Packed with zucchini and protein-rich green peas, these fritters are surprisingly rich for a plant-based recipe. As well as being super-tasty and filling, these Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters are also versatile, easily working for brunch or lunch, or as a dinner main or side.
Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters
Ingredients
These Zucchini and Green Pea fritters are made with just a few ingredients, and are held together with either aquafaba, if you’re vegan, or eggs if you’re vegetarian.
Making Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters
- 1Dice the zucchini into pea-sized pieces. Put the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with salt. This will release the water from the zucchini. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
- 2While the zucchini is draining, boil the peas, zest the lemon, and measure the aquafaba/eggs, and flour.
- 3After leaving the zucchini for about 15 minutes, press out as much of the water as you can.
- 4In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. The batter will be loose.
- 5Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan, and make a test fritter. This will help you determine the best temperature for cooking.
Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters
Gluten-free Variation
I have made these occasionally with chickpea flour instead of wheat flour. The chickpea flour will have more of a dominant taste than wheat flour. I have made the aquafaba/chickpea flour combo, but not the egg/chickpea combo so I can’t say with certainty how it will turn out. I suspect there would not be an issue but cooking is chemistry and sometimes surprising things happen!
Tips: where do you get your protein?
If you're new to plant-based eating, you might be wondering: "Where do I get my protein?" The good news is that there's a wide range of plant protein sources. For example, the green peas in this recipe are a good source of protein--containing about 8 grams of protein per cup.
Compared to traditional North American diets, which often centre around a large piece of meat or other animal protein, typically plant-based meals contain multiple sources of protein.
Everyone has different protein requirements. You can see how much protein each recipe contains, along with other nutritional information, at the bottom of the Recipe Card. Be sure to also read the Nutritional Information details provided (right above the nutrition count) as it details how the information was calculated.
Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters
Recipe Card
Zucchini and Green Pea Fritters
Ingredients
Fritters
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups zucchini, pea-sized dice {You can grate instead, but see Recipe Note as you will need more flour}
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 plus cup flour (white or whole wheat) {See Recipe Note}
- 1-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 6 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas) OR 2 eggs (slightly beaten) {See Recipe Note}
- 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
Avocado Crema
- 1-2 ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- milk {any kind of unsweetened milk}
- salt {to taste}
Instructions
Fritters
- Dice the zucchini into pea-sized pieces, put in a colander and stir in the salt. Let sit for about 15 minutes. This releases some of the water from the zucchini. Press as much of the water out as you can, but it will still be moist and that’s OK.
- Boil the peas and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the peas, zucchini, lemon zest, aquafaba or egg and flour. The batter will be quite loose.
- Do a test fritter first. Heat a thin layer of oil in a heavy pan {e.g. cast iron}, and then add about 1/3rd of a cup of batter. You can press the fritter together a bit but try not to flatten it into the pan too much or it will stick. Let it cook for about 3 minutes or until you see the sides of the fritter starting to brown. It should be easy to flip over. Adjust the heat/oil as necessary.
- Serve hot with your choice of toppings:Avocado Crema (recipe below)Easy egg-free garlic mayo (vegan)Mother Mix Sauce (with additional nutritional yeast, as desired (vegan)simple cheese sauce (vegetarian)
Avocado Crema
- Mash the avocados with the lemon or lime juice. Thin with as much milk as needed to achieve your desired consistency. Add salt to taste.
Notes
Cooking Tips
- If you choose to grate the zucchini instead of doing a pea-sized dice, the zucchini will release a lot more water and consequently you will need to add more flour to the batter, approximately 2-3 tablespoons more. Try adding 2 tablespoons more first, and then do a test fritter as noted in the recipe instructions. Then add more flour as needed.
- You don’t want too much oil in the pan all at once or it will get very splatter-y. You may need to add a bit more oil as you go.
- Once, I've done my test fritter, I cook 3 fritters at a time in my cast iron pan. Usually I put a baking sheet in the oven, set the temperature at 200F, cook the first batch of fritters and then place them in the oven while the next batch is cooking.
- These fritters are best served fresh, but you can reheat them in a 250F oven for about 10-12 minutes.
About Aquafaba
See our post, Aquafaba: Easy Vegan Egg Replacer.Gluten-Free Possibilities
- I have made these occasionally with chickpea flour instead of wheat flour. The chickpea flour is going to have more of a dominant taste than wheat flour. I have made the aquafaba/chickpea flour combo, but not the egg/chickpea combo so I can't say with certainty how it will turn out. I suspect there would not be an issue but cooking is chemistry and sometimes surprising things happen! I'd love to hear from you if you try the recipe with chickpea flour or gluten-free all purpose flour.
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I made these for my 10 month old.
I omitted the salt for him and used oat flour. I only had half a zucchini so I used yellow squash as well. I used a pea and carrot frozen blend and put them in the food processor to chop up a little. They taste really great!!
Thanks Shannon! Glad you and your little one enjoyed them!