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Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these mashed sweet potato fritters are a delicious breakfast, snack or side for kids and babies. They’re absolutely perfect for baby led weaning or as a finger food for toddlers and older children! {Gluten-free}
Sweet Potato Fritters – Easy & Healthy!
If you’re looking for a fun finger food to serve up, your little ones will love these slightly sweet, yet healthy and delicious sweet potato fritters.
The golden, crispy sweet potato fritters are soft on the inside, making them so much fun to eat. Serve these fritters up as pancakes, with applesauce and berries for breakfast. You can also cut them into long slices for baby led weaning.
Sweet potato patties are so versatile and can be served either sweet or savoury with a variety of dips to expose your kids to lots of new foods, like applesauce, ketchup or yogurt.
The best part is that this easy snack or side only requires a few simple ingredients! You’ll use a cooked sweet potato the same way you’d use applesauce or mashed bananas in other recipes. Add some grated apple, oat flour, egg and cinnamon for sweet potato patties you can fry in a skillet or bake in the oven.
These healthy sweet potato fritters are packed with fibre and vitamins, essential for growing bodies. They can be served as a great appetizer, perfect side dish, or used to fill out a main course. Since this healthy recipe is so easy and delicious, they’re sure to become part of your regular rotation!
Why We Love These Sweet Potato Patties
- Baby led weaning friendly: Mashed sweet potato fritters are made with ingredients that are safe and easy for babies to eat. To make softer sweet potato fritters, bake them in the oven instead of frying. To serve babies 6 months and older, cut the patties into long thin strips. For older babies, cut into small squares or leave them whole.
- Healthy: Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and a source of fiber. Plus, they’re naturally sweet, making the fritter batter even naturally flavourful.
- Simple ingredients: Made with mashed sweet potatoes, grated apples, an egg, oat flour, and cinnamon, you can feel good about serving these sweet potato patties to your kids. Plus, they are gluten-free if you have any gluten sensitivities to watch out for.
Sweet potato fritters
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Ingredient Notes
- Sweet potato: Next time you make sweet potatoes, reserve one to mash into the fritter mixture. Sweet potato is high in antioxidants and fibre, both very important for growing bodies.
- Apple: Grated apple gives some texture and sweetness to the sweet potato fritters without adding too much liquid. Apples are also a source of fibre and vitamin C.
- Egg: This will help hold the delicious fritters together. To make vegan sweet potato patties, use a flax egg.
- Oat flour: This is a great, nutrient-dense and gluten-free way to thicken the fritters. Quick oats or rolled oats can be blended in the food processor to make homemade oat flour.
- Cinnamon: Ths will complement the sweetness in the apple and sweet potato. Feel free to remove this for more savoury fritters.
- Salt: Salt is optional and not recommended for babies, but a pinch of salt can be added if serving to older kids or adults for extra flavour.
- Olive oil: Use olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil to fry the fritters.
How to Make Sweet Potato Fritters – Step by Step
- Cook the sweet potato. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Poke the sweet potato all over with a fork and bake for 50-60 or until fork tender. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing the flesh from the sweet potato and adding it to a medium bowl. Mash the sweet potato.
- Mix in the grated apple. Then add the egg, oat flour, cinnamon, and salt (if using).
- Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and add the oil. Fry heaping tablespoons of the mashed sweet potato mixture until golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side. If desired, use a spatula to help flatten the fritters as they cook. Let them cool on a wire rack or a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- To cook in the oven, place heaping 1 tablespoon scoops of the sweet potato fritters on a well greased baking tray. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Serve sweet potato fritters hot or cold, with or without a dip. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days and either bake or griddle to reheat.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- You can eat these fritters sweet or savoury. As a sweet option, serve them dipped in applesauce or topped with fruit and served like pancakes. As a savoury option, try them dipped in ketchup, yogurt or your favourite dip.
- If making these fritters for babies under the age of one, I recommend leaving out the salt to limit sodium consumption. For older children and adults, you may wish to add the salt in for extra flavour.
- If you prefer not to roast the sweet potato, you can also pierce the sweet potato all over with a fork. Microwave until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Simply scoop out the flesh, mash and combine with the remaining ingredients. Or bring a pot of water to a boil and boil diced sweet potato for about 15 minutes or until soft.
