Sweet Potato and Corn Fritters
These sweet potato corn fritters are the perfect summer meal. Easy to make and naturally plant-based.
Servings 8 fritters
Calories 211kcal
Ingredients
For the fritters:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 medium ears of fresh corn (corn removed from the cob)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons almond milk (or any milk; may need slightly more; see instructions)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne (or more if you like spice)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, divided (for pan frying)
For the aquafaba aioli (optional):
- ¼ cup aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas or white beans)
- 2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed
Instructions
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them on a microwave safe plate. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for 5-8 minutes, until tender throughout. Let cool for a few minutes.
- While sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare the aquafaba aioli. Place the liquid from the canned chickpeas, mustard, vinegar, garlic, and salt in a large cup that will fit the stick of an immersion blender. Use the immersion blender to blend, then add the oil at a trickling pace while continuing to blend. When done, it should form a creamy dressing-like consistency (but thinner than mayo). Stir in cilantro and set aside in the fridge for now.
- Place the flesh of the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl, and mash well (discard the skins). Add the corn, green onions, cilantro, cornmeal, almond milk, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Stir until well combined.
- Form eight fritter patties; each should be about 3 inches wide. If the mixture seems too dry or crumbly, add another tablespoon of almond milk, stir again, and then form patties.
- Heat half of the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add four fritter patties to the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown on each side. Remove and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate (to absorb excess oil). Place remaining oil in the pan and cook the remaining fritters.
- Top the fritters with the aquafaba aioli right before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, just place the aioli ingredients in a blender cup and use a regular blender. Sometimes it doesn’t thicken up quite as well but it’ll still taste great.
- Feel free to use any milk alternative that you have on hand; I just use almond milk because it’s always in my fridge.
- As an alternative to making the aioli, you can also use a vegan mayo mixed with some garlic and cilantro, or you can alternatively use vegan mayo plus sriracha for a little heat.
- If you are gluten-free, note that cornmeal is sometimes subject to cross-contamination with other gluten-containing grains, so you may want to double check that whatever brand you choose is safe.
- The aquafaba aioli makes about a cup if properly blended and thickened (it may be more like ¾ cup if just tossed in a blender cup instead of done via the drizzling method). I typically recommend about 1 tablespoon per fritter, so you’ll have extra to use after. (It’s hard to blend a half batch, hence the amounts listed here).
Nutrition
Calories: 211kcal