Cast Iron

Sweet Corn Fritters with Sriracha-Lime Greek Yogurt Sauce

August  7, 2013
4.5
12 Ratings
  • Makes about 1 dozen fritters
Author Notes

I live for sweet corn season. I come from a family that has proudly proclaimed themselves “corn snobs.” (Really, my mother feels the need to declare this to anyone and everyone, especially if she’s presented with a particularly offensive big-kernelled ear.) Consequently, I spent most of my life eating unadulterated corn on the cob with butter, salt, and pepper. But these fritters have recently become a favorite of mine; they have a great texture and flavor from the corn and are made extra delicious by the cilantro, scallions, and a little bit of cheddar cheese. Add a simple dipping sauce of Greek yogurt, lime, and Sriracha and dinner's ready. —Carey Nershi

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Ingredients
  • For the fritters:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 lime, zest and juice
  • 2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears, depending on size)
  • 1/2 cup minced scallions
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
  • 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • Oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut, safflower, canola, or grapeseed, for pan-frying
  • For the Sriracha-Lime Greek Yogurt:
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 lime, zest and juice
  • Sriracha, to taste
Directions
  1. For the fritters:
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground coriander. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and lime juice and zest. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold the corn, scallions, cilantro, garlic, and cheddar cheese in until just combined.
  3. Heat a large heavy skillet (cast iron, preferably) and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
  4. Once the oil is hot, spoon large mounds of batter into the pan, flattening them slightly. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until fritters are nicely browned on the underside, then flip. When they are browned on the second side, remove them from the pan and place them on a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat until all the batter has been used up, adding more oil to the pan if needed.
  1. For the Sriracha-Lime Greek Yogurt:
  2. Mix together Greek yogurt and lime juice and zest. Add Sriracha a little bit at a time, until you have the heat level where you’d like it.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Lover of simple food and cocktails served with a single giant ice cube. Raised in the NY Schoharie Valley; currently residing in Burlington, VT. Blogger at reclaimingprovincial.com.

21 Reviews

mochai May 11, 2021
Thinking about making these with 100% whole wheat? Don't. I thought the wheat might taste too strong and I was right. Not bad, but I wish for the corn taste to be stronger. I had no issues with texture or sticking when cooking, all went well with a little oil and a cast iron pan. When I was a kid (1980s), my Dad would make us corn cakes with creamed corn and saltines (soda crackers). These were deliciously cooked in butter (back then, unless you were Italian, no one had olive oil in their kitchen cupboards). My father would walk around in the kitchen crushing crackers in their sleeves, which all kids wanted to do. Of course, my Dad said no most of the time, because even when we were careful, a lot of saltines ended up on the floor! Anyway, these fritters made me think of those. Next time, maybe I'll try replacing the flour with crushed saltines...
Nanda G. September 6, 2015
I measured all the ingredients, only sub'd 1/2 of the AP flour with WW flour, and there seemed to be way too little of the batter for all of the corn/scallions/cheese/cilantro. Mine are barely staying together and look little like your photo. Also, are you using Medium-High heat? it doesn't say.
Smaug September 3, 2015
Almost identical to a recipe I got from the newspaper years ago- that one uses rice flour for half the flour ( makes it a bit crisper) and 1/2 tsp. cumin, no cheese. Unless you can get yellow sweet corn really fresh- like you grow your own- you're better off with high quality frozen, such as Trader Joes organic sweet corn. I use a sauce made of red pepper, hot pepper, garlic, sugar and vinegar.
tota August 20, 2014
What does everyone think about serving these at room temp for a picnic? Have a group potluck coming up, and would love to serve these, maybe with some crab or diced shrimp added.
giuia.grady August 18, 2014
I fried these in a nicely seasoned cast iron skillet and had no problems with sticking. I made this for a pig roast and these were an absolute hit. It's a ridiculously easy recipe in which all the fresh ingredients just shine. I have shared the link to this recipe with many people.
Anthony August 4, 2014
Do you cook the corn prior to adding to the mixture?
MissPriss July 26, 2014
I thought these fitters had black beans. It said black bean and corn fritters.
Valerie T. July 17, 2014
definitely my bad, not the recipe. i think i would have been fine if i had just pureed a little less of the mixture.
tota July 17, 2014
I had trouble flipping the first 2 as well, but once i got the technique down, they all stayed together well. You have to mound/compress them a bit and then flatten out in pan with top of spatula. But you did make a lot of changes, so not sure....
Valerie T. July 17, 2014
i made these last night, with some pretty major alternations. i didn't have scallions, so i used 1/2 a red onion. i blended 1/2 the corn in a magic bullet with the red onion, the milk and a little evoo (next time, less milk and no evoo, mixture was too thin). i didn't want to use flour so i used panko. no baking powder. added cotija cheese. didn't have cilantro, but it would have been yummy.

overall, very delicious! a little hard to flip, though. probably my fault for not following the recipe. flavor, spot on.
9stein July 17, 2014
I made these last night, and oh YUM!
tota July 11, 2014
Made these last weekend, added extra cheese and think next time I may add crab, couldn't hurt. They were delicious, loved by all at lunch, and the sauce was great too. In fact, I used it the next day with fish tacos....a keeper, thanks!
Marcy L. May 21, 2014
Yummy. Next time I may increase the cilantro and green onion to enhance flavor.
Catherine T. April 16, 2014
Would any other types of flour work with this? Could an almond flour of some kind be used?
Matthew August 23, 2013
I made these today, but one of them exploded in the oil and severely burned a large portion of my hand. The hospital staff loved them though! I may try to bake them next time..
Carey N. August 23, 2013
Oh my god...that is so scary. (I have an internal battle with fear whenever I'm working with hot oil or sugar — the burns are the worst.) If you do give baking them a go, let me know how it turns out. Sending you lots of healing :::vibes::: in the meantime!
cheesegrits August 22, 2013
Made this recipe last night. The directions were clear and easy to follow. The fritters were very good, but were a bit on the bland side. Regardless, we did enjoy them and plan to make this recipe again. I think we're going to add a bit more cheese and some diced jalapeno next time. I was a bit unsure about the Sriracha mixture at first, but it went really well with the fritters. Thanks for submitting this recipe...it's a keeper.
Carey N. August 23, 2013
Glad to hear that you did enjoy them! (It occurs to me that there are a few ingredients with variable tastes that could swing the overall flavor either way [such as variations in limes/tartness, garlic/zingy-ness, or cheddar cheese/sharpness].) Thank you for the feedback! (:
JanetFL August 12, 2013
Your recipe sounds very tasty - Thank you!
FrankenJess August 12, 2013
There is no listed quantity for garlic but it shows up in the directions...?
Carey N. August 12, 2013
Whoopsie! Thank you for pointing that out. Recipe amended. :)