Summertime flavors shine in pan-fried Zucchini and Corn Fritters with Chipotle Lime Cream. Shredded zucchini is mixed with onions and peppers, sweet corn, flour and masa harina then pan fried. A spicy cream sauce ties all the flavors together and they make a satisfying vegetarian main. This recipe is vegetarian, easily dairy and gluten free.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recipe Review: “What a great summer meal – all with ingredients fresh from the local farmer’s market. These were delicious!” ~ Barbara
It’s Zucchini Season!
It’s that time of year! When we have more zucchini than we know what to do with. I’m not complaining. I love its seasonality and versatility, and look forward to it long before the season arrives.
The combination of zucchini, corn and poblano peppers is my love language. Find this mouthwatering trio also in my Creamy Poblano Corn and Zucchini Tacos and in No Roll Black Bean Skillet Veggie Enchiladas Verde.
This Recipe Is
- a veggie main dish
- packed with late summer veggies
- hearty and satisfying
If you enjoy zucchini recipes, you’ll love this summer must make recipe!
At a Glance: How to Make Corn and Zucchini Fritters
I like masa harina in this recipe instead of corn meal as is sometimes used in fritters. Masa harina is a fine grain corn flour that gives Mexican and Southwestern recipes an authentic flavor.
I use it in my chili recipes as a thickener, and Southwestern inspired recipes where I want that flavor boost. It yields a sweet yet robust corn flavor to any food it’s added to and it’s absolutely is delicious. However, one reader subbed fine corn meal in this recipe with delicious results!
- First, shred then squeeze the zucchini of its liquid.
- Second, mix in the flour and spices in a bowl.
- Third, whisk the milk, (or nut milk), vinegar and egg. Set aside.
- Fourth, saute diced onion and poblano pepper, then add the fresh corn niblets.
- Fifth, in a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
- Sixth, pan fry the fritters, then optionally and for crispy edges give em’ a brief bake in the oven.
Whip up the chipotle-lime cream for a tasty, spicy finish! Or if you prefer, a scrumptious avocado cream can be enjoyed instead.
What to Serve with Corn Zucchini Fritters
These fritters require a bit of hands on time, so I like to serve em’ with a simple side. A few ideas:
- Black Eyed Pea Salad
- Stuffed Baked Potatoes
- Broccolini Slaw
- Mexican Black Beans
- Tomato Cucumber and Onion Salad
- Sunny Side Up Eggs
Traci’s Tips
- Make em’ dairy free! Opt for nut milk, I use homemade cashew milk. For the Chipotle cream opt for dairy free sour cream, avocado cream or pepita lime creama.
- When cutting corn off the cob, place the cob in a pie plate, stand the cob on end and gently slice the niblets off the cob. The pie plate catches all the corn and clean up is a snap.
- A slotted spatula is the perfect tool for pan fried corn and zucchini fritters. It scoops up the fritters with ease and allowed excess oil to flow through, back into the pan.
Corn Zucchini Fritters with Chipotle Lime Cream
Servings:12 -13 Fritters
Calories:106kcal
Pan fried Roasted Corn Zucchini Fritters with Chipotle Lime Cream are stuffed full of late summer veggies and make a satisfying vegetarian main. They're freezer friendly too! This recipe is vegetarian + optionally dairy free and gluten free.
Ingredients
For the Fritters:
- 1 pound (475 grams) Zucchini about two medium zucchini (about 3 1/2 C 400g pre- straining // 2 1/2 C (360g) after straining)
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) Masa Harina Flour *see note for sub
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) All Purpose Flour **see note for gluten free
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt + more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
- 3/4 cup (170 grams) Milk (nut or dairy) + 1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) Yellow Onion small dice, about 1/2 small onion
- 2/3 cup (65 grams) Poblano Pepper small dice, about 1 small poblano
- 2 Ears of Corn to yield about 1 1/2 C / 205g of corn niblets
- 1 Clove Garlic large, or 2 tsp minced
- 2 teaspoon Vegetable Oil + more for frying, I use avocado or coconut oil
- Chives, Lime Wedges and Cilantro For Garnish
For the Chipotle Cream:
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) Sour Cream or sub dairy free sour cream
- 1 Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce gluten free if needed
- 1 teaspoon Adobo Sauce optional for extra spicy (!!) gluten free if needed
- Pinch of Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Lime juiced or more to taste depending on how juicy your lime is
Instructions
For the Fritters:
- Grate the zucchini on the coarse blade of a food processor or a microplane. A box greater works well too!Working in two or three batches, place the grated zucchini in a kitchen towel and squeeze, draining over the sink. Continue squeezing and pressing hard to get as much of the liquid out of the zucchini as possible. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the masa, all purpose flour, baking soda, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a measuring cup, mix the milk and apple cider vinegar (or use buttermilk). Wait at least 5 minutes (this allows the milk/vinegar mixture to sour) then whisk in the egg. Set aside.
