Corn Fritters with Cheddar & Scallions
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Loaded with corn, scallions, and herbs, these fritters are a summer favorite. The batter can be made with all-purpose flour or, for a gluten-free version, with rice flour, oat flour, or other gluten-free flour. They are delicious with a squeeze of lime, but I love serving them with tzatziki.
Every summer we spend a week in Lake George with Ben’s parents. We stay at place called Stepping Stones, an idyllic spot equipped with fully stocked cottages, but even so, I always arrive with the essentials: a chef’s knife, a peeler, a salad bowl, and … a dozen cookbooks, half of which I never open, but which I feel I must bring anyway.
What can I say? Cookbooks = security blanket.
A few summer’s ago, I brought Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors, which immediately inspired me to make her corn fritters with aged Cheddar, which I then wrote about on Food52. I made them again recently and was reminded why I love them: they are loaded with corn!
As Deborah Madison says, these fritters are “all corn, not just a few kernels suspended in batter.” And though Cheddar may sound ordinary here, its sharpness complements the sweet corn so nicely, and it browns beautifully, too, creating a crisp, golden exterior.
A Few Corn Fritter-Making Tips:
- Make a test fritter. A test fritter enables you to adjust the seasonings and consistency before you fry up the entire amount of batter.
- Adapt the recipe as you wish. I love Cheddar in this recipe, but Madison recommends a number of others, including goat, feta, and Gouda. For herbs, if you don’t like cilantro, use parsley or chives.
- Make them gluten-free. To make these gluten-free, use rice flour, oat flour or other gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
- Spice it up. As written, these fritters are flavored pretty minimally with scallions, herbs, and cheese. If you like heat, a diced hot chili, splash of hot sauce, or pinch of crushed red pepper flakes would all be welcome here.
Corn Fritters with Cheddar & Scallions
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24-28 small fritters
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Adapted from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors.
Update 7-29-2023: I’ve updated my method to minimize/eliminate the exploding corn issues I’ve experienced in the past. Method is reflected in the recipe below.
The batter can be made ahead and chilled in the fridge. Be sure to give it a good stir before frying.
I often make a half batch. For a half recipe, I find 1/2 cup of flour works well. And depending on how juicy the corn is and what kind of flour I’m using, I use 2 to 3 eggs.
If you don’t like cilantro, feel free to omit it or to use another herb or more scallions. I’ve made a half batch with 8 scallions and no cilantro, and it was delicious.
Ingredients
- 6 ears of corn, shucked
- kosher salt
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or more to taste, see notes above
- 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack (about 6 ounces)
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- freshly cracked black pepper, optional
- olive oil or grapeseed oil, for frying
- fresh lime, sour cream, hot sauce, or tzatziki for serving, optional
- Sea salt, such as Maldon, for finishing
Instructions
- Make the batter. Slice the tops of the kernels off the corn, then reverse your knife and press out the milk. (You should have about 3 cups of kernels.) Transfer the kernels and milk to a large bowl. Updated Method 7-29-2023: Line a shallow bowl or cutting board with a towel, then slice off the kernels by running a knife down the side of each cob. Pat the kernels dry with the towel, then transfer to a large bowl.
- Season with 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt. (Note: I typically use 1 teaspoon of salt for every 3 ears of corn.) Add the eggs, scallions, cilantro, cheese, and flour. Season with pepper, if using. Use a spatula to mix everything together very well. Grab a golfball-sized amount of batter and squeeze it in your hands. If it barely holds together, beat another egg, add it to the batter, and mix again — you’re looking for the batter to be pasty in texture. If the batter looks too wet, sprinkle in flour by the tablespoon.
- Make a test fritter: Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add a teaspoon of oil. When it shimmers, drop a spoonful of the batter into the oil and flatten gently. Season with a pinch of salt. After 1 minute, check the underside to ensure it is lightly browned. If it is, flip the fritter, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until evenly golden. Season with salt. Remove the fritter and let cool briefly. Taste. If the fritter tastes nicely seasoned and holds its shape, proceed with the recipe. If it does not, adjust as necessary with more salt, egg, or flour.
