This Corn Fritters Recipe is quick, easy, and a sweet side to any summer meal!
Perfect as a side, snack, or appetizer these corn fritters are made with corn, Monterey Jack cheese, and minced jalapenos, mixed in a fluffy batter and pan-fried until golden crisp.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Corn fritters are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and bursting with sweet corn flavor in every bite.
- Difficulty: Simple ingredients and steps mean you can whip up a batch and serve in less than 20 minutes.
- Prep Note: Make a double batch and freeze for future fritter sides!
- Swaps: This recipe works with any kind of corn: fresh, frozen, or canned.
Ingredients Tips for Corn Fritters
- Corn: Use freshly cut corn from the cob, frozen and thawed kernels, grilled corn, or canned corn that’s been drained and rinsed.
- Batter: This quick recipe uses pantry basics like flour, cornmeal, egg, and milk to make a tasty binder. Any non-dairy milk or gluten-free flour can be swapped in with good results.
- Cheese: Freshly shredded Monterey Jack cheese works best to maintain the southwest flair of this dish. Mozzarella, shredded cheddar, or a Mexican blend cheese works, too.
Optional Add-Ins
- Add extra color by swapping corn for frozen mixed vegetables.
- Dress up your fritters with bacon bits, diced ham, sundried tomatoes, chopped cilantro, green chilis, or diced black olives.
- Boost the corn’s sweetness with a little brown sugar or honey.
- Additions of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, or a zesty Old Bay or Cajun seasoning will bump up the flavor, especially if you’re adding corn fritters to a jambalaya feast!
Storing Leftovers
Extra corn fritters can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze in zip bags for up to 3 months. Reheat and re-crisp them in the air fryer, under the broiler, or wrap them in foil and reheat in the toaster oven.
Leftovers can be made into a vegetarian burger with lettuce, avocado, pickled red onions, and a smear of mayonnaise or sweet mustard.
Crazy for Corn?
Did you make these Corn Fritters? Be sure to leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno minced
- ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups corn kernels fresh, frozen or leftover corn on the cob
- ½ cup Monterey jack cheese shredded
- ¼ cup milk or more if needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine flour, cornmeal, egg, onion, jalapeno, and smoked paprika in a bowl. Add salt to taste. Stir in corn and cheese.
- Add milk a little bit at a time if needed to make a moist mixture that can still hold its shape. You may not need all of the milk.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the corn mixture onto the hot oil and gently flatten with a spatula.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden, flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Top with sour cream for serving.
Notes
- Use fresh, frozen (thawed), or canned (drained) corn.
- Any kind of cheese can be used in this recipe.
- For less heat, skip the jalapenos and add 2 tablespoons mild green chilis or finely diced bell pepper.
- Store leftovers in zip bags in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat in the toaster or oven to re-crisp, or in the microwave for a moister fritter.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Simple and tasty. My disappointingly sticky corn (supposedly fresh from the organic farm!) was still sticky in the recipe but the addition of the other ingredients made for an enjoyable side dish. I used cheddar and a few sprinklings of cayenne since I didn’t have any jalapeno and the flavours blended well together. Was nice with the sour cream. Would have been even better with a sprinkling of chives.
Delicious. I had left over corn on the cob and I used a red onion and cheddar cheese because that’s what I had in my pantry. A new favorite side dish!
Great recipe. The corn I had was old and starchy and even a bit dehydrated, but it still came out well. I’d recommend beating egg before adding it to flour mix, but it still turned out well.
made this for breakfast everyone loved them.
Note to self: Next time remember the jalapeno (sigh). Also, being lazy and using the pre-shredded Italian blend cheese….not a good idea. It’s too bland for my taste. READ what Holly recommended! Even with my sorry intervention, it’s a very tasty treat! I recommend it!
I made these with 3 leftover ears of corn. Froze them for later use. Popped in toaster oven to heat and made a honey, hot sauce and vinegar dip. Delicious. Will make again as I always used to throw extra cooked ears of corn away !
That dip sounds like a delicious addition, thank you for sharing Jane!
So Delicious, So flavorful, So Easy, So filling and I made these with Gluten free flour! My husband who is not Gluten free loved them! Your Recipes are fantastic!
So happy to hear that! Glad you both enjoyed them!
Made these as in the recipe, but half the batch because that’s how much frozen corn I had. Delicious! Thank you again.
Yummy yummy Holly’s mom
They’re a favorite for us too!
Could you substitute the cornmeal with a cornbread mix?
We have only made this recipe as written but that should work. Let us know how they turn out!
I made a few with the original recipe as is. They were good, but still lacking just a pinch of something. So I tossed in some grill mates smokehouse maple seasoning and it made these disappear faster than they could cool off! So good and the new staple for our BBQs.
Oh boy, that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Stella.
Cannot wait to try these am excited
I want to try these in an Air Fryer.
these wd pere so good. i would pay 10 dollars for three of them in a restaurant! i like it spicy, so used pepper jack cheese and added some red pepper flakes and cajun salt to the mix, but otherwise made them as written. i wanted to make the atk/cook’s country recipe, but could not since my house is getting repaired and i do not have an immersion blender or other equip with me at the hotel kitchenette. i am so glad i tried your recipe instead. doubt the other fussy recipe could be any better. i did top some with their mexican street corn sauce since i made some the night before for corn on the cob and also approximated you sauce to try it out, but had to use sriracha and a little cayenne for the chipotle.. honestly, they were good plain, with just sour cream or the other sauces i made and also really good with a squeeze of fresh lime. it is just the start of corn season, so i am looking forward to making this lots more and hopefully, in my restored kitchen before it is all over.
Love these recipes….
So glad you’ve enjoyed them!
How much baking soda do you use with the all purpose flower. The recipe doesn’t list it. Can’t wait to make this!
Apologies for the confusion. We found that we had the best results with all-purpose flour (without baking soda).
I didn’t add the jalapeno and had to sub xsharp cheddar for the monterrey jack but gosh these were delicious! My husband couldn’t stop eating them. Thank you for sharing. I’m pinning this one as my tried true and keep recipe for fritters!
So glad you both loved it Terri!
Holly, these are fantastic!! They’re so quick & easy too :)
I’ve been making a good many of your other recipes & decided it was time to tell you how much we enjoy them. Thx a lot & keep em coming!
You’re so welcome, so happy to hear you are loving the recipes!
Looks great! What can I substitute for cornmeal?
Hi Jennifer semolina, breadcrumbs, ground oats would work too.
Easy prep. Taste great!
So glad you enjoyed them Lexie!