Corn fritters are crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. Loaded with fresh grilled corn and vegetables. Baked or air fried, these gluten-free corn fritters are savory and satisfying.

When I went to the store yesterday, corn on the cob was on sale for six for $1.00. Since I'm all about saving money buying vegetables in season, I bought six corn on the cob as I wandered around the store contemplating what to cook for dinner. Before going shopping, I planned on making baked potato vegetable pancakes. But once I saw the beautiful corn, I switched gears and decided to make corn fritters instead.
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Traditionally, corn fritters are fried, which isn't an option in my house. But, I wanted to make sure my corn fritters were crispy and crunchy outside and soft on the inside. I made a baked and air-fryer version.
So, off to the kitchen, I went to create a delicious corn fritter recipe. And, to my surprise, my vegan corn fritters were the best oil-free corn fritters I have ever eaten.
Corn Options
Even though I found corn on the cob on the west coast, I know corn on the cob is not necessarily available throughout the country or in other countries.
But, you can use canned or frozen corn if you cannot get fresh corn on the cob.
Also, I chose to grill my fresh corn, however, canned corn does not need to be cooked, but frozen corn does need to be cooked prior to making the corn fritters.
Regardless of the type of corn you choose, you need a total of 3 cups for this recipe. For example, my 6 cobs of corn yielded 3 cups of corn once cut from the cobs.
Furthermore, I also sauteed the garlic, red bell pepper, and red onion in order to get the combination of deep flavors prior to baking the corn fritters.
How To Grill Corn on the Cob
Despite many recipes that call for soaking the fresh corn in water, or cooking the corn inside husks, I don't think any of that is necessary. In fact, I love grill marks, the taste of charred corn, and the juiciness from cooking directly on the grill.
- Preheat grill to 500 degrees
- Remove corn husks and silks
- Place corn directly on the grill
- Close the grill, but turn the corn every few minutes for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove corn from the grill and allow it to cool enough to be able to cut the corn from the cobs
Recipe Ingredients
- Corn: I prefer fresh corn over canned or frozen. And I love corn grilled.
- Red Onion: I love red onion. Red onions are subtly sweet and mild enough to eat raw. When cooked they enhance and warm with flavor.
- Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper is sweet and perfect with corn fritters.
- Garlic: I prefer fresh garlic. Cooking it gives it even a warmer, richer flavor.
- Flax Egg: Flax egg is used as an egg replacement. It is a mixture of flax seed meal and water.
- Unsweetened Unflavored Plant Milk: I used oat milk because I like
- Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast gives the corn fritters a cheesy taste and great source of vitamins and minerals.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps bind the ingredients together.
- Cornmeal: Cornmeal is a meal ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be
- Flour: I used chickpea flour because I like its texture. And it makes it gluten-free.
- Smoked Paprika: Smoked paprika gives the corn fritters a smokey flavor.
Substitute Ingredients
- Use canned or frozen corn when fresh corn isn't available. Frozen corn must be cooked, however.
- Try shallots instead of red onions. They have a very savory taste and they are the perfect substitute.
- Baby bell peppers are colorful and a great substitute for red bell peppers. However, green peppers work as well.
- There are egg replacement products you can buy at the store if you don't like flax eggs.
- Any unflavored, unsweetened plant milk tastes great with this recipe.
- Use any flour you prefer.
- If you don't like it smokey, try sweet paprika. Or, you can use liquid smoke instead. I like the hickory flavor.
Preparing the Recipe
Once the corn is grilled and cut from the cobs, saute the garlic, red onion, and red bell pepper until the onion is translucent, then remove from the heat.
Then, make the flax egg by combining flaxseed meal and water, stirring, and allowing to sit for several minutes while making preparing the other ingredients.
Next, in a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir.
Now, take 1 cup of the corn and blend it slightly with the plant milk.
The next step is to add the remaining corn, red bell pepper, red onion, and flaxseed egg.