- Fry the remaining fritters: In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan or use a brush to distribute the oil. When it shimmers, use a large spoon to drop golfball-sized amounts of the batter into the oil, then gently flatten each mound with the back of the spoon. Season with a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to medium. After about a minute, check the underside to ensure the fritters are lightly browned. Flip the fritters, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more or until evenly golden. Transfer the fritters to a serving platter, season with sea salt, and let cool briefly. Proceed with the remaining batter, wiping out the skillet and adding another tablespoon of oil before adding more fritter batter. Warning: Please be careful while frying. Keep your heat at medium to medium-high and beware of exploding corn kernels—every so often, one comes flying out of the pan—and splattering oil. If you have one of those spatter guards, use it. I’ve found that by drying off the kernels as noted in the updated method in step 1, I rarely have the exploding-corn issue, but please be aware of it.
- Serve with fresh lime, sour cream, hot sauce, or tzatziki if you wish.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: corn, cheddar, scallions, eggs, flour, rice flour
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
73 Comments on “Corn Fritters with Cheddar & Scallions”
As far as I’m concerned, Deborah Madison can do no wrong. I can’t wait to give these a try. Happy Summer!
Right?! Agreed.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Yay!
This is such a great way to make use of summer corn! I had about half the recipe for dinner (with arugula dressed with balsamic vinaigrette), saving the rest of the batter over night to dry up for breakfast with over easy eggs (it saved very well, though I added about an extra tablespoon of flour to soak up the extra liquid that emerged over night). Thank you for the recipe!
LOVE this idea so much Caitlin: food fritters + eggs sounds heavenly. Great to know the batter keeps well overnight, and nice work adjusting with more flour. Thanks for writing 🙂
Our family loved these! I used sunflower oil for frying. They came together well on the first try so didn’t need to add extra egg or flour. Instead of my hands, I used a large ice cream scoop to transfer the mix to the frying pan. A great recipe for leftover corn on the cob!
★★★★★
Smart re ice cream scoop! Love the idea of using leftover corn on the cob, too. The cooked corn probably splatters less too 🙂
hi – looks great with the suggestions to spice it up. A question whether your are using the corn as ‘raw’ or cooked? There’s no indication so I’d assume raw but wanted confirmation. Thanks!
Hello! Sorry for the delay here … the corn is raw.
made these last night and wow – were they delicious. I halved the recipe and threw in a diced jalapeño (try it – you’ll love it). I needed more flour than the recipe called for – but probably because my southern husband has trained me well in how to milk corn. :). Served with sour cream and lime and OMG.
Thank you for yet ANOTHER winner. Using the remaining corn and leftover Cobbs to make corn soup today!!!
★★★★★
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Anne 🙂 🙂 🙂 Will definitely try a jalapeño. And I’ll work on my corn-milking game 🙂 🙂 🙂
I love corn fritters and these seemed like a different riff on them. They are GREAT! Had some leftover batter. Made fritters for lunch topped with little cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden and some feta cheese.
★★★★★
So happy to hear this, Katy! This all sounds so delicious. Also hi: I LOVE Healthy Living Market. I don’t get there enough.
This is absolutely awesome! Easy and delicious?! Yes please!
★★★★★
Made this tonight in the air fryer and the whole family ate it all. I didn’t have fresh corn and used frozen corn; still worked like a charm.
So happy to hear this!
Love the idea of using air fryer! Can you share temperature & time? Thank you! : )
★★★★★
I love corn fritters. We usually make it using Gram Flour (Chickpea Flour). This is a great twist too. Will make soon. Thank you.
★★★★★
Oh I love this idea, Preeti! Will try chickpea flour next time. Great idea for someone looking to make these gluten-free.
I just happened to catch your instastories today making these and by happy-stance had everything I needed to make these corn fritters myself. Wow. They were DELICIOUS! Very glad I did a test fritter because after finding it didn’t hold together as well as I’d like, I added a sprinkle more flour – and then every last one of them turned out perfect. Thank you for always sharing such simple yet delicious recipes!
★★★★★
So wonderful to hear this, Amanda! The tester fritter is so key … I should have mentioned that in the Insta-story … I always hope people click over to the recipe for more details. Thanks so much for writing!
I would NEVER make this again. I got burned so many times by popping corn kernels. It’s dangerous and you end up with some dried up old corn pucks. Seriously not worth it, and you very much undersold the danger of the oil and kernels.
★
Sorry this didn’t work out for you KMC. I thought my warning was pretty boldly stated.
