Last week, it was pointed out to me that among the 750 recipes in the archives, there is but a single recipe that utilizes broccoli. Just one! (It’s a great one, though.) For comparison, there are 11 recipes that use cauliflower and 26 with mushrooms. What terrible oversight could have led to this? I buy broccoli (and its friends) approximately once a week, year-round but this wasn’t always the case. I never disliked broccoli — I’m not this guy — but it wasn’t until my toddler took a great interest in chomping down on huge florets, raw, cooked, or three days old, that it became part of our regular rotation.
Please understand: this is not one of those stories about how preciously advanced my toddler’s tastes are, how early he took an interest in foie gras and how he turns his nose up at white flour pastas, preferring farro. Oh no. It is, in fact, the opposite. Let’s say you called me on the phone day — you know, presuming we lived on a planet where people still spoke on the phone — and said “My toddler! He eats nothing but macaroni and cheese and graham crackers! How do I get him to eat vegetables?” I would respond, without blinking twice: “Fritters.” Except my enthusiasm for fritters is so great that it would come out “FRITTERS!” in the background, I’d be doing jazz hands, and in my head, there would be Rockettes singing and high-kicking to this tune that I promise to never sing for you in person that goes, “Fritterrrrrrrrs! Fritters are the answer!” Let’s definitely never speak about this part again.
I have a theory that you can tuck almost any finely chopped or shredded vegetable — be it potatoes, zucchini, or an Indian-spiced mix — into a savory pancake, fry it in small mounds until crisp on both sides, serve it with a dollop of a sour cream or yogurt sauce and they will be inhaled. They’re one of these magical foods. They come together quickly. You can make them with whatever you have on hand, even leftover vegetables. They freeze well. They reheat well. You can put an egg on top of them and call them a balanced meal. They are one of the universe’s most perfect foods and I have found that toddler-types love them.
So, you know where this is going. One day, at a loss for what to make my very own toddler for lunch, I had the audacity to take some of his leftover steamed broccoli florets, mash them into a Parmesan batter, fry them until crisp and heavenly and I was about as puffed and proud of my cooking efforts as a mama could be, and you know, he wouldn’t touch them. Not a bit. Not even a sniff. And it was all because I’d forgotten the two rules of feeding toddlers. 1. The greater your enthusiasm is about a dish the less likely it is that a toddler will eat it. It is known. 2. If your child likes something aggressively healthy — like, say, broccoli — raw or barely cooked and totally unseasoned and horrifically bland to you, you don’t have to mess with it. You can just leave it alone.
And with that, I had them for lunch instead. And they were fantastic.
One year ago: Dobos Torte
Two years ago: Strawberry Ricotta Graham Tartlets
Three years ago: Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows and Spanikopita Triangles
Four years ago: Breakfast Apricot Crisp and Dead Simple Slaw
Five years ago: Gateau de Crepes
Broccoli Parmesan Fritters
There’s a lot of broccoli and very little pancake in this fritter. The broccoli is not grated or pureed, but left in small, recognizable bits that are bound lightly, faintly, to their batter of egg, parmesan and flour. And when you cook them right — that is, to a crisp, in a preheated, heavy, oil-slicked skillet — they get a fantastic crisp edge to them, like they were coated in frico. I imagine that if you were to roll the pancake in additional parmesan, it would get extra frico, though I haven’t tried it yet. Also, I’d like someone to start a band called Extra Frico.
To serve: I like these with a dollop of the garlicky lemon yogurt I share here, roughly 1 cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tiny minced clove of garlic, a bit of zest and salt. It would also be good with this homemade ricotta, with or without additional lemon juice. They’re also good simply, with just a squeeze of lemon juice. I think I’d also enjoy them with a little crumbled feta on top. Oh, and of course, you can put a runny fried egg on top of it. But I don’t need to tell you that.
Yield: 9 (because my recipes never want to grace us with neat, well-rounded numbers) 2 to 2 1/2-inch fritters
8 ounces (1 small-to-medium bundle, 225 grams) fresh broccoli (3 cups chopped)
1 large egg
1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (30 grams) finely grated parmesan cheese
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
Prepare your broccoli: Separate the florets from the biggest stem(s). Cut the florets into 1-inch chunks. To prepare the stems, I like to peel them, as the skin can be thick and doesn’t cook quickly, then slice them into 1/2-inch lengths. You should have about 3 cups of chopped broccoli total.
Steam your broccoli until tender but not mushy: Use whatever method you prefer. My quickie, lazy method is to bring a 1/2-inch or so of water to a boil in a small saucepan, then add the broccoli, place a lid on it and simmer it for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the broccoli, then set it aside to cool slightly.
In the bottom of a large bowl, lightly beat your egg. Add the flour, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Then, add the somewhat cooled broccoli and, using a potato masher, mash the broccoli just a bit. You’re looking to keep the bits recognizable, but small enough (1/4- to 1/2-inch chunks) that you can press a mound of the batter into a fritter in the pan. Once mashed a bit, stir or fold the ingredients together the rest of the way with a spoon. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat. Once hot, add a good slick of oil (I usually use a mix of olive and vegetable oil), about 2 to 3 tablespoons. Once the oil is hot (you can test it by flicking a droplet of water into it; it should hiss and sputter), scoop a two tablespoon-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan, then flatten it slightly with your spoon or spatula. Repeat with additional batter, leaving a couple inches between each. Once brown underneath, about 2 to 3 minutes, flip each fritter and cook on the other side until equally golden, about another 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer briefly to paper towels to drain, then to a serving plate if you’ll be eating them shortly or a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven if you’d like to keep them warm for a while until needed. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. Serve with some of the suggestions listed in the head notes, above.
Oh my goodness – that is genius! Broccoli is one of my all-time favorite veggies and actually one my kids gobble up. I’ve convinced my girls that broccoli will make their hair grow as long as Rapunzel’s. :) Must try this weekend!
I want these now! YUM
Great post! I think this will be dinner.
These look magnificent – and like a great way to use up our extra broccoli (which we always seem to have…). Thanks for the recipe, Deb!
These look fantastic :) quick question about freezing them, do you recommend doing that before or after they have been fried? (Sorry, I’m new to the whole making real food and then freezing it thing…)
Thanks!
Nicole — I usually freeze fritters after they are cooked. To reheat them, I place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until crisp and new again.
They should probably be frozen in a single layer as well! :) just to avoid any frustration ;)
I love that you only chopped the broccoli, these sound great!
Why do runny eggs manage to make everything better? I love broccoli, but I tend to eat it the same was a Jacob…very plain. The fritter idea is just brilliant. And now you’ve got me thinking that the world is ready for a spinach and artichoke type fritter.
I secretly want to cover these in a Cheddar cheese sauce. Don’t tell anyone.
Only one other broccoli recipe? That’s impressive! ;-) Well, I think you’ve made up for it with these fabulous looking fritters!
These look delectable! Not having children at this time in my life, I gratefully tuck away all the food-for-little-ones wisdom you impart. And: I just love your writing — such a pitch-perfect and always consistent voice. Please do keep the goodness coming, Deb!
I assume that’s 1/3 cup of cheese?
Also, I am hoping this will be what finally gets my stubborn 4 year old to eat broccoli. Fingers crossed.
I will definitely be giving these a try! We love broccoli around here, and I never even thought about turning it into fritters, so thanks for thinking of it for me. And, when I do make them, I’ll have you doing jazz hands in the back of my mind. (A recipe AND entertainment? You’re too generous :)
They looks soo yumm!
I have a wonderful cookbook called, Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book. There is a FAB-U-LOUS broccoli and scrambled egg sandwich with feta cheese that you have just got to try!!! So yummy!
Today I am making your Strawberry Shortcakes from May 2009 – one of my favorites on SK!
Your story of the fritters and Jacob’s reaction has been played out here many times. Black Ban Burgers, gobbled by the child who at the time hated beans and refused by the beans straight from the can brother. Feeding children is one with a rule book only they understand.
These look absolutely delicious!!! What a great idea to use broccoli for fritters!
Best use of broccoli ever! (other than broccoli slaw, which I adore and is the one other recipe you have with it). It’s an under-loved veggie I think, but I love it!
I was just thinking I needed a tasty way to use up broccoli in the fridge. What perfect timing! Thanks for the encouragement to be creative with fritters!
My toddler inhales your zucchini fritters and so I have high hopes for these broccoli fritters. Don’t know why, but it never occurred to me to try other veggie fritters than your delicious zucchini ones.
I think I might be able to get my picky 31 year old boyfriend to eat broccoli this way. Perhaps his palate actually is more sophisticated than a three year old’s…
Hi, looks great! Can I bake it instead of frying?
Only one recipe with broccoli! Horrors! :)
I definitely love frying vegetables of all kinds into little savory pancakes–but I don’t think I’ve ever made one with just broccoli. I’ll definitely have to give it a try! And I bet sriracha would be a great addition to the lemon yogurt sauce.
So sorry to be a party popper; Sriracha has huge amounts of MSG, so not recommended!
I know, I used to love it too… :(
Not everyone agrees that MSG is a bad thing. We, for one, love Sriracha.
I have broccoli, parm, and yogurt. Dinner is solved. Thanks Deb.
I love the idea of these. We don’t eat a lot of broccoli in our house, but this seems like an easy way to make it! I have never made fritters before, but i’m looking forward to trying them! Thanks for the great recipe!
I consider myself to be fairly adept at transforming leftover bits into another meal. How have I completely missed fritters as a vehicle? The possibilities are endless…My kids will love these!
I feel like these would go well with barbecue sauce… is that heretical? Do I care. Answers: Possibly and no.
These look absolutely heavenly and unreasonably addictive. What a fabulous way to use broccoli! I bet cauliflower would be a great twist as well.
Great, now I know another way to use broccoli. This will give my family and I a break from steamed and roasted broccoli. Will be trying this recipe soon.
Really want to try these, but I can’t eat gluten or most other grains… Do you have any suggestions of a different flour to try? Or do you think they might still work without any flour added? They look so delicious!
I think these would be easily adaptable to gluten-free with a gluten-free flour mix for the all-purpose. If they really don’t want to stay together, an extra egg white can always be added.
You could use almond meal
I made these this morning to use up a bag of supermarket broccoli slaw that was about to go off, and I’m also gluten free was going to sub in gluten free flour. I didn’t have any, so I used 1/4 cup of bob’s mill gluten free pancake mix instead and they were delicious! I used homemade habenero hot sauce and zhoug as my dipping sauces. Yum.
Perfect timing! It’s just now getting warm enough to swap from roasting broccoli to something a little less heat-intensive. I want to try with cauliflower, too.
I literally cracked up laughing when I read the “jazz hands” part. But since I’ve never seen you in motion, I pictured it as you from the picture of you on your About page waving your hands in jazz dance fashion. And it was glorious.
On an unrelated note, nice to see Dobos Torte come up on the “One Year Ago” recipes. I made it last year ‘cuz the hubby is Hungarian and I wanted to be a glutton for punishment/domestic goddess that day. And I succeeded because of your rockin’ recipe. Thanks for the hero status.
xoxo
Cheri
I absolutely loved broccoli as a child (still do). I would pretend that they were trees and I a mighty dinosaur devouring them (still do).
I made spinach fritters over the weekend (almost identical to this recipe but with blanched spinach) but they turned out a bit chewy. (Not like the hairy walking carpet but on the rubber-y side). I may have overcooked the spinach. I do love broccoli so in this case I’m thinking I might leave it raw and just shred it on the mandoline or something so it keeps its bite.
Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies so I am glad to find this recipe here!
And it always seems to go so well with parm cheese! I prefer the combination over cheddar actually. So I am very excited to get working on this recipe very soon!
Xoxo
Yum! I’m always at a loss for how to make broccoli other than steamed. I’m definitely trying this asap!
I like that it’s kinda more broccoli than pancake. :) I haven’t tried this veg in a fritter yet, but they look great. Thanks for the recipe!
These look yummy. Do you think these would taste as good if I omitted the flour and cheese? A la mini frittatas?
yummers!! i wonder if you could pan-fry them to get them to stick together in a patty, but them throw them on the grill!!
i might try it this weekend!
cheers.
I love broccoli, this looks like a fantastic new way to enjoy it. I especially love the ratio of broccoli to batter that you mentioned!
Saw this recipe, had a chunk of broccoli sitting in my fridge, and ran downstairs to make them for lunch. Yum! Totally delicious. I added lemon zest and squeezed lemon juice on them when they came out of the pan.
oh — just meant to add — don’t cook them on too high a heat / rush them, or they get a little gummy (my second batch when the cast iron pan was hotter)…
Man, I love reading your blog so much and (here’s the big compliment part) I don’t even cook. You made me laugh, inappropriately, at work today – it was the jazz hands, I think – and I just wanted to let you know.
This is a grand idea for using leftover broccoli and bet it would work perfectly for any of the lovely cruciferous veggies like cauliflower and brussels.
Deb,
I have been making these for years, and I bake them in the oven (just swap in cheddar if you don’t want parm for the kids).
It’s my most popular post of all time, because it’s so easy!
http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2011/01/broccoli-bites-for-kids.html
Just before serving, Sprinkle some dried (raw) mango powder, available at Asian grocery stores – and you will never eat fritters without it again…
Great! I have broccoli in the freezer waiting for a recipe like this one. I’ll try to make fritters tomorrow. Thanx for the idea.
I confess to not being a broccoli fan – but I am imagining this with asparagus!
I was on this site just yesterday looking for a broccoli recipe and was shocked there was only one option. Luckily, not finding a recipe, I left my broccoli bunch alone in the fridge for the night. Now I get to try this one today!
Oh boy! These look super fabulous!
These look delicious. My son also loves brocolli, so maybe these will be a treat just for this momma, too. I wanted to comment because I clicked over to that Honest Toddler blog – thanks for the link, it’s so funny (and completely describes my entire LIFE right now)
I have a HUGE zuchinni from my farmers market and some broccoli that is just dying to be combined into a mega fritter. Can’t wait!
Broccoli is a favorite of mine, so I am very pleased to see you double your count of broccoli recipes on here! =) More to come?
Here’s a slightly related question: what pan do you use? I’m trying to replace a worn out non-stick frying pan and all the options are causing discombobulation.
Snugs — Get a 12-inch cast iron skillet ($20 new, less if used; the older ones are even better). You’ll use it forever, never need another. I started with a 12-inch, moved onto a 9- and 6-inch. They’re always out. They really help you get a nice crisp brown edge on foods and distribute heat wonderfully. Well-seasoned, they act like nonsticks.
Excellent! My daughter is four and won’t eat McDonald’s but requested spaghetti pie and green beans for her birthday dinner — she asked if we could grow broccoli in the garden this summer. She loves vegetables. Maybe it’s risky to shake it up (like your experience), but Mom and Dad need a little variety. These sound fantastic.
Oh, and thanks for the link to Honest Toddler — hilarious!!
Perfect. I was running down the fresh ingredients in the fridge ready for a clean out, and what I had left was carrots, lettuce, baby tomatoes, one egg, broccoli, milk and parmesan. So I just made these fritters, with salad, and ate them. Lovely.
