Pennsylvania Dutch corn fritters are basically corn fritter pancakes. Stuff a pancake-type batter full of delicious sweet corn and fry the patties to golden perfection. The results are amazing!
Corn fritters can be served for breakfast topped with maple syrup or as a side dish for dinner. A few delicious toppings would be sour cream, green onions, and fried crumbled bacon. Trust me, they are good on their own as well, and I actually prefer them plain or with sour cream.
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- How to Make Easy Fritter Batter for PA Dutch Corn Fritters
- Fried Sweet Corn Fritters
- Bacon Corn Fritters
- Summertime Corn Harvesting
- The Difference Between Amish-style Frozen Corn and Store-bought Corn
- What to Serve with Corn Fritters
- More Amish Side Dish Recipes
- 📖 Recipe Card
- Pennsylvania Dutch Corn Fritter Recipe
Ingredients
- Sweet Corn - Provides natural sweetness and a satisfying crunch.
- Salt & Black Pepper - Enhance flavor, with pepper adding subtle heat.
- Paprika - Adds a touch of smokiness.
- Butter - Brings richness, moisture, and flavor (I use salted).
- Egg - Binds ingredients, creating a cohesive batter.
- Milk - Adds moisture for a tender texture.
- All-Purpose Flour - Gives structure and stability, helping fritters hold their shape.
- Baking Powder - Lightens and lifts the fritters for fluffiness.
- Cracker Crumbs - Add texture, savory flavor, and extra binding (I use Ritz).
- Oil - For frying, creating a golden-brown, crispy exterior.
How to Make Easy Fritter Batter for PA Dutch Corn Fritters
Similar to potato pancakes, this old-fashioned Dutch corn fritter recipe is very easy to make.
Simply mix the batter ingredients by stirring them together in a bowl. Heat oil in a skillet, and drop the batter by large spoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop for uniformity) into the hot oil. Spread the batter to form a thick pancake.
Fry the corn fritters for a couple of minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Place on paper towels to absorb any extra oil. And serve immediately.
Fried Sweet Corn Fritters
This is not exactly a healthy corn fritters recipe, although there is no added sugar. This may be surprising because a lot of Amish recipes tend to have sugar in the ingredients.
I pan-fry my Pennsylvania Dutch corn fritters to avoid all the extra oil saturation that comes with deep-frying. But if you prefer, feel free to deep-fry them. Or you could also fry them in an air-fryer.
You can cut corn off the cob and use fresh sweet corn (this is the best). Or you can take the easy route and use thawed frozen corn or canned corn. Pennsylvania Dutch corn fritters are good either way.
Bacon Corn Fritters
You could also add some fried and crumbled bacon to your fritters for an extra flavor profile, or added protein.
I mean who doesn't love bacon? It adds a great flavor to many dishes, including corn fritters. So feel free to add some crumbled, fried bacon to the batter.
Summertime Corn Harvesting
Most Amish families grow a lot of sweet corn every year. My mom always planted rows and rows of sweet corn. And sometimes we planted enough to sell to local markets, neighbors, etc.
So for several weeks through the summer, we were up at daybreak, wading through the tall wet corn patch, picking and sorting through piles of corn. And of course, any ears that didn't look perfect would be thrown on a separate pile for us to husk and prepare for our freezer.
Every year we cut the kernels off of hundreds of ears of sweet corn. If you have ever harvested and frozen sweet corn, you know that it is a lot of work. However, we sure enjoyed eating it all year long and making Amish corn fritters.
The Difference Between Amish-style Frozen Corn and Store-bought Corn
Amish-style sweet corn has tender, young kernels, harvested before the ears get too fat. We cut off the tops and scraped out the juice, creating almost like a mix of whole-kernel and creamed corn.
There's no comparison to the tough, oversized kernels you find at the supermarket - this corn is sweet, tender, and incredibly flavorful. Sometimes we made baked corn or corn fritters, but most often we enjoyed it simply with butter and salt.
I'm including an affiliate link to show you the kind of corn cutter we used as kids. It made it easy to get the perfect kernels before Mom trusted us with a knife.
What to Serve with Corn Fritters
I have a roundup post with a collection of 37 different recipes for ideas on what to serve with corn fritters. Make sure to check it out if you're needing ideas.
