This crispy corn fritters recipe is delicious with fresh or canned corn and made in under 30 minutes! These savory fritters are perfect as appetizers or a quick dinner with creamy dipping sauces.
I have a confession: I’m obsessed with any recipe with fritter in the title: aka, anything that requires frying batter into golden, crispy perfection! I’m more of a savory person than sweet, so one of my favorites of all are these corn fritters. They’re simple to whip up in under 30 minutes with simple ingredients, and the flavor is unreal!
They come out crisp-edged and golden, with a savory sweet batter of cornmeal and spices and big sweet pops from the kernels. They’re great as party appetizers, but I love them most as a weeknight dinner paired with tomato basil salad or coleslaw. Of course, a dipping sauce is a must: my kids love dipping them in sour cream, salsa ranch dressing, or garlic aioli!
5 star reader review
“This corn fritters recipe was simple to follow. My family and I enjoyed it. Very delicious!” -Lana
Ingredients in corn fritters
A fritter is any vegetables, fruit, meat, or seafood that are coated in batter and fried. Corn fritters were most likely invented in the American South, where they are a popular food today.
There are lots of tasty sweet fritters (like apple or cherry), but I prefer frying up savory ones like zucchini fritters or corn fritters. here, the batter uses both all-purpose flour and cornmeal to give it a nuanced corn flavor, along with fresh or canned corn, eggs, green onion, and spices.
Using fresh vs canned corn
The best way to make corn fritters is using fresh, in-season sweet corn on the cob. Of course, it’s only available certain months of the year, so canned corn is a close second! It has added sugar and salt and a more mellow flavor—it’s partially cooked, so the texture is softer,
If you must, you can also use frozen corn. Just make sure to cook it first so that the texture is softer before making these fritters!
Pro tips for pan frying corn fritters
After making these fritters in several recipe tests, I’ve picked up some techniques to make the frying process simpler:
Don’t overheat your oil. I cook these over medium heat because high heat will brown the outside too quickly while leaving the center gooey. I’ve learned this the hard way!
Use enough oil for pan frying. These fitters are pan fried, so I use just enough oil to cover the bottom of my non-stick skillet. Since these cook like pancakes rather than deep-fried balls, you don’t need much oil. I add more oil where necessary for the second batch.
Cool on a wire rack. I always transfer finished fritters to a wire baking rack instead of paper towels. This prevents them from getting soggy on the bottom. I like an extra sprinkle of flaky sea salt to really make the flavors pop!
Storing leftovers and make ahead tips
Corn fritters are best hot from the pan, so you’ll want to eat them as close to cooking as possible. But leftovers do store refrigerated for 1 to 2 days. They become more soggy when stored, so reheat them in a pan with a drizzle of oil before serving.
To make them ahead, you can prep some of the batter ingredients in advance. Cut the corn from the cob and store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator, then mix up the dry ingredients and store them separately at room temperature. The day of making, whisk together the batter and fry the fritters.
Sauce ideas for corn fritters
These fritters taste great as is, but you can dunk them into a creamy sauce for a next level taste treat. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve corn fritters:
- Sour cream, simple and delicious
- Garlic aioli, a punchy, pungent creamy sauce
- Remoulade sauce, a French sauce made with mayo, capers and spices
- Ranch dressing, that classic American dip
- Cilantro sauce, a creamy, bright green sauce
- Pesto aioli, bursting with basil
- Sour cream sauce, a spiced, saucy version
- Chipotle aioli, a dip with a little kick
Dietary notes
This corn fritters recipe is vegetarian.
Easy Corn Fritters
This crispy corn fritters recipe is delicious with fresh or canned corn and made in under 30 minutes! These savory fritters are perfect as appetizers or a quick dinner with creamy dipping sauces.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels* (about 4 ears; or 2 cans corn, drained)
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (1 ¼ teaspoons for canned corn)
- Olive oil or neutral oil, for frying
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish (or more kosher salt)
- Parsley, for garnish
- Sour cream or garlic aioli, for serving (or see Sauces section above)
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to cut the corn from the cobs (or drain the canned corn). Thinly slice the green onion.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk. Then whisk in the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder and kosher salt until a thick batter forms. Fold in the corn kernels and green onion using a spatula.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom. Add the fritters by dropping from ¼ cup measure, then spreading them out to be thin with the back of the measuring cup. Fry the fritters in batches that fit the skillet, about 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden. Add more olive oil when necessary. Make sure the heat is not too high or the fritters will become browned on the outside but stay gooey in the middle.
- Remove and place on a a baking rack to cool slightly (so they don’t become soggy on the bottom). Immediately sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt (or more kosher salt) to allow the flavor to pop and if desired, garnish with parsley and serve with sour cream, aioli or another dipping sauce. Finish cooking the remaining batches of the fritters. Serve immediately. The fritters are best the day they are made, but you can store leftovers refrigerated for 1 to 2 days if desired and reheat them in a pan with a drizzle of oil before serving.
Notes
*Boil the corn if it’s not the freshest, in season sweet corn, or if you prefer to eat cooked corn versus fresh. It’s perfectly safe to eat fresh corn without cooking it! Or substitute canned corn (we don’t recommend frozen corn here).
Other fresh corn recipes to try
These are some of my favorite corn recipes featuring this seasonal ingredient:
- Mix up a zingy corn salsa to serve with chips, or go for creamy Mexican street corn dip
- Try classic creamed corn or easy skillet fried corn, or mix up a corn salad
- Make soup like corn chowder or chicken corn chowder
- Fire up the grill for grilled corn or elote
