Taco Corn Fritters
ByWhen Matt and I were at Whole Foods recently, we saw that they had some sort of Jalapeno-Corn fritter for sale on their hot bar. They looked SO GOOD, and while I didn’t figure our kids would appreciate the jalapenos, immediately my brain started thinking through how I could create something like this for a quick lunch that would be a little more kid-friendly. Feel free to add jalapenos to this recipe if you want. Just don’t touch your eye after messing with jalapenos. Or at least have milk handy if you do. But really…just don’t touch your eye.
I kind of wanted an “all in one” meal, which is why I put taco meat in our fritters. Then, since it had taco meat, I figured it needed cheese. Those items are optional…but wow are they good! Of course though, I’m the girl who needs her beef. ;)
Taco Corn Fritters
1/2 pound cooked hamburger meat seasoned with taco seasoning mix (Many commercial taco seasonings contain gluten! I highly recommend making and using this wonderful homemade recipe!)
2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups frozen or canned corn
oil for frying (I used palm shortening)
Brown hamburger meat and add taco seasoning mix to taste. Mix together remaining ingredients, stirring in the seasoned meat. Melt palm shortening in a skillet. Scoop 1-2 Tablespoons of corn mixure into the hot oil and press down to form a “pattie”. Fry for 5-7 minutes on each side until cooked through. (I had my electric skillet set to 350°.)
The great thing about these Taco Corn Fritters is that they even taste good cold, which means they would make a great grab and go lunch or snack!!! I haven’t tried freezing these (because we eat them too quickly!), but I’m pretty sure you could make up a big batch and freeze them for “fast food”.
So would you put jalapenos in these, or not? How would your family like them best?!
These. look. so. good.
Cept I have to hold off until my leaky gut issues are solved since the cheese, egg, honey, and milk are off limits…I could substitute, but the cheese has no good substitute in my book. :-) Very creative, Laura – and I would definitely add the jalepenos :-)
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Erin Reply:
May 8th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Sarah – are you able to tolerate “nutritional yeast flakes”? These are found in a health food store or health food section of your grocery store. Nut yeast has an incredibly cheesy flavor. We’ve made “cheesy” onion muffins with it before and the results were spectacular!!
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We are jalepenos people here. :)
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These sound great! I’m going to have to put them on my next menu plan! :o)
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About how many does one batch make?
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Laura Reply:
April 5th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Ugh, I always forget to add that to my post!!! I’d say these make 12-18 fritters, depending on how big you make them.
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These sound really good!
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I think I will make a big batch and freeze them .. . yum!
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I thought this recipe might be a good way to use up some left over taco soup… it worked! They look just like yours. Although, we’ve never had corn fritters around here..Maybe because we are in WA State?? Not quite sure what to think of the flavor and texture:) I’m a little inspired to try homemade cornbread now, though.. before this I’d only used my cornmeal on the bottom of my pizzas!
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Looking at these I thought of some Quinoa burgers that I make. Does Quinoa have gluten?
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We just went gluten free for our daughter and quinoa is a gluten-free food. Since we are really struggling with gf foods I think this is a recipe I am definately going to add to our list! We used to make regular muffins with leftover taco meat, cheese, onion, salsa, and bisquick (with egg and milk of course) and thatbwas a favorite that we had to give up. I think this will he a great substitute. Thankyou!
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These loOk delicious, and economical for a quick lunch. Can’t wait to try them!
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These were a huge hit with my children. They are already asking when we can have them again! Thanks for sharing!
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Our family loved these! My 6 yr.old ate 5! My hubby said they were good cold in his lunch too. I served them with salsa. Thanks!
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Yummy! We love anything spicy!
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I made the fritters yesterday and it made 23. They looked about the size of yours in the picture. Did you use buttermilk or sweet milk? I used 1% but I wondered if they would be better with buttermilk. I also used palm shortening to fry in and as little as possible. I do not like greasy fried food.
My husband said they would be good with jalapenos and I told him you said they could be added. I would not care for them myself.
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Laura Reply:
April 7th, 2011 at 6:59 am
I used regular (whole) milk, but I’m sure buttermilk would be great too!
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NancyO Reply:
October 4th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I’ve got these frying for lunch as I write…the 14 and 11 year old boys doing math
inform me that they smell delicious! :) I’ll add jalapenos to the last few
for my husband. I did one thing differently…I used chicken broth instead of milk.
