Celebrate the bounty of summer with these fresh corn fritters! A flavorful recipe that works as a tasty appetizer, hearty side dish, or a vegetarian main course. Serve with Cilantro Lime Crema.
This fresh corn fritter recipe is easy to make and packed full of summertime flavor. As a chef, I love making these corn fritters with fresh sweet summer corn, which gives them the best texture and flavor- but frozen corn works in a pinch!
Why You’ll Love This Corn Fritter Recipe!
Fresh corn kernels, cut right off the cob, have the best texture and flavor! Combined with lime zest, cilantro, spices, and green onions in a light batter, they are pan-seared until golden and crispy, then finished in the oven. Serve them with cilantro lime crema for a flavor explosion. This recipe makes 20 small fritters, which can be refrigerated for later and reheated—a fun thing to pull out of the fridge for mid-week snacks.
Corn Fritter Ingredients
- Fresh Corn- Fresh sweet corn has the best texture here, but frozen corn works well too!
- Red Bell pepper (optional or add more corn)
- Scallions- Green onions add savory goodness.
- Cilantro- We love adding fresh cilantro here.
- Lime zest and lime juice- To add a nice tangy brightness to the corn fritters.
- Fresh jalapeno– for a little heat.
- Cheese– grated cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese
- Spices– Coriander, Cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and a little sugar.
- Eggs & baking powder to give the fritters structure and loft.
- Flour – all-purpose flour or use a gluten-free flour blend.
- Milk – or use half and half or plant-based milk.
How to choose the best corn on the cob
Corn husks should be green and moist. You can feel the kernels through the husk to check for size and plumpness, but if you’re unsure, peel back the husks to inspect them before buying. If the husk looks as if it has already been pulled back, chances are, someone has already checked it and ruled it out. Set it aside and dig a little deeper in the pile.
Kernels should be plump and juicy, and somewhat uniform, and should not have any discolored or slimy spots.
The fresher the better! After 24 hours of being picked, the natural sugars in corn start to turn into starch and they begin to lose their sweetness. So if possible, make an effort to buy the freshest corn available.
How to make Corn fritters
Step 1: Lay the corn on its side (rather than straight up) and cut the kernels off as close to the cob as possible. If using frozen corn, thaw and drain well. You’ll need three cups of corn total (so be sure to measure), which is about 3-4 large corn cobs.
Step 2. Make the corn fritter batter. Dry ingredients in a large bowl- flour, salt, sugar, pepper, baking powder, and spices. Whisk the wet ingredeints in a medium bowl – eggs, milk, lime zest, and juice then pour into the large bowl and combine.
Step 3: Combine. Add the raw corn, bell pepper, cilantro, green onion and cheese and mix well.
Step 4: Pan sear. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, spoon a ping pong ball’s worth of batter into the hot skillet and cook until golden.
Step 5. Flip when golden, using a thin spatula, about 3-4 minutes on each side. To keep calories lower, you can use spray olive oil. Or, for extra luxuriousness, add a little butter.
Step 6: Place on a sheet pan or wire rack in a 350F oven to finish cooking through. Continue working in batches until all the batter is gone; you’ll have roughly 16-20 fritters.
Step 7: Cilantro Lime Crema. While the fritters are in the oven, make the cilantro cream sauce. Just whisk the ingredients together in a bowl or use a food processor (and you can make this ahead and refrigerate).
Corn Fritters Serving Suggestions
- Serve the Corn Fritters as a tasty appetizer, plating them all up with the Cilantro Lime Crema on the side. You could also serve with a dollop of sour cream and hot sauce.
- Serve them as a vegetable side dish. Trust me when I tell you, even picky vegetable eaters generally love veggies in the fritter form. 🙂 A useful gateway to eating more veggies.
- Serve them as a tasty vegetarian main course with a green salad or our Mexican Slaw. They would also be good with Cilantro Rice and Mexican Pinto Beans, a delicious vegetarian Mexican Feast!
Storing Tips
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, reheating as needed in a 375°F oven or toaster oven, letting them crisp up again. Cooked Corn fritters can also be wrapped tightly and frozen- thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Can the Batter be made ahead?
Yes, except wait to add the baking powder until right before cooking. Whip up the batter and store it in the fridge for 24 hours. Sprinkle the baking powder through a fine mesh strainer and mix in the batter right before cooking the fritters.
Enjoy the corn fritters and let us know what you think in the comments below!
More Summer Corn recipes!
