These crispy little veggie fritters are loaded with cauliflower and carrots, and served with a homemade cashew cream-based Smoky Garlic Aioli. Adorable, delicious, and 100% vegetarian!
I was looking for dinner ideas a few weeks ago and came upon this recipe for Crispy Broccoli-Carrot Fritters with Yogurt Dill Sauce. They looked totally delicious, so I had the to try making the fritters with cauliflower instead of broccoli.
And the sauce? I replaced that with a cashew-cream based Smoky Garlic Aioli. I love me some cashew cream!
The smoky aioli is perfect with the cheesy, crispy fritters. And these come together super quickly too. From start to finish, they’re done in about 30 minutes.
Tips & Variations
If you don’t have a mayo-aversion like I do, you can use mayo instead and make a more traditional aioli.
While the batter for these fritters might seem like it’s not going to hold together, have faith because it will! Use your spatula to press each patty into shape on the skillet and then flip them over carefully.
For a completely vegan version, just leave out the parmesan cheese or replace it with a dairy-free vegan cheese.
More Tasty Ideas
If you love these carrot and cauliflower fritters, be sure to check out these other delicious recipes:
- 25 Vegan Recipes that Make Veggies Actually Taste Good!
- Sweet Potato Fritters
- Zucchini & Red Lentil Fritters
- BBQ Spaghetti Squash Fritters
Recipe
Ingredients
Crispy Cauliflower-Carrot Fritters
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Smoky Garlic Aioli
- ¾ cup raw cashew pieces soaked for 4 to 8 hours
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup water + 2 tablespoons addditional
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Crispy Cauliflower-Carrot Fritters
- Combine the water, cauliflower, and carrots in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 4 minutes, then drain well. Place the cauliflower and carrots on a few layers of paper towels and pat dry. Transfer to a cutting board and finely chop.
- Place the chopped veggies in a large bowl; add flour and stir to coat. Fold in the cheese, salt, pepper, green onions, and egg.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to coat. Put the fritter mixture into the skillet ¼ cup at a time, using a spatula to flatten each fritter into shape. Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes, then carefully flip over and cook for about 4 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil if needed.
Smoky Garlic Aioli
- Drain and rinse the cashews. Combine the cashews, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, and ¼ cup of water in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the fritters.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
Oh my goodness, low-carb, vegetarian, and totally yummy. I know a lot of people this will make happy. I will have to share today. I love cashew cream too. So creamy!
Kiersten says
Thanks for sharing!
Katy says
These cauliflower fritters look awesome, I would even have them for breakfast. Plus, your cashew cream is so…creamy! I can never get mine that smooth but it could be my blender. Do you normally soak your cashews for the full 8 hours?
Kiersten says
If I know I'll forget to soak them, I start first thing in the morning, but usually I only soak them for about 4 hours. Sometimes even 2! I do have a Vitamix, so I think that helps, but I've successfully made cashew cream in my food processor too. One thing I've learned is that you really need to make about a cup at a time, unless you have a smaller blender/food processor. When I try to make smaller amounts, it just doesn't blend as smooth.
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
These are totally right up my alley considering I LOVE carrots and really enjoy finding creative ways to eat cauliflower. I will SO be trying these bad boys!
Kiersten says
I can take or leave carrots, but I loooove cauliflower. 🙂
Grace @ Earthy Feast says
I just had lunch but these cute little things have me drooling!
Holly says
Cooking Light was the first cooking magazine I ordered fresh out of college and years later I am still so happy when a new issue arrives in my mailbox! Love how you adapted this recipe, looks great!
Kiersten says
I'm always excited to get it in the mail too--I flip through it immediately and start tearing out recipes, then I read it later! 🙂
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
One summer when I was in college I was a receptionist. Early on my boss mentioned I could bring a book and read in the time I wasn't answering phones. I read 20 books that summer. Coincidentally I also started reading Cooking Light that summer. I love cauliflower and these fritters are right up my alley!
