Zucchi & Sweet Potato Fritters
Enjoy hot, crisp, and golden brown zucchini sweet potato fritters in about 35 minutes! These savory stovetop cakes combine zucchini, sweet potato, onion, garlic, and plenty of fresh herbs to bring you a flavorful vegetarian meal or side dish. Creamy and refreshing herbed Greek yogurt sauce is a must-make accompaniment!
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Zucchini Sweet Potato Fritters
- Golden brown & crisp right off the stove
- Recipe uses real, fresh ingredients
- Excellent main or side dish, or with breakfast instead of hash browns
- Vegetarian & naturally gluten free
- Tasty on their own, but even better with creamy & refreshing Greek yogurt sauce
- Freeze & reheat easily
You need a lot of the same ingredients as my regular zucchini fritters. Grab a sweet potato, peel, then shred it exactly like you shred zucchini. I use a box grater.
Get Out All the Moisture
The most important step in this recipe is to take the time to squeeze as much moisture out of your vegetables as possible. If your zucchini and sweet potato are mushy and wet when you add them to the other fritter ingredients, your cooked fritters will be… you guessed it… also mushy and wet.
Zucchini is a very wet vegetable, which makes it excellent for sneaking into baked goods like zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, and zucchini cake! But that liquid is not so great for fritters (or zucchini casserole and zucchini biscuits). Why? Moisture strips the fritters of their crisp texture. Sweet potatoes aren’t *as wet* but you’ll be surprised how much liquid you can wring out!
Mix the shredded vegetables with the chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of salt. The salt helps to draw the water out. Wrap it all up in a paper towel-lined bowl (or use a clean kitchen towel, or cheesecloth), lift it out, and begin squeezing over the sink. You will be amazed how much moisture you draw out. Use additional paper towels if needed. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Mix your wringed-out vegetable mixture with the rest of the fritter ingredients including beaten eggs and herbs, salt, pepper, cornmeal and cornstarch. The cornmeal adds a wonderful, almost unexpected, crunch. The cornstarch helps to thicken the mixture up while also soaking up some liquid. The two also keep these zucchini sweet potato fritters gluten free.
Cooking the Zucchini Sweet Potato Fritters
Similar to coconut shrimp, the fritters cook in oil on the stove. I use olive oil, an ingredient you’ll also use in the yogurt sauce. Measure about 2 Tablespoons of the mixture, and place each in the hot oil. Flatten each with a spatula, and then cook for about 3 minutes on each side:
I usually cook these in a large cast iron skillet.
Success Tip: Liquid will pool in the bottom of the bowl as you scoop out the zucchini and sweet potato mixture. Make sure you use a fork when scooping up small piles to form the fritters. You don’t want that liquid in the skillet.
Cool & Creamy Yogurt Sauce
You’ll want to use this herbed yogurt sauce on just about everything. Hinted with lemon, barely sweetened with honey, and filled with fresh parsley and mint, the cold sauce tastes incredible with the hot fritters. It’s also fantastic with baked chicken meatballs, bacon wrapped cheesy stuffed jalapeños, and sausage stuffed peppers. You can make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before using.
You could also try the lime-hinted jalapeño yogurt dip served with these corn fritters. Never underestimate a good sauce!
You’re going to love these, especially the extra substance and flavor that the sweet potato brings. I like to serve with a green salad, cornbread or cornbread muffins, and/or grilled chicken.
And if you find yourself with even more zucchini to use after making these fritters, here is a full roundup of all my favorite zucchini recipes. I’m sure you’ll find several more to love!
Zucchini & Sweet Potato Fritters
Ingredients
Method
- Make the yogurt sauce by whisking all of the yogurt sauce ingredients together except for the salt and pepper. Taste, then add salt/pepper to your taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, or up to 3 days.
- Make the fritters: Line a large bowl with paper towels. Place the shredded zucchini, sweet potato, and onion inside. Add 1 teaspoon salt, and gently mix together. Top with another paper towel and press down so the paper towels begin absorbing some liquid. Lift everything up using the bottom paper towel and, over the sink, wring/squeeze out as much liquid as you can. The goal is to remove as much moisture as possible. You will be amazed how much liquid you wring out! Note: you can also simply wring out the vegetables in a thin, clean dish towel or use a cheesecloth.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, garlic, parsley, mint, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper together until combined. Fold in the vegetables, and then mix in the cornmeal and cornstarch until everything is combined.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, scoop up around 2 Tablespoons of the zucchini mixture. There may be liquid pooling in the bottom of the bowl, so make sure you use a fork so the excess liquid isn’t in your fritter. Place the mixture onto the hot skillet and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with a few more, making sure not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate until finished.
- Serve warm fritters with yogurt sauce.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave, or use an air fryer at 375°F (191°C) for 3-4 minutes. You can also place them on a lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) for 8-10 minutes.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cool fritters completely, then place in a freezer-friendly container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating. See step 6 for reheating instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Yogurt: You can use plain nonfat, low fat, or full fat Greek or regular yogurt. You could also use sour cream.
- Can I Use a Regular Potato? Yes, you can use other potatoes such as Russet or Yukon Gold instead of sweet potato.
- Can I Make These Without Cornmeal & Cornstarch? Yes. Skip both and use 1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour instead. For a GF option, you can try using 6 Tablespoons (about 45g) of ground flaxseed
