Sweet Potato Fritters (2024)

Sweet potato fritters are lightly seasoned with ginger, cinnamon, and fennel, then pan-fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Pair with the homemade sweet and spicy sauce for a decadent dipping experience. Served as an appetizer or side dish, this reader favorite is a must-try.

Game Time Appetizer or an Easy Weeknight Side Dish

These sweet potato fritters are golden with a crispy crunch, just a little bit greasy, and paired with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce. Whether it’s “the big game” or a cross-town rival matchup, these fritters check all the boxes for perfect game day snacks.

They also make a great side dish for burger night. Swap out your french fries, tater tots, or sweet potato fries with these fritters for a truly tasty treat. And don’t stop at burgers! They go great with pulled pork sandwiches, bean burgers, crispy fish sandwiches, and more.

Sweet potato fritters are easy to make, and no matter when you choose to serve them, people who love sweet potatoes will gobble them up.

What You’ll Need for the Fritters

The ingredients image shows the ingredients for both the fritters and the sauce, but they are divided into two sections for clarity in the recipe card. For the fritters, you will need sweet potatoes, fresh ginger root, an egg, all-purpose flour and spices.

The sauce paired with these fritters is my . These fritters were the original inspiration for the sauce, but I love it so much that I put it on burgers, fish tacos, and turkey avocado sandwiches too.

How to Make these Sweet Potato Fritters

These sweet potato fritters are super easy to make and fry up quickly. Make sure you have your fry station set up before you put the first fritter in the oil. Even though it’s just a quarter inch of oil in the pan, never leave hot oil unattended.

To set up your fry station, pour 1/4″ of oil into the bottom of a cold frying pan, then heat it over medium heat. Line a baking sheet with a layer of paper towels and place a cooling rack over top. This will allow the fritters to drain and cool while staying crispy.

See Also

How To Make The Best Garlic AioliChex Muddy Buddies Recipe (Puppy Chow)The Best Texas Caviar (Cowboy Caviar) - The Simple VeganistaHoney Butter Popcorn

Sweet Potato Fritters Video

Kitchen Skill: Pan Frying

These sweet potato fritters are pan-fried, which means cooking them in oil in a wide, shallow pan. Some people are put off by pan frying because it can be messy, and fried foods are not the healthiest of choices. However, when fried and drained properly, the amount of oil absorbed is less than most people think.

The oil, in combination with the direct heat of the pan, cooks the inside while making the outside of the fritters crispy. The oil creates a barrier that traps steam inside the fritter, cooking it from the inside out. This trapped steam prevents the inside of the fritter from soaking up the oil, but the oil must be hot – around 350ºF – in order to do its job

Using a heavy cast iron skillet helps to retain heat while the short sides give better access to flip the fritters. You’ll need enough oil in the pan to come halfway up the side of the fritters, in this case, about a 1/4″ of oil. I like the cold pan, cold oil method, where you add the oil to the pan and heat them both together.

Allow the oil to heat before adding the first fritter. A candy thermometer allows you to measure it exactly, but you can also make an educated guess by watching the oil. You should be able to see the oil start to move around the pan, and you can feel the heat from the pan when holding your hand about 4 inches above the surface. Test the oil for readiness by dropping a small chunk of the batter into the oil. If it sizzles, it is good to go. No noise means it needs to heat a little more. Major splattering means it’s too hot. Turn down the heat and let it cool for a moment.

An important aspect of pan frying is what you do when the food is done cooking. Most of the absorbed oil is not absorbed during the actual frying process but in the first few seconds after the fritter is out of the pan. This is why we put the hot fritters onto a cooling rack instead of directly onto paper towels. It allows the excess oil to drip away from the fritters instead of creating a pool of oil that can be easily absorbed. It also helps keep the fritters crispy as they cool.

Serving Suggestions

Like all party apps, these sweet potato fritters need a dipping sauce. Nothing pairs better than my Spicy Sweet Sriracha Sauce, which was created just for them.If you don’t lovespicy foods but want the flavor, start with half ofthe sriracha. You can always add more, but it’s harder to take it away once it’s in there.

Making sweet potato fritters for a crowd

This recipe can be doubled or even tripled for a crowd. As written, the recipe will feed two people as a side dish or three people as an appetizer. My rule of thumb is 1 large potato for every threepeople, increasing the remaining ingredients accordingly.

To keep fritters hot, store the fried and drainedfritters on a baking sheet in a 250º oven. The dry heat will keep them crisp and warm until you are ready to serve.

How to Store and Reheat

Leftover fritters can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet, then heat in the oven or the air fryer at 400º to maximize crispiness. They should take about 10 – 15 minutes.

I do not recommend using the microwave for reheating. The texture will turn to mush, and they will not be the same.

Make in Advance and Freeze

One of my favorite things about these fritters is that youcan make themin advance and freeze them. Once they are fried and cooled,lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze for 4 hours or until solid.

Place the frozen fritters into a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 6 months.When ready to serve, place frozen fritters on a sheet pan and bake at 400º until hot and crispy, about 10 – 15 minutes.

If you like this recipe, please give it a FIVE-STAR rating and share it on your favorite social channel!