These Sweetcorn Quinoa Fritters are made from store cupboard/freezer essentials and are great for kids, toddlers and baby-led weaning.
Why Sweetcorn Fritters are Great!
- A Great Store Cupboard/freezer meal – These Sweetcorn Quinoa Fritters are perfect for when the fridge is looking pretty bare. They are easy to make and are a great way to serve a portion of vegetables when you realise you don’t have any fresh available.
- Kids Love Them – I’m not sure what it is about fritters/pancakes but my kids will happily eat anything if I serve it to them in this format.
- Great for Lunchboxes – These fritters taste great cold and are perfect for popping in lunchboxes or making ahead of time.
- They Store Well – Double the batch and freeze some for lunchboxes or emergency meals.
- Allergy Friendly – These fritters are gluten free and dairy free. An egg alternative (flax egg) has also been tried and tested with great results.
How To Make Sweetcorn Fritters
- Cook Quinoa – I like to cook the quinoa in chicken or vegetable stock for extra flavour. If you are cooking for a baby or young child be mindful of sodium levels. Make sure to use homemade stock or dilute some low sodium stock. Alternatively, you can cook the quinoa in water.
- Mix the Cooked Quinoa with Corn – There is no need to defrost the corn beforehand, the hot quinoa will quickly defrost it. The frozen corn is also great at cooling the quinoa down, ready for the egg mixture to be added. If you choose not to use frozen corn then allow the quinoa to cool before adding the egg.
- Add the Egg and Spring Onion – and stir until fully combined.
- Add the Flour and Baking Powder – and stir until combined.
- Fry the Fritters (see picture below) – Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add in a heaped tablespoon of the batter. Press down gently with a spatula and repeat until the frying pan is full. Fry the fritters on medium/low heat for approximately 3/4 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Cooking Tips and Tricks
- Take care when frying, some bits of corn may start popping!
- These fritters don’t have a thick batter consistency like many other fritters. Add a heaped tablespoon of the batter into the pan and flatten with a spatula. Allow cooking for approx 3 min before attempting to flip. They should hold together well. If you do feel that they are breaking apart then you can add a little more flour to the batter. (start with a tbsp at a time)
Storing Sweetcorn Fritters
- Refrigerate – Allow to cool before placing in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 2-3 days.
- Freeze – Allow to cool and then place fritters on a baking tray to freeze. Once frozen transfer to a freezable container/ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw overnight in a refrigerator. Gently heat through in a dry frying pan. (Also delicious cold)
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Have you tried this recipe? I love receiving your feedback, please rate and leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @healthylittlefoodies
Sweetcorn Fritters
Ingredients
- 95g (1/2 cup) Quinoa
- 250ml (1 cup) Chicken Stock
- 360g (2.5 cups) Frozen Sweetcorn
- 4 Spring Onions (Scallions / Green Onions), finely chopped
- 2 Eggs (See notes for Egg replacement)
- 70g (1/2 cup) Buckwheat flour (Can use all purpose / plain flour if you prefer)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tbsp oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Heat the chicken stock in a pan. Once at the boil add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 mins. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 mins with the lid still on.
- In a large mixing bowl add the sweetcorn and quinoa and stir to combine. (This will defrost the sweetcorn and cool down the quinoa)
- Add the spring onion and the eggs and stir again
- Add the flour and baking powder and stir until combined.
- Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add in a heaped tablespoon of the batter. Press down gently with a spatula and repeat until the frying pan is full.
- Fry the fritters on a medium heat for approximately 3/4 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
STOCK - If cooking for a baby it is best to use homemade stock or diluted /low sodium. The stock is for added flavour and you can replace with water if you prefer.
QUINOA - You can use any quinoa you wish. I used tricolour quinoa. If you already have cooked quinoa that you wish to use then replace with 185g (1 cup) of cooked quinoa.
EGG REPLACEMENT - I have trialled this recipe with an egg replacement (flax eggs) and the recipe worked well. For each egg, mix one tbsp of flax seed with 3 tbsp of water. Stir and allow to thicken.
FLOUR - I used buckwheat flour to make this recipe gluten-free. I have also trialled the recipe with all-purpose flour, both work great. I have not trialled any other flours so can not say if any other flours would work.
CONSISTENCY - Due to the amount of sweetcorn and quinoa in these fritters, they do not have a thick batter like consistency. At first, you may not think they will hold together but they do if you...
- make them a heaped tbsp in size and flatten when in the pan.
- Allow cooking for approx 3 min before flipping.
If you are finding that they are breaking apart you can add more flour to the mixture. (start with 1 tbsp at a time)
TAKE CARE - Take care when frying as some of the corn can pop and fly out of the pan.
Nutritional information is a ROUGH guide only, calculated using an online nutrition calculator.
Hi (I hope this isn’t a dumb question)
These look perfect for my little one. I was wondering if I could freeze them. I’m loving batch cooking at the moment.
Thanks
Hi Sam, sorry of the delay in getting back to you. Yes you can freeze them and I hope your little one enjoys them!
