When we first started the Whole30, I was overwhelmed with how much cooking there was. The inner rebel in me fought back and I gave up on fun side dishes and just let the oven do the work.
I roasted EVERYTHING. Every single vegetable I cooked (except for my favorite salad) was put onto a cookie sheet, given a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and I called it done.
Fast forward to when the shock of the Whole30 wore off and I was ready to try something different. That’s where these carrot and sweet potato fritters come into play!
Although these carrot and sweet potato fritters are Whole30 compliant and Paleo too, they’re not just for those on an elimination diet.
My kids went NUTS for these, thinking they were one of the best vegetables I’d made in a very long time. I don’t blame them – I ate A WHOLE BATCH the day I took these photos.
And I have no problem admitting that because:
- They’re crazy healthy
- They’re mostly vegetables
- They’re addictingly delicious
- See A and B and C above
Carrot and Sweet Potato Fritters
Let’s breakdown what exactly these little patties of deliciousness of are made of, shall we?
Carrots
Nothing fancy here – just good ol’ carrots. I used orange carrots because they’re the most affordable (just $1.19/lb for ORGANIC at my local grocery store!) but you can use white carrots, purple carrots, red carrots… whatever your garden or farmer’s market or grocery store or your CSA box is giving you nowadays.
Side note – if you have a hard time finding organic food in your area, hopefully this guide can help!
You’ll peel the carrots before you start, so make sure you wash them and have a freezer-safe container ready for those scraps. That’s how you can make chicken stock using kitchen scraps!
Sweet Potatoes
I’m sure there’s an official difference between yams and sweet potatoes, but for the average home cook (>> me <<) it doesn’t really matter.
It also doesn’t matter if you have white sweet potatoes or orange sweet potatoes – there’s delicious all the same!
Like the carrots, wash the outside and save the peels for chicken stock!
Eggs
Eggs are the binder in this recipe and while I haven’t tested it myself, I’m willing to bet that making flax eggs would work as a find substitute if you’re an egg-free family. (More about flaxseed HERE.)
Ginger
As much as I big fat puffy heart LOVE to use fresh ginger, I don’t always have it on hand. I’ve only tested this using ground ginger since it’s what I always have, but if you ever have fresh ginger, totally go for it! It would give a super great boost of fresh and lightly spicy flavor to these carrot and sweet potato fritters. (Did you know you can freeze fresh ginger?!)
Flour
You need just a bit of flour to help soak up extra moisture from the carrots and sweet potatoes, but it doesn’t matter what type of flour you use. I used almond flour to keep these Whole30/Paleo, but you can use whole wheat or all-purpose for sure.
I’ve served these as side dishes alongside Instant Pot whole chicken and Instant Pot beef brisket and almond crusted baked chicken, but they were REALLY stellar next to Chinese 5 Spice chicken. Both recipes call for ginger, so it’s like a match made in taste bud heaven!
And don’t forget the dipping sauce!!
I didn’t make it the first time, but I did the second and third and it’s SO easy and SO good. It adds a flavor punch to these cute little fritters and since the sauce calls for mayo (I always use my fail-proof 2-minute mayo), it’s Whole30 compliant and Paleo as well!
Before I share the recipe, let’s talk about cooking these gorgeous little fritters.
First, the recipe calls for coconut oil. If you don’t want to use coconut oil for whatever reason… allergies, preference, don’t have any… that’s fine. Just use a different oil that is suitable for higher heat cooking. Lard, tallow and avocado oil all work well.
Second, don’t be afraid to add more oil. I don’t know if my fritters soak the oil up, or my cast iron skillet soaks the oil in (this is the cast iron skillet I have), but I had to add 1-2 teaspoons of oil for each round of pan frying I did.
I also tested NOT adding more oil (on accident) and the fritters simply burn… so, make sure you add oil and don’t be afraid of it. Healthy fat is good for you!
Lastly, if you have leftovers, they’re AWESOME with fried eggs and breakfast sausage. If you double this recipe and cross your fingers that your family doesn’t eat them all, you can have breakfast for several days!
Tools of the trade!
I don’t have a fancy food processor, but if I did, it would be this one. I used this classic box grater and it got the job done just fine.
My daughter actually made this entire recipe herself (minus the frying, she’s 8), so if your kids can read, this is a great one for them to help you out with!
