Getting kids to eat their veggies doesn't have to be a battle.
These vegetable fritters are packed with grated zucchini, carrot and sweet corn, then pan-fried until golden and crunchy on the outside.
They're one of my go-to healthy snack recipes, right alongside my Vegetarian Sausage Rolls and Homemade Chicken Nuggets.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Vegetable Fritters
🕒 Ready In: 25 minutes
👪 Serves: 12 fritters
🥕 Calories: 91kcal per fritter
🥣 Main Ingredients: zucchini, carrot, corn, eggs
📖 Dietary Info: vegetarian, can be made egg-free
⭐ Why You'll Love It: A kid-approved way to pack extra veggies into lunch or dinner, ready in just 25 minutes.
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These veggie fritters (also called vegetable patties) are soft and moist inside with a crunchy outer crust, and they're a brilliant way to sneak extra vegetables into fussy eaters.
For more veggie-packed snacks, check out my Cheesy Corn Fritters and Healthy Zucchini Fritters.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Kid-approved veggie smugglers - soft and moist inside, with a satisfying crunch on the outside. A guaranteed winner even with fussy toddlers.
- Great toddler finger food - easy for little hands to pick up and feed themselves.
- Budget-friendly - made from basic pantry and fridge staples.
- Freezer-friendly - make a double batch and freeze extras for quick grab-and-reheat snacks.
- Versatile - mix and match with your favourite vegetables, including grated sweet potato.
- Thermomix or conventional - both methods included in the recipe card below.
Fritter Ingredients
Just a handful of basic ingredients are needed to make these healthy fritters.
- Zucchini - it's important to remove all of the moisture from the grated zucchini before adding it to the mixture, this is the key to crunchy (not soggy) fritters. Zucchini is also known as courgette.
- Corn - use a tin of drained corn kernels or frozen corn (no need to defrost first).
- Parsley - or substitute with another herb such as chives, or leave it out entirely.
- Spring onions - add a fresh, mild onion flavour.
Variations
- Egg-free - substitute the eggs for the equivalent amount of chia eggs.
- Extra veggies - mix and match with your favourite vegetables; grated sweet potato, potato, capsicum and peas all work well.
- Cheesy - stir through ½ cup of grated tasty cheese for extra flavour.
- Baby-led weaning friendly - leave out the added salt and use a low-sodium seasoning blend instead, so they're suitable for babies from around 6 months.
How To Make Vegetable Fritters
This is a simple 3 step recipe.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Remove the liquid from the zucchini. Grate the zucchini into a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze out all of the moisture well.
- Step 2: Prepare the fritter mixture. Add the remaining ingredients (minus the oil) to the bowl with the zucchini and mix well until fully combined.
- Step 3: Cook the fritters. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place heaped tablespoons of mixture into the pan, flatten slightly, and cook for around 2 minutes on each side until golden and crunchy on the outside.
- Step 4: Serve. Place cooked fritters onto a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat in batches with the remaining mixture. Serve with sour cream, sweet chilli sauce or a dollop of kewpie mayo.
Recipe Tips
- Top tip: squeeze out ALL of the liquid from the zucchini; this is the single most important step to avoid soggy fritters.
- Cook in batches - fit around 3-4 fritters per batch depending on your pan size.
- Keep them warm - place cooked fritters on a paper-towel-lined tray in a low oven while you finish the remaining batches.
- Substitutions - mix and match with your favourite vegetables; grated sweet potato, potato, capsicum and peas all work well.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Freezing: freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, with a sheet of baking paper between each layer.
Vegetable Fritters FAQs
Remove ALL of the moisture from the grated zucchini before cooking. Place it in a colander, stir through salt and leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid well with your hands.
Yes, substitute the eggs for the equivalent amount of chia eggs for an egg-free alternative. The recipe is already dairy-free as written.
Yes. Spray the air fryer basket lightly with oil, then cook the fritters in a single layer at 190°C (380°F) for around 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Once cooked, place them onto a paper-towel-lined plate to remove excess oil, then serve as quickly as possible, or keep warm in a low oven while you finish the remaining batches.
Yes, they make great finger food. Leave out the added salt (or use a low-sodium seasoning) when cooking a batch for babies under 12 months.
More Family Favourite Snacks
If you loved these vegetable fritters, here are a few more kid-approved snacks worth trying:
Vegetable Fritters
Ingredients
- 400 g zucchini approx 2, grated
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 260 g carrots approx 2, grated
- 420 g tin corn kernals drained (or defrosted frozen corn)
- 3 eggs whisked
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 fresh cloves, minced
- ⅔ cup plain flour all purpose flour
- 2 tbs fresh parsley chopped
- ¼ cup spring onions thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to season
- canola oil to cook the fritters (or vegetable oil/olive oil)
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Place the grated zucchini into a strainer and add the salt. Stir then leave for 10 minutes. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid well. Place the zucchini into a bowl.
- Add the grated carrot, corn kernels, eggs, garlic, plain flour, parsley, spring onions and season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
- Heat 2 tbs of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan.
- Flatten the mixture with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on either side or until golden and crispy on the outside and cooked through (note: they'll still be soft on the inside).
- Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Thermomix Method
- Place roughly chopped zucchini into the Thermomix bowl. Grate for 5 seconds, Speed 5.
- Place grated zucchini into a strainer and add the salt. Stir then leave for 10 minutes. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid well.
- Roughly chop the carrot and place into the Thermomix bowl. Grate for 6 seconds, Speed 6.
- Add the strained zucchini, corn kernels, eggs, garlic, plain flour, parsley, spring onions and season with salt and pepper.
- Mix for 10 seconds on Reverse, Speed 5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat for a further 5 seconds or until completely combined.
- Heat 2 tbs of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan.
- Flatten the mixture with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on either side or until golden and crispy on the outside and cooked through (note: they'll still be soft on the inside).
- Repeat with remaining mixture.
Notes
- Avoiding soggy fritters - place the grated zucchini into a strainer, mix through the salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out all of the liquid well and discard. This is a VERY important step!
- Zucchinis/courgettes - these are the same thing! Here in Australia, we use the term zucchini. However, many other countries use the terms courgette or summer squash.
- Egg-free & dairy-free option - replace the eggs with the equivalent amount of chia eggs.
- Cook the fritters in batches - depending on the size of your frying pan, you'll be able to fit approximately 3-4 fritters per batch.
- Serving suggestions - serve the fritters on their own or with your favourite sauce (I like sweet chilli!), a dollop of sour cream, kewpie mayo or aioli.
- Substitutions - you can mix and match with any of your favourite vegetables (grated sweet potato or potato, capsicum and peas are all great options too).
- Storing - you can store vegetable patties in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Freezing - place the vegetable fritters in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Place a sheet of baking paper between each layer of fritters.
Mukie says
Could it be made with gf flour?
Lucy says
Yes it can!