Fried Corn Fritters served with Honey is a delicious breakfast side dish option for a well rounded southern brunch. Crispy and golden, fresh sweet corn fritters also make a great appetizer keeping you full until the real meal gets served up.
Fresh or Frozen Corn?
You can use either drained can corn, frozen but thawed corn, or even corn on the cob kernels if you prefer a more crunchy corn!
I find that the frozen corn (but thawed) produce the best fritter texture without being too soft or too hard.
I have also heard of people making corn fritters with creamed corn, but I haven’t personally done it so I do not want to advise in that situation.
Fried Corn Fritters
These old fashioned golden brown corn fritters are do delicious and remind me of grandma’s – no jiffy here! They don’t take too long to make but the added extra step of making the white egg peaks takes an extra 5 minutes in prep time (see recipe card for instructions on how to easily do that). I prefer to skillet fry my fritters, but you can see below how to deep fry if you prefer.
- 1 cup flour – any kind will typically do
- 1 frozen but thawed bag of corn (10 oz) – leave on the counter prior to your recipe so it can thaw, drain if necessary if it has too much water
- 2 eggs, separate the egg whites into a different bowl
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tsp baking powder
Serve Corn Fritters with:
By their sheer nature, corn fritters are quite a bit like fresh corn bread or corn casserole. They are devoid of a lot of sweetness due to the breading. Therefore, to enjoy corn fritters the best, you need to coat them or dip them into a little bit of sugar to really enjoy.
Just because the corn is sweet doesn’t mean the fritter tastes sweet, so if you are expecting that, you will be disappointed. They are more of a savory taste and texture, which if you are from the South, you already know. If this recipe is new to you, however, you may be surprised that its not sweet.
Once your fritters are made, here are a are a few corn fritter sweet dipping options to balance out the breading:
- Maple Syrup
- Honey Drizzled (I prefer this!) – its so good! You can serve right on the corn fritter or in a little dipping cup
- Agave – agave syrup is SO sweet, a little goes a long way
- Dust with Powdered Sugar – this is a fun option to dust your fritters with powdered sugar prior to serving and is so good this way
Pan Fried or Deep Fried
For these corn fritters, I prefer to pan fry them with about 2 tablespoons of already heated up oil, skillet frying on both sides so they are equally crispy.
However, a lot of people like to make deep fried corn fritters and drop into a vat of oil either in a fryer, or about a 3 inch deep stove skillet.
Personally, I had a fire about 10 years ago making deep fried chicken strips on my stove, so I stick to pan frying now because I am a bit afraid of large vats of oil on my stove now.
(sorry for the bad picture, I was over my stove and it has weak lights!)
How to make Corn Fritters
First, add your egg whites into a stand mixer, and put the mixer high until you have stiff white egg peaks.
While the egg whites are being made, combine your flour, baking soda and corn into a bowl and mix up until all the corn is covered.
Add your egg yolks and cream into a bowl and whisk together.
Combine the wet egg yolk mixture with the floured corn bowl and mix.
The corn mixture should look like corn meal or corn bread mixture at this point.
When the egg whites are done, use a spatula to fold your egg whites into your corn mixture gently. Try not to over mix at this point. I use a spatula to make sure everything is combined.
Heat up vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) in skillet.
You can either do flat cakes or small balls of fritter.
The balls work better in a frying vat or 3 inches of heated oil and the flat cakes work better in the skillet.
Drop your fritters into the oil and fry both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side or so, until the breading is golden.
Serve cakes with honey or one of the other options I listed above.
Breakfast Recipes
Need more ideas to serve up for a full Southern breakfast?
- Southern Fried Apples
- Fried Breakfast Potatoes
- Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole
- Pie Crust Breakfast Pastries
- Roasted Breakfast Potatoes (in oven)
Fried Corn Fritters with Honey
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 frozen but thawed bag of corn 10 oz
- 2 eggs separate the egg whites
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Powdered Sugar optional
- Honey
Instructions
- Separate egg whites and yolk into different bowls. Add egg whites to stand mixture on high and create white stiff peaks.
- Meanwhile add thawed (and drained if necessary) corn, flour, and baking powder into a bowl and mix.
- Add yolks and whipping cream and whisk.
- Combine corn mixture and whipping cream mixture together, mix. Should look like corn meal at this point.
- Now fold in white peaks from mixing bowl into corn bowl and use a spatula to combine.
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in skillet and either add a corn fritter cake to skillet and fry on both sides 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown OR heat up 3 inches of oil in a deep skillet pan and drop balls in fryer.
- You may have to add additional oil as you are frying.
- Drain extra grease on a napkin while finishing out each fritter.
- Dust with powdered sugar (optional)
- Serve with honey, agave or maple syrup.
Notes
Creating Egg Whites
Egg whites are pretty easy to make but you have to watch them. First separate your eggs and pour the white part of the egg into a mixing bowl. Turn on high speed and let the whites begin to form, which takes about 5 minutes. Once they are at stiff peaks, you can use them! If you do not have a standing mixer, they are great for projects like this so you don't tire out on a hand mixer.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: The nutritional data provided here is auto-calculated and intended for your convenience only. As it’s generated via automation, its accuracy may be compromised. For precise nutritional insight, please compute the values utilizing the actual ingredients in your recipe through your chosen nutrition calculator or application.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