Hi, this recipe looks REALLY good and I will try make thus today. Just a small question, can I make these fritters with whole wheat flour? Thank you!
Hi Marta, Thank you! I’ve never tried them with whole wheat flour but I’m sure it would work well. Let me know if you try them!
Can I bake these instead of frying?
I’ve never tried baking them so can’t say for sure but I think they could work.
I used a non-stick skillet so I didn’t need to use oil to fry. These are delicious! Can’t wait to share with my son!
Hi Michi, I personally LOVE these and eat so many before they get to the table for lunch! Glad you like them too, I hope your son did too!
I just made these for my 1 year old cutie and my husband ate most of them! Thank you for introducing us to a great new summer family friendly side!!
Excellent recipe!
Ha ha! I love that your husband ate most of them! I hope your 1 year old enjoyed what was left! Thanks for your feedback, it means a lot ??
can canned corn be used instead of frozen?
I’ve used canned instead of frozen and it works a treat! I found 2 cans were the perfect amount
Hello. What can be used in place of the eggs?
Hi Trish, you could try chia egg but I haven’t experimented myself so can’t say for sure how it would work.
So I’m very lucky that my son Jase is a good eater (although I’m sure he probably won’t stay that way forever) but I have discovered that he gets kinda tired of the same things over and over. Who can blame him right? So I’m always looking for some yummy, healthy, toddler-friendly, doesn’t require a ton of teeth (Jase only has two) recipes to make for him. We made these corn fritters today and I must say he loved them! They’re super easy and versatile! I’m going to make them again but with black beans or sweet potatoes or whatever your baby likes really I think would work. This website has tons of great stuff! Highly recommend for any mamas out there looking for something a little different but easy!
Thank you so much Jenny, comments like this really make my day. So glad Jase loved these and I love the sound of how you are going to adapt the recipe. I’m sure he will stay a great eater for you!
I don’t get it I followed the recipe exactly but they were not like a batter at all!
Hi Danya, sorry that the recipe wasn’t successful for you. Did you watch the video? How did your mixture compare to mine? It isn’t really a wet batter type mixture but it holds together well when frying.
These look great, I have tried a lot of your recipes and my son has loved them all. Do you think oat flour would work in this recipe? I have it on hand but don’t have buckwheat flour
HI Kristin, without trying it myself I can’t say for sure, sorry. All-purpose / plain flour works well if you have that. So happy your son is enjoying the recipes 🙂
These sound great, thank you so much for shsting. Why do you need baking powder in tge recipe? What does it add?
Will this work for a school lunch? Will it harden when cold?
Hi Maddy, I often freeze these and pop them in my son’s lunch box. He says he prefers them hot but is still happy to eat cold.
Ana,
I have tried most of your recipes and honestly they all turned just great!
I love how all your recipes are easy to make and yummy especially for working moms who barely have time to cook healthy meals for their little ones.
I tried this recipe today and my 1 year old lived it!
Thank you
THANK YOU! You have just made my day, thanks for taking the time to comment – it means so much and is the reason I keep this blog going. Keep enjoying the recipes! 😉
Like all of your recipes, these look great. I know this was posted a while ago now, but was wondering approximately how much cooked quinoa is 95g? We make big batches of quinoa in our rice cooker, so I always have some on hand, but not sure how much to use here. Thanks!
Thanks Virginia! I believe 1 cup of uncooked quinoa yields 3 cups of cooked quinoa. So I’d say you need 1.5 cups of cooked quinoa for this recipe. From google search this should be approx 275g cooked quinoa. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Hi Amy,
These look lovely! And it’s great to find some dairy free recipes for my LO. What age would you say these are suitable for? My little girl is 6 months old and I’m doing a mix of puree and BLW but I’m still scared with the former textures that I’ll ens up doing the heimlich manoeuvre!
Thanks in advance!
Hi Claire, There is nothing in these fritters that you can’t offer from 6 months. However, every baby is different and you know your baby best. If you are doing a mix of puree and finger foods then I would recommend waiting until your girl has had experience of finger foods with similar textures. You could also chop up / puree the sweetcorn so it was less textured.
I’ve just discovered your site and these fritters were the second recipe I’ve made (my son inhaled lots of the tuna and potato cakes last night)! I’m looking forward to working my way through! My son isn’t an overly fussy eater but he loves your recipes and I’m happy to have found a bunch of recipes that are healthy and that he will enjoy eating. Thanks!!!
Hi Rebecca. Thanks so much for your kind comment, comments like this really do make my day! I’m delighted that your son is enjoying the recipes and hopefully you have success with many more 🙂
Hi there. I couldn’t for the life of me get these to stick together. Any suggestions as to how to get them to form? Thank you!
Hi Lauren, did you watch the video? How did the mixture compare to mine? You could try blending some of the mixture to make more of a batter?
I’m going to try them again tomorrow and will watch the video first 🙂 Last time I ended up adding more flour to get them to form.
I made these today for my 7.5 month old and they were a hit (also a hit with the adults!). Another great recipe!
Hi Mirella, Fab! So glad they were a hit all round 🙂