I found I had to add in a bit of milk, as the initial mixture was not moist enough, and I didn’t have a second egg to add.
I did read this week (an old article! http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=raw-veggies-are-healthier) that broccoli may be a key anti-cancer vegetable, so the more methods to eat it, oh ho ho the better.
Thanks for a terrific dinner idea!
When I read this post I had a great big smile on my face. My grandmother, mother and now I have been making broccoli pancakes forever. Growing up in an Italian household one could never throw any uneaten food out. Whenever we had leftover steamed broccoli, cauliflower, etc. my mom would make these. Very similar recipe except we use store bought seasoned breadcrumbs instead of flour. We also found peanut oil tasted the best when frying.
Deb ~ my youngest daughter (now nearly 16) has taken a hard left away from most meet and your recipes are my go-to place to her the nutrition (and deliciousness) that she needs. This is definitely another hit! Thanks so much for sharing!
yep, perfect kid food. my kids do indeed eat anything in fritter form, though admittedly, my fritters never fry up so nicely as yours.
YIKES!! “meet” was DEFINTELY meant to be “meat”. . dang! sorry about that. .LOL
Just made these and they are awesome!
I just made these and they were amazing! I added some smoked sea salt and red pepper flakes to the fritters.
I made up nearly this exact same recipe about 2.5 years ago when my older son turned 1. This was his primary vehicle for vegetable consumption from 12 months to 2.5 years. I’ve done the same thing with spinach too. I have to say, though, that your version looks tastier, what with the cheese and garlic. So I think I’ll adopt it when #2 son starts on finger foods in the fall.
I think I’ll use this recipe in addition for when we make latkas for Hanukkah:)
Have you ever watched Portlandia? “Put a bird on it!” http://www.putabirdonit.com/ Except your mantra would be “Put an egg on it!”
I love it!!
Yum! They look great, but I know some kids that wouldn’t touch them. Oh well, more for the adults! :D
I use fritters a lot too to get my kids to eat all kinds of veges! I ALSO often end up eating the left-overs, because anything wrapped in “fritter” is just so yummy! I must try these broccoli ones, as my kids, on the contrary, hate anything green with a vengence! Thanks for the recipe!
If I weren’t living in a hotel room right now, I would make these IMMEDIATELY.
Look yummy and I’m sure it is! I have made something similar, “veggie patties”.
Love eating veggies by different ways..like a little child- why not!?
xxxFiC.
I just want to state for the record that I will be very sad if there is not a birthday cake post soon. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! SO curious to see what it was this year. And if JH had a hand in frosting it…
rachel — Thank you! I didn’t have time to make a cake. SO SAD. My dad’s birthday is Friday, so I’ll see I can get it together for a joint celebration.
kind of healthy, kind of indulgent. I LOVE IT! Sounds like the perfect side :D
Broccoli is among the healthiest food possible and the staple food of my diet…Iàm si happy about this recipe. I’m gonna try it really soon!
I love fritters – we got kohlrabi in our CSA last year and after 3 weeks of it, fritters it was and they were delicious!
I just made these & they were so good!! I added a little feta to the mix; didn’t have enough parm, but it worked great. I’m looking forward to making the zucchini fritters next. Thanks for a great recipe :)
Oooh, that looks delicious! Why have I never made a vegetable fritter? Here I was, thinking my life was complete-ish, & I’ve totally missed out on something big!
My kids are dancing around happily at the idea of BROCCOLI PANCAKES!
And then the 5 year old asked if we could dip them in syrup. Maybe ketchup or salad dressing?
Brilliant. Thank you for planning an easy, healthy dinner for me after an overly indulgent and exhausting weekend.
I made tempura vegetables for my kids the other day. They normally kind of like veggies, but french fried greenbeans, asparagus, and zucchini (not to mention the cheese stuffed deep fried squash blossoms) were just awful to them. I’m pretty much over doing things just to get my kids to eat them- I’ve moved on to making whatever I want and then making my kids eat it. No more easy, no less complaining, just less “failure” on my part!
Deb – what are your thoughts about putting the broccoli (steamed whole) through a food processor? That’s how I always make my latkas…
Yum! Broccoli fritters sound and look delicious!!
cant wait to try these!
I literally just came back from the store with broccoli to make the slaw for tomorrow’s lunch…but it’s highly likely that I will make this instead. Looks incredible.
I love fritters and have made them with all kinds of vegetables, but sadly not broccoli. These look so good, I can’t wait to try them!
I use gram flour (chick peas) for making courgette pancakes – bet that could be used to sub for the normal flour here if you wanted to make them gluten free
yes! i love a fritter with more veggies than batter. They look fantastic. If I haven’t said it to your (cyber)face recently, I love the way you write. You are so talented, Deb. So so so talented.
Looks delicious. Can you substitute all purpose flour
and how would it affect the fritter?
BarbaraG
How did you know that upon looking at this recipe, I had just said, “And I don’t even want this broccoli,” to the pot on the stove. Now I have the perfect use for it. Thanks!
just made these for my 2 year old son’s dinner. he LOVED them and so did I. thanks so much for the recipe. i can’t wait to try it out with other veggies!
Hurrah! I love zucchini or corn fritters, but now I have to try broccoli – they look delish!
Can’t wait to makemthis weekend! Big family get together for 60th anniversary in North GA
I made these for dinner tonight and they were SO delicious!! I’ve always loved broccoli since I was little, but I’ve never tasted it like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe!! I can’t wait to cook these again.
These are so great. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I agree if it’s a fritter how can it be bad?!
I love broccoli, and I had always wondered if you just didn’t really like it. I’m excited to try this recipe and (not to be greedy) hoping there is more to come…
Gaah. Broccoli. Love Love Love it! But I’ve never thought of having the broc in a pancake. Woo Hoo!!!! New dish for me and the fam.
What do you serve these with? I cannot distinguish what the white sauce is you have in the picture above!
Yum! How perfect are these? Broccoli is such a great veggie – perfect in a fritter! I always find I skip over broccoli in ‘set’ recipes..preferring to steam it on my ‘healthy’ nights. This is a great idea! Thanks!
Deb, this is fantastic! I always wondered about the lack of broccoli recipes, and was sad because I always get broccoli in my veg box and need inspiration. This recipe looks great, and I love fritters – thanks for the idea of putting anything into a fritter.
Your broccoli slaw is one of my most favorite recipes ever! So this one certainly merits a try too!
Mmmm..I love fritters. These sound great. I laughed til my sides hurt reading Honest Toddler..too funny. …And fricos? I was just sure that it was a word that Jacob made up!
Desperately want to try these!!!!!
Love it! I will volunteer for lead guitar and vocals in the band “Extra Frico” if you keep cranking out posts like this.
Wow. I know what I’ll be eating next time I get a chance to cook…
Just had a stern warning from my husband that, “he has to have these.” I’m not kidding. Promised he would grill something to go with it. (Could this conversation sound any more sexist? I dunno. But it’s true! :) )
Oh good lord. I just ate dinner but I want these now! I’m going to try it with almond flour — I’ll report back!
I’m tired unusually early tonight, and I can’t get the mental image of you doing jazz hands and dancing about fritters out of my head. Pretty sure you’re going to be Rockette-ing through my dreams tonight. I’ve never made fritters myself but that is going to change soon, very soon! Btw, I tried to click on your zucchini fritters link but it took me to “page not found”.
I’m always looking for new broccoli recipes, but this one has kicked it up a notch. I love it, it looks delicious!
Haha I love the image i have in my head, Fritttttterrs!! (with Jazz hands!) o and the fritters look great to :)
See? Everyone else wanted more broccoli, too!
THANK YOU for this recipe! Broccoli is just about the only vegetable my hubby will eat and only when it’s crispy so I always roast it. Excited to have a new way to prepare it! Sounds delicious!!
I made this once, but with zucchini. It was DELICIOUS
I know what you mean, my son would probably just eat the plain broccoli, I, on the other hand, would never eat it plain without making a face… “Do I really have to?” if he hands me a piece… Those fritters are for me! :-) Beautiful vibrant photography.
I welcome fritters of all forms, but broccoli and parmesan sound so appetizing! Looking forward to breaking out the cast iron and getting some of these bad boys sizzling!
I will try this recipe today. Since fresh broccoli is not cheap here in Budapest, can I use frozen broccoli? Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely brilliant!!! My husband just got done making baby food for our 9 month old and didn’t use up the broccoli. I now know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow.
my parents got me to eat steamed broccoli by dipping it in mayonnaise. it’s delicious. people that have a problem with that idea can call it aioli and feel much better about things ;-)
This seems great! Saving it, defenitly gonna make them!
(my father is a broccoli farmer, so in a couple of weeks I will be eating plenty broccoli ;-))
Woot to jazz hands for fritters! They sound and look fantastic. Also love the sound of the lemon yogurt sauce recipe you slipped in there.
Amazing! Zucchini fritters are a regular part of my cooking routine, but I’ve never thought to try broccoli. As it happens I have broccoli, parmesan, and eggs in my fridge right now… I guess I know what I’ll be having for dinner!
oh my gosh, i saw your post today and just had to come home and make these. they were incredible!!! they remind me of ottolenghi’s spiced cauliflower fritters, which i think you would also love.
These look so good, and I desperately want to make them for my three year old, but (yeah, there’s always got to be a ‘but’!) he’s allergic to all dairy so the cheese it a no-no. He’s also allergic to eggs unless they are very very well cooked (he can eat them in cakes) so I’m wondering if the batter would get cooked enough all the way through, and do you have any suggestions for a replacement on the cheese? I’m always looking for new recipes I can use to try and get him to eat vegetables!
Deb, first time I have commented but how could I resist broccoli, fritters and jazz hands! I love your work :)
Yay! This looks really good. Just yesterday i was thinking that you needed more than one broccoli recipe, and look, here it is! This also makes me really glad that my husband got me the cast iron pan for my birthday that i was asking for. I *just might* have to change my plan for dinner tonight.
I really like that. Simple and delicious, and the yogurt idea for serving intrigues me.
Where has this website been cannot believe I have only just found you!!!, I am in the UK and following baby led weaning for my 7 month old daughter… so no purees here … These are Yummy…I have just given her 2 and she devoured them even with no teeth…though as they were for her ( and yes I admit I had a couple) I left the salt out and used a little lemon juice…. Please keep these recipes coming ;)
Genius. Easy. Great way to get kids to eat veggies, and I think a great teaching recipe for kids. I am putting this on my curriculum for teaching middle school kids cooking…”as seen on Smitten Kitchen” of course!
It’s funny but I always associated you with broccoli because I’ve made that delicious broccoli slaw so many times. You could have had me fooled! Nevertheless, broccoli is one of the few vegetables I haven’t tried in fritter format yet and I’m excited to try this.
Oh hey, thanks for sharing these. I made them today but I was short on brocolli so I added musrooms and beetroot (the beet, the stalk and the leaves). Stir fried everything with the garlic first, added a little Kitchen King (it’s like Garam masala but nicer) then the batter and then I baked them for 15 minutes. Less oil that way. My partner loved them too. Much appreciated!
Oh and I forgot to add instead of flour I added 1/3rd each of whole wheat flour, rice flour and chick pea flour (besan). Way lighter and crisps up faster.
Great idea for broccoli! I love roasted broccoli because it’s crispy and salty and different. Making them into fritters has the same effect. Yum!
oooh I love broccoli. We eat it a lot in our house. It is very versatile for so many things. These fritters look awesome!
It’s like you read my mind! I was making something similar with spinach last night and was wondering if I could do something with broccoli and here it is! Has anyone tried baking those?
Those look amazing! I must try them. And you are one VERY FUNNY writer!
Fritters are definitely the answer! Just had some tasty corn and tomato ones this week – but I am all over broccoli fritters. These are going on the menu asap! Thanks for sharing!
No birthday cake, Deb?? Whenever your birthday is (or was!) I hope that it’s swell! These fritters look fantastic too! :]
It never fails – your recipes are heavenly, but I’m always surprised (why though, I have no idea, you’d think I’d be used to it by now?) by how hilarious your writing is. LOVE that every time I get a new post, I’m immediately inspired to run to the kitchen and cook for MY little babymonsters (I say this in the most incredibly loving, affectionate way.) And I’m laughing all the way. What a great way to start the day!
o-m-g these look heavenly and a great way to use up some broccoli!
Those are definitely the toddler rules. We had the exact same reaction last night to zucchini fritters which I thought for sure would be a hit. I think you meant “clove” not “glove ” of garlic in the recipe.
jennifer — Ha! Thanks.
Karina — I am fairly certain that the egg cooks through but if you’re nervous, you can always use the oven option at the end, toasting them gently for another 10 minutes after they come out of the skillet. You can omit the cheese but you’ll want some more salt in there, maybe a scallion for additional flavor. You might need a little extra flour to bind it.
Reta — I actually think frozen broccoli would be great here.
Cookie and Kate — Oh, god, I hope I don’t give you nightmares. :) Thanks, fixed link now.
First time making something from Smitten Kitchen, and the broccoli fritters were fantastic! My boyfriend and I kept snagging “just one more” and in the end…they were all eaten! I used fresh broccoli, so it did take a bit more time for me – but I would definitely make these again. Thanks for the recipe!
My 14-year old son is a life long vegetarian and fits your description to a T. If it’s in a fritter, he will eat many. We’ve started using fritters as the filling to sandwiches (gotta expand from PB&J at some point in your life) and today his camp lunchbox has pita stuffed with cauliflower cumin fritters, hummus, cukes and tomatoes. He still thinks he doesn’t like veggies!
We made these last night, and they were delicious! Way chewier than I thought they’d be (in a good way . . . like chewy-crisp), and so so so good topped with sour cream. As we sat down to another wonderful dinner from a Smitten Kitchen recipe, I not-so-subtly hinted to my boyfriend that the SK cookbook was available for pre-order! We’ll see . . .
Hi Deb, I made some braised amaranth and savory oatmeal for my own blog in Beijing. I grew up eating them and have always loved it. It’s a comfort dish for me. Maybe your toddler is a braised veggie kinda baby, too :)
These look super yummy …. I’m a lucky girl as I’ve got broccoli just sitting in my fridge waiting …..
I made these last night and loved the flavor. Like Molly, I found them to be a little chewy– the batter was soooo thick. I wonder if it would hurt to add a little milk to thin it out?
This sounds delicious, I need more broccoli recipes too!
What a great way to eat broccoli!! And you’re totally right about toddlers/kids. My niece loves salad, with absolutely no dressing on it. Tastes like leaves to me. But I don’t mess with it because she’s eating her veggies!
I’m thinking chopped onion & crumbled turkey bacon would be a lovely addition…a perfect side to the steaks we will be BBQing for Father’s Day this Sunday :)
Thanks for the idea! Love recipes that are easy to modify…
My husband got on a bit of a jag with cast iron frying pans a few years ago. We collected a few old ones (easy to find at garage/estate sales) and he cleaned them up…part of the process was burning off the caked on crap in the fireplace! We use them all the time. Since seasoning is key for nonstick cooking, picking one up used is perfect (and cheap!).
