Baked Corn & Zucchini Fritters
Posted Jul 09, 2020, Updated Nov 06, 2023
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This baked corn and zucchini fritters recipe is easy to make! The best summer produce comes together to make a light and healthy appetizer, side dish or meatless main dish that’s made in 1 bowl and ready in less than 30 minutes.
These baked zucchini fritters are a delicious summer side dish or appetizer! And served with a giant salad they make an amazing meatless main dish!
The best summer produce – sweet corn & zucchini – join forces to make these delicious zucchini and corn fritters. They are baked and not fried – making them a healthier option!
Plus this zucchini fritters recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make. And they are freezer-friendly, so you can bake a batch, freeze some and enjoy them all week/month long!
Baked Zucchini Fritters: Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour. These healthy zucchini fritters are easily made gluten-free by substituting the flour for your favorite gluten-free, all-purpose baking flour.
- Milk. Make these zucchini and corn fritters dairy-free by using plant-based milk. I recommend unsweetened, plain almond milk.
- Corn. Fresh corn cut from the Cobb or frozen corn kernels that have been thawed work perfectly in this recipe.
- Granulated sugar. Organic cane sugar can be used in place of granulated sugar. You technically can omit the sugar all together, but I think it brings out the flavor of the corn so well. You could also increase the sugar by up to 2 TBS if you want sweeter zucchini fritters.
How to make Zucchini Fritters
These Baked Zucchini Fritters are so simple to make, but as always we’ll walk through the steps together and don’t forget to watch the video!
A note about picky eaters:
If you have picky eaters who will turn up their nose at eating something with green flecks in it, feel free to blend the zucchini with the milk until it’s smooth. This will cause the zucchini corn fritters to be slightly green in color, but for some strange reason my kids are OK with eating green food, but not food with flecks of green inside! Mom life.
Combine dry ingredients
Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add wet ingredients
Next, add the wet ingredients on top of the combined dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
Add Corn & Zucchini
Next, gently fold in the corn and shredded zucchini until evenly dispersed throughout the batter.
Portion Batter onto Baking Sheet
Generously grease a baking pan with olive oil to prevent sticking. I recommend measuring out 1 TBS of olive oil and using your fingers to spread it all over the pan.
Use a 1 TBS measuring spoon or cookie scoop to scoop batter onto the greased cookie sheet. The batter is slightly runny, but trust the process. It will bake up nicely and be easy to flip.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes or until the side touching the baking pan is golden-brown.. Remove from oven, spray the uncooked side gently with cooking spray or brush with olive oil.
Carefully flip each fritter and sprinkle the browned side with a touch of sea salt. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until second side is golden brown.
Serve
There are so many ways to serve these corn & zucchini fritters. Here are a few suggestions:
- I love to smear a dollop of homemade tzatziki sauce on top.
- Serve them with some homemade guacamole or homemade blender salsa.
- Enjoy on top of a salad with a drizzle of homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
- If you want more of a sweet cornbread vibe, you can slather them with cinnamon honey butter (my kids like this)!
Store/freeze
Cool the corn & zucchini fritters completely, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 5-7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
If your fritters are soggy it’s likely that they weren’t baked long enough – try baking them longer next time. Another reason could be that the zucchini was really wet, you can always wring the water out of it before using it in this recipe to ensure the fritters don’t get soggy.
Wrap the shredded zucchini in a tea towel and squeeze the water out of it (my preferred method).
No! Keep the nutrient-rich skin in tact when you shred the zucchini.
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Baked Corn and Zucchini Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour use a gluten-free all-purpose flour for GF
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 TBS granulated sugar*
- ½ cup milk for dairy-free use unsweetened almond milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup zucchini shredded
- Extra sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Generously grease a baking pan with olive oil, spreading it around with a spatula or your fingers until the entire surface is well-coated. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and granulated sugar.
- Add milk & egg and stir until the mixture is smooth and there aren’t any lumps.
- Add corn and zucchini and stir until evenly mixed in.
- Drop 1 TBS portions of batter onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven, spray the uncooked side gently with cooking spray or brush with olive oil.
- Carefully flip each fritter (they should be light/golden brown on the first side) and sprinkle the browned side with a touch of sea salt.
- Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until second side is golden brown.
- Serve warm over a salad or as a side dish for your favorite BBQ fare!
Video
Notes
Ingredient substitutions
- All-purpose flour. Make this recipe gluten-free by using a 1:1 gluten-free, all-purpose baking flour.
- Milk. Make these zucchini fritters dairy-free by using plant-based milk. I recommend unsweetened, plain almond milk. You can also use half and half.
- Corn. I recommend fresh corn cut from the Cobb or frozen corn kernels that have been thawed. I do not recommend canned corn.
- Granulated sugar. Organic cane sugar can be used in place of granulated sugar. You technically can omit the sugar all together, but I think it brings out the flavor of the corn so well. You could also increase the sugar by up to 2 TBS if you want sweeter zucchini fritters.
Store/freeze
Cool the corn & zucchini fritters completely, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 5-7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was looking for a “lighter” version of cornbread or corn muffins to go along with a 15 bean soup and found this recipe. I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful and easy to make these are! I love zucchini in anything and the corn adds so much flavor and sweetness. I only had white corn meal, so I used that instead of yellow cornmeal, but they were still delicious. I will be making these again!
Do you have to bake them or could you cook them on a cast iron skillet?
Yes you can cook them in a skillet, the batter is just kind of liquidy so you have to make sure they are all the way cooked on one side before flipping. I recommend cooking over medium-low heat.
Whole wheat flour should work well. My spouse is allergic to corn meal, but sweet corn, so I plan to try this with WW.
Looks so good? Anything you recommend that I can sub the corn meal out for? Thanks! Can’t wait to try these!
Can’t wait to try these!!! Yum. And THANK YOU. XX
One thing though…. The calories amount to 150 cal per fritter (without the sugar, with almond or 2% low fat milk) I don’t get 90 calories. Tried switching the ingredients to healthier options…
I will look into that!