Crispy, crunchy, and lightly spiced, these Sweet Potato Fritters are a crowd-pleasing appetizer and snack!
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Perfect for dinner parties, football parties, or even holiday get togethers, these Spiced Sweet Potato Fritters are a beloved appetizer!
With a crispy exterior, a warm and savory spiced interior, and a lemon sour cream dipping sauce, you can't go wrong with these crowd-pleasing sweet potatoes!
Most of the recipes on Mae's Menu are healthy, but every now and then we -- inspired by holiday dinners, football parties, and general #balance-- decide to switch it up.
One bite into these spiced sweet potato fritters and I knew they were worthy of becoming a little healthy food detour on the site, too.
Especially given that the big game is coming up and that this year, since we're still not back to our normal series of events, we're going to have to find other ways to make the big day memorable.
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Also, these fritters are just good. I'm not anti-fried food, but I'm also the type to choose what fried food is worth the less-healthy nutritional profile. And these crispy sweet potatoes, my friends, are most certainly worth it.
With a sizzling crunchy exterior and a savory, lightly spiced, and warm interior, these sweet potato apps couldn't be any better.
Oh, wait. But maybe they can. One dunk in the easy-to-whip-up lemon sour cream dipping sauce, and you might -- like me -- start planning out all the events you want to make these guys at when life returns to more normalcy.
In the meantime, however, I hope they bring some more joy to your days, no matter how normal or abnormal they still may seem. Enjoy!
Here at Mae's Menu, we have a variety of readers: those who are more experienced in the kitchen and want to zip straight through to the recipe and those who want to learn more about it, potential substitutions, and more.
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Table of contents
- These sweet potato fritters are...
- Recipe ingredients:
- Ingredient substitutions
- What cooking oil is best for this recipe?
- Can you make these fritters gluten-free?
- How to make sweet potato fritters:
- Fritter pro-tips + cooking notes:
- A note about deep frying:
- What's the easiest way to shred sweet potatoes?
- How do you serve sweet potato fritters?
- How do you keep the fritters warm until serving?
- Can you make this recipe without the spices?
- How long do leftovers last?
- Can you freeze leftovers?
- What's the best way to reheat leftovers?
- Tools needed to make this recipe:
- Other sweet potato recipes you'll love:
- Other appetizer recipes to check out:
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These sweet potato fritters are...
- Hot
- Crunchy
- Naturally sweet
- Lightly spiced
- A versatile appetizer
- Party-perfect
- Easily made gluten-free
- Crowd-pleasing
- Family-friendly
Whether you are looking to brighten up a dreary day or treat some guests to a crispy appetizer, these potato fritters are for you!
Recipe ingredients:
Spiced Sweet Potato Fritters:
- Sweet potatoes
- Onion - yellow or white onions are perfect
- Baking powder
- Flour
- Cumin
- Turmeric - the fresher your seasonings, the better
- Chili powder
- Large eggs - bind the sweet potato fritters together
- Vegetable oil - canola oil, avocado oil, and light olive oil are all great for this recipe
Lemon Sour Cream Dipping Sauce:
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt - preferably, 2 or 4% fat is using Greek yogurt
- Mayonnaise
- Lemon juice - fresh juice is the best but bottled juice also works
- Garlic powder
- Lemon zest
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Ingredient substitutions
- Sweet potatoes - garnet yams can work in place of the sweet potatoes
- Flour - whole wheat flour or 1-to-1 gluten-free flour can substitute for the all-purpose flour
- Mayonnaise - avocado or olive oil mayo work in place of traditional mayonnaise
What cooking oil is best for this recipe?
The best cooking oils for this recipe are vegetable oils. Vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, and light olive oil all work very well for this recipe. Grapeseed oil can work for the recipe in a pinch, too.
Can you make these fritters gluten-free?
Yep, you can very easily make these fritters gluten-free. Just substitute 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour and follow the rest of the recipe as directed.
How to make sweet potato fritters:
For the complete recipe and specific measurements, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Shred the sweet potatoes - you can easily do this in a food processor or with a metal vegetable grater
- Squeeze the excess moisture out of the potatoes.
- Toss the sweet potatoes with the flour and spices until combined.
- Gently fold the minced onions and lightly whisked eggs into the shredded sweet potato mixture.
- Preheat the vegetable oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Gently drop heaping 2 tablespoon scoops of the sweet potato batter into the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes each, turning the fritters halfway through the cooking time.
- Place the cooked fritters on a dinner plate lined with paper towels.
- Whisk up the lemon sour cream sauce and serve with the hot fritters!
Fritter pro-tips + cooking notes:
- Heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit - any hotter and the fritters will quickly burn; much lower and the fritters will get soggy
- Squeeze the moisture out of the potatoes - place the sweet potatoes in a dish towel, cheesecloth, or paper towel and squeeze all the moisture out before making the batter.
- Don't step away from the heat/pan while cooking - these fritters cook fast, so you don't want to leave the pan un-accompanied on the stove.
