Enjoy hot, crisp, and golden brown zucchini sweet potato fritters in about 35 minutes! These savory stovetop cakes combine zucchini, sweet potato, onion, garlic, and plenty of fresh herbs to bring you a flavorful vegetarian meal or side dish. Creamy and refreshing herbed Greek yogurt sauce is a must-make accompaniment!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.
Have you ever had zucchini fritters before? Before I published that zucchini-only recipe, I made fritters with a combination of zucchini and sweet potato. Today’s version has a slightly sweet flavor, and a very satisfying dense-but-still tender texture from the sweet potato. The combination of potato and lighter zucchini makes a delicious savory cake you can enjoy any time of day.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Zucchini Sweet Potato Fritters
- Golden brown & crisp right off the stove
- Recipe uses real, fresh ingredients
- Excellent main or side dish, or with breakfast instead of hash browns
- Vegetarian & naturally gluten free
- Tasty on their own, but even better with creamy & refreshing Greek yogurt sauce
- Freeze & reheat easily
One reader, Marliz, commented: “This was amazing and immediately a new favorite in the house! I did have to use dried herbs, but the flavors were still great and after the first bite, I knew it was a winner. โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Rainbow, commented: “These are SO good. I made these and the regular zucchini fritters at the same time. I slightly prefer these, but they are both delicious and easy to make! I made them with the intention to freeze half and bake later, but we ended up eating all of them! They’re THAT good. I didn’t try the creamy yogurt sauce because I had leftover tzatziki on hand, which paired beautifully. Overall, this is an excellent recipeโthanks! โ โ โ โ โ “
You need a lot of the same ingredients as my regular zucchini fritters. Grab a sweet potato, peel, then shred it exactly like you shred zucchini. I use a box grater.
Get Out All the Moisture
The most important step in this recipe is to take the time to squeeze as much moisture out of your vegetables as possible. If your zucchini and sweet potato are mushy and wet when you add them to the other fritter ingredients, your cooked fritters will be… you guessed it… also mushy and wet.
Zucchini is a very wet vegetable, which makes it excellent for sneaking into baked goods like zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, and zucchini cake! But that liquid is not so great for fritters (or zucchini casserole and zucchini biscuits). Why? Moisture strips the fritters of their crisp texture. Sweet potatoes aren’t *as wet* but you’ll be surprised how much liquid you can wring out!
Mix the shredded vegetables with the chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of salt. The salt helps to draw the water out. Wrap it all up in a paper towel-lined bowl (or use a clean kitchen towel, or cheesecloth), lift it out, and begin squeezing over the sink. You will be amazed how much moisture you draw out. Use additional paper towels if needed. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Mix your wringed-out vegetable mixture with the rest of the fritter ingredients including beaten eggs and herbs, salt, pepper, cornmeal and cornstarch. The cornmeal adds a wonderful, almost unexpected, crunch. The cornstarch helps to thicken the mixture up while also soaking up some liquid. The two also keep these zucchini sweet potato fritters gluten free.
Cooking the Zucchini Sweet Potato Fritters
Similar to coconut shrimp, the fritters cook in oil on the stove. I use olive oil, an ingredient you’ll also use in the yogurt sauce. Measure about 2 Tablespoons of the mixture, and place each in the hot oil. Flatten each with a spatula, and then cook for about 3 minutes on each side:
I usually cook these in a large cast iron skillet.
Success Tip: Liquid will pool in the bottom of the bowl as you scoop out the zucchini and sweet potato mixture. Make sure you use a fork when scooping up small piles to form the fritters. You don’t want that liquid in the skillet.
Cool & Creamy Yogurt Sauce
You’ll want to use this herbed yogurt sauce on just about everything. Hinted with lemon, barely sweetened with honey, and filled with fresh parsley and mint, the cold sauce tastes incredible with the hot fritters. It’s also fantastic with baked chicken meatballs, bacon wrapped cheesy stuffed jalapeรฑos, and sausage stuffed peppers. You can make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before using.
You could also try the lime-hinted jalapeรฑo yogurt dip served with these corn fritters. Never underestimate a good sauce!
You’re going to love these, especially the extra substance and flavor that the sweet potato brings. I like to serve with a green salad, cornbread or cornbread muffins, and/or grilled chicken.
And if you find yourself with even more zucchini to use after making these fritters, here is a full roundup of all my favorite zucchini recipes. I’m sure you’ll find several more to love!
More Favorite Savory Recipes
- Black Bean Burgers
- Crab Cakes
- Bruschetta Chicken with Zucchini Noodles
- Pesto Shrimp
- Corn Fritters
For even more inspiration here are 15+ summer dinner ideas!
Print
Zucchini & Sweet Potato Fritters
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 fritters
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Enjoy warm and crisp zucchini sweet potato fritters with creamy herbed yogurt sauce. This recipe makes for a wonderful vegetarian meal or side dish. Squeezing liquid out of the vegetables in step 2 is the most important. Use a box grater to shred the zucchini and sweet potato.