I hope you enjoy this Amish corn fritters recipe. If you try it, I'd love it if you left a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
📖 Recipe Card
Pennsylvania Dutch Corn Fritter Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups sweet corn Equals one can or two large ears of fresh sweet corn
- 1 tsp. salt
- ⅓ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ tsp. paprika, optional
- 1 ½ tsp. butter, melted
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ c. milk
- ½ c. flour
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- 1 c. cracker crumbs I use Ritz crackers, but feel free to use any kind you desire.
- Oil, for frying
Instructions
- Mix corn, seasonings, and wet ingredients.1 ¾ cups sweet corn, 1 tsp. salt, ⅓ tsp. black pepper, ¼ tsp. paprika, optional, 1 ½ tsp. butter, melted, 1 egg, beaten, ¼ c. milk
- Add dry ingredients and mix well.½ c. flour, 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder, 1 c. cracker crumbs
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over medium/high heat.Oil, for frying
- Drop the batter into the hot oil, using a large teaspoon or a cookie scoop. Spread the batter to make a thick pancake.
- Fry for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden.
- Place onto paper towels to drain any excess oil. Serve immediately.
- Serve plain, top with sour cream, green onions, and bacon, or drizzle with maple syrup.
Kathi
Can I use 1/2 regular corn and 1/2 creamed corn?
Also, can I use cornmeal instead of crackers?
Anna
Feel free to play around with it. Just know I've never tried it, so I cannot say how it will turn out.
Margaret Hill
My mother often made corn fritters as a side dish. We always ate them plain or
used Maple syrup. They were always enjoyed.
Raising my children I can't recall ever making them. Recently my son surprised me with corn fritters he made from fresh corn. It sure brought back some memories.
I'm anxious to try this recipe. My mother was from a Pennsylvania Dutch family.
We enjoyed many Amish foods. I still cook many foods from my past.
Anna
Awesome!
Jann Hartman
I highly recommend the corn cutter mentioned above. I have my mom's old corn cutter (creamer), and it makes it so much easier. My recipe is old and very basic. I use only fresh corn and eggs (1 egg for every 2 ears of corn). Just enough flour to hold together. Salt and pepper to taste. But, you can add whatever works for you. I like mine to just taste like corn, never sweetened, as a savory side dish.
Anna
Yummy!
Steve
Hi Anna, we're in Pottstown, Pa which is within an hour of Lancaster Co. 1st time making corn fritters today. I found your recipe easy and delicious. These are better than Grandmom's fritters and if she was still around to see this, I would get an ear full for sure, haha. I found one full sleeve of smashed crackers equals one cup and the best way to drop into the pan is an ice cream scooper sprayed with cooking oil. Great recipe, thank you.
Anna
Thank you for taking the time to leave a nice comment and tips!
Clari
PA Dutch (German) here. Family’s been here since 1736.
Ritz crackers, bacon, paprika? Interesting, indeed! My nanna would be scandalized! 😄❤️
Anna
Sorry 🙃😀. There are all kinds of variations.
Darlene Martin
Love Corn Fritters. We like to eat them topped with lettuce and hot bacon dressing. Yum.
Anna
Hmmm... sounds interesting. Guess I should try that sometime.
Violet Lemm
I've been making Corn Fritters my whole life it seems, getting the original recipie from my German mother-in-law. Your Ritz Cracker recipie intrigues me, have never seen this used before. Thanks for the interesting recipies.
Anna
You're welcome. If you try it, let me know what you think.
JOANN JOHNSON
This is EXACTLY how my mom made corn fritters. Her side of the family was definitely not Amish. However, they were German immigrants, from a group of families from the Palatinate region. They came to Clearfield County, PA in the 1840's, and then later migrated en masse to Vernon County, Missouri.
My family dinners as an Oklahoma kid seemed kind of weird compared to my friends (they had much more "Southern" type food). Now I get it...your whole website is like my family cookbook! Thank you! 🙂
Anna
Yes, I believe that a lot of Amish food would have German roots. 🙂
Jann Hartman
When we were in Germany a few years ago we saw many similar/familiar foods, and some differences. Sauerkraut is made/served with a pig's knuckle (we always had a nice pork roast). And, you have to ask specifically for mashed potatoes!
We finally found Pig Stomach at a restaurant on our last day there. It is "Saumagen" Sau is Pig and Maugen is Stomach in German. And, they served a thick slice on sauerkraut!
Anna
Would love to visit Germany and Switzerland.