- Fregola with Corn, Zucchini & Basil
- Coconut Corn Chowder with Leeks
- Mexican Corn Dip
- Masala Street Corn
- Grilled Mexican Corn with Chipotle Lime Butter
Fresh Corn Fritters Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16-20 fritters
- Category: Appetizer, vegetarian main
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Celebrate the bounty of summer with fresh Corn Fritters! A flavorful recipe that works as a tasty appetizer, hearty side dish or as a vegetarian main course. Serve with creamy Cilantro Sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (or use gluten-free flour blend, like Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 large beaten eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk or half and half, or plant-based milk, more as needed
- zest of one lime
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 cups corn kernels (3 large ears)
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 4 scallions – green and white parts, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese- or pepper jack (about 3 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons finely minced jalapeno ( about 1 jalapeno)
- oil & butter for searing ( avocado oil, olive oil)
Cilantro Lime Crema
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro, stems OK
- 1/2–1 jalapeno
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 cup sour cream (or sub 3/4 cup greek yogurt and 1/4 cup mayo)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- small squeeze of lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a sheet pan.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients – flour, coriander, baking soda, salt, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, sugar, pepper- and mix well.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk milk, eggs, zest, and lime juice.
- Combine. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to incorporate all the flour. If it seems dry, it is ok to add a little more milk. Add the corn, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, and cheddar cheese, and stir to combine.
- Sear. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet with a generous amount of olive oil ( feel free to mix with a little butter (optional) on medium heat. Place rounded spoonfuls of fritter batter (size of a ping pong or golf ball) carefully into the skillet and cook until crispy and golden brown, then flip. When the other side is golden, place in the oven to finish cooking all the way through.
- Working in batches, cook all the fritters, moving to a sheet pan in the oven. Don’t worry if they are still a touch doughy in the middle; they will continue to cook through in the oven. Let them bake until puffed and golden.
- Make the Cilantro Lime Crema. In a food processor, pulse cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno until finely chopped. Stir this in a bowl with the sour cream, salt, and lime juice. Refrigerate until using (up to 3 days). You can add the sour cream, lime, and salt to the food processor, but this will make a runnier sauce- also good, but looser.
- Serve corn fritters with the Cilantro lime crema on the side. Garnish with cilantro, lime, and your favorite Hot sauce.
Notes
Leftovers in the fridge will last up to 4 days and can be reheated in a toaster oven or oven. Fritters can also be frozen.
If making the batter ahead, leave out the baking powder until ready to fry. Sprinkle it through a fine mesh strainer then whisk it in.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 fritter
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 119 mg
- Fat: 5.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.5 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 25.1 mg
This was scrumptious! It did take a while to assemble and required three batches to fry all the batter, but boy was it good! Next time, I’ll use about 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal and reduce the flour by that amount to give it some grit.
Great Melissa! Appreciate your notes.
Sylvia, every recipe we’ve tried of yours’ is delicious! Going to make this over the weekend. Do I add lime to the “Cilantro Lime Crema? Thank you! Blessings
Thanks Darlene, and opps, I updated the recipe card!
Thanks so much!
This recipe is top notch! I will say that it took quite a while for me to get all of the ingredients together but it was well worth it.
Glad you gave it a go!
How long in the oven? Please
Hi Marie, 10-15 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
These look so good Sylvia. Is it possible to substitute the egg?
You may have to play around with this Niku. Perhaps a flax egg or a little psyllium powder…?
Delicious, just be careful with the milk if you’ve got especially juicy corn or larger eggs. The first time I made this the batter was extremely soupy so this time I started with just enough milk to get the base batter together (maybe 1/4c) and then mixed in the veggies and saw how the texture was, then added 2-3Tbs more to get the texture right. The cilantro lime cream is incredible and would be amazing on fried green tomatoes too!
Thanks Kali- glad you enjoyed and were able to adust the liquid as needed.
Excellent, they turned out beautifully and so great to use fresh corn. Thank you Sylvia for another delicious recipe.
Great to hear Michelle!
My fiance and I loved these along with your southwestern pasta salad last night!
Sounds like a perfect combo! So glad you enjoyed!
How about substituting garbanzo flour?
Well, that is interesting! Haven’t tried it here, but now I want to! Let me know if you do Mike!
These are the best corn fritters. I have made them every summer for the past 8 years and am never disappointed.
Awesome to hear Jenny!
Could I do this without an oven?
Yes, I think if you cooked them a little longer at a lower temp, so they cook all the way through.