Here’s a recipe for very crispy Corn Fritters – without deep frying! Because nobody likes soggy fritters. And nobody wants to deal with a vat of oil tonight!
These fritters are ideal to make with fresh corn cut off the cob, but can be made with canned or frozen corn. Serve for breakfast, lunch, dinner!
Crispy Corn Fritters
Regular readers know I hate recipes that make false promises. And I’d say that the greatest offender in this online world is exaggerated declarations of crispiness.
So let me just get this out of the way first – you can’t do THIS ↓↓↓ with soggy corn fritters!!
Why fritters are soggy
The most common causes for soggy fritters are too much batter (basic flour and egg batter like used in pancakes will never cook up crispy), and whatever you’re frittering leeches too much water when cooking.
So here are 4 simple tips that make sure these corn fritters are the crispy golden wonders you’re dreaming of!
fresh corn rather than canned or frozen corn* – because the corn is drier;
use as little batter as possible. Just barely enough to hold the corn or whatever you’re frittering together. More batter = less crispy;
switch out some of the flour with cornflour/cornstarch; and
add a good hit of parmesan. Parmesan gets super crispy when it melts!
* Canned and frozen corn does work just fine, but to ensure your fritters are crispy, you need to drain and dry as best you can. Honestly easier (and tastier!) to cut kernels off corn cobs.
Here’s a close up at the inside of the fritters. See? Very little batter. All corn!
What you need to make really great, crispy corn fritters
Here’s what you need to make these corn fritters:
Corn – as noted above, fresh is better for both flavour and crispiness. But canned and frozen work too, you just need to make an effort to dry it out as much as you can;
Flour AND cornflour/cornstarch – cornflour fries up crispy, but it makes batter “doughy”. So we use both to get the best of both worlds;
Baking soda (bi-carb) OR baking powder – just a touch, to aerate the batter every so slightly (without it, it’s slightly denser);
Parmesan – for a good hit of savoury flavour AND to make the fritters extra crispy!
Green onion and coriander – for a hit of freshness.
How to cut corn off the cob (without kernels scattering everywhere)
Here’s a tip for an easy way to cut kernels off the cob! Use one of these methods:
Inverted ramekin in a large bowl; or
a bundt pan!
How to make crispy corn fritters
And here’s how to make them.
PRO TIP: Use an ice cream scooper with a lever to scoop the batter into the skillet. Then flatten using a greased spatula!
The fritters take a good 6 minutes to cook so they’re golden on the outside and for the raw corn kernels to cook through (remember, these are fritters so they are not very thick).
How to serve corn fritters
Corn fritters is one of those rare foods that truly spans the breakfast-lunch-dinner spectrum!
Breakfast
Corn fritters are a bistro crowd favourite that you’d easily pay over $20 for at trendy places! Here’s how to serve it:
stack of 3 corn fritters topped with poached or pan fried egg (runny yolks of course!)
dollop of sour cream or yogurt – or go all out with Avocado Sauce, as pictured, or Guacamole
optional extras: side of bacon and toast (try this simple Artisan bread
finishes: small side of lightly dressed leafy green salad
Lunch, light meal or starter
As above, minus the bacon and egg. As a starter, I’d skip the side of bread otherwise it will be too filling.
To make it a meal, the bread fills it out nicely, though you could opt for a big salad instead – try one of these:
Though having suggested those various ways to serve it, the reality is that you will want to snatch them fresh off the stove, before you’ve even had a chance to plate them up properly. And that’s totally ok too! – Nagi x
PS To those who have tried these famous Bill Granger Corn Fritters I published many years ago and are wondering what the difference is: these are crisper and easier, those have a better corn flavour all throughout because some of the corn is blitzed into the batter.
Watch how to make it
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Extra Crispy Corn Fritters
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup flour , plain / all purpose
- 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda (or 3/4 tsp baking powder)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk (any type)
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels , raw (2 cobs) (canned or frozen also fine – Note 1)
- 1/2 cup parmesan , finely grated
- 3/4 cup green onions , sliced
- 1/2 cup coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped (sub more green onion)
For cooking:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- Oil spray
Serving – choose:
- Avocado sauce
- Sour cream, ketchup (don’t judge until you’ve tried it!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 120°C / 250°F and set a wire rack on a baking tray.
- Place flour, cornflour and baking soda in a bowl, mix to combine.
- Add egg and milk, mix until incorporated (batter will be lumpy and thick).
- Add corn, parmesan, green onions and coriander. Mix until all the corn is evenly coated in batter.
- Add enough oil into the skillet so it just covers the base. Heat over medium high heat.
- Spray the underside of a spatula with oil (so batter won’t stick when you flatten).
- Place 1/4 cup batter into skillet (ice cream scooper with lever is handy), then flatten to 1cm thick. Repeat with 2 or 3 more, but don’t crowd the skillet.
