Basil Jalapeno Corn Fritters. Easy Gluten-free Vegan Corn Fritters with jalapeno, basil and black pepper. Serve with ketchup, vegan ranch or chutneys of choice. Soy-free Recipe. Pin this post. Jump to Recipe
It has been incredibly hot the past few days and I realized we have a few more weeks of Summer left. Yes! Bring on all that sweet corn to make some corn fritters.
These corn fritters are super easy and super quick. Toss, some corn, herbs, spices and rice flour. Add water and cook on a skillet. I added fresh basil, jalapeno and loads of black pepper to these. It helps make the summer heat bearable, because you would be hotter than the heat outside ;0. And the sweating helps cool things down ;).
I use rice flour and cornmeal in these fritters. Any flour will work (wheat, all purpose, chickpea etc). I prefer white rice flour as it tends to be more crunchy and less gummy than regular flour. The flavor also lets the corn shine through. There is more corn than batter, so some of the corn gets nicely toasted and smoky almost like a grilled corn fritter. Use herbs of choice and make these fritters. Serve with cilantro chutney, vegan ranch, ketchup or other dips.
More Summer Recipes from the blog
- Jamaican Jerk Black Bean, Blackened Corn Salsa Tacos
- Masala Bhutta – Indian Roasted Corn on the Cob
- Tabbouleh Pasta Salad
- Burgers
- Summer rolls
- 2 loaded cups frozen sweet corn thawed, or fresh corn off the cob
- 1 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped, or use Serrano pepper (remove seeds for less heat)
- 1/4 cup chopped basil or use cilantro
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1/3 tsp salt , 1/3 to 1/2
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 3 tbsp or more cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup or more water
- In a bowl, add all the ingredients corn through baking powder including the baking powder. Toss well to distribute.
Add water and mix. Add enough water until the mixture is pasty but not a batter. There will be more corn than batter. (Add a tbsp of flaxseed meal to the mix if the fritters dont hold up too well on the skillet in the next step)
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray or spread oil on the skillet. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixture on the hot skillet and spread to make a roundish shape. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 4 to 5 minutes per side.
- Repeat for all fritters. Serve with chutneys, ketchup, guacamole or vegan ranch.
Recipe Video
You can use regular flour instead of rice flour in this recipe. Definitely add some cornmeal as regular flour can tend to become gummy.
Nutritional calculations based on one serving
How fortunate am I to have all of the ingredients waiting foot this recipe. They are in the pan browning and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into them. Thanks again, Richa for sharing your culinary genius with the rest of us.
This looks delicious, and I have almost all the ingredients on hand – what would you recommend substituting for the rice flour? Thank you for beautiful recipes!!
regular unbleached whit flour should work.
maybe some dried chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour. It’s pretty versatile and delicious!
That is exactly what I need – gluten free fritters made with all the ingredients I already have at home. Many thanx you’re a star!!
yay!
Thanks for that recipe! I think my picky husband will like it, as he likes anything with corn in it, and the jalapenos are a bonus!
Have made many of your recipes all with great success! Can’t wait to try this one as well. Voted for your blog and recipe book in the Veg News Veggie Awards. I have dozens of vegan cookbooks and yours is my favorite. Hoping that you win!
Oh, yummy! Summer and corn- nothing like it. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you!
These were fantastic!! I used cilantro instead of basil as suggested, and served them with an avocado aioli. Thanks for a great recipe!
These look so cute! I love the crispy edges of the corn fritters!
Didn’t have much luck with this recipe. No amount of water in the batter or extra oil in the pan worked. Ended up with corn hash. Any suggestions? The texture of the batter must be the key. Either my batter was too dry or to wet.
Did the mixture stick to the pan? or did it break apart while you were placing the fritters on the pan? If the fritters are sticking then its the pan. You want to use a pancake pan or other heavy bottom non stick skillet.
If its not the pan then you can use more flour and water to make more of the batter, or use a different flour like chickpea flour.
I made these for dinner tonight (with wheat flour, as that’s what I had) and added a little chili powder. They were delicious and I will make them again. Thanks for the recipe.
yay!