Kiersten says
Aren't those the best kinds of jobs?! I had a few of those when I was in college. 🙂
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
I love (LOVE!) the cashew cream for the aioli sauce!! Genius!! I, too, am not a huge fan of mayo (can't say I have an aversion … I just don't particularly care for it all the time!) so I think using the cashews are so smart! Mmmmm and I love the taste of cashews! Ah! I wish what I was having for dinner would work with this sauce! Sadly, it doesn't 🙁
The fritters look amazing as well - your photographs are gorgeous!
Kiersten says
Thank you! Cashew aioli is my current favorite thing. I could put it on evvvvverything! 🙂
Puja @ Indiaphile.info says
These look so yummy! And I totally love the cashew aioli! 🙂
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love cauliflower (and carrots!), what tasty looking fritters!
Nichole @ Green Cuisine Queen says
Those look so good! I'm surprised at how simple they are to make. May be on this week's menu!
Kiersten says
I hope you like them if you make them! 🙂
Patricia says
Ohyumohyumohyum!! These look amazing and easy to make! Look forward to trying the cashew aioli. (love Cooking Light, too!) Thanks!
Kiersten says
I'm a little bit addicted to cashew aioli. 🙂 I just made a sriracha version yesterday!
dawn says
How about substituting 1/2 c of gluten free all purpose flour? ???
Kiersten says
I'm not gluten-free, so I can't say for sure how gluten-free substitutes would work in this recipe because I haven't tested them myself.
Mallory @ Because I Like Chocolate says
I like this vegan take on aioli. Anything wish cashews sounds good to me!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
So good and delicious! Love your aioli 🙂
Colleen @ Culinary Colleen says
I definitely don't have a mayo aversion, but I've been really wanting to try cashew cream. Love this idea! Cooking Light will probably always be my favorite food magazine.
Kiersten says
Yes, give it a try! It is so good. 🙂
Shirley says
This looks amazing!! I love how you can see all the colorful veg, as opposed to beige potato pancakes. And I'm a sucker for aioli. Must try.
Kiersten says
Well, potato pancakes are always good too! I will never turn down a potato pancake! 😉
Tracy says
Your photoging skillz on this particular is making me want to recreate recipe by the metric ton. Or I'm munchie and these just look ridiculous! Or both, which is more true 😀
Kiersten says
Thank you! I had no idea how to photograph these, so I just threw them on an old baking sheet, but somehow it worked out. 🙂
Maura says
There is something green in this... what is it?
Kiersten says
It's the green onions.
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
I just made cauliflower fritters over the weekend! Bah! They were with white beans and spinach though- no carrots, so they're different but I shot them on an old baking sheet too! This is so funny. Great vegetarian minds think alike I guess. 😉
I didn't make a cashew based aioli for mine though- that sounds amazing! Okay, the whole recipe sounds amazing but that really takes it over the top. I'll have to give this version a try after I eat up my leftovers!
Kiersten says
Ha! I'm so glad I had that baking sheet, because I really could not figure out how to shoot them. 🙂 I love the idea of adding spinach and white beans--I bet they'd be really good with marinara sauce!
Julie says
I don't even know what to say about these, other than they are going on my to-make list ASAP.
Robin Gagnon says
Yum, these look like something I could promptly gobble up.
Erika says
Are we twins? I <3 Cooking Light and hate mayo too!! Jk. But omgosh woman you're killing it with the recipes. I love the lumpy, bumpy texture of these. I just want to eat about a million.
Kiersten says
Woo hoo! Mayo haters unite! It just squicks me out. 😛
Tiffany Olson says
These look great! What non-wheat flours would work? Thanks!
Kiersten says
I'm not gluten-free and I don't cook with non-wheat flours much, so I really can't make any suggestions without having tested them myself.
Ash-foodfashionparty says
Love these vegetable fritters. Perfect for holiday parties.
this would be so good as a stuffing in pitas, yum.
Kiersten says
Yes, they would be awesome in pitas or wraps!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
cashew cream + fritters...I don't think there could be a better combo. Totally loving these!