I just so happen to have some fresh broccoli at home so you KNOW I am making this ASAP. Delicious!
I just made a batch–delicious!
Deb and other Gluten-Free eaters:
I bet this would be delicious with cornmeal or masa harina instead of flour. Also, I make these Spinach cakes from eating well pretty frequently and they use ricotta or cottage cheese to hold everything together. (I cook them in a skillet like you do, instead of baking them).
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/parmesan_spinach_cakes.html
And on another note, thank you for saving me from yet another broccoli stir fry! (I’ve had a head of it in the fridge waiting for creativity to fly). I love the stuff, I just don’t always know what to do with it!
amazing! I know a two year old who needs some encouragement on vegetables! can’t wait to try
I am testing this recipe tonight; jazz hands ready:)
I am eating one now. Delicious – and a great idea. Lemon juice on top really brightens the flavor. Have you ever considered adding something lemony into the batter, like lemon rind or lemon juice? Thank you for the recipe! I want to go fry up some more instead of leaving the rest of the batter for my kids for dinner. :)
Finally a use for the broccoli sitting in my fridge! I can’t wait to try this out!
OH fritters! I couldn’t agree more–put anything in them and they turn into magic. My now five-year-old will eat pretty much anything in this form and teach various fritters in my cooking classes–all to great reviews. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you!
These fritters look amazing! In fact I may even give them a go this evening. Should go down well with my seabass :-D
They look amazing. Will definitely have to try them.
We used to make a similar version using mashed potatoes (maybe bolstered with an egg?) as binder, which worked quite well, and cheddar instead of parm. It’s been too long…
My kid (5 years old) is kind of like yours – plain raw or lighly cooked veggies, with no adornment are preferred. On our drive home yesterday I asked him what he wanted for dinner: a bean and cheese burrito (I sneak in some pre-cooked chicken, too, which he never seems to realize) with sides of black olives and strips of raw red bell pepper. Sounded great to me!
Fritters ARE the answer for my kids. What I wouldn’t give to have them eat their veggies any other way!
I’m home by myself tonight and this might have to be dinner. Especially if I can make them with frozen broccoli (so lazy I am). It sounds even with the frying better than eating cold pizza.
This is perfect, I need something to take to a party this weekend and I have lot’s of manouri (a Greek kind of parmisan) to use up.
Fritters are good, borderline addicting! Luckily my kids like veggies too so I don’t always have to hide them – but who wouldn’t want to with this recipe!
I made these for dinner last night. So good! I have a nephew that will not eat anything green at all. When he took a bite we all cheered! These will become a regular for our family. Thanks Deb!
I grew up with “trees” being one of my favorite foods. But my husband is allergic and my 7-year-old son, while in preschool, asked me how to spell “Objections.” A few minutes later he handed me a marker-written “Objections” list. One item: Broccoli.
Still one of my favorite foods, but I think I’ll be using CSA spinach, local ricotta and chickpea flour to make these tonight.
Deb, not all of us follow your recipes, but we use them as a guide for delicious inspirations. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yum! My lunch today! no egg so use an egg beaters egg white and ground flax seed and water – only had a little broccoli so adjusting the other ingredients made 4 fritters and I ate every one!
I was dying to try them out as soon as I read the recipe, and when tonight’s dinner arrangement was cancelled I was actually a tiny little bit glad about it because that meant I got to try the fritters. So off I went grocery shopping, and then… boy, they were super-yummy! My three-year-old likes broccoli on its own, but also devoured four (!) of the fritters and said I should make them again.
Once again, Deb: Thanks so much!
Oh boy, I am drooling. I love broccoli and I love fritters. Can’t wait to try these!
This look yummy! Definitely hoping to try them. I’m a sucker for anything containing a healthy dose of parmesan cheese.
Alright, I’d be willing to eat broccoli if it was like this!
Thanks for sharing these. I buy them pre-made and frozen for my daughter, but I would prefer to make them myself!
Kacie
I’ve just tried this recipe and it came out great!! I made a couple adding fresh ricotta cheese and they came out good in taste, but a little bit more mushy than your original recipe. I love you! Please consider adopting & feeding me. :)
My husband loves broccoli, and I think he will adore these. Also, I imagine your entries in the voice of Catherynne M. Valente. So much fun!
You’re gonna have to figure out a way to make them not-green for my four year olds to eat them. But they look delish for the adults in the house, anyway.
Eww, looked at your photo of your little friend that came along for the ride. If you buy organic brassicas, you should soak them in very salt water (I fill the sink, dump in a bunch of salt, and run the cold tap) for 20 minutes or so. All the critters die and float away. Then rinse. It’s disgusting, but better there than elsewhere. I’ve stopped buying organic broccoli, frankly. Not worth the squick.
Made these tonight, there were amazing! thanks for the great recipe!
Who needs sour cream??!! So yummy. I am having a difficult time not eating all eight (OK, I did already eat one) myself before my family comes home for dinner. Two winners in a row, as I made the Strawberries and Cream cakes the other day and finished them off for breakfast this morning.
Loved these! Amazing! I pretty much love everything you make.
Yum! I am making these. Also, why are children so weird? Foods my preschooler won’t touch: apples, peaches, sweet potatoes. But she loves broccoli!
Re: Cooking Broccoli.
I have the easiest, fastest and, to me, the best method for cooking broccoli. Wash broccoli under running water, shake off, cut into long stems and microwave in covered bowl 3-4 minutes depending on strength of your microwave. Does NOT need water in bottom of bowl. Comes out bright green and a little crunchy. Vitamins not lost into any water. No pots to clean; bowl goes in dishwasher.
You were reading my mind…I have a whole bunch of broccoli and was looking to be inspired! Thanks!
I am making this for the first time tonight, and I have a couple of questions. First, the egg-flour mixture is more like a stiff dough than a batter. Is this correct? Second, the recipe calls for 1/3 cup (30 grams) of grated parmesan. By my kitchen scale, 1/3 cup was around 17 grams. (I know it’s not the scale because the flour measurement/weight was spot-on. I was wondering if you could confirm the measurements.
Elle — Mine was 27ish grams, rounded up. The size of the shreds can cause the variance, but I wouldn’t worry about 10 grams.
Sarah — Macaroni and cheese. Breaded chicken, like chicken fingers. Ravioli or any filled pasta. Aren’t these things like a breach of toddler contract? They’re such weirdos. ;)
Oops, missed the comment guidelines, so feel free to remove my last comment. Nonetheless, this still looks great and I will be making it this weekend. :)
bookmarking it right away ! yum
I tried this with both shredded and grated parm. I preferred the shredded. Frozen broccoli didn’t make much of a difference over fresh, though make sure you get florets and not the bags with mostly stem. :P
I just read all your archives in a day. I love your blog. Bye
YUM!!!!!!!!!
Wilted & chopped spinach, sauteed green garlic in oil and then added it to the batter, local ricotta, gar-fava flour, parm, and an egg. Asked what sauce to make for them, and Hubby shrugged and just grabbed another. I used a little “Slap ‘Ya Mama” on them and ate more.
Thank you!
I just made these for lunch with left over brocolli from last night’s dinner. Yum! I used grated pecorino instead of parmesan because we had run out.
I want these NOW, gonna try EM wit potatoes!!!
These look delicious – I think I will make them tomorrow night! Also, I spent way too long reading the Honest Toddler tweets. Hilarious! Also (again), for anyone who has commented that they’re always looking for another way to cook broccoli besides steaming it, trying roasting it in the oven. It’s awesome.
I made these for dinner and they were fantastic! Served mine with some garlic, lemony yogurt and cherry tomatoes.
My son is 13 months, and he so far loves everything…I’m so afraid that he’ll someday go through a picky stage. These look awesome, especially with frozen broccoli. I guess I need to buy a cast iron skillet. I tried your carrot cake pancakes and had severe issues with them not cooking through for some reason, even tho I cooked them on a lower heat and for much longer..I wonder if having a cast iron skillet would have helped. I eventually had to put them in the oven for a while.
This recepie looks amazing, is there something I can substitute for the eggs?
Agar agar or cornstarch?
Thanks! Yum!
I will ashamedly admit that, around here, I’m the non-broccoli lover. Shame on me. Even my kids gobble it up. Aside from the occasional stir-fry at our favorite hibachi grill, I won’t touch the stuff. But, EVERYBODY love fritters! And, this recipe might just change my whole outlook on the little edible trees. We shall see! Thanks for sharing… can’t wait to try them!
I like broccoli but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it look SO appealing. As a child I barely ate any veg, it’s a miracle I made it to adulthood really.
I had to go and make these straight away with asparagus and basil, and I ate them with mango chutney. I think broccoli might have been a better idea! :S
thanks for sharing the recipe . . so delicious and a breeze to make !!
XX
I made these last night – SO GOOD!!!! I may have to start making these in double (or triple?) batches. :-)
My mom used to make those with cabbage. Delicious and [marginally] nutritious :).
I made these for dinner last night and put broiled haddock cooked in butter and white wine ontop. It was so good and my guests loved it as much as i did, thanks for the recipe!
We made these last night and they were delicious! I really liked the high veggie to batter ratio. The flavor of the broccoli comes through and they aren’t heavy.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away…but broccoli is even better.
Many years ago I listened to a radio program wherein a doctor was promoting his new book about how to get the most nutrition for a dollar spent. He had assigned various foods a number according to their nutritional value and suggested that it be used as a guide when shopping for the family groceries.
An apple was given five points
Broccoli 75 and cantaloupe 79 ….I’ve been popping them in the grocery cart ever since.
And fyi on the vitamin side, broccoli contains Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9,and Vitamin C and A. When it comes to minerals broccoli contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
With the higher number on the doctor’s scale I suppose canataloupe has even more goodies.
you are hysterically funny and i havent enjoyed reading a blog more in a long time!! and, i cant wait to make these as they sound just scrumptious!! not to mention, how wonderful i’m sure i will find all of your recipes!! will enjoy looking thru them!! so great to have found you via pinterest!! do you have a facebook page as well?? thanks again so much!! just love ya!! :o)
YUM!!! I’m not a huge veggie person but I LOVE broccoli with a passion so guess what’s for dinner tonight!
Wow, this looks delicious! I was just saying that I am getting sick of broccoli and I’m looking for new ways to try it! We are definitely going to have to try this one! Maybe I’ll even make it for our party this weekend. It could be a good small-bite party snack. Thanks!!
I stumbled upon these and happened to have all needed ingredients on hand. They were quite tasty as a guilt-free afternoon snack. I followed the recipe to a “T” with the exception of baking them as opposed to frying them. I formed the batch into 8 patties and froze them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet for about an hour and a half. To get them nice and crisp, preheat the oven to 450 and pop them straight in there from the freezer (removing the wax paper, of course). Flip once after 10 minutes and cook an additional 8 and they are good to go. They were right about 112 calories per fritter and awesome with a little light sour cream! Thanks for sharing!
Now please figure out how to make Shamrocks – deep fried batter dipped broccoli with cheddar cheese in them…please, please, please. There is a restaurant in Monroe, Michigan that makes these and my family always laughs when I say I want “healthfood.” What could be more healthy than deep fried broccoli?
Looks amazing! The step by step pictures are great!
The season has probably passed for most but, to add to the fritter canon and your fantastic recipe, I have a ‘Forager’s Fritter’ recipe on foodtoglow featuring wild garlic, fresh wild nettles and asparagus, and using gluten-free flour and wasabi mayo. A bit out there compared to the more approachable broccoli. Fritters are such fun treats to eat and a great way to encourage veggies in children, if not the least fatty way.
Yum, this looks, again, so delicious. I very much like broccoli, your fritters just look like the classic potato fritters, and yes, why not making them with broccoli. I would eat them with sauce hollondaise.
So my husband sends me this picture of your fritters. Wants me to make them even though I am probably the only person who doesn’t like broccoli. My son is like yours, loves it plain, just steamed a little, and pasta with just a few seasonings tossed on. No mac and cheese, not sure he was my kid, not liking cheese. Me, I’m waiting for the cake.
I’m totally making these. possibly on saturday for lunch.
My daughter loves broccoli as is, and so do I, and my son’s a lost cause, but I ended up making these for dinner against my better judgement and it was so very much worth all the extra washing up (that I’ll have to do myself because my husband’s out of town). I threw in some quinoa, which wasn’t at all a bad idea.
Frying these up as I type. I made the first batch too big but they smell amazing. I added parsley, subbed herb feta for some of the parmesan, and subbed matzah meal for the flour. Cannot wait.
I just made them! Tasty, but like some other commenters I found mine a bit chewy. I think the problem, though, was that I left my broccoli chunks too big. I also used frozen broccoli, so that may have had something to do it.
Honestly, I have never liked broccoli…..Until now. I like to try new recipes, and this one blew me away. I was expecting another failed attept at a good broccoli dish, but am I glad I tried it. Great Job. I will try some more of these recipes, thanks for the tip.
JM
Yay! These are so tasty. I made them gluten-free with a homemade all-purpose flour blend and they worked just fine :) I can’t wait to try them again and also try other veggie fritters too! Although, what I am really in love with is that yogurt sauce, the fritter is really just a way to eat more of it!!!!
I have a broccoli loving toddler too only his favorite is broccoli beef from our Japanese restaurant. He loved your zucchini fritters which I made with chickpea flour (and a second batch with carrots). My secret for getting him to eat something is eating it myself and then he immediately wants it. Or sometimes he wants to feed me. I figure I win either way. Anyway, I am totally trying these. You helped me discover fritters are a great “one armed cooking” food.
Thanks for posting this recipe. It was easy to make and everyone loved them.
These were a hit last night! I used an extra egg, though after I did that thought, “Huh, probably didn’t need that extra egg…” In any case, they were forgiving and quite yummy. Thanks!
Wonderful way to use broccoli.. Husband and kids gobbled them up while I was finishing up my bolognese sauce for dinner. Thank you!
These sound healthy and look amazing! Will definitely try these! Thanks for sharing :)
easy! quick! healthy! toddler friendly! it’s like you wrote this one for me!
Hi Deb, these were delish – just made them for lunch with an egg on top. mmmmmm
I love the story behind the origins of these fritters (*jazz hands*) and if you were only going to share one more broccoli recipe, I’m glad it’s this one because they sound and look fantastic. Every Friday, I share my favorite food finds in a series called Food Fetish Friday. I love this post so much I’m featuring it as part of the roundup (with a link-back and attribution) and I hope you have no objections. It’s a pleasure following your creations…
Another excellent way to make the family eat broccoli.
I made those fritters yesterday and they were a hit! Thanks Deb!
So yummy! Made for a great light lunch.