Ingredients
Garlic Herb Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2ย cup (120g) plain Greek or regularย yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoonย chopped fresh mint
- 1ย Tablespoonย fresh lemon juice
- 1ย Tablespoon (15ml)ย olive oil
- 1ย teaspoonย honey
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fritters
- 2 cups (about 240g) shredded zucchini (1-2 medium zucchini, about 1/2 lb.)
- 1 cup (100g) shredded sweet potato (1ย small, peeled or unpeeled)
- 1/3 cup (45g) finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2ย large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2ย Tablespoonsย chopped fresh parsley
- 2ย Tablespoonsย chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3ย cup (40g) fineย cornmeal
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
- 1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil
Instructions
- Make the yogurt sauce by whisking all of the yogurt sauce ingredients together except for the salt and pepper. Taste, then add salt/pepper to your taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, or up to 3 days.
- Make the fritters: Line a large bowl with paper towels. Place the shredded zucchini, sweet potato, and onion inside. Add 1 teaspoon salt, and gently mix together. Top with another paper towel and press down so the paper towels begin absorbing some liquid. Lift everything up using the bottom paper towel and, over the sink, wring/squeeze out as much liquid as you can. The goal is to remove as much moisture as possible. You will be amazed how much liquid you wring out! Note: you can also simply wring out the vegetables in a thin, clean dish towel or use a cheesecloth.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, garlic, parsley, mint, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper together until combined. Fold in the vegetables, and then mix in the cornmeal and cornstarch until everything is combined.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, scoop up around 2 Tablespoons of the zucchini mixture. There may be liquid pooling in the bottom of the bowl, so make sure you use a fork so the excess liquid isn’t in your fritter. Place the mixture onto the hot skillet and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with a few more, making sure not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate until finished.
- Serve warm fritters with yogurt sauce.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave, or use an air fryer at 375ยฐF (191ยฐC) for 3-4 minutes. You can also place them on a lined baking sheet and bake at 375ยฐF (191ยฐC) for 8-10 minutes.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cool fritters completely, then place in a freezer-friendly container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating. See step 6 for reheating instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Box Grater |ย Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Yogurt: You can use plain nonfat, low fat, or full fat Greek or regular yogurt. You could also use sour cream.
- Can I Use a Regular Potato? Yes, you can use other potatoes such as Russet or Yukon Gold instead of sweet potato.
- Can I Make These Without Cornmeal & Cornstarch? Yes. Skip both and use 1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose or whole wheat flour instead. For a GF option, you can try using 6 Tablespoons (about 45g) of ground flaxseed.
- Adapted from Bon Appรฉtit magazine.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 fritters (with sauce)
- Calories: 173
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 239.2 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.3 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 62.7 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! I am excited to try these this month for dinner. Have you ever tried adding a protein here? Perhaps shredded chicken? If so, how would that affect the ingredient ratios? Thank you!!! Long time follower, first time commenter ๐
Hi Ashley! We haven’t tested these fritters with any protein added to the mixtureโit would take some testing to ensure the fritters stay together with the added ingredients. We always just serve a protein on the side. Let us know if you do decide to do any experimenting!
Returning yet again to this 5-star keeper of a recipe to share my latest trick: I use my waffle iron’s pancake plate to make these instead of frying. It gives me beautifully symmetrical patties and I prefer not having the oil in the air that frying creates.
I started with 1/3 cup per patty but that was a bit thick to get cooked through. I now use 1/4 cup and flip them over after the indicator light comes on since they seem to brown a bit more on one side than the other in my iron.
Still adding freshly shredded parmesan to add to the crispiness.
I added blueberries and they are wonderful as part of the maids it is great
These were fantastic–going into regular rotation! The mint is an especially nice touch in the flavors.
Every recipe I’ve read that refers to getting moisture out of zucchini instructs us to salt it and let sit at least 10 minutes. I did that here with all the veggies: grated, salted, let them sit in cheesecloth in a strainer while I did the other prep.
Like other commenters, I don’t think paper towels would stand up to the wringing. I increased the recipe thanks to (what else) a bumper crop of zucchini and it took a lot of effort to squeeze out the moisture.
A couple of tweaks:
– I added some diced red bell pepper for color/flavor.
– Based on another zucchini fritter recipe I’ve made, I added grated fresh parmesan, ~1/4-1/3 c. for these quantities. It increases the crisping factor (and the yum).
– I had polenta on hand and used that in place of the fine cornmeal; worked fine.
– Used chickpea flour in place of the cornstarch, which I avoid; also worked fine.
Following up on my own comment to report that in the second double batch, I swapped 1 t. each dried rosemary and thyme for the mint, and used a couple of tablespoons of dried parsley because that’s what I had. Also tasty! (and this time I had fine cornmeal and used that with the chickpea flour in place of cornstarch)
Just made these delicious fritters and they did not disappoint. Definitely a keeper.