I thought it might help with protein assimilation…per WAPF info. Anytime I serve a meatless or near meatless meal I try to incorporate broth to stretch the available protein. Seems to pay off and
hold the hungry hoards off a little longer! Thanks…this is a keeper!
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My family liked these very much. I left out the meat because we ate them with chili. This was a nice change from our regular cornbread. My husband especially liked that they were crispy!
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I made these last night and everyone loved them! I used venison which was really good. I cannot wait to make them again. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
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Hey, that looks good! I bet my children would love them! Thanks for the recipe!
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I made these this week… I’m not really good at frying things up, so I totally burnt my first round, but they got better! And 3 out of 4 of us devoured them! The 3 yo doesn’t count, since he only eats 2 days a week, and that wasn’t one of those days! ;)
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
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I had the same problem as Leigh. I even switched to my cast iron skillet, but still burned them. I can never seem to get the heat right on this glass top stove. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! ;)
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These look right up my boys’ alley!
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These look so scrumptious!
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I just love seeing taco recipes! Thanks!
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This we will be having for lunch. YUM!
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We made these this week too– they were a hit– and we topped them with salsa because we like lots of spice!
Great recipe!
~Cynthia~
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Making these for lunch today!
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These look so good. Thanks for sharing. My husband is a very picky eater, but I think he might like these. I love how you use practical ingredients, while still being healthy. I think I have all the ingredients at home, this might have to be dinner! :)
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Just some feedback… I substituted flour for part of the cornmeal since we’re not gluten free and I didn’t want such a rustic crunch (flour’s smoother than cornmeal.) And I’m thiking about making these in a jelly roll pan (and serving them in squares) to save the time of cooking them on a a skillet. Sort of like taco corn bread squares. We’ll see… Thanks for the new recipe!
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Shelly Smith Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 9:59 am
Sauanna, have you tried this method yet?! Just curious, ’cause I was thinking of trying the same thing!
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Susanna Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 10:20 am
Don’t remember if i tried that or not but I’m sure it would work fine. Godo luck!
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We had these for supper tonight. Everyone loved them! I added chili powder and red pepper flakes and doubled the batch. This made 46 fritters, so I put the leftovers on a cookie sheet in the freezer. I will put them in bags later tonight and back in the freezer. I think they will be a great snack for my kids. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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question: does the palm shortening that you used to fry these in have any flavor? im interested in buying it from tropical traditions, but they dont have any smaller sizes than the gallon to try…and my husband wanted me to ask if it would alter the taste of his food like butter and peanut oil etc. can? Please help !:)
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Janet Reply:
April 14th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Palm shortening has no flavor, that I can tell, and I am on the last cup or tow of my first gallon. I have used it any time you would use crisco– a 1:1 substitute. I have even used it to make icing for a cake, with really nice results. :-) Hope this helps!
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Danielle B Reply:
May 22nd, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I’ve seen palm shortening in my regular grocery store in the organic aisle. I’m not certain of the size but I know it’s smaller than a gallon.
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Ellen Dahl Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
here’s a budget tip, I’m a soap maker, and you can purchase organic palm oil/shortening at Soaperschoice.com . They also carry virgin organic coconut oil in bulk. It’s WAY cheaper than tropical traditions. Just a tip, on bulk purchasing… I am making these fritters for dinner tonight,and everyone is looking forward to it!!! Thanks for posting!
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Candis Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Are the oils from soapers choice for eating or for making soap?
Ellen Dahl Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 5:39 am
They carry both food grade, and cosmetic grade oils. I’ve been buying and using oils from them for years, and love their organic virgin coconut oil (for eating). They have the best price I’ve seen on coconut, and palm. But Costco’s olive oil is a better price.
My husband said, “Those were so good, there’s no way they could be good for you!” :-)
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Laura Reply:
April 15th, 2011 at 7:18 am
:)
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Im trying this recipe today! Im excited to see if my family will enjoy so I can do these sometime for lunches. Thanks
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Laura…thank you so much for all of your work in coming up with these great recipes!! I am not as adventurous as you are in the kitchen (when it comes to baking especially) so knowing that every recipe I have made of yours has been DELICIOUS, I know this one will be too. The family is very excited to eat these tonight…Thanks again!!
