Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Fritters

Looking for a new way to make sweet potatoes? These light and easy fritters might be just what you’re after.

Sweet potatoes are one of those things that I don’t give a lot of thought to preparing. It’s either baked and served with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon…. Or roasted.

But how about we turn it on its ear and look at it in a completely different way?

Like a fritter?

And one that’s healthy to boot?

This is that.

And how about a healthy sweet potato fritter that takes ten minutes to make, start to finish?

I’m not sure it gets much better.

The process couldn’t be simpler, and is totally open to customization. Once you have the basic premise down … shred one potato, add an egg, and spices and pan fry … you can make many different riffs of it based on your particular tastes or cravings. To counterbalance the slightly sweet taste of the sweet potato, I stuck with smoky and spicy seasonings. Cumin and chili powder. But your add-ins are limited only to your imagination.

After a meeting last night, I wasn’t especially hungry, Maddie wanted waffles, and Nick had already eaten. So a few of these fritters, topped with a runny egg, made a perfect light and quick meal for me.

Hungry for more sweet potato recipes?
These fritters are slightly similar, but add zucchini and coconut flour to keep it this side of something different.
This Shaved Brussels Sprout and Sweet Potato Salad was another unusual twist, and delicious.
I haven’t had these Sweet Potato Fries in ages; they definitely need to come back into rotation.

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Fritters
Recipe courtesy of Cate O’Malley

Ingredients
One large sweet potato, peeled and grated
3 green onions chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/2 sea salt or kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add ghee or extra light virgin olive oil. Add a few handfuls of the mixture to the pan (I got about five small-medium size) and gently push the piles down so they’re flatter. Cook for 2-3 minutes  or until golden brown and starting to get slightly crispy, and then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. When removing from pan, place them on a paper-towel lined plate as you finish making the batch.

Serve by themselves, or topped with a little sour cream, or a runny egg.