These easy pea fritters are both vibrant in colour and taste. You can whip them up in no time using frozen peas, a touch of mint, garlic, spring onions and a couple of basic binding agents.
They make a great snack or appetiser and work well in lunch boxes. Babies and toddlers love these nutritious fritters! Make them kid-friendly by leaving out the mint, mustard and garlic.
Try them as a side with these crispy fish goujons. For other super-quick dinner recipes, try this lemon garlic pasta or these chicken rissoles.
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What are pea fritters?
Pea fritters are small cakes or patties made from peas, a few flavourings and binding agents. We make them by whizzing fresh or frozen peas with flour, eggs, and spices to form a thick batter. The batter is then spooned into a shallow frying pan and shaped into round, flat cakes. They're fried until crispy and light golden brown in colour.
What's to love about these pea fritters
- Nutritious as a source of plant-based protein
- Only takes 15 minutes to make
- A healthy snack to keep in the fridge
- Works great in lunch boxes
- Spices and herbs can be adjusted to cater for younger tastes
- Makes nice thick fritters unlike some batters that are thin and spread across the pan during frying
- Vegetarian
Key ingredients and substitutions
Peas - This recipe uses frozen peas because they are so easy to keep on hand at all times. You can absolutely use fresh peas if you are lucky enough to have a crop from the garden.
Spring onions - Provides a lovely freshness and a tonne of flavour.
Self raising flour - If you don't have self raising to hand, you can use the same amount of plain flour and add ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
Flavourings - The addition of mint, garlic and mustard powder give these pea fritters some real oomph, but if your younger audience won't like these flavours, you can leave it out, or use a touch less. We're also adding zest of half a lemon to give it some zing!
Oil - If you have a non-stick pan, you can use the smallest drop of oil. Alternatively you can wipe the pan out with kitchen paper once the oil has been heated.
Yoghurt for serving - We love to use thick Greek yoghurt. You can add a bit of garlic to the yoghurt for extra flavour, or mix in some more chopped mint.
How to make pea fritters - Quick summary
- Whizz together half the defrosted peas and chopped spring onions in a food processer. We will add the other half of the peas at the end to provide some texture.
- Add the two eggs and whiz again.
- Mix together the flour and the remaining dry ingredients and add to the food processor with the mashed peas and spring onions. Whizz until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the remaining peas but don't blend it again, we want the second addition of peas to remain whole.
- Heat the oil and drop heaped tablespoons of batter into the pan. Shape roughly into fritter shapes and fry both sides until a light golden colour. Placing a lid on the pan during frying helps cook the fritters evenly on all sides.
Top tips
- Use two spoons to roughly shape each mound of batter into a flattish circle
- Keep the heat to medium-low to prevent the fritters cooking too quickly on the outsides
- Placing a lid on during frying really helps to keep the heat in which delivers more even cooking of the fritters
Serving suggestions
- As an appetiser with a big dollop of thick Greek yoghurt or aioli
- Serve as a main with a side of mash, couscous, quinoa, chips, fragrant rice, pouched egg and a healthy bread roll
- As a side with fish, chicken or salad
- As a patty for a veggie burger
- In a lunch box
- With a healthy brown rice salad
Storage
These pea fritters will keep in the fridge for up to three days. They can also be frozen for up to three months. Defrost by taking them out the day before. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.
Recipe
Easy pea fritters
Ingredients
- 250 grams frozen peas - defrosted
- 2 spring onions - finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 150 grams self raising flour
- zest from half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon mint - finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- oil for frying
- Greek yoghurt for serving - optional
Instructions
- Place half of the defrosted peas in a food processor together with the chopped spring onions. Whiz until mashed
- Add the two eggs and whizz again until combined
- In a separate bowl, mix together the self raising flour, lemon zest, chopped mint, garlic, salt and mustard powder. Add it all at once to the food processer. Mix until you have a smooth batter
- Stir in the remaining peas. Don't blend again, we want the second addition of peas to remain whole to provide texture
- Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan over a low-medium heat. Add heaped tablespoons of batter to the pan and roughly shape each one into a fritter. No need to be precise, as long as they're of even thickness to ensure even cooking
- Fry over a low-medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until you have light golden bottoms. Flip the fritters over and fry the other side for 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are again a light golden colour. Top tip: If you have a lidded pan you can place the lid on during frying as it helps to cook the fritters evenly
- Repeat with any remaining batter. Serve as a snack with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt or as a main meal with a side of couscous, rice, chips or mashed potato. They are equally good cold and will therefore also work well in lunch boxes
Notes
Nutrition
For food safety advice, including guidance on food allergies
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