Just got my weekly produce delivery and was hoping to find a recipe with broccoli on your website. I think you read my mind! Looks like my 13 month old twins with be having broccoli fritters tonight – at least with the two of them there is a chance that someone will eat what I make!
loathe broccoli, however I found a new cookbook this week that has elderflower fritters that are so pretty I will try them over the weekend. I do not think I have ever purchased broccoli.
deb, i just wanted to say – followed your link to fritters past, and fell in love with the idea of the indian-spiced fritters. like probably most other loyal smitten-kitchen followers, i’ve been making your recipes for years but have enjoyed just as much (if not more) your writing and getting to see a little bit of your life. the indian fritter recipe talks about how you’re not the type to cook without a recipe that’s received glowing reviews, and not the type to carve out your own path in the kitchen – and then juxtaposed with THIS, six years later! and with your cookbook! YOUR COOKBOOK! GIRL, LOOK AT YOU! (i think somebody must be cutting onions around here or something.) i comment almost never (i think this is my third? ever?) but just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that you are such an inspiration to home cooks who sometimes convince ourselves that we’re too busy to cook. thanks for doing what you do!
caroline — Sniffle. Thank you.
simply. This looks amazing!
going to make this asap.
awesome. this alone makes me glad I joined Pinterest.
Look forward to your cookbook. Pictures -that’s the kind I enjoy. Delcicious and nutritious…- even better. thanks for sharing.
I have very fond memories of all sorts of fritters invented by my grandmother and mother for using up vegetables. My favorite was a mashed potato fritter studded with onions and garlic. Perhaps it was so delicious because the potatoes contained sour cream and lots of butter to begin with. These are definitely going into my “to cook” folder. Thanks for posting.
Made ’em. Loved ’em. Shared ’em with my 2 year old who thought they were totally awesome. Thanks!
You know, broccoli is one of the only things out there that can make me revert into a picky two year old who refuses to open their mouth for food she doesn’t like (“here comes the airplane!”). I normally can’t stand the sight of broccoli. BUT, these fritters look so good that I will definitely be trying this fritter-veggie-magic. Maybe I can work up to broccoli, one step at a time!? Thanks for such a good idea and post!
Oooh, I love these! I make fritters from almost everything and serve with sourcream. I can reccomend grated potato, chopped onion, grated jarlsberg cheese and small pieces of fried bacon served with sourcream and cranberryjam. Yummy!
Hi Deb,
These look fantastic, as always. Any thoughts on adapting the recipe for use with fresh corn instead of broccoli?
Anna — Could be delicious. I might start with 2 cups or so of corn (there were 3 cups of chopped raw broccoli, but it didn’t pack together like corn would).
I added an extra egg white to the batter and I couldn’t taste a difference but they held together much better and it added some protein! Great recipe, I’ll definitely be making this again
I tried these with my family tonight. Just finished eating. Too stuffed and content to comment further…
These look and sound absolutely perfect exactly as they stand. However, may I just throw in one possible twist? To gild the lily, if you will. The addition of crumbled bacon. (Home made, please.)
Hello, first time commenter :)
I made these last night and they turned out well! I need some more practice at the actual frying part. I think I need to be more courageous. And next time I will cut them into one half of an inch pieces, like you said. I thought it would look “funner” if the pieces were bigger, but they don’t hold together as well. My husband later scolded me for not following directions.
I will make these again, thank you!
I can vouch for this recipe. The wife and I made this tonight and it is absolutely great, and I’m a person who doesn’t like cooked broccoli.
hi deb,
love, love love this but need HELP! so i made this recipe MINUS the egg since my 3 yr old has the dreaded egg allergy :( i subbed the egg for egg replacer (ener-g) but found it wasn’t enough liquid so i added a bit of buttermilk. they came out rather pancake-y and i think i was look for more of a chewy texture that I know the egg would impart. should i skip the buttermilk and up the egg replacer? should i lower the flour? hmmm…
I just made these for my dinner, used half a broccoli because that’s what I had, so it made five decent-sized fritters. Followed your suggestion and topped them with crumbled feta… SO GOOD! I can’t believe that was a vegetable-based meal.
I think, another time I might add some sort of relish (plum maybe? Something tart), as it was quite rich. Also I might cook them longer on a lower heat. I haven’t made fritters since a corn fritter disaster a while ago, so I couldn’t remember what the flour part of a cooked fritter is supposed to look like. Mine were very slightly gooey, but still amaaaazing. Thank you! :)
Thank you for the tip about 2 cups of corn. I went with that, sautéing half with a little butter until lightly browned, and keeping the other half raw. Also used more cornmeal than flour, some scallion, and buttermilk (not exactly in place of the cheese but). They were delicious.
These were excellent! I had to use 2 eggs, the batter was too thick with only 1. Simple, versatile and delicious, everything you expect from Smitten Kitchen!
The day after you posted the recipe I walked through the market and saw a man who was selling beautiful, young broccoli (and cheap!). i couldn’t resist a temptation and bought them. i was longing for some salad with tahini dressing but my toddler thinks broccoli is a flower (he smells it a lot) and not something edible. so i made your fritters but blended the batter – it worked like a charm :) beautiful, green pancakes!
These are awesome! I made them with half parm, half cheddar (to make it more palatable for my toddler). She had them for dinner, then breakfast, then dinner with hummus, avocado and the ubiquitous ketchup. MAJOR WIN! I used Red Mill GF flour mix and they are perfect. Then today I made them with asparagus and holy cow! Best Father’s Day breakfast ever with some chicken apple sausages and eggs. Seriously wonderful, thanks so much!
(Also, you are saving me big bucks, I’ve been buying the Dr. Praeger’s broccoli bites which are a broccoli tater tot. Delicious, but these are much better.)
I just made this recipe as a side dish for lunch and the family loved it. My mom is not a huge fan of broccoli but she actually liked this. So thanks so much for posting it!
Wow, I’m so trying these fritters – what a great idea!
Thanks for a yummy recipe–tasted better than expected! A keeper.
I love broccoli and I am always looking for new ways to cook them.
I tried this recipe for dinner tonight and I can’t thank you enough. I’ll definitely be putting these on a permanent rotation!
would LOVE LOVE LOVE to make these – any ideas on a substitution for eggs?(pesky food allergies, i swear). i’m trying to think of something that would be *binding*, but i’m totally drawing blanks…ground flax seed slurry? tapioca/potato powder-with-water mix? i know those are good in baked foods, but i don’t know about frying…thanks!
WoW really Yummy :P
I thoroughly enjoy your recipes and insights into life with a toddler. My 3&1/2 year old spend a lot of time in the kitchen together and your blog is a constant source of creativity and inspiration. I was wondering where you got the wood platter pictured above? It’s beautiful! Thanks :)
Diane — I think I grabbed it at Whole Foods but they must sell them at a lot of kitchen store. I always get distracted by dishes at grocery stores, because I’m usually shopping for a specific recipe and then picture it on some new dish I don’t have… and this is why I have too many dishes!
These were great! I’m vegan so I used a flax egg (1 Tblsp ground flax seed + 3 Tblsps hot water, let sit till it thickens) and left out the parmesan, but the recipe is so good it didnt matter. Thanks!
I’ve made apple, banana, and pumpkin fritters but never thought of making fritters with cruciferous vegetables. Sounds really good! Will be trying this!
Fabulous idea! My two year old would love this!! Not to mention me!
Yum! Super delish!!!! Definitely a favorite!!!
I’ve made these twice now! (once with aged white cheddar…mmm).
Also, I made a third batch using black beans, jalapeno, a dash of cumin and Oaxaca cheese. Soooo good!
Thanks for the amazing recipe and for the suggestion to try it different ways. :)
Yum, fritters! Yum, broccoli! I need to try these! (And what happened to Jacob’s beautiful curls?? He looks so grown up on the carousel!)
At last a nice way to eat broccoli. Thanks
Made these today for lunch. They were really delicious! We ate them with yogurt, rice and crumbled feta (a must!) on top.
Tried these and wow, are they delicious – and easy to make! What a great way to eat broccoli! My husband and I just loved them! I did add about 3/4 c. of finely shredded carrots to the mixture for even more veggie goodness. I also made them and after setting them on paper towels to blot the excess oil, I put them on aluminum foil-covered cookie sheets and refrigerated them for dinner later that day. Baked for about 15 minutes at 375 and they turned out just fine!
Made for an easy dinner!
I make veggie fritters for my kids, but use chick pea flour for the added protein (common in Indian fritters).
Deb, I’ve been lurking in the shadows of your site for some time, but after I made the Dobros Torte, (a hit!) I just kept coming back for more! I made these crazy fritters last night with a few changes, (I have a hard time w/ being told what to do), and they came out wonderful – my changes? Spelt flour (and just shy of 1/2 cup); 2% greek yogurt in the mix; far more cayenne that requested above; and finally I sprayed the pan with TJ’s olive oil spray rather than fried in oil…And then proceeded to eat almost all of them! Love your storytelling, recipe-telling and photos! Keep ’em coming!
Do you think I could do this with frozen broccoli (defrosted, of course)?
I have a question for you. I did this last night but my second side got burned so easily. I lowered the temperature to low for the second batch but didn’t improve much. That’s my experience when pan frying anything with flour. After the first side, the oil always has browned bits left and it takes no time for the 2nd time to turn dark brown. What do you do to prevent this? I wonder if I used too little oil.
Becks — I always thought that the second side cooks more quickly because it’s already warm and half-cooked by the time you flip it. Plus, the shape is already mostly set so it just touches at a few spots, and doesn’t get as flat of a golden side as the first one.
These were awesome! We had them with the lemon yogurt dip (which I’ll now be making more of because it was quick and simple and just really, really good), and put them in wholemeal pitta breads together with fried mushrooms, zucchinis and red peppers. Soo good! thank you for a great recipe!
We have made them three times in the past week! They are delicious!
Yum! I made these last night, but roasted the broccoli rather than steaming it and added some sauteed shallot. They were delicious. Thank you Deb.
I tried these the other night and I loved them and so did my dad! The recipe was really easy to follow but sounds quite a bit more complex then the actual act of making these fritters! They are delicious but I reckon making two for each member of whom ever you are feeding!
Good Luck!!
Has someone said this already? Genius. And I love that they sound easy to make. I’m heading to the store to look for parmesan now. I’ve also been thinking my next pan should be cast iron.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been following awhile but this is my first comment. My not-quite-three-year-old REFUSES to eat any identifiable vegetable. AND THIS GOT HIM TO EAT BROCCOLI FOR THE FIRST TIME! You can probably imagine my barely-contained excitement while trying to play it cool so he wouldn’t guess something fishy (veggie?) was going on!
Love your blog… I have been following you for some years now and every recipe I made has bee a hit. Yesterday I made this dish to feed a crowd, I made 6 times the recipe and everybody loved it! Thanks a lot
These look soo good! I’m newer to cooking and not used to frying things in hot oil…any suggestions on other ways to cook them?
Hi Sarah — If you’re new to cooking, fritters are a perfect place to start because you can get a feel for things without having to worry about easily burning or endangering people with raw in the middle meat as you would with fried chicken or other deep-fried foods. Fritters can also be baked on an oiled baking sheet, but they won’t really get crisp.
Making them right now in my tiny german kitchen, but added some shredded carrots to the broccoli. Looks amazing.
Thank you for this blog!!!
Lovely Recipe. Perfect way to disguise nutritious broccoli.
made these last week and loved them!! thanks for the recipe :)
These were AMAZING! of course i made these with the great expectation of my 3 and 5 yr olds just gobbling them up. At first, they claimed to not like it but by the end they were munching away.
These fritters have been on my mind since you posted the recipe, and I finally made them last night! My husband and I are trying to eat vegetarian dinners during the week, and these fritters, topped with a couple over-easy fried eggs (fried in the same pan – didn’t even have to dirty another pan!), and a caesar salad made a surprisingly filling dinner. Thanks so much for the recipe! I always love your recipes because I never have to worry whether they will turn out badly. I can never go wrong with your blog!
Just tried this tonight and LOVED it. Along with some broiled chicken breasts and rolls these were a perfect blend of veggie, tasty, little kick of pepper and quick! I’m just now trying to learn how to move around my kitchen and this was a great, simple starter meal! Thank you!
These are perfect for my diet! might go bake some right now. From my calculations (if you hold off on the oil, using only one tsp) they will be 565.2 calories in all. Thats 62.8 each!
I really like this recipe. Another new recipe.
Thank you not just for these recipe, but for all you are sharing with us. We all love you. Thanks again.
Oh my goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe that makes broccoli look so DELICIOUS. I definitely want to make this at some point.
Made these last night! I don’t think I salted them enough — so I had the leftovers with a dab of hoisin sauce today. So good. Will definitely try making some other fritters (cauliflower?) with this recipe. Thanks!
Okay, I nearly burned my mouth eating these because they smelled SO good while cooking that I couldn’t wait for them to cool!! These are truly delicious. Both of my girls devoured them, so this is a hit and a recipe we will make again and again. Thank you!
this sounds like the perfect solution to a problem i have personally, and have had all through life. i just don’t like broccoli the way it’s been cooked thus far. BUT this sounds really tasty! and since i turned 30 in april i decided this was the year to learn to cook!
anyway i had one question. i’m not a huge fan of parmesan, could some other cheese be substituted? weird that i don’t normally like two of the ingredients in this but it still sounds delicious and i wanna make it haha i’d love any suggestions on a trade out for that cheese, i like almost all other types. thanks!
Wonderful recipe! Thank you!
Ha! I just made these, but I didn’t have any broccoli so I used… cauliflower! They are delicious! I’ll make them soon with broccoli.
As a huge broccoli fan, these immediately caught my eye. Well, I just made them for dinner tonight and YUM! Also, I love your site. Your gorgeous food photos are very culinarily inspirational! Keep ’em coming :D
As a huge broccoli fan, these immediately caught my eye. Well, I just made them for dinner tonight and YUM! Also, I love your site. Your gorgeous food photos are very culinarily inspirational! Keep ‘em coming :D
Made these for lunch today. Used a little less flour, a little more broccoli and 2 small eggs. Turned out perfectly. I top most anything with gralicky, lemony Greek yogurt and it is so perfect with these. Thank you!
I just made these and they are absolutely delicious. I’m not a huge broccoli person, but am trying to learn to love it. This is a great way to indulge my penchant for fried foods without feeling so guilty about it. I also topped these with a little tzaziki, similar to Katherine’s comment. I’ll have to give it a try with other veggies as well. Thanks for sharing!
Amazing!! Will definitely do again!
I just made these for lunch, and they are delicious! They only took 20 minutes to make (I steamed the broccoli in the microwave), so they will be entering my lunch rotation. Thanks for sharing!
I love broccoli. Another way for me to eat it. That looks delicious and healthy. Thanks.
I’ve made your other broccoli recipe (broccoli slaw) about 500 times, to applause rave reviews, and a very happy belly. However, I will be making these, and the cold noodles you just posted THIS week. Even if the noodles take 84 dishes.
For those who are a little stand-offish about frying, I put a tablespoon of olive oil in the batter and cooked them in a dry skillet on med/high and had fabulous results. My kids put them on some good homemade whole wheat and oat bread and thought it was the best thing they’ve ever eaten. Rave reviews all around!
What a cool idea!
Made these last night, they were delicious! I probably should have seasoned them more, but other than that, they were great as a side to the buttermilk chicken recipe!
