Soggy?

To make sure your fritters are crispy and not soggy, follow these three tips:

  1. Squeeze excess moisture from the zucchini. This is important because other wise the water will leech out while you are cooking and make your oil splatter while causing steam which makes your fritters soggy.
  2. Make sure your oil is hot enough before adding the fritters in. If the oil isn't hot then the fritter will just soak up the oil instead of frying.
  3. Don't use too much oil. Using a lot of oil will make the fritters soggy. You just need a bit of oil to help crisp them up and prevent them from sticking to your pan.
  4. Place cooked fritters on a cookie cooling rack. This lets the air circulate. Sitting hot crispy fritters on a plate doesn't let the air circulate which means steam will escape the fritters and turn to moisture which makes your fritters soggy.

Ingredients

See the recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredients in bowls for zucchini and corn fritters on a white marble surface.
  • zucchini: zucchini makes up the base of these veggie fritters and gives the fritters a bit of moisture and a mild flavor.
  • corn: corn brings more volume to the fritters as well as a sweet, fresh, and crisp bite.
  • cheese: the cheese adds depth and flavor.
  • flour and egg: the flour and egg combine to make a batter to hold the other ingredients together. The flour adds structure and the egg helps keep it from falling apart. I've tried lessening the amount of flour during recipe testing but the fritters were too soft.
  • spices: these combination of spices gives some mild and earthy background flavors.

Substitutions

  • corn: I use thawed frozen corn for this recipe. If using fresh corn off of a cob, I'd char it, boil it, or microwave it first to get a head start on cooking it. Fresh corn can pop in the pan. Canned corn is also good for this recipe. You could also try peas instead.
  • cheese: I use cheddar for a bold flavor. Try mozzarella, Parmesan, or gouda for milder white cheeses.
round circle logo with the pipercooks text including a cast iron pan as an O

How to Shred Zucchini

For this recipe, shred the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater. This gives the zucchini more texture than using the small holes which would get kind of lost in the batter and become more of a cake.
Lightly salt the zucchini, let it sit for 5 minutes and then squeeze excess water out. I don't peel mine first, you can if you want to.

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.

Instructions

Prep Tips

  • These Zucchini and Corn Fritters are pan-fried over medium heat. A non-stick pan works really well for this recipe.
  • Shred the cheese and thaw frozen corn or drain canned corn.
Salted zucchini in a sieve.
  1. Lightly salt the zucchini and let is sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water.
Spices are added to a large mixing bowl.
  1. Now start adding everything to a large mixing bowl, starting with the spices. Stir to mix them evenly.
Corn is dropped into a bowl with flour and cheese in it.
  1. Add the flour and mix it with the spices and then add the corn and cheese.
Corn is mixed into a flour by hand in a large mixing bowl.
  1. Mix everything by hand, coating the cheese and corn in the flour.
Zucchini is added a large mixing bowl with flour and corn in it.
  1. Add the shredded zucchini and mix well. You'll have a fairly dry mixture at this point.
An egg is added to a large bowl with corn, flour, and zucchini in it.
  1. Finally, add the egg. This will help keep everything together.
Zucchini and corn fritter batter is mixed with a large spatula.
  1. Mix the batter together well with a spatula or spoon. The batter will be thick - a lot thicker than pancake batter. That's fine because we want fritters with mostly veg, not all batter.
Zucchini corn fritter batter is pressed into shape with a small pink spatula in a frying pan.
  1. Drop ¼ cup measures of batter into a pan and flatten them to about half an inch. Use ⅓ cup for bigger fritters, just be sure to flatten them.
Zucchini corn fritter batter is pressed into shape with a small pink spatula in a frying pan.
  1. Flatten the edges with a spatula for smoother edges. You can also just leave them rustic looking.
Zucchini corn fritters fry in a frying pan.
  1. Cook the fritters over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side.

Serve your fritters stacked high with some sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for dipping.

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.

Tips for making zucchini fritters

  • squeeze the water out: squeezing the water out of the zucchini helps prevent a soggy batter as well as steam causing possible splatters in the hot oil. There is no need to salt and let it sit for half an hour - just a few minutes will do. Then squeeze out as much water as you can. A little bit of moisture is fine and will help loosen the batter a bit.
  • make sure the oil is hot: When shallow frying (or deep frying) you want to make sure your oil is hot before adding fritters so the fritters don't just sit in the oil and soak it up. This will give you soggy, greasy fritters.
  • watch your heat: Cook these fritters over medium heat. A lower heat won't cook them quick enough and they'll soak up oil and become soggy. A higher heat will cook or burn the outside first before the middle gets a chance to cook and set. These need to be cooked all the way through as they contain egg.
  • customize it: Feel freeze to change up the spices and the cheese to suit your preference.
  • using fresh corn: If using fresh corn in this recipe I'd recommend cooking it in some form before adding it to batter. Fresh corn can pop and burst, with the potential to burn you. You can microwave it, boil it, or grill it first.

