These tasty little crispy Vegan Corn Fritters are so irresistible, you'll find yourself snacking on them right in the kitchen before they even make it to the table!
This easy one bowl recipe takes just 20 minutes, and you'll have the tastiest little corn fritters for snack time, as a side dish, or for a light lunch.
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Corn fritters
I love juicy, sweet yellow corn! And what better way to enjoy corn than in savory batter that's fried until crispy and delicious??
That's exactly what these corn fritters are: a simple batter made with just 5 ingredients (plus salt & pepper) with lots of corn added to it, plopped into a little bit of hot oil and fried until crispy.
They're amazing as a snack, eaten with your hands and dipped into your favorite dip (we'll get into that later!). They're amazing as a veggie side dish. They're great on their own for a quick lunch. There's no wrong way to eat these!
Related recipe: Savory Mung Bean Pancakes
What kind of corn to use
You can use any kind of corn for this recipe! Fresh, canned, or frozen will work.
If you have really fresh sweet corn, you can use raw corn for this recipe. Otherwise, you can use cooked corn that you shuck.
If you want to use canned corn, you'll need one 14-oz can. Just drain and rinse it first.
If you have frozen corn, just thaw it completely and shake off any extra liquid in a colander so it doesn't introduce any extra moisture to the corn fritters.
Whatever kind of corn you are going you use, you'll need about 2 cups of corn. You can use a little less for a dough-y corn fritter. You can use just a little more than 2 cups, but any more than 2 ¼ cup will cause the fritters to fall apart because there'll just be too much corn in each fritter and not enough batter to hold it all together.
Related recipe: Vegan Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, finely diced (or use fresh finely diced parsley or basil, or use 1-2 teaspoons dried dill)
- ¾ cup plant milk (unsweetened, unflavored.. I LOVE Silk NextMilk or NotMilk and there's usually a rebate for both of these on ibotta!)
- 1 14-oz can corn, drained and rinsed (2 cups corn)
- Vegetable oil for cooking (½ - 1 cup, as needed)
Equipment
- Nonstick pan and silicone turner spatula for easy flipping
- Paper towels to absorb extra oil
- Optional but super helpful: squeeze release ice cream scoop
- Bowl, measuring cups, and spoons
Related recipe: Chickpea Patties
Instructions
Step 1: Combine all the dry ingredients (flour through black pepper) in a bowl and mix together.
Step 2: Stir in dill and milk, and mix until almost combined but a few lumps of flour remain.
Step 3: Stir in the corn until no flour lumps remain. Make sure to stir in the flour that's stuck to the bottom of the bowl, otherwise your last corn fritter won't have any corn in it.
Step 4: Heat oil in a non-stick pan. I like to use enough to coat the bottom of the pan fully with a thin layer of oil, which ends up being about 3-4 tablespoons for a 9-inch pan.
Step 5: Use a tablespoon (or ice cream scoop) to scoop out about 2 tablespoons of corn batter and add it carefully to the hot oil. Cook a few corn fritters at a time without crowding them. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side over medium-low heat, or until lightly browned. After flipping each corn fritter, use the spatula to press down gently to flatten it.
Set aside cooked fritters on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease. Serve with with your favorite dip, such as vegan sour cream.
How to serve corn fritters
I like these corn fritters hot with a simple dollop of vegan sour cream on top and fresh dill. If your vegan sour cream is really thick, I recommend mixing it with a little bit of water or lime juice to make it more "dollop-able" and to give it a tang from the lime juice.
These corn fritters are also great with aioli made with vegan mayo, or with the classic mix of mayo and vegan ketchup.
Related recipe: Vegan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Veggies and Corn
Cooking tips
- You can use any plant milk you like, as long as it's not sweetened or vanilla flavored. I LOVE Silk Next Milk and Not Milk the most. Second choice for me is almond milk, or a blend or almond/cashew/coconut milk work best. Soy milk and pure coconut milk would be my last choice just because they have the strongest flavor, in my opinion. But if you haven't tried the Next Milk or Not Milk, look for them next time you're grocery shopping! I always get money back for them using my ibotta app.
- If you're well coordinated in the kitchen, you can cook these in 2 pans to make it go faster! Just don't forget to flip the fritters in time so that they don't burn.
