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!
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
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 (and zucchini casserole). 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 jalapeños, 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 jalapeño 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, 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!
PrintZucchini & 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
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain Greek or regular yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon 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 (1 small, peeled or unpeeled)
- 1/3 cup (45g) finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup (40g) fine 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 375°F (191°C) for 3-4 minutes. You can also place them on a lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) 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 | 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 Appétit 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
What can I use instead of cornmeal? 🙂
Whole wheat flour works nicely.
It was fabulous!! My kids even ate it!
I made these today and they are wonderful. I want to thank you for sharing the recipe with us.
Hi Sally! I have lots of zucchini lying around cos I just baked your zucchini bread + muffins! I also wanted to try this! Can I substitute the cornmeal with cornstarch? Thanks a lot!! We are excited to see your baby girl!!! <3
Hi Kate! Cornmeal and cornstarch are completely different from one another and I don’t suggest using it in this. You can use flour or even whole wheat flour instead 🙂 I love these with whole wheat flour.
My daughter is vegan. Can I use an egg substitute to do this?
I personally have not tried these with an egg substitute but if you try it let me know!
A helpful tip to get more moisture out quicker is to sprinkle some salt into the shredded zucchini and toss with your hands. Then let rest 5 minutes and the salt will have drawn out much of the moisture. I use this technique when I make zucchini linguini!
Looking forward to making these tonight!
I made these for lunch over the weekend…A batch made 10 and my husband and I ate 9 of them
Great recipe and great results! Yummy and easy fritters. I really loved them. Thanks for sharing!
Holy cow… I made these yesterday only because I had all the ingredients on hand. My expectations weren’t that high as I’d attempted similar things in the past and had been underwhelmed. But these fritters were OUTRAGEOUS. So good. I’m happy I went for the full batch so I had some to freeze!
Finally got around to making these yesterday and we loved them. I didn’t have time to make the yogurt sauce so we put parmesan cheese on them (next time I will make the sauce.). Everyone enjoyed them with a simple salad, it was a great lunch. Thanks!
I decided to make these as a vegetarian dish one night. I made them a little larger (burger diameter) and served them on sandwich thins with the dressing as the condiment, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Delicious! It was light and refreshing, a great summer dinner! I will definitely be making these again!
Hi Sally, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve made these fritters twice in the past month! I was initially intimidated by the prep work but it is so worth it in the end. Tonight I doubled the recipe and have some leftovers. I am considering freezing them so that I’ll have some fritters on hand for when I get a craving for these yummy things 😉 Oh, and I must give special praise to that yogurt sauce! I’ve actually made the yogurt sauce more times than the fritters!–it’s so good and so multifunctional! Thanks for an awesome recipe!
I made these for dinner a few days ago, and they were really good. Because I am impatient, and I was hungry and pressed for time, I used my potato ricer to squeeze the liquid out of the vegetables. It works really well for this (also great to use to squeeze chopped cooked spinach). Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
These were really yummy! I served them with some shawarma style seasoned chicken. I found I didn’t need to drain them for very long and they still turned out lovely and crisp. In New Zealand I had a hard time figuring out what cornmeal was and where to buy it, for anyone in a similar boat I ended up buying polenta at an organic food store and I’m pretty sure that’s the same thing. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these a few days ago and they turned out great. I had tried making fritters before but they didn’t turn out right. The amount of liquid that came out amazed me. Will make them again. Maybe I will add a pepper to spice it up.
I replaced the sweet potato with beet (since its what I have available in my garden) and follow the rest of the recipe, absolutely divine. I’ll definitely make these again. Thanks!
Oh my goodness these are AMAZING! I served them with some smoked salmon and a poached egg for brunch today… Seriously good!
These were so friggin delicious that I just had to comment! I didn’t measure much, used a regular potato and forgot the mint but they were still great…I used the leftover fritters the next morning to replace typical hashbrowns (extra veggies!), topped with poached eggs and spinach! Thanks Sally!
Hope to eventually see a cookbook of dinner & savory recipes from you. I’ve made nearly every one that you’ve ever posted and they have all been DELICIOUS! 😉 Your turkey meatballs are a weekly staple in my house.
I made these last night and they were amazing. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Made these last night and they were great! I didn’t have parsley though. I also have a husband and children who don’t do condiments so I didn’t make the sauce. One word of advise, probably use paper towels, my dish towels now smell like onions but that is nothing that some baking soda can’t remove:) Unless you use Vidalia onions – those would be a treat in these fritters. I went the totally healthy main course of costco hot dogs, so these fritters were a lifesaver for the good-for-you part of dinner:) Thanks Sally!
These are really really good Sally. Will make them again.
These look great! I’m planning to make these soon, but can I subsitute breadcrumbs for cornmeal? Thanks!
Breadcrumbs work.
Made the fritters tonight. Taking the time to be sure all of the moisture was out of the veggies made the fritters so crispy. The Yogurt sauce is amazing. Bringing fritters and sauce to work for lunch with a friend with some Cucumber and White Grape soup. I love your recipes.
Yum!! Just finishing up a supper of these (or a not-too-drastic variation thereof). Here we go…. I’m doing a low carb diet, so I had to leave out the cornmeal, but I did heed one commenter (word??) and added some cheese….. I used parmesan, and then I didn’t know how that would work with the mint so I omitted that. But my, they are good!! Later on I’ll try them again the right way…… looking forward to that cornmeal crunch! 🙂 Thanks!
These were delicious & I’m so thankful I had all the ingredients in my fridge. (Just asked a neighbor for some fresh parsley & mint from her garden and I was set). I actually made your Zucchini Muffins last night to use up some zucchini – best life choice ever. So, I was pumped to try a savory dish to use up my last remaining zucchini. (Although, I can’t stop snacking on the muffins).
If you are looking for a “tahini-inspired” sauce — Cooking Light has a recipe that my husband requests frequently — it calls for 2 T. Tahini, 2 T. water, 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil, 1/8 tsp. tsp. salt, and 1 small garlic clove, minced. Just whisk together and refrigerate until ready to use. They call it “Sesame Drizzle”.
Thanks for sharing another awesome dinner recipe, Sally!
Hi Michelle! I haven’t tried either, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.