Overview: How to make Chicken Fritters

1. Combine the ingredients: Combine the chicken, cheddar, almond flour, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix with your hands to make it all nicely uniform.
2. Form the patties: Use about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and form into small patties about 2 ½ to 3 inches across. Place a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate one hour.
3. Cook the patties: Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet and add butter. When melted and hot, brown the chicken patties until cooked through.
4. Drain: Place the patties on a paper towel lined plate to drain off any residual oil.

Ingredient Notes

• Frozen spinach: I recommend frozen spinach rather than fresh for simplicity. It’s easier to remove more of the liquid from frozen spinach.
• Ricotta cheese: Use whole milk ricotta cheese and drain off any liquid that has accumulated around the top.
• Almond flour: You could also use sunflower seed flour for a nut-free alternative.
• Parmesan: Make sure the parmesan is finely grated so that it mixes in better.
• Egg: You do need an egg to help hold the fritters together properly.
• Butter or oil: Lightly brushing the fritter with oil makes them brown more nicely in the air fryer. If you fry them in a pan, you will need additional oil.
• Seasonings: Italian seasoning, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Step by Step Directions

1. Squeeze the spinach: Place the thawed spinach in a kitchen rag or tea towel and twist to release as much moisture as possible. This is best done over the sink!
2. Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, almond flour, parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir in the egg: Add the egg and work that in until well combined. Use a silicone spatula to work everything together like a dough.
4. Form into patties: Using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time, form into balls and then flatten the balls into patties. You should get at least 12.
5. Air fry: Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF and lightly grease the rack(s). Place the fritters in a single layer on the racks and brush lightly with melted butter or oil. If your air fryer is small, you may need to work in batches. Air fry for 10 minutes, flipping over partway through and brushing the second side with butter or oil.

Tips for Success

Ricotta can sometimes have a lot of liquid. I always find that it pools at the top of the cheese when you’ve already removed some. Make sure to pour off any of that liquid before measuring it out, or your mixture will be too wet.

If the ricotta you use is quite liquidy as is, consider straining it through a sieve lined with paper towel before using.

I recommend frozen spinach for recipes like this because it’s easier to work with. You can easily squeeze out all the extra moisture once it’s thawed. Fresh, uncooked spinach may work but I didn’t test this recipe with it

Stovetop Directions

Follow the directions for forming the fritters. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the fritters and let cook until golden brown on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook on the second side until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain a few minutes before serving.

Ingredients you need

• Zucchini: Make sure you salt and drain the zucchini, then squeeze it to remove most of the moisture.
• Crushed pork rinds: You could also use almond flour.
• Coconut flour: This helps bind the fritters and soak up any excess moisture.
• Eggs: Eggs help hold the fritters together better. Oil for pan frying: Both coconut oil and avocado oil are good choices. Keep in mind that coconut oil has a stronger flavor while avocado oil is more neutral.
• Fritter recipe option 1: Crumbled feta, green onions, ground marjoram, pepper and salt.
• Fritter recipe option 2: Shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeños, garlic powder, cumin and salt.

Step by Step Directions

1. Prep the zucchini: Place the zucchini in a fine-mesh sieve and sprinkle with the salt. Toss a few times and let drain 1 hour, then tranfer to a tea towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

2. Prep the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the pork rinds, coconut flour, marjoram, and pepper. Stir in the crumbled feta and green onions (Option 1) or the cheddar and jalapeños (Option 2).

3. Add the zucchini: Mix in the zucchini and eggs until the batter comes together. Using your hands, form the mixture into 6 even patties.

4. Fry up the fritters: In a large skillet over medium heat, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the fritters and let cook until golden brown on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip over and cook on the second side until golden brown.

5. Drain the fritters: Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain a few minutes before serving. Delicious with sour cream or yogurt.

Tips for Success 

Drain well and squeeze: One of the keys to any successful zucchini fritter recipe is to reduce as much moisture as possible. So you want to salt that shredded zucchini and let it drain for at least an hour. Then wrap it all up in a tea towel and make like a boa constrictor, squeezing it to death.

Keto fillers: Using crushed pork rinds really made a huge difference. Because they naturally contain collagen, they swell with added liquid and they get thick, creating a thicker batter and better consistency. The fritters held together much better in the pan, especially when trying to flip them over.

Interestingly, I found that the Cheddar Zucchini Fritters were easier to flip than the Feta Zucchini Fritters. I think the melting cheddar also helps bind them together.

If you prefer, you can still use almond flour and coconut flour. Just understand that they may not hold together quite as well.

Don’t use butter for frying: I tried a couple of different fats for frying the zucchini fritters. Since they take a bit to cook through, both butter and ghee went brown too quickly. It leaves the outside too dark while the center is still a bit mushy. You want an oil that can withstand the high heat for 10 minutes without browning or burning.

The fritters will soak up a lot of the oil so if you are doing them in batches, you will need to add more oil to the pan. You should be able to do all 6 fritters in one 12-inch pan.

More savory keto zucchini recipes