After force-feeding you cake batter waffles yesterday (um, sorry/not sorry), I figured I’d better make amends with something healthier. Here you go. Healthy/DELICIOUS jalapeño corn fritters! I threw some cheddar in for good measure, but you could omit it completely and these would still be incredible!
I have a feeling this summer is going to see me eating a LOT of Mexican(ish) food. I really cannot stop with the jalapeños. I put them in EVERYTHING. I make nachos waaaay too often, recently made the *spiciest* salsa I’ve ever made before, and find myself circling back to the produce section at the grocery store to put another three (or ten) jalapeños in my cart. Why don’t they sell jalapeños at Costco? That’d make my life a lot easier. Luckily, I have some growing in the greenhouse! I have a feeling I’ll be waiting a while on them, though.
Besides jalapeño, the next thing screaming “SUMMER” at me is corn. I think we even decided to have corn on the cob at the wedding (messy disaster? I hope not). So, with those two loves in mind, I whipped up these corn cakes for lunch one day last week. GREAT idea! I based them (very loosely) off of my spicy zucchini fritters, which I cannot wait to make more of this summer.
- 2 cups cooked corn, frozen or fresh
- 1 jalapeño, chopped
- ½ onion, chopped
- ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup cornmeal (or whole wheat flour)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Olive oil, for frying
- For garnish: sour cream, lime, avocado, and tomato
- In a food processor, combine 1¼ cups corn, the jalapeño, onion, cilantro, and garlic. Pulse until very finely diced, but not completely smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the processed mixture with the remaining corn, all spices, cheese, cornmeal, baking powder, and eggs. Mix until fully incorporated. Add more cornmeal (or flour) as needed.
- In a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat 2-3 Tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot and glossy, form the batter into patties (it should be slightly sticky, but not enough to make this step impossible), and cook in batches.
- Cook each patty until golden brown on each side, 2-3 minutes per side. Serve with sliced avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime.
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I’m super into this recipe. I love corn cakes, but with the added jalapeño and avocado on top – this just made my day!
Loved the Tex-Mex skillet tostados and these Jalapeno Corn Cakes sound delicious. I am a definite fan of your recipes. Keep ’em coming!
Thanks, Diane!!
Wow those look amazing! And easy enough for late summer dinners! Love your blog btw.
Thanks, Lauren!!
I usually don’t like corn with mexican dishes, its too sweet (I know, this is weird). I don’t mind cornmeal however. Food processed corn would probably be good! I would probably food process all the corn though, can’t have [sweet] corn bombs in my … corn cakes? I love fritters and tex-mex flavors, so this is definitely going on the list.
Also, gorgeous photos! Love the colors 🙂
Yum!
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a great day!
Made these tonight. Very satisfying and somewhat sweet. I added Herdez salsa verde to the garnishes, as they seemed to be a little dry. I didn’t form into patties but scooped out 1/3 cup measures onto the hot griddle and patted them down slightly. They stayed together nicely. I will make them again and will add more cumin and a little more jalapeno. Thanks for a nice and different dish!
Looks good and I just checked out the zucchini ones. I may try making a combination of the zucchini and corn since I have a zucchini from a garden and want to use it. Any ideas for protein to go with this? Thanks.
I think these could go with a lot of different protein options – chicken, fish, steak, to name the first three that come to mind! Are you vegetarian? You could serve these along side rice and beans, or a quinoa dish, too!
Hi there, just a suggested side dish for all the vegetarians out there. I’ve been eating my cakes with edamame. Not only does it looks lovely (the bright green of the beans against the yellow of the corn cakes) but it’s delish, filling, and you get a pretty good hit of protein, too. I haven’t made this recipe yet. I’ve been looking for one that’s similar to the whole foods corn cakes I’ve been inhaling the last three days. This looks like it foots the bill, so I’ll be making them soon… Can’t wait!
Thanks, Rose! Enjoy! Xo