These Green Island Fritters merge creamy, exotic coconut milk with green spinach and rustic beans. A hint of nutritional yeast, agave and a dusting of crispy Panko bread crumbs.
These toasty fritter cakes are served warm, over top some nutty brown rice (quinoa would be nice too) and cool verde guacamole. This cozy meal-in-a-bowl is an elegant, yet low-brow mingling of spicy meets cool - simple meets bold - healthy meets hearty. This bowl would be a fab summer meal since it is a no-oven-required recipe..
What is a fritter?
Fritter (culinary term) - A small cake made of batter, often containing fruit, vegetables, or fish, sautéed or deep-fried.
My fritters usually contain veggies and beans. I often coat them in a light dusting of crispy Panko bread crumbs and lightly saute them in safflower oil. You could also choose baking as a method of cooking - but then you get more of a veggie patty rather than a fritter.
My ideal fritter should have crispy edges - and a soft interior. Served hot from the skillet.
My other vegan fritter recipes:
+ Toasty Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters
+ Cheezy Broccoli Fritters
+ Sweet Potato Bean Patties (kind of fritter-ish if you saute them to cook!)
Coconut Milk Spinach Fritters. The uniqueness of this recipe comes that is has a certain richness due to the exotic coconut milk ingredient. Coconut milk and cooked spinach are a naturally alluring combo and when you add in some rustic, nutty textures from beans and crispy Panko - the result is cravable. I also added in some nutritional yeast to enhance the savory, cheezy flavor and some agave for sweetness. Optional chopped jalapeno or a few dashes of cayenne would be nice for a spicy touch.
Coconut milk .. "the white part" upon chilling..
Spinach..
Verde Guacamole
vegan, makes 1 ½ cups
1 avocado, diced
⅓ cup white or sweet onion, chopped
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
1-2 limes, juiced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoon fresh jalapeno, diced (optional)
1 small tomatillo, diced (optional)
salt + pepper to taste (start with a few dashes of each)
Spinach-Coconut Chickpea Fritters
vegan, makes about 10 large or 20 small fritters
1 - 16oz. can cannelloni beans, drained/rinsed, mashed
1 - 16oz. can chickpeas, drained/rinsed, half-mashed
1 ¼ cups frozen spinach or 3 cups fresh spinach (see notes)
¾ cup nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
¼ cup Panko bread crumbs (fold-in) + another cup for coating cakes
1 teaspoon agave syrup
3-4 tablespoon coconut milk from a chilled can (the hard white part after chilling)
¼ teaspoon pink salt - or to taste
a few dashes fine black pepper
optional: a few dashes cayenne or 1 tablespoon diced jalapeno for heat
safflower oil for frying
cooked brown rice or quinoa for plating
garnish: fresh cilantro
Notes:
* If using fresh spinach, finely chop it and steam or wilt it on a saute pan so that when you fold it into the mixture it condenses into wilted form. You could also use thawed frozen chopped spinach.
Directions:
Before: chill your can of coconut milk - just enough time so it separates a bit.
1. Prepare your verde guac and place in the fridge until ready to serve - the guac is nice when served slightly chilled alongside the hot fritters.
(Prepare your brown rice or quinoa - you could also use easy pre-made rice packets for faster serving.)
2. Fritters: Add the chickpea and cannellini beans, nutritional yeast, coconut milk, salt, pepper and agave syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mash until the cannelloni beans are all smashed, and about half the chickpeas are smashed. Fold in the spinach and ¼ cup Panko crumbs. Add in any additional spices like garlic or cayenne - other spices like curry or even Jamaican Jerk or Cajun spice blends would be nice accents as well.
3. Heat a skillet over med-high heat with 1 tablespoon of safflower oil.
4. Form patties by hand. Roll the bean mixture patty in the extra cup of Panko crumbs. Add to pan. Repeat until pan if filled - yet patties are spaced about an inch apart. (Baking Method: you can also bake the fritters for about 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.)
5. Cook fritters on each side about 2-3 minutes. If your patties are thicker in size, cover with a lid for a few minutes to heat/cook through the center. When both sides are browned and crispy and insides seem firmed - remove from pan and allow fritters to cool on a paper plate or baking rack. They will be delicate upon removing from pan. Cooling will help bind them in texture.
Want more binding power: Add in a ½ cup sweet potato or butternut squash puree. Another good vegan binder is almond butter - as I leaned from you guys in these post comments. A "flax egg" may also help.