I made these for lunch today and boy I recommend using cheesecloth, my paper towels failed very quickly and it was quite the mess! Haha!
There was so much juice even with the squeezing, I think thatโs why my fritters ended up not holding together as well as I wanted.
I did use a bit less salt than was called for to sweat the shredded veggies, and used the substitute of a couple small Yukon Gold potatoes instead of sweet potato. Iโm not sure if that was my problem.
Regardless they were okay freshly made and we both liked them and the sauce.
That said, the reason Iโm reviewing is I just had some as cold leftovers. Wow! Not sure what happened while they chilled in the fridge but I couldnโt get enough of them! They were great!
Thanks Sally, even though I may have butchered the recipe a bit they still turned out great, for me it just took a few hours!
Pretty nice. I drained all the liquid out of the fritters so weโre nice and crispy, made the dressing also I added some sweet mustard.
I rarely have crunch on my fritters, very good. I highly recommend to squeeze the excess water with a cheesecloth.
The fritters were a hit, and allowed me to use up part of a large zucchini left over from making zucchini bread. Even my family member who hates veggies enjoyed these! I made the sauce and fritters as written with one exception. I used 1 tsp salt total instead of 1 1/2 tsp. Tasty
I doubled the recipe and we now have leftoevers! They are delicious.
I am beginning to think all of Sallyโs recipes are so good. This recipe as well
Can these be made in an air fryer?
Hi Michelle, we haven’t tested them in an air fryer from the start, but they do reheat wonderfully. Use an air fryer at 375ยฐF (191ยฐC) for 3-4 minutes.
What an interesting dish, I have been wondering what. I can do with my sweet potato and zucchini sitting in the fridge. Now I know. Thank-you I will be back with how they turned out.
I had excess zucchini and some small sweet potatoes to use up. This is so delicious! I had to stop myself from eating them all!
Yummy, healthy and easy. Big hit
I baked these in the oven and added some cayenne pepper. My husband and I love them
The juice of the zucchini is heavy, so the zucchini weight 240 grams before or after squeezing out the juice? Also, can I mix up all the batter today and store in fridge to fry another day? Thank you!
Hi Mary, the weight of the zucchini is measured before squeezing out the liquid. You can also prepare the zucchini fritter mixture up to 24 hours ahead of time. Cover tightly and keep refrigerated. Liquid will begin to pool at the bottom of the bowl during this time. When ready to cook, stir in a sprinkle of cornmeal if needed to help absorb some of the liquid.
HI Sally., can I bake these in the oven instead of frying them in a pan? thanks for letting me know how I would do that if you think I can ๐
Hi Lynne, they really dry out in the oven. If you try it, I recommend drizzling them with olive oil before baking. I’m unsure of the best temperature and time, as the batch I tested wasn’t that great in the oven!
These are SO good. I made these and the regular zucchini fritters at the same time. I slightly prefer these, but they are both delicious and easy to make! I made them with the intention to freeze half and bake later, but we ended up eating all of them! They’re THAT good. I didn’t try the creamy yogurt sauce because I had leftover tzatziki on hand which paired beautifully. Overall this is an excellent recipe, thanks!
Can I substitute the same amount of carrot in place of sweet potato?
Hi ML, that should work just fine. Be sure to try and wring out as much moisture as possible before using. Let us know if you try it this way!
Going away for the weekend would like to make the zucchini sweet potato fritters. Can I prep everything ahead and just add the cornmeal and cornstarch when I am ready to make
Hi Jolene, I haven’t personally tried that, but I can’t see why not. Did you already try it?
Hi
I made these and they were fabulous. I added a carrot and used a shallot instead of an onion. I also added some nutritional yeast to the batter.
The yogurt sauce was delicious too.
THANK YOU, AGAIN, SALLY! My adult granddaughters are visiting, and we all loved the Zucchini and Sweet Potato Fritters I made from your recipe! Such a wonderful, DELICIOUS way to serve up healthy-for-you vegetables! Of course, as everyone has said, the yogurt sauce is DELICIOUS also. Side note: I used just 3 TBSP of olive oil in my skillet, and they cooked beautifully. Additionally, following others’ suggestions (I would not have thought of it myself), I used my OXO potato ricer to remove excess fluid from the veggies – VERY successful tool for that! I thoroughly enjoy your site, and thoroughly enjoy reading everyone’s comments about individual recipes! THANK YOU, Sally and TEAM!
Perhaps I’m in the minority, but we found these way too salty, to the point of being inedible. Which was a huge disappointment since they were a bit of work.
Hi Kasey, thank you for your feedback. Did you squeeze a lot of liquid out of the salted shredded vegetables? If not, I can see how they would be too salty.
My husband and I were gifted a beautiful zucchini from our neighborโs garden, and we made these fritters alongside a garlic butter beef stir fry. These were amazing. We loved the addition of the sweet potato and added whatever herbs we had in our garden to the mixture. Very adaptable, and we might try with almond flour next time!