I just used a regular Teflon frying pan so that might be my problem. I’ll give it another go with a better pan 🙂 Thanks!
teflon non sticks would work unless you use the pan for making stir fries or other things. Whenever a pan is used with veggies or regular cooking the non stick capability changes. so i always have different pans for stir fries, one for crepes (as crepes are the stickiest), one for pancakes and similar things.
W.O.H.
Mind blown! Thanks for that advice 🙂
These were sooooo good and super easy! I used regular unbleached wheat flour.
These were a hit. What a great way to enjoy sweet corn. I subbed spelt flour for rice flour, and white flour for corn meal. Also, added minced garlic and used Thai basil as that was all I had on hand. Wow!! Served with cashew ranch dressing and a spring salad. Everyone is raving. Definitely will be making these again. So simple and delicious.
Can I use zucchini instead of corn?
that would need a lot more flour. you can do some zucchini and some corn.
These look delicious. Can these be baked on parchment paper? I can not have any oils or fats in my diet. Thanks
i havent tried baking them, but they should work, they might get slightly dry. Or you can use a non stick or cast iron pan without oil.
Yum! Love that these didn’t have much flour in them and were relatively quick to put together. I used chickpea flour instead of rice, and added a little maple syrup to bring out the sweetness of the corn. With half of the batter, I also ended up throwing in some cabbage and peas because I needed to use them up.
Simple ingredients and instructions and amazing flavors. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Richa. These didn’t work for me unless I fried them because after putting them on the pan, the insides seemed quite raw and you know how flour+water tastes like. They tasted wonderful fried though 🙂
hmm maybe cook them longer? cooking time depends on the pan and stove and the thickness. if you see i kept them pretty thin. Let them cook for a few minutes longer. Mine were cooked through really well as there is just a bit of flour mix to hold them together. They are corn fritters rather than fritters with corn 🙂 I have different strength burners and i made them on the hotter ones. The smaller burner will definitely add a few minute per side. I am glad they turned out well fried. I can imagine how good those must be!
I made them quite thin as well. Leaving them on longer might’ve burned them as the sides started to get really black. And yes, there was very little flour mixture as compared to corn. Maybe I’ll put them in the oven next time to cook them more fully- might be healthier as well 🙂
hmm, yes try the oven, also try on a lower heat. Maybe the pan is heating more and cooking the outside too quickly.
Made this recipe tonight for dinner and it turned out fabulous!!! I don’t think I have tried one recipe from you that has been bad!! Love them all!!!
Ps: it says serves 2 but think that might be a typo! We made about 8-9 fritters! Counting calories these days so want to make sure!
Awesome!! serves 2 to 4 people. i’ll update
Do you think Pickled jalapeños will work in place of fresh jalapeños?
yes
hey richa..love this blog…what can use in place of jalepenos?plz give 2-3 options…love khushboo
”””””’
bell peppers of any color will work. or onions .
Hey Richa,
Made these tonight for my husband and 3 kids and it was a big hit! I ended up making a bigger mixture for us all and for school lunches tomorrow. Used spelt flour instead of rice flour and jalapeños in a jar and they were so delicious! We’re new to being vegans and really didn’t miss any eggs to bind these at all! Had them with chutney/cashew sour cream/tahini dressing with rocket salad!
Will start looking into more of your recipie ideas now for tomorrow thanks
I just made these for dinner tonight. I baked them on parchment paper and they turned out fabulous.
My fritters did not stick together at all. It’s yummy but it’s more like corn crumble.
Any ideas why it didn’t work for me?
hmm maybe the corn was too frozen or hard or it needed a bit more batter/liquid to stick?
Can I make these the day before serving?
yes, reheat on the pan before serving to crisp
These look fabulous and would like to know if I could make and freeze and reheat and if so which method of reheating would you recommend – ? They may not be as crispy but would they still be ok?
yes they should be fine. just pan fry them until golden-brown and reheat again onthe pan sothat they dont get over brown when reheating