Crispy Vegetable Fritters with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Published: Aug 6, 2023 by Faith · This post may contain affiliate links · 39 Comments

This recipe for crispy vegetable fritters is quick easy to make, and is a great way to use your summer veggies! We pair these golden fritters with a creamy garlic sauce that whips up in about 2 minutes flat, but your favorite ranch dressing will also do the trick. These fritters are the perfect way to get picky eaters excited about veggies!

stack of crispy vegetable fritters on marble countertop

Crispy vegetable fritters (aka vegetable patties) are a the perfect summertime dish to help use up veggies from your garden! They’re super versatile; you can substitute just about any veggies that you like or have on hand. Zucchini and corn is a favorite fritter combination at my house.

There are several different ways you can use them.

crispy veg fritters with creamy garlic sauce on plate with one fritter bitten to show inside

You can serve veggie fritters as appetizers; the creamy garlic sauce for dipping really takes them over the top! They're delicious served hot or at room temperature (and I even like them cold!), so they're also a good dish for a potluck, picnic, or party.

And they make a wonderful side dish along with fish, beef, or chicken off the grill!

But in the summer when I’m in the mood for a light meal, I think these crispy golden veg fritters make a fantastic lunch or dinner by themselves.

overhead view of vegetable fritters with creamy garlic sauce for dipping on stoneware platter

In This Article

Easy Vegetable Fritters Recipe

Ingredients

In these sections I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas. For the full recipe (including ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.

Creamy Garlic Sauce Ingredients:

Sour cream - or unflavored Greek yogurt
Mayo - for rich flavor and super creamy texture
Heavy whipping cream - to achieve the perfect creaminess
Fresh parsley - or play with the flavor profile and use another fresh herb, such as cilantro, dill, oregano, etc.
Fresh garlic - just a little goes a long way here
Seasoned salt - this spice blend adds a ton of flavor

Vegetable Fritters Ingredients:

Zucchini - no need to peel the zucchini; make sure to cut it pretty small, into approximately ½-centimeter cubes
Corn - you can cut the corn off 1 ear of corn on the cob, or use frozen corn (thawed and drained) or canned corn (drained)
Scallion - for mild onion flavor
All-purpose flour - this recipe will also work with the same amount of a gluten free flour blend
Salt and black pepper - to season our fritters
Eggs - these act as the wet ingredients and as the binder in this recipe for fritters
Light olive oil - for shallow frying; or you can use avocado oil or vegetable oil

Step-by-Step Instructions

How to Make Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce

how to make creamy garlic sauce for dipping fritters

Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Note that this dipping sauce is optional, but it pairs perfectly with our savory fritters!

How to Make Fritters

how to chop zucchini for vegetable fritters

The first thing you'll need to do is prep the vegetables. I like to chop the zucchini small for fritters (you want about ½-centimeter cubes) instead of shredding the zucchini.

This is because shredded zucchini releases a ton of liquid, which can change the texture of your fritters. We want nice crispy fritters (no soggy fritters here), and diced zucchini is the way to get them!

Add the zucchini, corn, scallion (reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish), flour, salt, and black pepper to a large bowl.
Toss well to coat all the veggies in flour.
Add the beaten eggs.
Stir just until combined.

Pour enough oil into a large skillet to generously coat the bottom. Heat the skillet over medium to medium-high heat, then use a 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure out the vegetable batter into the hot oil.
Cook the fritters until they’re golden brown on both sides, flipping once, about 5 minutes per side. Turn the heat down if the fritters start to brown too quickly.

drain fried vegetable fritters on paper towels

Once the fritters are cooked, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil, then put them on a baking sheet to stay warm in the oven until all the fritters are made. Repeat this process until all the batter is gone.

Storage and Reheating

Once they're cooled, store fritters layered between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Fritters reheat well in a few different ways:

Oven - on a baking tray in a 375F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes
Stovetop - in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side
Air fryer - 370F for about 5 minutes, flipping once halfway through

crispy veggie fritters with creamy garlic sauce on individual plate

Vegetable Fritters FAQs

What is a Fritter?

A fritter consists of small pieces of meat or vegetables that are battered and fried. And sometimes you won't find meat or vegetables, but just fried pieces of dough.

It bears noting that not all fritters are savory. You can also find sweet fritters made out of fruit (such as apple fritters!), or fried dough tossed with sugar.

This recipe for fritters easy to adapt to use just about any type of vegetables you like.

stack of crispy veggie fritters on marble countertop

What Vegetables Can You Use to Make Fritters?

There are so many different veggies you can use to make fritters! Here are some ideas:

Cabbage - very thinly slice it, but don't shred it
Carrot - cut it into very small cubes (.5-cm cubes) similar to how we cut the zucchini for these veg fritters
Broccoli or cauliflower - cut it into bite-sized pieces, boil it for 60 seconds, drain off the water, pat dry on paper towels, and you're good to go
Potato or sweet potato - this is similar to making latkes; to make potato or sweet potato fritters, you'll need to shred the potato and then press out the excess water

What is Fritter Batter Made Of?

This recipe for fritters is very simple by design. It includes vegetables seasoned with a touch of salt and pepper, a little bit of flour, and a couple eggs.

The combination of eggs and flour forms the fritter batter. For the perfect crispy fritters that aren't dense and heavy, you don't need a thick batter for fritters. We essentially want to coat the vegetables in a small amount of batter so they stick together as they shallow fry.

More Summer Appetizers to Make

front view of plate with vegetable fritters and creamy garlic sauce

Let's Connect

Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.

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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on July 11, 2010, and was updated on August 6, 2023. As a point of comparison to show how much my photography has evolved, I kept one of my original photos (below).

Crispy Vegetable Fritters with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Easy Vegetable Fritters Recipe