I’ve already made these three times since you posted them; I can’t get enough!
These look enchanting, but I’m out of broccoli, the stuff at the market isn’t inspiring, and our CSA box probably won’t include it for another several weeks. Do you think this would work with kohlrabi? Any recommendations on whether to cook it first, or simply shred it?
I am obsessed with these! I’m usually a total klutz in the kitchen and I actually succeeded! They were so easy to make, too! I can’t wait to make them again! Thank you!
Wow! I have an incredibly picky 3 year old. I made these tonight (using cauliflower) and he ate them! Before today, the only vegetables I could get him to eat were whatever greens I could stuff into his smoothie and carrots. thanks!
I LOVE things like these! I’m no fan of broccoli, but somehow that crispy crust just makes it super special! Thank you for the inspiration.
I saw this last night and made them today for lunch. DELISH! simple way to get your veggies for the day yet satisfying comfort food. I made the yogurt sauce to go with this and I added a pinch of garlic chili and it worked great! it came out cool and spicy and was a nice contrast to the broccoli. THANKS for sharing this recipe! :)
I must confess: I have a bag of CSA broccoli languishing in my fridge right now, and as it’s trash night and we have another CSA pickup tomorrow I was giving serious thought to tossing it. I mean… it’s summer! Who wants to eat broccoli in summer? Well, now I do. I’m making this recipe tonight, and thanks to you, I will feel virtuous about not throwing away produce. They look delicious!!
I’m not the biggest fan of broccoli but I know it’s really good for you so I eat it! Looking forward to trying this recipe as it looks like a fab way to make broccoli tasty, sure my family will love these too!
my son is allergic to dairy (among other things…soy, etc.) so i was thinking of trying these without the parmesan? thoughts? substitutions?
These are super delish! Made them last night. Substituted All Purpose for Spelt flour. Used Coconute Oil to fry in. Yum!
This is so fun…can’t wait to try these out. As far as pairing a wine with it, it’s a tough call. I want to cut the oil with some acid in the wine and pick up the flavors in the broccoli. A crisp Chilean Sauvignon Blanc would do the trick.
Oh my goodness, Deb! Just made these and I will say that – HANDS DOWN – these are my FAVORITE new thing to eat, ever. So easy, so delicious, and healthy! and with cheese! Seriously, you are the best. Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
Delicious! I (generously) doubled the cheese and halved the flour. (I like things extra cheesy!). I also only used a total of 1 tsp of oil to fry them all in to cut back on calories- not quite as crispy I’d imagine but they still brown nicely and taste amazing!
real good, love the fresh squeezed lemon upon serving and lite sprinkle of feta, does require more salt as needed. thanks so much !
Hi Deb! I made these fritters for foodie friends of ours last weekend and they were a HUGE hit! Sometimes I suffer from recipe blindness and totally missed the bit about mashing the broccoli. They were chunky little suckers but the flavour was still awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing. I’ve followed your blog for about 6 years now and this is the first time I have ever left a comment. I cannot wait to buy your cookbook!!! YAY! All the best to you and your family, maria
I have pinned and tried many of your recipes. All of them were enjoyable dished and looked lovely in your pictures. I just came across On punch. a picture of your Multigrained dish + wanted to tell you it had a green color. I thougt you might want to check it out.
These are great! I really don’t love broccoli but I ate 4 of these and could have eaten 4 more… My wife made a dipping sauce that I will have her post as well which was incredible…thanks for a great recipe!
This was absolutely DELICIOUS!! thank you for sharing.
What happened? Tried these, and they tasted BLAH. And floury. Looked good tho. My oldest granddaughter Taylor was over and was trying to impress her, but didn’t. Tried your zuccini fritters, they were great . Think I will add bacon and ??? and give it another try. The thought was mouth watering but the end result was ….
Brilliant recipe thanks for sharing!
The taste to effort ratio is great, even the first time I made it! And it was delicious with plain smooth yoghurt, no need for fancier condiments really. I doubled the recipe and it made a dinner for two with some leftovers I’ll have for lunch tomorrow.
Hi Deb- I’m about to go on a sailing trip for a few days, and we won’t have access to an oven, only a cooking stove. Do you think that I could assemble the fritters and freeze them BEFORE cooking them, and then thaw later and fry in the skillet as planned?
Hi Kate — They are unlikely to stay together well (it would be a lot of extra work) to freeze them as batter. I’d make them and just reheat them in a pan. Good luck! And happy sailing! (I’ve always wanted to say that.)
my 17 month old loved this recipe, thank you! i made them with half flour and half panko, i bet they’d be great with cauliflower and broccoli combo. thanks again!!!
How nice to find a fellow fritterer! I love them, and so do the kids (most of the time, they do obey your rules).
My recent ones are green spring cabbage (vegetable plot overkill), which I shred, with an egg, two spoons of GF flour and an good handful of parmesan. Jum, jum, jum, bring on the cabbage!
Riquisimo!!!I live in Peru, my husband found this recipe online and today I made it. They r really good, easy to cook and delicious. Everybody loves them :)
I’m going use some of these techniques I ve learned here to use them in my salmon croquetes :)
I just found your site! Next week I am pet sitting, staying in the house and I was looking for some recipes for while I am there…well I am making your roasted tomato soup with broiled cheddar then but I found this and I just couldn’t resist making it for dinner, oh my GOSH!!! This is the most inspired recipe, never would have thought to make anything like this with broccoli. Thank you!!
Someone sent me your blog with link to delicious looking zucchini muffins, and then I saw this brocolli pancakes recipe! They turned out beyond amazing!! SOOO Good. I did make changes to the recipe – I added celery chopped up, onion chopped up and a little bit of minced garlic along with the brocolli, and I used 3 eggs to go along with all my extra veggies. I didn’t have parmesan, I just ended up tearing processed (2)cheese slices into itty bits, and mixing everything together! They turned out so great, and tasted even better with that yoghurt sauce (I just added lime and salt).
Thank you, I look forward to going crazy over the summer – while I have the time, with many of your vegetarian recipes!!
Saw these and changed my plans to use my broccoli…..so glad I did these are SUPER tasty….I think I could have eaten the whole batch!!!! Had it today with my 4th of July dinner….not a traditional 4th food but who cares when they are SO good!
Just one thing: PARMESAN IS NOT VEGETARIAN!
As in many italian solid cheese (I’m italian and I know it), parmesan contains rennet.
If you don’t know what rennet is, check wikipedia. Its function is to make the milk coagulate.
Natural calf rennet is extracted from the inner mucosa of the fourth stomach chamber (the abomasum) of slaughtered young, unweaned calves.
OK. Before you freak out and start ALLCAPS posting over “THIS IS NOT VEGETARIAN” because of the cheese, please take a moment to read labels. MANY hard aged cheeses have gone to vegetable rennet instead of animal rennet, both because it’s cheaper and so that they CAN be labeled “vegetarian.” (I personally don’t care, because I eat meat, and am a firm believer in not wasting ANYTHING–also, animal rennet doesn’t even necessarily come from calves.) I have made cheeses with vegetable rennet. LO, HERE IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE NOW ;-) : http://www.cheesemaking.com/LiquidVegetableRennet.html
This post made me laaaaaaaugh. One day, when I have children, and I am standing frustrated in my kitchen thinking “why won’t you eat anythiiiiiing?!? ugggggggggghhhhh!”, I will recall this post, and make them fritters.
I am So going to use this recipe! And I’m going to try it with left over pulp from juicing. I can envision carrots and zucchini. O ya!
Hello, in very rainy London reading your page on my lunch break and I love it!
Is all ‘purpose flour’ Plain or Self-Raising flour?? .. basically could I use either – I gotta feeling it’s probably meant to be plain for us ..
All-purpose flour would probably be plain flour. It does not have leavener in it.
So excited to try a gluten free version of this. If it comes out well I’ll be frittering everything!
These are delicious!! Kids did not embrace as much as I would have liked but hubs and I loved (hopefully they’ll follow). I added about 1/4 panko bread crumbs and made 4 patties, which I chilled before cooking in coconut oil (thanks TJ’s for making available). I think I could make these and freeze pretty successfully – nice :)
I finally got around to making these tonight!! I went the runny egg route, and boy oh boy I couldn’t believe how good they were! I’m thinking about making them with zucchini in the future. Because I will absolutely have to make them in the future. Unsurprisingly, you’ve done it again. Thanks Deb!
Sooo good!!! Thank you very much:)
Thank you so much for that! I just made them tonight. It was super easy and delicious. I had them with sour cream. I think they’re going into my “make again” file. Cheers!
Have you ever heard of lemon artichoke feta fritters? I worked at a Whole Foods in Texas and they were to die for. I never got the recipe out of them. You think if I substitute artichoke for broccoli, feta for parm and then add some lemon it should work? I’m gonna try both and see what happens. Love your work! Waiting eagerly for your cookbook :)
Hi, thanks for the great idea. I was wondering, do you think this would be possible with zucchini? Or perhaps there is another recipe for it that is similar? Thanks
Hi Jaime — Zucchini Fritters! Different approach and texture, equally popular result.
I love these, as with all your recipes! The man of the house inhaled them like said toddlers – wow! That’s a true compliment. I did have to add an extra egg- just to get them to bind, but I did measure exactly, maybe it was my garden broccoli or something. Ha! Wonderful, just like everything else here. Thanks Deb!
YOU ROCK! Another fabulous dish with broccoli! Loved the pasta with saffron, cauliflower & broccoli!
I can not wait to make these. This is my new receipe of the week. mumm.
i just made these & they turned out great!
Made these today with manchego cheese instead of parmesan (divine) and served them with a squeeze of lime over the top and a fried egg (yum :) The only thing that wasn’t clear is do you mix the batter ingredients together before adding the broccoli or not? I started to mix them, realized I was forming a dough, so stopped and added the broccoli and then mashed it but thought I’d double-check.
Just made these! Added shredded potato and used cheddar instead of Parmesan (it’s all I had in the fridge), stoneground whole wheat flour and added a little paprika and used a rosemary-infused kosher salt. Delicious! Thank you for a great recipe :)
Jennifer — So funny that you used potato because I used a tiny bit (2 tablespoons, maybe more) of shredded red potato to the first batch I’d made. I liked it but wanted to keep these ingredients as streamlined as possible.
i just wanted to say that this post, plus your recent mention/recipe in the NYT, inspired me to make some kale/corn fritters yesterday. my 10-month-old has just started to “discriminate” when it comes to food and has definitely not been interested in all the kale we’ve gotten in our box lately … well, i now find myself doing the “Fritters are the answer!” dance (with jazz hands). i even made them again today, which made both our tummies very happy. totally doing broccoli fritters soon!
Holy cow, this was delicious. Made them for dinner tonight, and my tummy is oh-so-happy. My 3 year old, who absolutely loves steamed and raw broccoli (and Parmesan) wouldn’t touch them. I won’t say I wasn’t warned.
This was absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making this again! Served this with a chunky pizza sauce I had in the freezer. So, so, yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try them out.
I just made these for the five-year-old I nanny for and at first she would not try them at all, even though she loves all vegetables in all forms. When she finally had one she loved them, and I did too! Thanks so much for another good one!
I just made a batch of these w/some broccoli from my garden. I’m a little on the fence about them straight up -they seem to be gummy? Perhaps when I reheat them in the toaster oven …I do like the idea of a cheddar cheese sauce. I’ll pair em w/some ratatouiille for dinner.
Just finished making these and they are delish! I ate two and reluctantly left the others for the rest of the family. A wonderful use for broccoli!
I made these yesterday for my 1 year old, who seems to really like broccoli but won’t touch any other green veggie. He devoured them! I’ll have to make more ASAP!
These look great. I saw this on punchfork, thanks for sharing.
Not that you need more comments, but…this was a big hit in my house! My 4-year-old devoured several dipped in ketchup (blech!). Husband added marinara on top. I ate them plain. Served alongside fresh corn on the cob and strawberries. A very satisfying summer meal!
My substitutions: 1) Swapped quantities of flour and parmesan – the extra cheese was great, 2) Used whole-wheat pastry flour – worked wonderfully, 3) Added a lot of lemon pepper and a hit of cayenne for some extra zip. Next time I make these, I will double the recipe and use chickpea flour. Definitely a keeper!
I made this for my husband and daughter and they loved it. It’s delicious and simple
to make. I plan to make it often. Thanks.
I made these tonight-added extra garlic and sauteed onions and red bell pepper. Phenomenal! I made my favorite remoulade as a dipping sauce :)
Just made a batch with cauliflower and they were great! Whenever I cook cauliflower I somehow have to add a bit of curry powder, must be my love of Indian food. I added maybe 1/4 tsp. Thanks so much!
Hi, I just made these for lunch. I probably should of cooked the broccoli a little longer than I did and chopped it up finner because it took a bit of effort for it to all mush together as the batter stuck onto the broccoli in clumps. Still tasted good though. Next time I might add some cumin powder in. To serve I had mine with seeded mustard and my partner had his with sweet chilly jelly. Thanks for putting up this recipe and taking the photos. Will definitely make this again! yum!
These were wonderful! I substituted almond flour/meal (Bob’s Red Mill) for the regular flour, and it worked swimmingly. Served them with just some simple sour cream on top, kind of like latkes. Lovely! Thanks Deb!
These are now my favourite thing to do with broccoli. Utterly delicious.
once again: these are SO yummy!! I’ve made them like every other week ever since you posted the recipe and my family loves them.
the best thing is that the recipe is so versatile; I have used broccoli only, half-and-half broccoli and cauliflower, and today two thirds cauliflower and one third courgette (zucchini – more for the colour than for the taste), and they are always delicious! as the amounts you give above barely feed my greedy self I have to triple the recipe in order to feed the three of us and hopefully have something left for the next day’s work lunch…
Yum! I adore broccoli and have been hoping to fin a new way to use it. Can’t wait to try these!
They look amazing, I’m addicted to broccoli!
MMM…It looks delicious! Thank for sharing!
We’re lovers making fritters, it don’t get no better than dis! Love the brocolli! Great recipe, great times
xx
Love the photography! These look dee-lish! I just wish someone else would clean up after I cook.
I love raw and steamed broccoli, but I had an over-abundance of the vegetable and ran across this recipe. I made them this evening and they turned out looking just like the pictures! Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly like the texture or all of the oil, but I think that these would be great for most people, especially if you enjoy cheese with your broccoli.
Saw this post last week and made the fritters yesterday for a client. I added a cup of cooked brown rice to beef them up a bit for a complete vegetarian lunch.
Love them – will make for myself next time.
Keep up your already great work and have some fun outside of the kitchen also.
Thank you for posting this! I’m always in search of recipes that can use up a whole mess of vegetables at once…I made mine gluten-free with millet and rice flour and served it with tomatoes. I win this round, CSA.
Hi Deb–Just wanted to let you know that I was practically dancing around singing “Fritters are the answer!” when we moved three weeks ago, and our fridge sold much more quickly than we expected! I had a kilo of broccoli and no idea what to do with it; this was perfect! I didn’t have any parmesan cheese, so I used two eggs instead of one and added a bit of extra flour. What a lovely “we’re moving” meal!