What to serve with Zucchini Corn Fritters

I love these fritters by themselves for breakfast but if you want to serve them as part of a bigger meal like dinner then try the following ideas.

For a backyard summer BBQ try serving these fritters with Easy Grilled Chicken Tacos, and some Pico de Gallo.

For a date night in pair these fritters with Lemon Pepper Pasta and a side salad.

For a vegetarian weeknight dinner try serving these fritters with some Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes and either Roasted Broccoli and Carrots or Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts.

Like this idea? Try my Cheesy Potato Rosti.

Storage

These fritters are best served right after cooking. Store any leftover fritters in the fridge for 3-5 days.

To reheat the fritters I've had success pan-frying for a few minutes per side just to reheat them. Baking or air frying the fritters for a few minutes should also work to reheat them while maintaining their crispiness.

If you're not worried about keeping them crispy, microwaving them to reheat them should work but will likely result in soft fritters.

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.

FAQs

Can I Use Frozen Corn Instead of Fresh?

You can but I've read that fresh corn in fritters can cause popping and bursting. I'd recommend cooking it in some way first.

Are These Fritters Gluten-Free?

These fritters are not gluten-free because the recipe calls for all-purpose flour but substituting with chickpea flour should work as a gluten-free option.

Can I make fritters without the egg?

While I haven't tried it for this recipe, I have used egg replacers, ground flax seeds with water, and ground chia seeds with water as egg replacements in other recipes. I think this would work for this recipe.

Recipe

Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream.
5 from 7 votes

Cheesy Zucchini and Corn Fritters

Author : Jacqueline Piper
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
Servings: 8
Crispy savory veggie fritters are great for a weekend breakfast, an appetizer or an easy weeknight dinner with a side salad.
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Ingredients
 
 

Instructions

  • Shred the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater. Set the zucchini in a sieve and lightly salt. Let sit for 5 minutes and then squeeze out the excess water. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the spices, corn, cheese, and flour. Mix together well. Add the zucchini and mix well.
  • Add the egg and mix into a thick batter.
  • Heat a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
  • Add ¼ cup scoops of batter to the skillet and flatten them to about a half-inch thick using a spatula or spoon.
  • Pan fry the fritters for about 3 minutes per side.
  • Move cooked fritters to a cooling rack to keep them crispy and lightly salt them.

Equipment

Video

Notes

This recipe makes about 8-10 fritters.
Make sure to squeeze the excess water from the zucchini for crispy fritters.
Make sure your oil is hot before adding fritters so the fritters don't just sit in the oil and soak it up. This will give you soggy, greasy fritters.
Cook these fritters over medium heat. A lower heat won't cook them quick enough and they'll soak up oil and become soggy. A higher heat will cook or burn the outside first before the middle gets a chance to cook and set.
Feel freeze to change up the spices and the cheese to suit your preference.
If using fresh corn in this recipe I'd recommend cooking it in some form before adding it to batter. Fresh corn can pop and burst, with the potential to burn you. You can microwave it, boil it, or grill it first.
These fritters are best served right after cooking. Store any leftover fritters in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.

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Golden brown zucchini corn fritters stacked on a marble tray with sour cream with text for Pinterest.

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    5 from 7 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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  1. Joe McC says

    Delicious is all I can say. The tip to squeeze the zuchinni is great. I only had one kind of big and fat zuchinni so I added some spring onion. I think cheddar or parmesan would be best and also a splash of Worcester (I'm adding next time) should still make the batter remain crisp. Also, I like my food spicy so maybe add some fresh chillies or be generous with the dried spices. Thank you Jacqueline for a wonderful recipe.

    Reply

    • Jacqueline Piper says

      I'm so glad you liked it, great ideas for different flavors - I love spicy food too, and some hot pepper would really be good in this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Jacqueline

      Reply

  2. Eloise says

    Definitely the best zucchini corn fritter recipe I have tried. I like to put a little extra chilli powder in, too.

    Reply

    • Jacqueline Piper says

      Eloise, that's so great to hear, I'm so glad you like this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

      Jacqueline

      Reply