Butternut Squash Fritters

No ratings yet

These butternut squash fritters require just 3 main ingredients: butternut squash, flour, and parmesan cheese! We are, of course, spicing them up with herbs and spices, and serving them with a simple lemony yogurt sauce. This is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover butternut squash in the fall!

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 63kcal

Author Caitlin Self, MS, CNS, LDN

Ingredients

4 cups shredded butternut squash about 1 pound
½ cup chickpea flour or any
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese about 1 ¼ ounce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 Tablespoons olive oil divided (approximately, more or less as needed)

For Serving

⅓ cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons chives
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Optional: a bit of harissa or hot sauce

Instructions

Wash & peel the butternut squash, and using a food processor or cheese grater, shred until you get 4 cups, which is about 1 pound (16 ounces). Grate the Parmesan cheese until you have about ½ a cup.
Add the shredded squash to a large bowl along with the chickpea flour, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Stir well to combine. The mixture will look a bit dry, but I promise it will work! If you’re unsure, you can add an egg, but I much preferred the flavor without an egg.
Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Ensure it is quite hot, then add some olive oil (about 2-3 teaspoons) and swirl it around. Scoop the squash mixture into approximately ¼-cup sized fritters and form them with your hand by just pressing them together. (This should be easy!) Then place them onto the hot skillet, with plenty of room between them. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until nicely golden brown.
Remove them to a paper-towel lined plate or tray. Continue in batches until all of your fritters are cooked, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Adjust the heat up and down as needed until you’re getting perfectly cooked fritters!
For serving, I like to mix together the yogurt, some chopped chives, and lemon juice to dollop on top. You can also top with Harissa, Georgian Adjika sauce, or Sriracha! Sprinkle with chopped chives for presentation's sake, and enjoy!

Notes

This makes about 12-14 fritters when using a ¼-cup to portion and shape fritters.

I used the largest grater on my food processor here. If you use a smaller grater or grate this by hand, the batter will be a bit more wet, since the increased surface area will release more moisture. You shouldn’t need to do anything differently though! I tested this and it still worked just fine, but if you’re concerned add another Tablespoon of chickpea flour.

Many fritter recipes will use an egg, but this recipe works much better without one! When I tested this, the egg made the mixture too wet and the resulting fritters were more like egg cakes.

I love using chickpea flour here - it absorbs moisture well and is great for pan-frying. You can also use almond flour in a 1:1 replacement.

Nutrition: just a reminder that nutrient numbers and the below nutritional label is just an estimate.

Nutrition