- For the Fritters
- 2 cups shredded carrots (about 3 medium-size carrots)
- 2 cups shredded sweet potatoes (about 1 large sweet potato)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ⅔ cup flour (I used almond flour)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- up to ⅓ cup coconut oil (for frying)
- For the Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup mayo (I use homemade fail-proof mayo)
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- up to ¼ tsp salt
- up to ¼ tsp garlic powder
- up to ¼ tsp onion powder
- 4 green onions, sliced (optional, for garnish and color)
- For the Fritters
- Combine shredded carrots, shredded sweet potatoes and spices in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix well so the spices are evenly distributed.
- Add the flour and again, mix well so it's evenly distributed.
- Meanwhile, preheat a skillet to medium heat and melt 2-3 Tbsp coconut oil.
- Crack the two eggs into a mug and whip using a fork. Add the eggs to the vegetables and use your hands to mix everything together well.
- When the skillet is hot (test a drop of water to see if it will sizzle), use slightly less than ¼ cup of mixture to make a patty in your hands. Make sure the patty is uniform in thickness throughout so it cooks evenly.
- Place the patty on the skillet and cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Use a pancake flipper to carefully lift the fritter up and flip over. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until both sides are evenly cooked.
- Repeat with the remaining fritter mixture.
- Put cooked fritters on a plate lined with paper towels and serve hot.
- For the Dipping Sauce
- While the fritters are cooking, combine the mayo, lemon juice, ⅛ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp onion powder and green onions (if using) in a small bowl. Stir well so the flavors can combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired when the fritters are done.
These look great I will definitely make them
The way to always have fresh ginger is to grow it yourself. Is easy buy a piece with several ‘eyes, cut into pieces and plant.
I did not pull the roots the first year and now I have stacks of it in the garden. It makes sense to grow those things that are expensive to buy and buy those that a cheap at the markets, like carrots.
I also grow turmeric for the same reason, it’s expensive and really easy to grow. Just leave it for the first year to get a good crop
I agree these look great and I will try them soon. I am fascinated by your tip about growing fresh ginger. I have very little sunlight where I live. The up side of this is that in 5 years we have probably only had our a/c on 1/2 dozen times. How much sun light does ginger require and how deep do you plant them? Could I grow in a large pot?
Dear Tiffany,
It has to be cultural and environmental thing to know the difference or sameness between Sweet Potatoes and Yams. Both have different leaves and grow in different sizes, therefore are not the same vegetable. But if you live in an area that grows ground loving vegetables it should not matter what you call them -its the eating that counts. I love manioc also called cassava, and feel they have more flavour than ordinary I’rish’ potatoes – as we call them where I live. Taro is another root vegetable – otherwise called the Pacific Island Potato, that I think also goes marvelously with other root vegetables. All of these of course have carbohydrates in them but full of vitamins and minerals. For example, sweet potatoes (any colour)are otherwise called Kumeras here and in New Zealand have iron in them as I understand it. When I was young I always felt better after eating Gran’s grated and baked (like a cake) sweet potato dish that tasted good either with meat and other vegetables or alone as a sweet covered with cow-cream (all we had when I was young) and sometimes with stewed green peaches. I was always a bit anaemic so Gran’s dish went down well and made me feel much more alive.
Best wishes and thanks for alerting us to a great vegetable combination. Grace
What a lovely post!! Educational, informative, interesting and by the way, what are stewed green peaches?? How do you fix them? Stewed peaches, yes, stewed green peaches, ???
Hello Charlotte,
green peaches are picked off the tree while they are still green because if you don’t the birds get to them first and there is none left or not worth picking. Peel the peaches if you want or clean and throw them in a pot, (but granny slit them with a knife first) cover with water and boil/stew until they are soft. When done add as much sugar as you want, thicken the juice with cornflour, or similar until it is of sauce consistency and serve, hot or cold. The seeds are removed with the eating. It is great with anything cream was best for us, or icecream if you have it, custard was usual too.
Best wishes, Grace.
So healthy and frugal ! If any left, I could have some the other day at office ! Thank you !
These were really tasty! They were sometimes a bit crumbly when flipping them over but they tasted great.
I’m glad you liked them Janis! The best way to prevent crumbling is to flip carefully (obviously, lol), but to let them cook a bit longer on the first side. I also like to flatten them out a bit so they’re thinner. I noticed that when they’re thick, the insides fell out while flipping. But making them thinner allowed more of the fritter to cook, and therefore less to fall apart, if that makes sense!
I had a parsnip that was nearing the end of its life span so I subbed that in for the carrots. Tastes delicious with parsnip and sweet potato as well.
Ooh – nice swap Christine!
I added shredded mushrooms (bellas) and the the sause added about tsp of mustard and Tbs honey….YUM