Southwest veggie fritters, basically summer produce in a fritter. I love making meals like this for a few reasons. First, they’re delicious. Secondly, they’re easy to whip together. It’s just tossing together some veggies, egg, and spices with a few other ingredients and baking in the oven. Another reason I love them is because it’s a great way to use up produce that’s on it’s way out. I use zucchini and corn, but other combinations work too.
We grow a lot of zucchini. Similarly to tomatoes, once they start, they don’t seem to start. It’s wonderful, but using it all up can be a daunting task sometimes. As for zucchini, one of my favorite ways to use the abundance from the garden is to grate it and toss it into different dishes. This is one of those dishes. It’s also great in eggs, pasta, and veggie bowls, just to name a few. You just want to make sure to squeeze out as much of the excess water as you can. Zucchini holds a lot of water and when you go to cook it, it will release a lot of the water and can really ruin a dish.
So for the corn, I’ve used both cooked off the cob and canned. Both work perfectly fine. To be honest, I LOVE a fresh corn on the cob. And since we don’t grow a ton, I save that for a side dish. I prefer canned for this recipe. But either works. So if you find yourself with extra corn on the cob, this is a great way to use it. But like I said, I just like to have that on it’s own. And now I want a freshly grilled corn on the cob…
The rest is pretty simple. I use cornmeal, polenta works, to give it some texture. As for flour, I’ve used all purpose and cassava. Whatever you’ve got will work. Then there is the cheese. I like pepper-jack, it’s one of my favorites. I have also use Monterey Jack and mozzarella, both good. Of course if you prefer dairy free, a vegan alternative would work, or you could skip the cheese all together. It’s really not a deal breaker in this recipe.
Ok, so let’s get to dips and toppings. Fritters are a vehicle for great dips and all the toppings. These are delicious on their own, but some fresh avocado smash with some lime and salt is really good on top. As is a natural yogurt drizzled over. I like the cool contrast to the fritter. Or a little yogurt and garlic. Very good too. These take 30 minutes to bake so there is plenty of time to whip up a dip while the fritters cook.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a mixing bowl, toss all the ingredients. Mix well to get the egg combined.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons at a time and roll into fritters disk shapes. The mixture will be slightly loose but it will come together while it bakes.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 15.
- Remove and cool slightly. Serve with whatever toppings you want. Maybe some smashed avocado or fresh yogurt.
Here’s another easy fritter recipe. It’s for RED LENTIL CURRY FRITTERS, totally different flavors, but simple and delicious, just like these Southwest Veggie Fritters.
I mentioned earlier that I love fritters because they are a great way to use up some veggies you might have on hand. Some other vegetables that are great in these are broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, and potatoes. Mushrooms would also be delicious. Chopped veggies as a base, egg, flour, and good seasoning will make a great fritter.
