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
Basil Jalapeno Corn Fritters Gluten free
Ingredients
- 2 loaded cups (350 g) 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 (6 g) chopped basil or use cilantro
- 1/4 cup (3.5 g) finely chopped red onion
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1/3 tsp (1/3 to 1/2 tsp) salt , 1/3 to 1/2
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup (80 g) white rice flour
- 3 tbsp (3 to 4 tbsp) or more cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) or more water
Instructions
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Jessica Noel
These were great! I served these on the side of a Persian peach stew (khoresh hulu) to soak up the extra sauce. I subbed corn starch for the rice flour and initially they did not want to hold together. As suggested, I added flax meal and that saved the day. Thanks for the recipe and for the effective back up plan!
Vegan Richa Support
sounds fab! always good to have a plan B
Chris
Can this be air fried or baked without oil?
sarah
I might sub the corn flour for arepas mix, as its all I have. wish me luck.
Vegan Richa Support
let me know how it turns out for you.
Talia
Sounds yummy, and a perfect idea for my vegan cocktail bites tomorrow. The first step is worded a bit confusingly. Do you add all ingredients together in this stage?
Thanks,
Talia
Vegan Richa Support
Hi Talia, yes you do add all of them up to and including the baking powder (11 ingredients total) (before water). I hope that they’re a hit for your appetizers!
Henil
Hi Richa,
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it several time. This time, I don’t have rice flour. Can I use corn starch instead?
Vegan Richa Support
Absolutely ! they’ll turn out way more crunchy
Karen
Can these be made ahead and reheated in the oven? Can they be cooked and frozen?
Richa
yes.
Heather Moncrief-Mullane
I just happened upon this recipe this evening and gave it a go. I used chopped arugula instead of basil but added in 3 Tbsp fresh vegan garlic scape basil pesto that I made earlier today. Yummm! I also used 2 jalapeños instead of one! AND these fritters were quite tasty! Thanks. 😍❤️
Richa
awesome!
Patty
Can I make these the day before serving?
Richa
yes, reheat on the pan before serving to crisp
Jennie Sloan
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?
Richa
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
Leslie
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?
Richa
hmm maybe the corn was too frozen or hard or it needed a bit more batter/liquid to stick?
Val
I just made these for dinner tonight. I baked them on parchment paper and they turned out fabulous.
Joey Gilboa
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
khushboo chamaria
hey richa..love this blog…what can use in place of jalepenos?plz give 2-3 options…love khushboo
”””””’
Richa
bell peppers of any color will work. or onions .
Kevin
Do you think Pickled jalapeños will work in place of fresh jalapeños?
Richa
yes
Shefalika Naik
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!
Richa
Awesome!! serves 2 to 4 people. i’ll update
Tanya
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 🙂
Richa
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!
Tanya
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 🙂
Richa
hmm, yes try the oven, also try on a lower heat. Maybe the pan is heating more and cooking the outside too quickly.
Marlo
Simple ingredients and instructions and amazing flavors. Thank you for sharing.
ChiRunner
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.
Sheree
These look delicious. Can these be baked on parchment paper? I can not have any oils or fats in my diet. Thanks
Richa
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.
Marina
Can I use zucchini instead of corn?
Richa
that would need a lot more flour. you can do some zucchini and some corn.
Lola
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.
Srivani
These were sooooo good and super easy! I used regular unbleached wheat flour.
Nicole
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!
Richa
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.
Nicole
W.O.H.
Mind blown! Thanks for that advice 🙂
Donna
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.
Richa
yay!
nicole
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.
Richa
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.
Cassie
These look so cute! I love the crispy edges of the corn fritters!
Rachel
These were fantastic!! I used cilantro instead of basil as suggested, and served them with an avocado aioli. Thanks for a great recipe!
elizabeth
Oh, yummy! Summer and corn- nothing like it. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you!
Debbie Tucker
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!
Audrey Yzaguirre
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!
Elsje
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!!
Richa
yay!
Samantha
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!!
Richa
regular unbleached whit flour should work.
TZ
maybe some dried chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour. It’s pretty versatile and delicious!
Sandy
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.