- Cook 3 minutes until deep golden and crisp, then flip and cook the other side for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Transfer to rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining fritters, using more oil as necessary.
- Serve with sauce of choice for dunking!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More fritter recipes
I’ve long since held a theory that anything can be frittered – and anything frittered is infinitely more delicious than in its plain, original form!
Life of Dozer
This was not me! (I just laughed and took the photo)
OMG Nagi, you did it again. To my surprise, these were perfectly behaved in the pan. Served them with avo (mixed with lime, salt and pepper), slice of shortcut bacon, and a dollop of sour cream. Amaze balls. You definitely need to double the recipe if you’re feeding more than two people.
Also forgot to mention that I used frozen corn which I ran under warm water to fast thaw. Spun the corn in the salad spinner and then briefly dried on a tea towel. It turned out perfectly crispy!
Also forgot to mention that I used frozen corn which I ran under warm water to fast thaw. Spun the corn in the salad spinner and then briefly dried on a tea towel. It turned out perfectly crispy!
Forgot the five stars!
I cooked my first corncob of the summer last night, however, I forgot all about it after cooking, so I had a cooked cob of fresh summer corn, – this recipe looked ideal for what I had on hand….
I halved the recipe, – delicious with sour cream and freshly made tomato relish for lunch,
The mix is fairly fragile, I used the mixing fork to assist the first flip.
I was out of high temperature avocado oil, so I used olive oil, monitored closely.
I’m planning leftover patties mix as a side for Mexican style chicken avocado etc tonight.
Ty & Cheers
These corn fritters are 5 star all the way, loved them!
Has anyone made these and had them the next day? If so are they still good. Was thinking of making these in advance and putting them in the air fryer to heat them up the following day.
These are lovely.
Could you pleeease add a sweet fritter recipe that’s just as easy???
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes and sharing Dozer with us.
So yummy and super easy to make. There was no mention of salt in the recipe, so I added in to taste. Also added some smoky paprika & crushed pepper. YUMMMM
Superb . Crispy with great flavour
Had your current recipe hit my email today – pea fritters. Sounds lovely but it ignited a craving for corn fritters. Was going to use frozen but then no spring onions in the fridge, so had to go to the shop (luckily its only 2 mins down the road). Ended up getting fresh corn, and got a RIPE avocado ( very rare to find one already ripe in the supermarket). Dashed back home, made up 10 fritters (plenty left for tomorrow and the day after) and mixed avo with sour cream and chilli crisp. My craving is now satisfied and I will have my left over Thai Red Curry tomorrow night. Best fritters EVER!!
I wrote a comment before making these and my only suggestion was not to use vegetable oils because they are not the healthiest choice in oils. And spray oils contain butane to propel the contents. So, I used olive oil and followed the remaining instructions (and notes) to the letter. The result, AMAZING! I’m eating these at 11:30pm with garlic hummus. Delicious! The rest will be gone in the morning with breakfast! Thank you for a great recipe!! I’ll be making these again and often and I’ll probably play with the recipe adding some sweet chili and other stuff! I love corn!
This recipe a cracker! We use frozen corn (because the price of corn on the cob is criminal at the moment) which I blanch to thaw then quickly drain and dry and it is still perfectly crispy.
We love it, and the recipe easily perfectly multiples to accommodate the black-hole vacuum appetites of three giant teenage lads too. Thanks Nagi!
yep. perfect results every time Nagi! Crispy fritters as promised. I didn’t have fresh so I used one can of corn kernels. Didn’t do any extra drying other than draining well and it was perfect.
Made this with the help of the kids for my partner for Mother’s Day breakfast in bed. Sensational…. And got us Brownie points 😉
Forgot to add 5 star rating!
Best fritters ever, Nagi! Until now I’ve been making your Bill Granger version, but this new recipe is the new favourite!
I doubled the recipe for 4 people. Added 1tsp smoked paprika. Replaced the parmesan with nutritional yeast, extra flour and milk, and seasoning. Perfection!
ooo nutritional yeast is a great idea! Its such a good substitute for parmesan and adds so much umami!
Also loved the ice cream scoop idea worked so well……. Genius!
I kind of combined this recipe with Bill Granger’s. I used 3 cobs of corn, 2 eggs, added some feta and save the coriander for the avocado salsa. I also used gluten free flour. Scrumptious! Thankyou Nagi these will be on regular dinner rotation!
Kirsten 🙂
This is a great recipe. Best corn fritters ever!
Done these a million times and never get sick of them – best corn fritters anywhere, full stop.
I do mine with bacon rashers and guacamole (or just sliced avo if I’m feeling lazy) along with some spicy tomato chutney.
Absolutely unbeatable!
Delicious
Hubby and I both agreed – best corn fritters I’ve ever made. I used parsley ’cause no coriander in the garden at the moment.