Forming the Fritters
At this point, I use my Cuisinart Burger Press to form the corn fritters. Since I planned to make a dinner portion, rather than an appetizer corn fritter, I used the larger of the two-sized burger press mold.
If you do not have a burger press, you can form the patties with your hands by first forming equal-sized balls, and pressing them gently, flattening the surface, while forming a circular shape around the sides.
Baking and Air-Fry Options
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Once the corn fritters are formed, use a baking sheet, lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Lay the corn fritters about a half inch from each other.
- Then, bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Ary Frying
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
- For an air fry option, place each fritter into the base of the air fryer or on the air fryer pan, depending on the type of air fryer.
- Cook for 15 minutes until crispy.
Sauce and Sides Suggestions
Even though the corn fritters are fabulous without any type of sauce, I love sauces! So, I suggest you use your favorite hot sauce, vegan sour cream, or yum yum sauce. And, I also served my corn fritter on top of quinoa with a side of grilled asparagus. Not only are corn fritters fabulous for dinner, but you can reheat them quickly for lunch the next day.
Recipe FAQs
It may be hard to distinguish the difference between a hush puppy and a corn fritter, but fritters are made using white flour whereas hush puppies are predominantly made with cornmeal.
The batter for fritters can be made up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Finished fritters freeze well.
Yes; corn fritters can be served hot or cold. Sometimes, I make a corn fritter sandwich cold the next day.
Tips
- If you don't have a burger press, you can form the fritters with your hands.
- If making smaller fritters, adjust time and check the corn fritters while cooking often, as smaller cakes take less than half the time to cook.
- Prepare the batter ahead of time to make the batter thicker to form patties.
- Store fritters in the refrigerated cover for up to 5 days, or flash freeze and place in a container for up to 3 months.
Try this corn fritter recipe with fresh summer corn and tastes like summer in every bite.
Other Suggested Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Flax Egg
- 1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 2 12 Tablespoons water
Dry ingredients
- ½ cup flour of choice I used gluten-free almond flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Other ingredients (Wet/Cooked)
- 3 cups cooked corn unless using from a can (I grilled my corn)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup unsweetened unflavored plant-milk (I used almond milk)
Instructions
FLAX EGG
- In a small bowl combine ingredients, stir and allow to sit to thicken for several minutes.
DRY INGREDIENTS
- In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and set aside.
CORN FRITTERS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Cook corn if frozen or grilling fresh corn on the cob (see instructions in the post). If using canned corn drain well.
- If grilling corn on the cob, allow to cool and cut away the corn from the husks
Prepare the Vegetables
- Saute garlic, red onion, and red bell pepper until the onion is translucent.
- Remove from heat.
Corn Fritter Mixture
- Remove 1 cup of corn and slightly blend with the plant milk.
- Add the plant milk/corn mixture and flax egg to the dry ingredients and stir
- Add remaining cooked corn, and red onion/red bell pepper sauteed vegetables
- Stir to combine.
Baking
- Place formed corn fritters on a baking sheet lined with a silcione baking mator parchment paper.
- Baked for 30 minutes.
Air Frying
- Preheat teh air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Place the corn fritters into the base of air fryer or on the air fryer pan.
- Cook for 15 minutes until crispy.
- Serve with your favorite sauce and side of vegetables.
- Corn fritters can also be served on a bun and a corn fritter burger.
Notes
- Even though the corn fritters are fabulous without any type of sauce, I love sauces! So, I suggest you use your favorite hot sauce, vegan sour cream, or yum yum sauce.
- And, I also served my corn fritter on top of quinoa with a side of grilled asparagus.
- If you don't have a burger press, you can use your hands to press the corn fritters.
- To reheat cooked fritters, reheat in a 325-degree oven for 15 minutes, or air fry again at 325 for 10 minutes.
- Corn fritters can be frozen cooked or uncooked for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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