Definitely loved this recipe. I made it with my family chowder and it went over great. Two suggestions, add a bit more flower to make the cakes stick a little less and sprinkle some cayenne pepper after putting the fitters in the pan. In a personal piece of advice, make sure that you actually have a potato masher before you assume and then start cooking; this is much harder to make with a fork!
This is a fantastic recipe. For those living in temporary homes like myself with a shortage of kitchen utensils, take comfort that a fork will mash the broccoli just fine. Just be sure that you are really cutting your florets into small chunks. Also, I was lazy and didn’t want to make the yogurt garlic sauce, so I paired the patties with applesauce. Really good. For those who like it hot, add a dash of hot sauce in the mix or double up on the pepper flakes.
Thanks for the great recipe. Now I actually have something desirable to do with my broccoli.
I made these for the umpteenth time tonight and love them more each time. My 2 1/2 year old also loves them, which rocks. Tonight I took Sarah from 20something Cupcakes’ idea and used cheddar in place of parmesan … a whopping cup of it … and holy wow. Amazing. Your recipes are always so lovely and easy to adapt to whatever is in my cabinet (or to fit finicky taste buds). Thank you!
These are my new favourite vegetarian dish. I put plain yogurt with some curry powder and lemon juice in it on top and yum!
Made these last night. Told my kiddos about them, showed them the pics, told them how they love all these ingredients seperately, had them help make them, and…..they tried one bite. Thats it. One bite.
dang kids.
I LOVED them, so did my neighbor and my husband. More for us. YAY!
I made these fritters for tonight’s meal to go with meatloaf. Everyone enjoyed them, especially my 3-year old who, apropos of nothing, THANKED me for cooking broccoli (which he does generally like, although not usually to the point of thanking me). So thank you!
Shouldn’t be long now! Your cookbook will be here any week now!
Broccoli is quite popular all over the world. It is used to cook a wide variety of vegetables and is quite healthy too. The recipe that you’ve provided sounds yummy and after looking at the pictures I can’t wait to try it!
Deb,
I want to profusely thank you for this incredible recipe! I have a late teether over here (seriously, 13 months until we saw a tooth!), and he ate puréed vegetables for the longest time. Seems we were always swirling in a spoonful of applesauce just to get him to eat them. So now at 17 months and a mouthful of teeth, I’ve been desperately trying to get him to eat un-puréed vegetables and besides spinach quiche, I’d had zero luck! So I was amazed when he ate TWO of these fritters tonight! These will be in my regular rotation for sure!
Oh, and me and the husband gobbled ours up as well!
Hi! So, I’ve been following your blog and making your recipes for a long while. Recently my father was diagnosed with Epilepsy, and his doctor put him on the Keto diet (less than 30g-40g carbs a day. It’s a bummer), so to be supportive, I’ve been doing it right along with him. Coming from a polish/jewish family, we REALLY missed our potato latkes because they’re basically pure carbs and starch, so when we found this recipe we were beyond excited! ALL we had to do was replace the all purpose flour with almond flour and we were good to go.
They were so freakin’ excellent. Thank you!
Broccoli and I have a tenuous relationship, but these fritters made me LOVE some broccoli! I made a little bit of a change by using pistachio flour instead of regular flour (makes it gluten free!) and definitely went for the extra frico by rolling my fritters in extra parm first. They turned out very, very good :) Also, I was going to make them again and then realized a broccoli monster had gotten into my broccoli and I did not have enough to make fritters for a main course, so I followed all the directions but instead of rolling into a ball I just put it into a mini casserole dish and baked with parmesan on top! A fantastic side dish if I do say so myself. Thank you Deb! Also, just ordered my signed copies of your book for me and for Christmas presents, can’t wait!
I am making this tonight. can’t wait to try it.
Looks great. We make this in Turkey with zuccini and it’s called ”mücver”.
Deb, I make this recipe at least once a week — it’s the only way to get my kids to eat vegetables. I always struggle with one typical NYC apartment issue — the floors are slanted, so my stove is on a slant, so all the oil always pools on one side. Do you have an awesome tip for how to deal with this? It’s messing up my fritter frying!
Jessica — Ha! My stove is definitely uneven. I rotate the pan a lot.
This recipe is quickly becoming a house favorite! Great recipe.
I wish I could pin this! It looks delicious!!
Elyse — There’s a “Pin” link at the bottom of each post before the comments begin. Pin away!
Deb – no questions here, just some praise! My boyfriend and I have made these multiple times, and they never fail to have completely disappeared within an embarrassingly small amount of time. Thank you so much for sharing!
OMGosh, just saw this, and have to make it for dinner. this is oneof those, “Why didn’t I think of that” moments. so simple, but so great.
would this work with goat cheese?
sandra — I haven’t tried it but don’t see why not — soft goat cheese might be a little more on the wet side; firmer crumbly stuff still more damp than parmesan so you might want to increase the flour by 1T.
oh my!!! these are sooooo delish. gone before dinner! thank you! even my 5 yr old loves them.
Just made these with half broccoli and half cauliflower, using whole wheat flour. Delicious!
I made these tonight and they were great! Pretty easy to put together, and different from all the other fritters I’ve had. Yum! Thanks for sharing :)
I picked up some Jersey fresh broccoli from my local farmers market yesterday (who knew they’d still be growing things in January?) and decided to finally make this recipe. It made an absolutely delicious lunch. Keep the fantastic recipes coming!
I love broccoli and this made me love broccoli even more! I made it as an afternoon snack and my family LOVED IT! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I actually am definitely not a broccoli lover and am always looking for ways to incorporate it into my diet. These are delicious. I’ve made them quite a few times. I even got my anti-green diet nieces to eat them! This recipe has become a staple as well for when I’m trying to manage calories.
For ease: now that it’s winter (so no CSA veg), I purchase steam-in-the-bag pre-cut broccoli, and follow cooking instructions on the package. This dramatically reduces (already short) prep time. Also, I use a little less flour than the recipe calls for, just to get it to my preferred consistency.
Thanks again! I am now a broccoli eater!
I’ve made these twice now. I’m the biggest broccoli-hater in the family, and I just can’t stop eating them. They’re like brocco-crack. Adding just the teensiest bit of spice make them even more awesome, though the bulk of the spice is best left to the dipping sauce. I’ve tried both cayenne and Madras style curry. Finely chopped peppers would probably work too, but I haven’t tried that myself . . . yet. ;)
I love these broccoli fritters! Since you are such a broccoli lover, I wonder if you have ever had the broccoli sub with ricotta and lychee pickles from No. 7 Sub in New York. I just tried it for the first time last night and LOVED it, and since I don’t live in New York and can’t go back again anytime soon, I’d be so grateful if you could help figure out a recipe variation of it! Broccoli on a sandwich, what will they think up next!
Nora — I love that sandwich! I promise to put my own riff on a broccoli sub up one day.
Hi ! I love fritters and I never knew it until a month ago when I discovered your website. I first made the zucchini fritters and now just tonight made these delicious broccoli fritters for dinner. You are genious !!! Thank you Deb for your fabulous site and your great, funny commentaries. It’s always such a pleasure to visit your site and try out your amazing recipes ! Best wishes from an American expat living in snowy Paris…
Broccoli is my favourite vegetable, so when I found this recipe I was overjoyed! I made these fritters just now and I’m in HEAVEN. I’ll probably be having these a couple times a month now.
When I saw this recipe I knew I had to have them, but I didn’t have any fresh garlic or parmesan cheese. Sooo I improvised with cheddar cheese and a dash of garlic powder, sprinkled a little extra cheddar cheese on top to serve, and WAHLA! Cheesey, crispy, savory, frittery deliciousness! SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!
just made these for dinner with leftover broccoli, soooo good! my picky vegetarian roommate loved it, too. have you ever tried cauliflower fritters?
I had previously made your cauliflower fritters which were scrumptious so I decided to try the broccoli version last night. The batter was extremely sticky and hard to shape. Did I do something wrong? What could I add to make it a little less sticky?
I made these tonight and they were delicious. I did double the garlic, but I always do that. ;) I served them with a coucous salad. Thanks for the tasty recipe.
I will be trying these on my husband who is worse than my toddlers as far as vegetables go. Finally a way to get him to eat broccoli!
I love this recipe. Yesterday, I was granted a work snow day, so needless to say, by noon I was drunk in the kitchen. I had a hankering for these fritters, but when I looked in my fridge, no broccoli. So I stumbled to the pantry and selected some canned peas. I am not typically a canned pea fan but I thought it could work here. I substituted 1.5 cans of peas and cubed some country ham I had on hand. SO DELICIOUS. Obviously, very different from the original, but still very good. I kept everything else the same.
I was trying to think of ways to “spice” up broccoli other than stir fry or plain boiling them and found your recipe. Made these yesterday – SO delicious! My mom had started making tofu fitters/cakes a while back and it looks like it has similar ingredients to it. Yum!
I am in LOVE!! Delicious, delicious, delicious fritters that I actually made successfully the first time I tried the recipe! Very crunchy, yummy, and seemingly somewhat healthy. What a great snack/side dish! :) Thanks for a great recipe!!! :)
I just made these as a quick dinner for myself, topped with some poached eggs. OH MY GOODNESS! SOOO delicious! I added a squeeze of lemon juice in with the broccoli mixture before frying, something about garlic and parm screams for a lemon kick to me… delightful, thanks for the recipe I will definitely make these again!
Hey this looks AWESOME and I can’t wait to try them. BUT…. I am doing a no carb diet right now, so is there a way to not use the flour and substitue it with something else???
Love these fritters! I subbed some hemp protein powder for some of the flour and gives great flavor as well as added protein. Yum! Love all of your recipes
<3
Mistresskat.eu.pn
These were unbelievably easy – a great way to use up leftover broccoli. They were a little bland, but nothing a bit of sriracha couldn’t fix!
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this recipe is the only vehicle for a green vegetable that my 17-month old has accepted in months. In the last few months, he went from a baby who eats everything to a toddler who eats nothing! If not for these fritters, his diet would consist entirely of apples, bananas, oranges, toast, and yogurt.
So, thank you!
Kristen — If it’s any consolation, my son did the exact same thing at that age. He’s still pickier about everything, but if hungry enough, will grab for the broccoli/brussels sprouts/etc.
Finally, finally, got around to making these. I used frozen, steam-in-the bag broccoli florets, which made them super easy. Made 1.5 the recipe and subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the AP flour. Just as easy/quick as making sandwiches for my kiddos. Thanks!
sosososo good! I think I will mix up the cheese next time (I’m not really a fan of parm). I love your zucchini fritters too! Keep the fritters coming.
I should also mention that I sub the flour for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour blend and I love it!!
Just made this dish for my wife and I for dinner, and it got a great response! Excellent idea, love the flavor. We even added a little bit of shredded chicken to the mix just to experiment, and it tasted great. Thank you so much for this one!
I really love this recipe. I’ll also take this opportunity to mention how much I appreciate the ease in which I can navigate your website. I know what you offer and I know how to find it and I am always pleased. I’d love for you to visit my recipe blog too! wobblykitchen.wordpress.com
Can we please stop with the adoration of Parmesan cheese and start realizing that the Italians make a whole world of cheeses, many of which are so much better than Parmesan that you would put your Kraft crap away for good. Try using Peccorino Romano in this recipe—-or for a great blue-cheese bite, use a well-aged Gorgonzola. Or if you want another white cheese, use Asiago—-I could go on and on about Italian cheeses, but it would probably do no good. Just trust me when I tell you that Parmesan, even Parmesano Reggiano is not all that it’s cracked up to be. And if you have a gluten problem, see if you can find Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose flour. It is a little on the expensive side, but it does the job. Also, you can make your own using a mixture of Tapioca flour, Potato starch, Arrowroot, Garbanzo (Chickpea) Bean flour, and even some Xanthan Gum. But the Red Mill flour is already set up for you to use. Enjoy.
Michael — I’m not really sure where you’re coming from as pecorino is used almost as frequently on this site as parmesan is, as are other cheeses. That said, I used parmesan here because I like it best with broccoli. But you can use any cheese you prefer. (Also, the “it would probably do no good” to go on more about Italian cheese isn’t really… polite, is it? Because we’re all really polite here, or aspire to be.)
Absolutely delicious recipe! I made this with my wife, and the parmesan really gives it a salt kick.Do you mind if I ask what lens you’re using? All the photos are so crisp. Cheers.
Yum yum! Added kale and some fresh coriander to the mix. Served with minted yogurt and feta. Thanks for the recipe
Anyone who says they don’t like broccoli has never eaten these. I’m eating them as I cook them… my family might not even get any!
I know this is late to the game but I love love love this
I just made these last night. I panicked and got nervous the batter wasn’t thick enough so I added one more egg and more cheese and flour (I’ve never made fritters before)but they were still AMAZING! The extra egg i added made them perfect for breakfast.
Finally got around to making these — and they are most definitely as great as they sound. They taste similar to Turkish mücver — but lighter in taste. We ate ours with garlicky yogurt, simply wonderful. Thanks, Deb!
Delicious and so easy! My 2 year old practically inhaled them! Didn’t have any yoghurt so used sweet chilli.
Wow, really delicious. I admit I almost lost faith with the thick batter, but the water from cooking the broccoli thinned it out. Thanks for a nice change.
So amazing. My kids couldn’t care less, but thanks to you, I successfully ate my way through an entire bag of chopped broccoli from Costco. I ate all the fritters but one.
Just to let you know, newwaysdk on Instagram copied your recipe and took all the credit for it. At least I’m assuming it’s your recipe because “his” recipe is word for word with yours!
Leila — Thanks for the heads up.
Can use chickpea flour (besan) for gluten free fritters
instead of eggs, wht can i add?
I just made a GF and vegan version of these and they were fantastic. (I used a GF all purpose blend and a flax egg.) Thanks for the inspiration!
I know I’m late to the party, but my-oh-my, these are amazing. Where have these been all my life??!! I served it with your suggested yogurt sauce. Yummmmmm.
YUM. Made these for dinner last night – using Healtheries GF flour blend. They were so great.
did not turn out- dough was thick and there wasn’t enough of it, too much broccoli and it wasn’t soft enough to mash. pretty bummed.
I didn’t have an parmesan so I used mozzarella instead and they turned out delicious! However, I should note that I didn’t follow the exact measurements, but they still turned out well. I will definitely be trying this recipe out with parmesan next time.
Dear Lord! These are ridiculously good! Who knew broccoli could take a form other than being steamed and covered in cheese? Followed the recipe exactly. Now am sad that broccoli season in our CSA now appears to be over. The kiddos (1yr and 2 yr) ate em up, which is weird b/c it’s not fruit or pasta, so go figure. The yogurt dip was the perfect match for these.
thank u very much! I’m just cooked fritters with broccoli and parmigiano! delicious! I cook them in oven( now it is hot so i use oven istead of steand up close to hot plate) on the decko or how to say… put on the decko oven paper after put olive oil up on the baking paper and put broccoli fritters …also I add spezie curcuma to the shaked egg and i have dry herbs spezie for grill so i add them to the egg too… now ready to eat …very happy! buon appetito!