- I can typically fit 4 fritters in a 9-inch pan, and about 5-6 fritters in a 12-inch pan. Here's a great set of different size pans.
- Do NOT use more than 2 tablespoons of batter per corn fritter. They'll be too large and they'll break when trying to flip them in the pan. 2 tablespoons is the perfect amount where you get a nice sized fritter without it breaking.
- The more oil you use, the crispier they will be. I like to have a thin layer of oil when these are frying, at least for the first side. You can get away with much less oil or even with oil spray and these will still be delicious, but they will not have a crispy edge.
- If you have any burned bits in the pan, use tongs and a paper towel to wipe away any burned bits, then add more oil to the pan.
- Do not try these in an air fryer, it just doesn't come out as good and the batter falls through the little holes in my air fryer tray. Not worth the mess. Just enjoy this delicious savory corn fritter the proper way—fried in a little oil!
Recipe variation ideas
- Try substituting some of the corn with thawed frozen peas.
- Try frying the fritters in coconut oil for a tasty coconutty twist.
- Try any combination of fresh or dry herbs that you like! These are DELICIOUS with finely diced fresh basil and parsley, or diced scallions or chives.
- Try adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, or a few tablespoons of shredded vegan cheese for a cheesy twist.
Reheating corn fritters
The BEST way to reheat these corn fritters is in the oven or air fryer to get them to crisp up again. I love my Instant Pot Vortex air fryer + oven combo because they reheat in 3 minutes without needing to preheat the oven.
The second best way is to reheat them in a pan. Just spray the pan with a little bit of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes per side until heated through.
I don't recommend microwaving these corn fritters to reheat them. The flavor will still be there, but the crispiness will be all gone.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Recipe
Vegan Corn Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, finely diced (or use fresh finely diced parsley or basil, or use 1-2 teaspoons dried dill)
- ¾ cup plant milk, unsweetened, unflavored
- 1 14 oz can of corn, drained and rinsed, see notes for using frozen or fresh corn
- Vegetable oil, for cooking ½ - 1 cup, as needed
Special equipment
- Paper towels to absorb extra oil
- Squeeze release ice cream scoop (optional but helpful)
- Bowl, measuring cups, and spoons
Instructions
- Combine all the dry ingredients (flour through black pepper) in a bowl and mix together.
- Stir in dill and milk, and mix until almost combined but a few lumps of flour remain.
- Stir in the corn until no flour lumps remain. Make sure to stir in the flour that's stuck to the bottom of the bowl, otherwise your last corn fritter won't have any corn in it.
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan. I like to use enough to coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil.
- Use a rounded tablespoon (or ice cream scoop) to scoop out about 2 tablespoons of corn batter and add it carefully to the hot oil. Cook a few corn fritters at a time without crowding them. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side over medium-low heat, or until lightly browned. After flipping each corn fritter, use the spatula to press down gently to flatten it.
- Set aside cooked fritters on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease. Serve with with your favorite dip, such as vegan sour cream.
Notes
- If using frozen corn, thaw it completely and drain any extra water. If using fresh corn, cook it first, unless it's really fresh and tender.
- You can use any plant milk you like, as long as it's not sweetened or vanilla flavored. I LOVE Silk Next Milk and Not Milk the most, and there's usually a money back offer for these on the ibotta app! Second choice for me is almond milk, or a blend or almond/cashew/coconut milk work best. Soy milk and pure coconut milk would be my last choice.
- If you're well coordinated in the kitchen, you can cook these in 2 pans to make it go faster! Just don't forget to flip the fritters in time so that they don't burn.
I can typically fit 4 fritters in a 9-inch pan, and about 5-6 fritters in a 12-inch pan. - Do NOT use more than 2 tablespoons of batter per corn fritter. They'll be too large and they'll break when trying to flip them in the pan.
- The more oil you use, the crispier they will be. I like to have a thin layer of oil coating the whole pan. You can get away with much less oil or even with oil spray, but the fritters will not be as crispy. The nutrition facts are for 1 corn fritter assuming ½ cup vegetable oil is used.
- If you have any burned bits in the pan, use tongs and a paper towel to wipe away any burned bits, then add more oil to the pan.
- The BEST way to reheat these corn fritters is in the oven or air fryer to get them to crisp up again.
Questions? Feedback? I love to hear from you!