- Let the fritters dry/drain after cooking - the fritters will have excess oil on them when you scoop them out of the pan. Letting them drain on the towel-lined dinner plate will help them drain the extra oil and come to a safe eating temperature.
A note about deep frying:
I tried to pan fry this recipe 3 times before I realized that we had to deep fry the fritters to get that crave-worthy crunch. When just pan-frying, the fritters turned more into a pancake than a fritter. Which was, well, ok, but not what I'm going for when I make a fritter recipe.
So, if you're worried about the health effects of deep frying, please know that I tested every option before recommending deep frying to you. 🙂
What's the easiest way to shred sweet potatoes?
Shredding sweet potatoes in a food processor is my preferred and easiest way to shred them. If you don't have a food processor you can shred the sweet potatoes by hand on a grater. It will take a bit of extra elbow grease but you'll get a similar end result.
How do you serve sweet potato fritters?
I recommend serving these sweet potato fritters with lemon sour cream dipping sauce. With tart and bright flavors of the sauce complement the hot and crispy sweet potato fritters. One dip in the sauce and I bet you won't be able to eat just one fritter!
I like to serve the fritters with the sauce at...
- Holiday parties
- Cocktail parties
- Family dinners
- Sports & football parties
How do you keep the fritters warm until serving?
To keep the fritters warmed until serving, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in an oven heated to 200 degrees for no longer than 30 minutes (these fritters are best fresh!).
Can you make this recipe without the spices?
Though you can make these fritters without spices - simply omit them and follow the rest of the recipe as directed - I don't recommend it. The spices don't make the sweet potatoes spicy, they just had a savoriness and depth that elevates the recipe to a whole new level.
How long do leftovers last?
Leftovers last covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, though this recipe is best enjoyed fresh.
Can you freeze leftovers?
Yes, you can freeze these leftovers. For best results, store them in a freezer-safe container with sheets of parchment or wax paper between them to keep them from sticking together. Fritters will last in the freezer for up to 2 months.
What's the best way to reheat leftovers?
To reheat fritters, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and reheat in the oven at 275 degrees until the fritters have heated through and re-crisped, or about 4-8 minutes for refrigerated fritters and 10-13 minutes for frozen fritters.
Tools needed to make this recipe:
- Grater or food processor
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Silicone spatula
- Large skillet or dutch oven
- Heat-safe frying ladle
Other sweet potato recipes you'll love:
- Sweet Potato Harissa Hummus
- Healthy Sweet Potato Souffle
- Cuban Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers
- Sweet Potato Tacos
- Roasted Sweet Potato & Quinoa Salad
Other appetizer recipes to check out:
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Spiced Sweet Potato Fritters
Ingredients
Spiced Sweet Potato Fritters
- 1 ¼ lbs peeled sweet potatoes, grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup flour (use gluten-free 1-to-1 flour if gluten-free)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup finely minced white or yellow onion
- 3 large eggs
- Vegetable oil (canola, light olive oil, or avocado oil)
Lemon Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Place the grated sweet potatoes in a cheesecloth, dishcloth, or paper towel and wring out the excess moisture.
- Add the sweet potato to a large mixing bowl. Mix in the salt, baking powder, flour, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and minced onions into the sweet potatoes until combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the large eggs until frothy. Pour into the bowl with the potatoes mixture and gently fold in until the eggs evenly coat the sweet potato.
- Add an inch of vegetable oil to a skillet or dutch oven and heat over medium heat until the oil has reached 375 degrees Fahrenheit (I recommend using a candy or cooking thermometer to get the most accurate temperature read).
- Gently drop the sweet potato mixture into the oil by heaping 2 tablespoons-full, leaving 1-2 inches between each fritter. Gently press down on top of the fritter if you'd like your fritters to be flat. Cook the fritters for 2-3 minutes, flipping halfway, or until they are cooked through and golden brown.
- Remove the fritters from the oil and place them on a dinner plate lined with paper towels. Let drain.
- Repeat steps 5 & 6 with the remaining fritter batter until all of the fritters are fried.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream or Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and lemon juice until smooth and combined. Serve the hot fritters immediately with the dipping sauce!
Notes
1. To make gluten-free fritters, substitute 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour.
2. Keeping the temperature at 375 degrees is important. Any hotter and the fritters will burn. Much lower and they will get soggy.
3. Fritters keep covered in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. They can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
4. To reheat fritters, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and reheat in the oven at 275 degrees until the fritters have heated through and re-crisped, or about 4-8 minutes for refrigerated fritters and 10-13 minutes for frozen fritters.
5. These fritters can also be made without the spices. Simply eliminate the cumin, chili powder, and turmeric from the recipe and proceed with the recipe as directed.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 174Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 64mgSodium 358mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 5g
This nutrition breakdown is just an estimate of the nutritional value of this recipe and cannot be taken as facts. The owners of Mae's Menu are not nutritionists or dietitians and therefore cannot be held accountable for this nutrition estimate. Please contact your nutritionist or medical professional for a nutritional breakdown of this food. Furthermore, this food is not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any disease.