Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe
Last updated on 18th March 2024
Sweetcorn fritters or frituras de maíz are a delight of Cuban and Latin American cuisine. They are usually enjoyed as a side dish, but they are also great as finger food or as a starter. Sweetcorn fritters are a really quick, easy to make dish that only needs a few ingredients. A really delicious time saver!
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Sweetcorn fritters are one of many side dishes that Cuban people like to have. Made with the sweetcorn from the UK, these fritters fall on the sweet side. Amongst other side dishes you find tostones or cassava fritters, which are more on the savoury side. If you are a sweet tooth, check out too this Arroz con Leche (Cuban Rice Pudding) recipe. But if you are looking for a sweet treat that it is not a dessert, sweetcorn fritters will make your day.
Why you will love the sweetcorn fritters recipe
It has only a handful of ingredients. Sweetcorn kernels from frozen, a couple of eggs, a few garlic cloves, chopped parsley and salt. You also need some oil to shallow fry. Notice that contrary to other fritters recipes, this one does not need flour.
You can make tons of them in less than half an hour. This recipe yields around 20 sweetcorn fritters, enough to feed many hungry friends (or kids). It will also take less than 30 minutes to make. Having so many fritters in so little time makes them ideal as finger food or as a starter.
Kids love them. their outer crunchy texture and lovely, soft sweetcorn flavour in the inside is very appealing to kids. Adults will devour them as well!
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Ingredients to make sweetcorn fritters
Frozen sweetcorn kernels. You can usually get a 1 kg packet of frozen sweetcorn, enough for twice the fritters in this recipe. It is important to defrost the sweetcorn before starting the preparation.
Garlic cloves. Four garlic cloves are good to season and complement that sweet flavour that the fritters automatically get from the sweetcorn. I recommend chopping them before blending with the sweetcorn.
Fresh eggs. Two medium eggs are enough to bring together all of that sweetcorn once it is blended. It works fine with both eggs stored at ambience temperature and in the fridge.
Parsley. Some chopped parsley to complement that sweetcorn flavour and add a little touch of garnishing.
Salt. The necessary pinch for these sweet, tasty fritters.
Oil for frying. You can use either vegetable oil, sunflower oil or corn oil. In general, any oil with neutral flavour that it is suitable for shallow frying at medium-high temperature.
How to make the sweetcorn fritters
Preparation. To start, defrost the sweetcorn needed for this recipe (500 g, which is usually half a packet). You can then store the remaining frozen kernels for another day. After the sweetcorn is defrosted, add it to a container or bowl, along with the chopped garlic. Blend with the help of an immersion blender. If the container or bowl is not large enough, blend in batches. You should obtain a paste that is smooth but not liquid. You should be able to notice the consistency of the paste by the presence of tiny kernel pieces.
Mix the ingredients. To a mixing bowl, add the blended sweetcorn paste. Beat the eggs and then add them to the mixing bowl with the salt and chopped parsley. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly by hand.
Fry the sweetcorn fritters. Let’s start cooking! Heat about one centimetre of oil in a pan over medium-high heat and wait for it to reach frying temperature. Drop 4-5 spoonfuls of sweetcorn paste into the hot oil. The content of a heaped regular tablespoon is a great size for one fritter. Fry them on one side and flip them only once. They are ready when looking crispy in the outside and turn a golden-brown colour.
Serve the fritters. Take each fritter out of the pan one by one as they are ready. Place them over kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. When all of them are ready, serve them on a plate. They are fantastic on their own, so don’t wait any longer and give it a try!
What to serve sweetcorn fritters with
Sweetcorn fritters can be enjoyed on their own as a starter or snack. In Cuba, it is specially recalled for friends’ gatherings and parties. As a side dish, they are a very good complement to dinners with pork meat. One of my favourite dinners is white rice and black beans soup, pork steak and sweetcorn fritters!
Top Tips and Fat facts
Before starting to fry, test that the oil is hot. Place a small amount of the sweetcorn paste into the oil and it should sizzle when it is hot.
Place the portions of sweetcorn paste in the hot oil in clockwise direction. That way you will know in what order they started to brown. This technique has helped me a lot and always allows me to flip them in the right order for them all to look the same colour.
Try not to splash oil whilst dropping the spoonfuls of sweetcorn paste in the pan. Oil burns are really bad and although it may seem obvious, it does not harm to remind you about it 😉.
Do not fry too many fritters at the same time because oil temperature may decrease and affect the frying process (four or five fritters at a time should be ok). Do not move the fritters whilst frying since they are fragile and can break. Wait until they are crispy and golden brown on one side and then flip them (usually fry for three and two minutes each side, respectively).
Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe
Very easy
Equipment
- 1 immersion blender
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 Frying pan
Ingredients
- 500 g sweetcorn kernels defrosted
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 medium eggs beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp parsley finely chopped
- oil (corn,vegetable or sunflower) for shallow frying
Instructions
- Take 500 g from the frozen sweetcorn packet and allow to defrost at ambience temperature. Blend the defrosted sweetcorn and the chopped garlic with the help of an immersion blender. Blend until you get a semi smooth paste.
- Beat the two eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix together the sweetcorn paste, the eggs, salt and chopped parsley.
- Heat one centimetre of oil in a pan over medium-high temperature. When it reaches frying temperature, drop large, compact spoonfuls of the sweetcorn paste into the oil. Fry on one side and flip when they acquire a golden-brown colour. Fry on the other side until turning the same colour.
- Remove the fritters from the pan and place them over kitchen paper to drain any excess oil. Serve them all together and enjoy immediately.