- In a medium saute pan, add 2 tsp oil (I like a cast iron skillet or non stick fry pan). Heat oil until it shimmers. Saute the poblano and onion on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the corn to the onion and poblano mixture and saute mixture for 3-4 more minutes, until the veggies are soft and with a bit of charring. Toss in the minced garlic the last 30 seconds, stirring to incorporate. Remove the corn mixture from heat and transfer it to the large mixing bowl with the zucchini. Set aside. Wipe out the pan (the same pan can be used for pan frying).
- To the zucchini mixture, add the flour mixture and milk mixture. Mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed and incorporated.
- OPTIONAL: for crispy fritter edges, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The fritters can be baked briefly after pan frying. Line a plate or small pan with paper towel. Set aside.
- Add about 1/8" (2.5cm) oil to a skillet. Heat until oil shimmers on med high heat. Use a 1/3 C dry scoop to portion out each fritter and use a spoon to help you get the fritter out of the scoop and into the pan. Use the back of the dry scoop to press the fritter to about 1/4" thickness. Be sure not to crowd the pan (I cook three at a time in a medium skillet). Cook on each side for about 2-3 minutes on med to med high heat until golden, adjusting heat as needed. *Be careful here as the corn tends to sometimes "pop" - a fry screen will prevent corn kernels from popping out of the pan*Remove fritters from pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Add more oil to the pan as needed to finish frying all the fritters.
- OPTIONAL: Place the fried fritters on the parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Share warm with chipotle cream, chives or scallions, cilantro and lime.
To Store:
- Refrigerator: Store in the refrigerator in a lidded container for up to three days. Freezer: Store cooked fritters stacked between small sheets of parchment paper and in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator on a parchment lined sheet pan then bake for 15 minutes in a 350F oven.
For the Chipotle Cream:
- In a food processor add the sour cream, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce (if using), sugar, salt and lime juice. Process for 20 seconds, then scrape the bowl down. Process for another 20, scrape down the bowl again. Process for a final 20 seconds and it's ready to serve. Store in a lidded container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Notes
*Find Masa Harina in the specialty flours section. I like Bob's Red Mill. One maker subbed corn meal with good results. Look for gluten free if needed.
**For gluten free fritters, 1/2 C (95g) 1 to 1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour - I like Bob's Red Mill
More Recipes Featuring Masa Harina
Recipe adapted from Dinners Dishes and Desserts and also Food Network
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Serving: 1Fritter | Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 231mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
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So Delicious! Thank you!
Hooray 🙌🏻 Thank you for your note!
Awesome fritters!! I love the Masa Harina. You introduced it to me 2 recipes ago and now I am wondering how I made it to 57 without it! I will make these again! These are a refreshing change from the potato cakes I make that are similar. (Shredded potato, jalapeños, onion, and cheese) Thank you again for sharing all these fantastic recipes with us!
Hiii Laura! Thank you for your note… you’ve found one of my most favorite recipes on the blog! SO happy to hear you’re enjoying that masa flour. It really is a game changer! Your potatoes sound fabulous :D
Turned out great! No poblano, so I used a banana pepper and added some cayenne pepper to mixture. Fantastic. Also had no chipotle pepper or adobo sauce so subbed ground chipotle pepper. So much flavor!
SO happy to hear Carol! Thank you for your note and sharing your subs with us… love how you used what you had on hand!