I made these today with some broccoli that needed to be eaten. Delicious! The wonderfulness of this recipe is that it’s most likely you already have the ingredients on hand. I’ll definitely make these again!
I made these today and they are now my new favourite way to eat broccoli!! I’m already looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow. I used chili powder instead of pepper and it was great but next time I will use more than a pinch!
I’ve made these several times and they’ve turned put well. I’ve used the recommended amount of flour and I’ve reduced it by 30% (I was out of flour)and they both worked excellent.
Good recipe.
Omg!!!
My toddler loves these…
He called “the green hash brown”,
And ate 3 pieces of our family serving!
Thanks for the recipe..
So Delish!
Happy Home
Dear Deb,
These are fabu!! Thank you so much for all the great recipies!!!
Love the line that starts, “In the bottom of a large bowl…”
Where else but the bottom LOL! Not being mean, just having a chuckle over a common phrase that’s totally redundant.
Gonna make these this weekend cause I love fritters. And croquettes. Do you ever make croquettes?
HI: it seems 2 me wow>> but my Q: is it good 4 diabetets 2?
Made these last minute for our Break-Fast. They turned out great, according to the crowd, even though the broccoli wasn’t quite tender enough, or in small enough chunks (and I added another egg and a bit more flour and cheese because I thought there wasn’t enough batter, b/c I’m playing fast and loose like that.)
Today… I’m going to experiment with a hybrid of your Japanese Latkes by adding some kale. Not sure if I should blanch the kale first, or add it raw. Or maybe it just doesn’t matter (that’s my hunch). On the off chance someone sees this soon, I’d love a suggestion!
Heather — Curly or flat kale? I think it should be fine raw, either way but non-curly kale will definitely cook faster.
These were SO great! Easy to make and absolutely delicious. I might actually be able to get my mom to eat broccoli now (:
Hi just made these for lunch yum……was a hit with the husband! I served them with a hash brown, bacon and a runny egg. I have huge heads of broccoli all coming at once in my garden (I live in NZ) this recipe is perfect to make and freeze to heat up for another time. Thank you for a great and tasty alternative to serve broccoli.
Just made these this morning, exactly as written except for a small handful of fresh shredded Colby jack cheese, about 1/4 cup, my batter was very dry, and crumbly, but once I fried them they held together perfectly, and are delicious, my question is, your batter looked moister in your photos, do you feel the extra cheese made mine drier? thanks so much for the recipe, next time I am going to add some finely chopped red pepper for a little color….
Mine came out awful! No flavor, dry and super bland :(.
Your pictures looked so yummy! Wondering what I did wrong…
My husband LOVES broccoli so I made these for dinner last night! We’re on a break from gluten so I used almond and coconut flour and added a smidge of heavy cream to compensate for the coconut. They were crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside and the batter didn’t overpower the broccoli. We had leftovers for breakfast this morning :)
Ughh, my 11 month old is going through an “only Cheerios and other crunchy grain stuff” phase. I am going to try this and hope that the crunchiness will make him forget that he is eating something besides Cheerios. Thanks!
You routinely kill me. “Extra Frico” would be an excellent band name. Also, Rockettes. Very yes.
my one year old devoured these. thanks!
Made these for dinner tonight using broccoli and rutabagas. Yum! Can’t wait to try frittering other veggies.
Just made them for dinner. Glad I am only myself today, because I can’t stop eating them. So good!
I have added 1 tbsp of yogurt to the batter
Thanks for the recipe, amazing!
Brought broccoli to another level
Cheers
Just made them today and had them with horseradish mustard! it was delicious! thanks for the recipe!
I just cooked this today for breakfast and it was delicious. I love the smell of garlic in it..broccoli was crunchy and delectable..cheese is always a way to add tastiness. Ijust added 3 or 4 tbsps of milk because the mixture was too sticky though. I’ll be adding this recipe to my weekly menu. Thank you! :)
These are perfect, as always, but today I was far lower on parmesan than I thought, so last minute I switched it out for about 1/2 cup shredded cheddar. Just as amazing!
Is it possible to use thawed frozen broccolli or previously steamed broccoli?
I have made these a half dozen times and they are amazing. I have added some precooked chopped bacon prior to frying and it turned out well. Its bacon, so what did you expect, right?
I have also added another egg if you feel the batter is too dry. It turned out well with no difference in results – just more protein.
Me and my wife loves this recipe. Perfect snack and to “recycle” leftover broccoli. Thanks Deb.
If you use a microwave steamer, the different parts of the broccoli can all be perfectly cooked. I cook the chunks of broccoli stem first (for about 2 minutes) and then add the florets on top, salt lightly and cook for another 4 minutes.
Anyone try these without the parm? We can’t have dairy here, but I’d love to make these.
Yum! Broccoli is one of my favorite foods but I would never have thought to make it like this. Cannot wait to try it!
Leftover broccoli for lunch today for sure!
Working from home today so had the luxury of making my own lunch so made these! Yum! A few comments – the batter is very thick, stick with it, once you add the broccoli it loosens up. I could not get my potato masher to break down the broccoli so used a knife to cut it down in the bowl, worked fine and would chop it all post-steamer next time. Making the patties in your hands like a hamburger makes them stick together better in the pan. I used feta instead of parmesan, as I didn’t have any and they were delicious. Made 9 small-med fritters. Served with poached eggs. Really good.
Thank you for the fantastic recipe. I substituted regular flour for almond four, and used coconut oil instead of vegetable/olive oil on the stove top. This turned out absolutely amazing. I will be making this weekly!
Making these tomorrow to go alongside meatloaf instead of roasted broccoli. Hoping to have a few leftovers for our lunches the next day!
Valuable piece , Incidentally , if someone needs a IRS W-3 , my husband discovered a blank version here http://pdf.ac/6f74Vr.
This is one of my favorite recipes. It’s one of the first recipes I converted when I discovered that I’m allergic to oats and all their gluten-containing friends. These are also pretty amazing (and faster) if you use chopped frozen broccoli (defrost it first) and/or bake them on parchment-covered cookie sheets (400 F for 10-15 minutes per side).
My grandmother taught me how to make a cauliflower version of this – but it is a little more indulgent: Presto flour, slightly mashed cooked cauliflower, garlic, egg, grated cheese, pepper, parsley – you make a batter and fry them. They are incredibly delicious. They don’t stay well, so they’re best eaten ASAP.
Actually, I am reading the above recipe and they are almost identical!
I just made these and they are fantastic. It is perfect that they make 9, because then I can eat one at the stove, just to check. . .
I made these last night with the bowie sugar snap ricotta dish and sausage. The meal was great. I have a family of 6, 4 are grown men and a toddler. It was a hit, something different and easy to do. I will be making these again!
Loved these! I made them into sliders! Toasted ciabatta rolls, put a fritter inside with a melty slice of brie, some spinach leaves, and a little vinaigrette. So tasty
I’ve made this recipe several times and for good reason – the fritters are delicious! The recipe, as written, works and doubles without any issues. The last time I made this, I subsituted half of the flour with some chickpea flour I had in the pantry and added cayenne pepper. This made something already wonderful even better with a slightly nutty taste. Thank you Deb for making broccoli our new favorite vegetable!
My mother was a great believer in fritters! It’s been coming to my mind of late. This is welcome – thank you!
As it will be zucchini harvest time in my garden soon, can these be made with zucchini? And if so, how many zucchini and what other changes, if any, are made to the recipe to make zucchini fritters? Thanks muchos.
I don’t know whether this is too late a reply, but I made them with some butternut squash for breakfast. The mehod is exactly the same but I shredded the squash and added it into the batter uncooked. I’d imagine this would work perfectly well for zucchini (courgette for us Brits!) too.
Because we are doing very low carbs, I was glad to read the feedback from Rachel that almond flour works in this project. I might try coconut flour, too.
Wow, awesome recipe thanks so much. Had a bunch of broccoli going “off” and needed to use it up… this was just the ticket. Daughter ungratefully commented “ewww” when I was making them but tune changed once they were on the plate… yummy!!!!
These were delicious and not much fuss to make. They had a nice dense, almost chewy texture and were very flavorful because of the Parmesan. I used just enough oil to keep them from sticking, probably about half a tablespoon, and didn’t notice any ill effects from leaving out the rest. Thanks for the recipe. I think these will be in regular rotation here.
I am not a very daring cook, but this seemed lucky a pretty straight-forward recipe. So pleased that I made it! Very tasty, simple, and refreshing change to plain steamed broccoli. Didn’t have yogurt or sour cream in the fridge, so I topped it with a creamy, herb and garlic cheese. Thanks!!
Do you think these could be oven fried using a fair amount of olive/vegetable oil and turning them once?
If so what temperature do you suggest I use… don’t want to either burn them or leave them soggy.
I want to make a big batch for a family brunch and don’t want to be using up the stove top burner space and my time in preparing in small batches.
I want to be sure all will get crispy. I loved your thought of rolling them in extra parmesan for more tasty frico?
Let me know…… Maureen from Canada
You can oven bake them but I wouldn’t expect them to get as crispy. It’s just a different kind of heat in the oven and is unlikely to sear the bottom in such a way that it gets crispy.
These were absolutely delicious! I made them on a whim because I had some broccoli lying around, and used a little grated cheddar because I didn’t have any parmesan on hand. They crisp up beatifully, and the trick really is not to completely mush up the broccoli. The bigger pieces lend it some bite and I felt like I was eating a very fancy hash brown! Lovely!
I made these tonight… after trying to do a search for “broccoli frittata,” but when I saw “broccoli fritters” and “smitten kitchen,” I knew I had to change plans! Mine fell apart a bit in the frying pan, and I was worried I might’ve used too much broccoli (I had a full crown and stems from another crown), but they turned out pretty tasty! I ate them with a dip I made with some scallion cream cheese mixed with sour cream and sriracha–my only problem is that I made too many and have some leftover! Deb, what would you suggest as far as storing and reheating these (in a toaster oven)? I will be eating the leftover ones within the next 48 hours…should I leave them in a plastic bag (at room temp) on the counter or should I refrigerate? Thank you for all your brilliant and delicious recipes!!! Long time reader/maker, first-time commenter!
I refrigerate them and toast would be great for rewarming. Glad it all worked out, and thank you!
This recipe sounds yummy!!!
I made this last night, and they were YUM! An abundance of fresh broccoli from my garden had me looking for new recipes. Didn’t mess with your recipe at all, but next time I will add the flour last (possibly not the full half cup), as mine were a bit dense. Probably has to do with how well-drained the broccoli is–drier broccoli needs less flour. And by the way, I got 9 fritters too!
I, too, love both savory pancakes and broccoli! I made this with white whole-wheat flour and just 20g of romano, since I didn’t want the cheese flavor to stand out too much. I found that the fritters wouldn’t quite stick together that way, so I added an extra egg and a bit of yogurt and they turned out great. Thanks, Deb!
I used garbanzo bean flour, it worked well. After I made them and started eating them with the yogurt (I used lemon, salt, and dill), I had a brainwave to add applesauce, like with latkes. SO good!
I will definitely make these again and also will use one extra egg. My broccoli didn’t adhere as well as I would have liked. I may have used too much broccoli as I ended up with 12 fritters. Will also try with less oil next time. My electric stove is hard to control and will also just make one solo fritter for the first round to test the temperature, as opposed to dropping 4 at a time. Was a nice alternative to the same ol’ steamed broccoli!
Hi Deb! Looking for some recipes like this good for toddlers that are freezer friendly. Would you fry these first before freezing? Any other posts I should take a peak at? I don’t love most full freezer meals – I prefer pre made components that I can pair with fresh items so any help would be appreciated.
Absolultely fry before freezing. This list might get you started. And there are many other fritters in the archives, see here.
I’ve got a kid who is allergic to eggs. Any suggestions on what I can replace the egg with? Will water do?
Fan from the pre-babe days.
Has anyone tried baking these?
Success!!! These are sensational. Had for brunch with some chopped, lime-y avocado and some haloumi. Not a toddler in sight, just grown-up vege eating pleasure. Thought they might need a baking agent but we’re perfect as is!
Made these tonight, and WOW were they ever scrumptious with a fried egg on top. And so easy to whip together! Definitely going into our rotation.
I put two garlic cloves in instead of one because I live a garlic appreciation life, otherwise I followed the recipe. I think the next time I make this, I’ll double it, because it wasn’t quite enough for the 2.5 of us as a main. And I feel like leftovers would be awesome for lunch the next day heated up in the toaster oven.
These were lovely and easy and tasty (and the bits of fried broccoli that fell off a few poorly formed fritters were perhaps the best part). Topped them with greek yogurt whisked with finely chopped preserved lemon and capers, since I thought they might need a pickle-y lift.
Yup! Worked great and all from 5 years to 93 loved them. I added some onion to mine but either way, no more thrown away leftover broccoli, ever…
Have now made these two times and enjoyed them. Pretty easy, a good new way to eat broccoli (which I usually hate cooked). Trying to figure out a way to reduce the recipe, as 9 is too many for one sitting for just me. I toasted these the next day and they were really not as good (but that’s broccoli for you).
We’ve made these fritters a few times now and they are lovely. Once the batter is all mixed up letting it rest for up an hour just helps the finished product. We like to serve a good appy snack to dinner guests, who often arrive hungry and ready for a drink. One of us will sort the drinks while the other one cooks up the fritters, and we serve them hot off the stove. Understatement to say our friends really enjoy these fritters. Deb, thanks very much!
I just made these and they are awesome! Very easy to make and my kids loved them. I served them with hummus and they went very quickly! Definitely adding it to my meal planning list!
These sound fabulous but i just started Weight Watchers. Any suggestions on how to use less oil or baking them in the oven? Thanks!
We tried these tonight with a little twist. We added some leftover chopped up Anna Potatoes from your book and grated a few ounces of firm tofu into the mix. Made a complete meal and was delicious. Your recipes are spot on.
I just finished reading about your failed brown butter krispie treats…and of course we have had many fails, but I wanted to send you my Mother’s recipe for krispie treats that have been in our family for 60+years.
Peanut butter krispie treats.
Mix together in a saucepan over low heat 1 cup each of granulated sugar and 1 cup light corn syrup (clear). After sugar has dissolved stir in 1 cup peanut butter…I use chunky. Stir on low heat until creamy and combined. Immediately pour over 6-7 cups Rice Krispies. Mix until well combined, then pour into buttered 9×13 buttered pan. Spread evenly in pan. Melt over a water bath or in the microwave, 6 oz. each bittersweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Do not overheat or you will have mud. When melted pour over the pan of Krispies. Spread evenly and when cool, cut into bars.
Very sweet but soooo good!
A friend and I made these last night and experimented with using both roasted and steamed broccoli (separately). I was firmly in the “roasted” camp beforehand and was pleasantly surprised that the steamed version was much tastier! The fritters with steamed broccoli were more moist and the subtle flavors of the parmesan and garlic came through much stronger than with the roasted broccoli. Both were delicious & a keeper either way, though my money’s on the steamed from here on out! Great job Deb!