..but for me, I really don't mind if my fritters are delicate.
6. Serve fritter cakes warm over grains + guac. Store uneaten fritters in the fridge - they actually chill + firm up quite nicely and taste amazing too! And yes, these fritters even freeze well. You can re-heat in the oven.
Margarett G. Nelson-Nwankpah says
Looks delicious! Great work!
Lily says
These were amazing. I've been obsessed with your blog. I make recipes and then post to my Facebook. 🙂 I am trying to put together a list of must have spices, etc. that you always have on hand in your kitchen that you use the most often in your recipes. Do you have such a list that you could post? Thanks!
Jakitta Sullivan says
Just found this site a couple of days ago.. braved it and made this recipe! Absolutely AMAZING! All the flavors go so well together! Unbelievable! I'm not a full vegan yet but moving in that direction! This site will be VERY helpful in my transiton!
Kathy Patalsky says
🙂 glad!!
Rachel Slezak says
These are SO good! I just made them for the second time. This time I baked them, put some jalapeno in my guac, and included next to no NYF in my batter (I only like it in extreme moderation!). I'm very pleased, thank you for posting.
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks for the comment - I'm so happy to hear! 🙂
Melissa Reichmann says
I've made these several times now and they have become a family favorite!! Even my 15 year old son says this is one of his favorite meals!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Kathy Patalsky says
It is a flaky yellow substance that has a strong savory cheesy flavor and is loaded with nutrients. You can use flour but some of the flavor will be lost. NY is pretty awesome stuff!
Micki says
Cooking novice here...what is nutritional yeast? If I'm not worried about the vegan aspect, can I just use flour instead?
Samantha says
How spinach-y are these fritters? I can't stand the taste of cooked spinach, but these things look fantastic!
briana elizabeth says
This is an awesome recipe! Just tried it out. The guac is delicious, too! I'll be making this lots in the future 🙂
Adriane says
I've made these three times now, the last time I ran out of garbanzos but used some Bob's Red Mill gf flour which worked out beautifully!
Jasmine says
This recipe is amazing! My boyfriend that isn't vegan loved them and it's super filling! delicious 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh super!! 🙂
AmandaRyan says
Thank you so much for this recipe! We made it tonight, and it was scrumptious. All of the flavors go very nicely together, and I love the idea of using the coconut cream as a binding agent - works like a charm, and tastes delicious.
My husband and I have been vegans for a little over a month now, and we're building our "go-to" recipe list. This one is definitely going to be on it, and I'm sure many of your other recipes will be as well!
suzq811 says
What a great recipe! I just made these. I had most of the ingredients in my pantry (replaced the agave nectar with coconut/palm sugar, and wouldn't you know it? I was out of panko! So I used bread crumbs. These reminded me of the crab cakes I used to eat when I was a carnivore, so I finished it with some vegan aioli sauce: veganaise, chili powder, 1 drop of shiracha sauce, and a little lemon juice. Oh boy, what a treat! Thank you so much. Please post recipes often, as you are my new hero. <3
Jen says
If you're going to criticize a person's spelling, the rule is you have to spell everything correctly yourself. It's "spell-check" not spelcheck. The red squiggly line underneath "spelcheck" should have been your first clue.
Cheryl Walker says
I made these today, and boy what a treat! My boyfriend and I are recent vegans and your blog is realllly pulling us through. Thanks for your culinary wizardry!
Maria says
Update: Just made these today, they are delicious!!!! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Maria says
Can't wait to try these!!!! Thanks for the idea, this would be tomorrow's lunch!
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh yes!
Ksenija @ With An Open Mind says
I am planing on making some leftover rice, aduki bean, zucchini patties today, but this one look really like they are worth a try. does the nutritional yeast add a cheesy taste?
Jamie Weiss says
I made these today, they were scrumptious. I used quinoa instead of rice and olive oil instead of safflower. Keep the delights coming.
Faith says
this sounds great- only one spelcheck comment (sorry I can't help it, I'm a human spelcheck)- it's cannelini beans not canneloni ..canneloni is delicious though, it's a stuffed tube of pasta with a delicious filling and a white sauce on top. I think you should make some vegan canneloni too for the blog! love.
Jesse @OutToLunchC says
Looks delicious! i cant wait to try this.
Miss McBooty says
Mmmm... now I'm craving fritters! Thanks for the recipe idea.