Hello! I had so much zucchini in my fridge from my backyard garden I didn’t know what else to make with it other then zucchini bread and then I found this recipe! My boyfriend and I tried it last night and it was really good! I also could not find any poblano peppers at the store so I used Jalapeño peppers instead but it still came out good. Thank you so much!
Hi Sarah! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Jalapeno is a fantastic sub, although with a hotter bite, I’ve used em’ here too as a sub! So happy to hear you two enjoyed the fritters!
Made these last night with avocado cream. Used almond flour instead of regular and yum they were so good and pretty easy! Even my meat eating husband loved them!
So happy to hear Andrea! Thank you for your note and tip on the almond flour!
What a great summer meal – all with ingredients fresh from the local farmer’s market. These were delicious!
Hi Barbara! Ahhh what a WIN! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go. So happy to hear!
Made them for a side with dinner and loved them!
Plan on serving them for breakfast with a poached egg.
Oh myyyy I love that idea, Liz! Thank you for sharing :D I’ll put your tip in the notes!
Hi, Trace, this gives me an idea to use the surplus of zucchini instead of bread. I also have extra corn on the cob in my fridge! Thanks so much.
You just gave me an idea for Sunday Brunch – I think these will be lovely topped with poached eggs……..
Wooo! That sounds soooo good! What a great idea Suzanne!
Could you recommend a substitute for eggs? I am vegan and this looks delicious!
Hi Bindu! I’ve not tried a sub, but if I did, I’m thinking 3 Tbs of chickpea flour could work. You may need to adjust the hydration a bit to balance the added dry ingredient. After being mixed, the fritter should hold together after giving it a squeeze in your fist. If you try a sub, please let us know how it goes!
Thank goodness for Pinterest connecting me with this two year old post. I made these last night and just polished the remains for a late breakfast. Subbed cornmeal for the massa, it seems to have worked. I LOVED these little cakes! I expect to making these the entire month of August. Yum!
Oh my gosh, Lisa! Thank you for your note. I gotta say, this recipe ranks at the tippy top of summer favorites! So happy you enjoyed them and you’ll be whippin fritters up all summer long! Thank you for your note too on cornmeal. I assumed it would work, but don’t add untested ingredients in recipes I put on the blog – I always have masa on hand so I just use it. BUT, I’ll add a note to see your comment in the notes of the recipe! Thank you for that! August is lookin good! :D
I haven’t made them as of yet. I’m wondering how many fritters this recipe makes at 1/3 of cup per for frying. You state 3-4 servings which is how many per person if you’re not a piggy.
Hi Cookie. Thank you for writing. If I remember correctly, this recipe makes 6 or 7 fritters, which would be 2 per person with a bit of extra if 7. Thank you for pointing this out for me. I’ll correct it as soon as I make it again! :D
Thank you Traci for the rapid reply. This information really helps out. So when I have a girls night with about 8 girls I know I have to at least triple the recipe. Will be serving with other appetizers also & of course wine.
Hey Cooki, I finally made this recipe again and it made 13 fritters (my memory was way off from my first response!) I hope this helps!
These fritters are very very good!! I think the masa flour and roasting the corn are the key to your great recipe. I also added fresh thyme and sage and will add chili powder next time. Something that would be very helpful is if you could have included the measured amounts of corn and zucchini (both before and after squeezing) you used. I had more corn than I am sure you used so my adjustments to egg/flour/milk were off somewhat. I would appreciate closer proportions for future use, but none-the-less it’s a recipe I will keep! YUM!
Hi Kim! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for taking time to write and letting me know your concerns. I looked back at my notes and scribbles on this recipe and noticed I recorded the measurements you indicated (with exception to after squeezing the zucchini), yet they didn’t make it to my recipe here. So I appreciate your letting me know. I have since corrected my omissions. Cooking is much more forgiving then baking, thankfully. Thank you again, Kim. I’m so glad the recipe turned out for you and I’ll keep your comments in mind moving forward!
That’s just great!!! Thank you for the addition and reply:)
;)
Thanks, Cheryl! You’re the best! :D
Hi Clare! Oh yeah, these fritters filling meal for sure. I make this with a big salad and an avocado dressing. It’s delicious! Thanks for stopping by!