We started making fritters to use up the last two cobs of corn on the cob. Oh, my did we start something. Now I buy extra corn, cut it off the cob after cooking and freeze it in the portion needed for the recipe and we have corn fritters year around. The prep is easy, most time consuming is the whipping of the egg white!
Cooked these up last night and followed the recipe. No adjustments needed! Each stayed together much better than I anticipated and *bonus* I did not use as much oil as I thought I would on the cast iron. I used the timer to make sure each side was cooked perfectly. A definite hit at our vegetarian house, and will be going into regular rotation. Thanks Deb, as always!
This was dinner tonight along with the ricotta! Fritters were good with double the Parmesan, the ricotta was great. Slathered it on toasted baguette, then topped with slow roasted Mariano tomatoes, basil, touch of garlic and balsamic. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
These are delicious! My little one who won’t eat broccoli loved these.
So delicious!! I did modify it a bit, because I have to avoid regular flour, I used almond flour instead. I added another egg to help with binding, since the all purpose flour was out. It turned out amazing!! I topped mine with an over easy egg. I will try your ricotta cheese next time. Thank you!!!
Had trouble with the batter coming together. The flour wouldn’t fully incorporate. After working in the broccoli and adding a couple of tablespoons of water, the mixture improved, but was still very dense. The end product tasted on the pasty/floury side, but, nevertheless, I think the recipe has promise and will try again with less flour, as proposed in an earlier comment.
Awesome recipe and awesome suggestions by those who actually made these and took the trouble to comment.
My contribution is to “fry” these in a waffle maker – less oil, faster cook time, crunchy galore.
Thanks Deb!
Hi Deb! Huge fan and longtime reader/eater of Smitten recipes. Hoping you might be able to help with this one. I LOVE the idea of these fritters (and all of the ingredients). I have made these twice now, a few years apart – and had the same result, which is some delicious crispy broccoli and some delightful crisped Parmesan but a seriously gummy batter. What am I doing wrong? I had a 5 year old helper when making these yesterday, and I thought it was possible that she over-mixed the fritter batter. Has anyone else experienced this, or have any tips?
Are you using fresh broccoli to start?
I found I needed to add a bit of milk to the batter. Otherwise, delicious, as always.
So I didn’t realize until it was too late that I was out of Parmesan, so I put goat cheese into the already-mixed broccoli/flour/egg/garlic. Totally delicious!
Delicious! Just made them for my son and he loved them. I’ll be making them for my dinner later in the week too! Thanks for another winning recipe, Deb.
I made this today and found that the batter was too dry to come together. I think it needs some water or milk to make it more like a batter and less like a crumbly dough. Also, on my stove, the broccoli seemed a little too overdone after steaming it for 5 minutes. I might do 3 minutes, especially if you like your broccoli to have a little crunch. I also found that the only way the fritters would hold together in the pan was to mold them into rounds in my hands before putting in the pan.
These are so good that I’d been making double batches because I’d eat a batch’s worth while they are cooking, but tonight I went ahead and made a quadruple batch so that I can have some on hand for a little while.
I’m lazy, so I always use frozen broccoli, which means my batter is never dry, and I halve the amount of salt and then use an equal amount of garlic powder. I often use slightly less flour and slightly more parmesan because I love cheese, but these have always turned out wonderfully, whether I follow the recipe strictly or not.
We love these! I have made them with sharp cheddar, with Gruyere, and with Parmesan. They’re always delicious; in fact. I usually double the recipe because they disappear so quickly.
When I’ve doubled the recipe, I typically test a pancake to make sure I’ve got enough binder. Most of the time if I’ve doubled the broccoli, I find I need another egg and a bit more flour to keep everything together.
May have to triple this recipe at some point, because these freeze well… and 18 pancakes go fast in our 2-person household!
Can these be baked instead of pan fried?
Prepped this as written (well, a little extra garlic) but it seemed very dry so I then added another egg. All taste buds in my family love these fritters – same same for the zucchini and cauliflower versions. As another suggested, I added some sriracha to some of the yogurt/garlic/lemon sauce. Yes!
These were great! Super easy and flawless recipe as usual.
I was excited for this, but the batter was SO STIFF! One egg and 1/2 cup flour give me a stiff, crumbly dough. Like pie dough. I had a hard time working the parm in let alone the garlic and broccoli. Everything ended up very dense and yucky. I am a huge fan of Deb’s recipes but this one was a disaster. I kept rereading and checking the amounts but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
Don’t drain the broccoli too well. Some of the liquid from the broccoli helps with it when you mash it a little. It’s quite a thick batter overall, you just want the broccoli pieces to stick together. I also mixed the cheese and the flour before I added a beaten egg. I wasn’t too concerned about all of it incorporating before I added in the broccoli – then mash, mix and fry.
What a great simple recipe. Happy I found this site.
We made these last night and are now obsessed. As a family with a toddler, a vegetarian and a meat eating man it’s tough to find things we all love! My husband loved them (win!) but wanted to make them into patties for a veggie burger. Do you think just making them bigger would work for that?
Thanks!
Yes, but getting them cooked in the center could be tricky. You might want to finish them in the oven once you get good color on them.
Thank you! Also, we’re huge fans. Geeking out a little right now. We’ve been making the summer squash torte almost weekly. :)
Late to the party but I’m psyched to try these this weekend at a big family dinner!
What do you recommend using if we don’t have a potato masher? Thanks!
Unlike all of these comments on how good this recipe sounds, I actually just made it.
I followed the recipe exactly. I probably should have chopped the broccoli a little finer, it was a bit chunky…. but very delicious.
Definitely make it. I will again…for sure.
I’ve made these before a number of times, but tonight I subbed cotija for the parmesan and added some spicy dried chilie pepper I had on deck and they were DELISH! Thank you, as always!
I’ll admit, I was skeptical about these. Honestly, I’ve been putting off making them since you first posted this in… 2012. I finally decided to make them tonight because I suspected my three year old would prefer them to your zucchini fritters (which my husband and I love). My kid liked them, but to my surprise I *loved* them. I loved the flavor and the texture, and can’t wait to make them again. (Not sure I’d share with the toddler this time. ;-))
I’ve made these twice now, and both times they came out unpleasantly gummy. I assume the key is to cut the flour, or else sub in a less sticky binder (like bread crumbs maybe, with an increase in the cheese). But it’s interesting to me that no one else is noting a gummy outcome!
Did they get nicely browned? You can reduce the softness by cooking the broccoli for less time, too.
My family LOVES this recipe. I often make it with about 50% more Parmesan because… cheese. But it’s totally amazing written as is. We often have them with sausages as dinner with some ranch or source cream to dip them, but they make a great on the go snack when they are plain too. My only issue is how quickly they disappear! I always make a double batch and even then they don’t seem to be able to last a whole day. My husband, 18 month old and I are always fighting for the last one!
They were delicious! I did find the egg/flour/cheese mixture was awfully thick and added an extra egg, then some buttermilk just to loosen it all up. My broccoli was verging on the old side so this was a great way to use it up. Added some feta as well to add some more liquid.
And that yogurt/lemon/garlic sauce – genius! Not sure why I’ve never done that before.
Would this work with chickpea flour (have you tried)? I’m not GF, but love chickpea flour and feel like it would be yummy.
This is such a great recipe! We love any type of fritter in our house, so i was happy to see this unique twist. They came out exactly like the photos, and I fried up a double batch to keep some in the freezer. I also cut down the flour a bit and they still held together and were GREAT!
what about broccoli pizza?! i literally just looked at that recipe!
These were terrific! I didn’t have any yogurt but I dipped mine in tahini and it was very good.
Could this work with frozen broccoli florets?
I’ve used frozen broccoli all throughout this stay at home time. I’ve done it without cooking the broccoli and doing a partial cook and recommend the partial cook.
Just made these this evening — very tasty but they were a bit gluey… any tips for how to fix that? Did I over mix?
So delicious and so easy to make! I made them with cheddar cheese instead of parmesan and they were fantastic!
I had high hopes but these turned out just ok for me. I think a little more seasoning and perhaps an extra egg would have helped? They were a touch on the bland side. But the yogurt sauce really helped! My toddler initially rejected these (maybe my fault for telling him it was broccoli pancakes, setting him up for something sweet) but then went back and ate it all up at the end of dinner, making my efforts all worth it!
Easy and delicious. Served them (to myself) with crumbled feta on top. Was able got make 8 fritters (all off which I ate at one sitting for dinner because, you know: quarantine). I used two eggs, not one. I’m surprised I carried it off.
Excellent! Simple and quick to make. My two year old gobbled up a pound of broccoli – he normally won’t look at it. Dipped it ketchup it’s perfection. I can imagine a sour cream dip would also be good. As with any recipe, I suggest using Deb’s weight measurements for best outcome (someone mentioned theirs was gummy; prob too much flour). I subbed some of the broccoli with steamed kale when I ran out and that also worked well. Thank you!
I would agree with this. Half a cup of flour in my cup measurements is probably more like a quarter cup than a half cup. I did the recipe with cups following my normal rule that recipes published in the US are probably designed for cups, but this definitely resulted in too much flour. The batter wouldn’t come together at all without an extra beaten egg and although I enjoyed the flavour of the fritters I found them gummy, as some others have said, and quite hard to cook evenly. I think I should have gone with black pepper with or instead of the red pepper flakes as I found them lacking heat. But it’s a great idea and I think next time I will try it using grams and see how that goes. (The garlic/lemon yoghurt is terrific.)
These are perfect quarantine food! Pantry ingredients mostly. Great use for the leftover broccoli in the fridge that no one ever wants to eat.
I just made these with a 12oz bag of frozen broccoli. Just added one more egg to compensate for the extra broccoli and they are great!
I bake these as balls in a mini muffin tin. Great for bite size party snacks.
Love this idea!
Can the Broccoli Parmesan Fritters be made in an air fryer? If so, how long and at what temperature? They look delicious and I want to try them.
So my 6 year old HATES broccoli with a fiery passion. But we have a real love for fritters in our household, and will ask the question…”Will it fritter?” when considering any vegetable. But we had never frittered broccoli! We made this tonight, and my son ate every bite, not even bothering to ask what was in them! I was going to drop the bomb after he was done, but I think I’ll keep it a secret for the time being because I plan on making these again and again. Thank you!
wow great
This recipe is utterly fantastic. A 1lb bag of frozen chopped broccoli, chopped cauliflower, or mixed broccoli and cauliflower works perfectly. Throw it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes to thaw it, then give it a quick chop to get any big pieces down to size. Then treat the rest of the recipe as normal. I bet it would serve as a great framework for any other type of veg you have on hand. Absolutely wonderful recipe, thank you!
5/5* Excellent. Will make again.
These were so good, and my toddler and I both gobbled them up. We topped them with Greek yogurt + salt & pepper and pomegranate seeds. They’re definitely going into our regular rotation. Thank you for another great recipe, Deb!
This recipe is a standby for me! It works well with any cheese, really. My favorite way to serve it is with lots of Veganaise (better than mayo, I swear!) thinned out with lemon juice.
These are perfect and delightful. I used Dubliner cheese because that’s what I had on hand and they turned out like little handheld pockets of broccoli cheese soup! I used an air fryer to reduce the mess and they cooked just fine in there and still got all crisp and delicious. I’m putting this on my list of go-to recipes!
An abundance of broccoli was bestowed upon me from my CSA and I had a hard time finding a recipe for a dairy free version. Alas, I went to Smitten Kitchen, where I can count on Deb kindly responding to the scores of commenters asking how to adapt her always-dependable recipes to various diets. I made the recipe as written, but I omitted the cheese and added a little extra salt. These came out great! Even my broccoli neutral boyfriend raved about them.
Is the flour measurement listed (1/2 cup to 1 egg) correct? Thank you!!!nn
I made these for dinner tonight using frozen steamed broccoli and they turned out great! Didn’t have any fresh garlic on hand so I used garlic powder and a few tablespoons of chopped onion. Served them with sour cream and a crispy runny egg. *drool* Highly recommend for a relatively quick weeknight meal.
Such a great idea!
Broccoli stems steam well if you give them a couple of minutes extra cooking time, compared with the florets. I steam first the stems, then add the florets, in a microwave steamer. Alternatively, put the stems into a little boiling water and pour the florets on top, so that the stems boil while the florets steam (cooking less quickly that way).
would garbanzo bean flour work as a GF alternative?
These are very good. Here is my experience in case it can help someone. The “batter” is more of a thick, stiff dough, and is impossible to mix. I had dry flour and grated cheese stuck to the side of the bowl and no way to incorporate it. I finally added 1 TB of milk, and that allowed me to mix it together, although it was still thick. I steamed my brocolli; I suspect because you boil your broccoli it is more wet, and maybe that is why you are able to mix it into such a dry dough. Once I added the broccoli, the dough became a bit looser, and with enough stirring I ended up with something that held together and that I could work with.
I had a hard time combining the broccoli and the cheese/egg/flour mixture. Seemed way too thick. I’m wouldn’t disperse the broccoli evenly and wound up with clumps of batter and loose broccoli. 🤷🏻♀️
These were great – we love all fritters – but a bit one-note without a sauce. I happened to have some lemon-herb mayo I had made for an appetizer last week so we served that with the fritters and they really took off taste-wise.
OK. Second go. This time I used my normal fritter batter (40g flour and 20g polenta). The quantities seem more right but they’re still coming out very dry. I wonder if it’s the fact that I am steaming the broccoli rather than boiling it and so the batter isn’t getting much extra liquid?
Sorry to obsess. I’m finding it very hard to accept that I might just not like frittered broccoli, given how much I love fritters, broccoli and cheese.
Hello! I made the corn fritters with my 4 year old and they were incredible! Looking forward to trying the other fritters, but I’m curious about the fact that one takes 4 whole eggs and this one only one and there’s less flour too, though both have 3 cups of the vegetable. Is there something different about the broccoli ones that requires less binder? Thanks!
Is there anything else I can use in place of flour? Would Almond Flour work?
Subbed garbanzo bean flour for half the flour to up the protein. Yum!
So I only used this for inspiration. I will cook it from scratch next time. I had some leftover cooked broccoli but not enough so added some leftover cold dryish rice and shredded Gouda cheese otherwise as directed. Perfect, crispy crunchy rice, broccoli and cheese. There everything except broccoli florets and rice in a food processor and pulsed ones, in with the rest and one very quick pulse, Fried while on an unexpected call. Perfect Work from home lunch
These where delicious, I added a bit more Red Pepper flakes for some kick!
I’m rather late to this one, but for anyone else just coming upon this recipe: I found the batter needed a lot more liquid. I added a second egg and around half a cup of milk to get it to a batter-y consistency. Also, I forgot to do the mashing step until I’d put the first two in the pan, and it wasn’t disastrous but did improve them. So don’t skip that.
These are DELICIOUS. I subbed in almond flour (to make them a teeny bit more keto friendly) to very tasty results! Will definitely be making these more regularly.