These were very tasty! We had them with salted lime sour cream like you suggested and that really complemented them!
★★★★★
So great to hear this, Susanna! Salted lime sour cream sounds amazing!!
These were delicious! We had them with salted lime sour cream, as you suggested and it was such a delicious complement! Thank you for this recipe!
Haha ☝🏻 Oops on the double post. 😂🙃
Double post is great 😍😍😍😍😍
Sweet and crispy, my favorite snack! Thanks!
★★★★★
Delicious! I swapped the flour for chickpea flour, so that along with the 4 eggs in the batter made these sufficient for dinner on a salad. I used a bag of corn instead of fresh.
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear this, Nisha! And great to hear the bagged corn worked out well. Thanks for writing!
I had come across these on your IG stories and haven’t stopped making them since – today I tried baking them (I didn’t feel like cleaning the hob post-fry) and they REALLY turned out. I just lined a baking tray with peanut oil and plopped them in, baked for 15 minutes on 180C and flipped and baked for another 20 minutes. Perfect!
★★★★★
Oh I LOVE this!! I am constantly broiling anything that calls for pan-frying in an effort to make things easier, and I can’t believe I’ve never thought to do that with these guys … I will try your baking method soon! Baking would solve the exploding corn kernel situation, too 🙂 🙂 🙂
do you think you could us king arthur gluten-free flour and get a good result? these fritters are so good, i want to be able to make them for my gluten-free friends!
★★★★★
Yes, absolutely! I’ve heard from a number of people recently who have been making these zucchini fritters who have used almond flour and other gluten-free flours in place of the wheat flour and have had great success. Go for it!
Hi! Thank you for supplying all of us with recipes and, more importantly for me, ideas for food combinations that I can actually wrap my head around!
I followed the fritter recipe the first time I saw it (a couple of years ago?).
Very good results!
My personal change is adding freshly ground coriander to taste – as you say, a test run is always a good idea to check your seasoning!
★★★★★
My pleasure, Mary! Thanks so much for writing, and thank you for your kind words. So glad you like these corn fritters… I love them, too!
Love the idea of freshly ground coriander here — such a nice flavor.
I love this recipe. To reduce the spattering and the amount of oil absorbed, I make these on a well oiled waffle iron. Crisp on the outside from the high heat and still wonderfully corny and creamy on the inside.
★★★★★
This is so smart! I cannot wait to try the method … and to NOT have corn exploding at me 🤣
Easy and delicious. Make sure the corn kernels are dry before making the batter. I used some buttermilk to thin out the batter and it was good! Also added a touch of cumin. Cilantro is an excellent addition. My whole family loved these. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Yum! Love the sound of all of these ideas 🙂
I’d like to make this recipe. Do you cook the corn before you shuck it ?
No need to cook the corn!
This just popped up on my Instagram as I Was preparing my New York Bagel with cream cheese scallions Capers and nova. I thought I would try it so I made a smaller version. I happened to have a fresh container of tzatziki sauce in the fridge. These came out exactly as in the video and recipe. Really delicious. The fresh cilantro really gives it a pop. This will definitely be made again in my house. Two thumbs up. Fantastic and delicious
★★★★★
Great to hear, Bennett! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Pretty sure I have a problem, I keep eating these one after the other. Super delicious! Made the half recipe with extra egg and flour and added jalapeño. These will be a summer staple.
★★★★★
Great to hear, Melissa! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
These corn fritters were loved by all! Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Great to hear!
Family declared this recipe “the winner” in a meal that included a caprese salad with home grown tomatoes and basil…high praise! Son wants to take the recipe with him to grad school next month in case he ever “needs to impress someone.” Truly delicious!
★★★★★
Awwww I love this so much 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing.
These were VERY good! I used cojita cheese and cheddar. Added some minced Serrano pepper. My corn was leftovers from the grill so not a lot of moisture which worked well. It made a huge batch! Can I freeze these and if so how would I reheat?
Great to hear! Yes, definitely freeze them. I would thaw them at room temperature. I like to reheat things like this in my toaster oven, but a regular oven works, too. Or you could reheat them slowly in a skillet stovetop.
Loved it!
★★★★★
Love your recipes! Thank you.
Bookmarked this one last week and bought my corn today. One question regarding your update: do you still “milk” the corn??
I don’t milk the corn anymore! And thank you 🙂