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These are very yummy, I did make a big batch and freeze them and they worked great, serve with my homeade salsa and sour cream, very good
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Like Leigh and Cheryl, I burnt my first batch. They’re even good burnt! Where have corn fritters been all my life? I doubled recipe and got about 35, so I’ll try and make them smaller next time and fry on lower heat from the start. Thanks for sharing!
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I used 1.5 c corn meal and 1 c corn flour (masa) and baked them at 350. they turned out great. baking is easier for us. delish we topped them with salsa and had salad on the side. Definately will have to have again.
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What a fun idea. My family would absolutely inhale these fritters.
Family Fresh Cooking and I would love if you linked up this recipe & any 2 other entrees in this weeks Get Grillin’ event posted on both of our blogs. We have a fabulous Ile De France Cheese giveaway. You just need to link up on one site.
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6.29.2011: We doubled the recipe; left out the corn (I can’t eat,) added 4 oz chopped black olives to cornbread mixture; added 1/2 cup chopped onion & 4 oz can of chopped green chiles to meat after adding taco seasoning.
We cooked some fritters on a lightly oiled griddle and fried some in oil.
Next time, we will make a regular size recipe, but double the meat. We thought that there was not enough meat for the amount of cornmeal. We will keep the black olives, onion, and green chiles in ours.
We like them on the lightly oiled griddle better than frying in a lot of oil.
Lastly, these freeze nicely. DH can take them from the freezer and by lunch time, they’re thawed and ready for heating and eating. Love them with salsa.
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This meal got the seal of approval from the whole family: mom (vegetarian, so we used soy meat instead of ground beef), dad (carnivore), 2.5 year old, and 1 year old (gluten free). I probably would cut back on the honey a bit since the corn was sweet itself and perhaps add in some more veggies just to get a little more into the kids, but it is rare that we all eat the same thing and all like it, so thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Made these for the first time tonight after seeing them on your menu plan last week, I believe. They are a go for my husband & me. I have to sell my kids on most everything, so I will be making them again! Yummy! Thank you!
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Fantastic
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Mine didn’t come out anything like the picture, but I used Bob’s Redmill Cornmeal and I don’t think it’s fine ground enough. It had the crunchy corn bits lol. They are delicious though! I think next time I’ll find a finer ground cornmeal so they won’t have that gritty crunch as much. I was going to say thanks for the recipe, but really thanks for your entire website! I’ve learned so much and strive to feed my family as well as yours!
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can you all tell me what “palm shortening” is?? I would like to try these, but I don’t like to use oil very much because everyone gets a belly ache when we fry things.
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Sahirah Reply:
September 12th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Hey Ashleigh, Palm shortening is like Crisco but a healthy for you version.You can find it at your Aarea health food store or in the healthfood isle at a large grocery store.My area grocery store stocks it right next to the crisco.
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Making these as we speak. Just used water instead of milk because we’re almost out. Serving them with salsa and hoping my picky eaters will enjoy!
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I have some of these cooking for the first time and they are really good!! I have the coarser ground cornmeal so they are a little bit crunchy, but next time I will use fine ground and see how they come out.
I made these as a side dish, so I left out the taco meat, but put in a can of green chilis and they are delicious!!
Thank you so much for your site!!
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Those sound fun and are going on the menu for this week – and you betcha they’re gonna have jalepenos in at least 1/2 of them!
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Laura these were a HIT fordinner tonight! and we have enough for either lunch tmrw or to freeze. My six year old son kept slippping up and calling them corn CRITTERS LOL
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Can’t wait to try these! Always looking for a way to use the 1/2lb of taco meat we always seem to have left over from taco night!
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I bet green chiles would be good if jalapenos aren’t your thing! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll be trying these soon.
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Thanks for another great recipe Laura,I just found one on my email from Oprah, she makes them for Steadman…..she puts an egg, uses buttermilk, and corn in hers, no cheese and she uses Self-Rising Cornmeal…..this is what I always cook with…..this is another one of your recipes I can’t wait to try…..keep up the good work…..
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I didn’t have luck frying them, but they made great taco corn muffins. I made the recipe exactly as written and greased muffin tins. The muffins were dense, but really great. I used the taco seasoning recipe too. Same result, great. I’ll be making these again. Next time with jalapenos.
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