- I used pink lady apples, but you can use another type of apple if that’s what you have on hand. Try to stick with a sweeter apple variety rather than tart, to help bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.
- You can either use homemade or store-bought oat flour. To make your own oat flour, blend quick or rolled oats in a blender until a fine flour-like consistency is achieved.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, however, for best results, I recommend cooking the fritters up right before serving since they lose some of their crispiness the longer they sit. If you’d like to get a head start, you can prepare the sweet potato cake mixture a couple of days ahead of time and then cook them when ready to serve.
If you plan to serve the sweet potato patties like pancakes, then you can make them in advance since they’re still tasty even if they’re not as crispy.
First, don’t overmix the fritters. Mix just until all of the oat flour is absorbed. Secondly, make sure you use enough oil and flip the fritters halfway through cooking with a slotted spoon or spatula to get each side nice and crispy.
Yes, sweet potato fritters can be baked in the oven. Simply preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bake fritters on a well greased baking sheet or a tray lined with parchment paper for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
To cook in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F, cook the fritters for 10-12 minutes, and turn them halfway through.
To serve sweet potato fritters to babies, cut the fritters into thin strips. For older babies with a pincer grasp, cut the fritters into smaller bite-sized pieces for babies to pick up with their fingers. If desired, serve with applesauce as a dip.
Storage Guidelines
- To refrigerate: You can store these sweet potato fritters in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Once they are cooked and cooled, arrange the fritters flat on a baking sheet and freeze for 4 hours or until solid. Place the frozen fritters into a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 6 months.
- To reheat: When ready to serve, place the frozen fritters on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for about 10 – 15 minutes or until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these sweet potato fritters whole or cut into pieces once they’ve been in the fridge for a day or so and have firmed up slightly.
They can be served up as a sweet or savoury option as a snack or side dish dipped in ketchup, applesauce, sour cream, or your baby’s favourite dip.
My little guys also enjoy them for breakfast served up like pancakes topped with applesauce (this unsweetened applesauce recipe is especially delicious) and thawed frozen blueberries or banana slices. You could even add a little drizzle of maple syrup on top too!
To turn this into a main meal, serve the fritters with:
- Peanut butter or almond butter
- Scrambled eggs
- Cottage cheese
- Fresh yogurt and fruit
- Small pieces of chicken or chicken nuggets
- Tiny wedges of cheese
Recipe Variations
- To make egg-free/vegan: Try using a flax egg instead of the regular egg.
- Use different spices: Try using turmeric or paprika instead of cinnamon. You can even add some green onions and a little garlic powder and chili powder in a special batch for the grown-ups.
- Grated sharp cheddar cheese: This is best for baking as the cheese will melt, but a little crispy fried cheese tastes heavenly!
- Other grated vegetables: Use a box grater to shred carrots, pear, or squash. You can even add grated sweet potato for extra texture.
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Mashed Sweet Potato Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (about 1 large or 2 small)
- 2 large apples, peeled and grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil (or more as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Pierce a sweet potato with a fork and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until soft and tender when pierced with a fork. Transfer cooked sweet potato flesh to a large bowl and mash.
- Add the grated apple into the bowl with the mashed sweet potato.
- Add the egg, oat flour, cinnamon, and salt (if using). Mix to combine.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry heaping tablespoons of the mixture until golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side. You may wish to flatten the fritters with the spatula once flipped to help it cook through in the center.
- Alternatively, you can bake the fritters in the oven on a well greased baking sheet at 425 F, for 20 minutes flipping halfway through.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with your favourite dip.
Notes
- You can eat these fritters sweet or savoury. As a sweet option, serve them dipped in applesauce or topped with fruit and served like pancakes. As a savoury option, try them dipped in ketchup, yogurt or your favourite dip.Â
- If making these fritters for babies under the age of one, I recommend leaving out the salt to limit sodium consumption. For older children and adults, you may wish to add the salt in for extra flavour.
- If you prefer not to roast the sweet potato, you can also pierce the sweet potato all over with a fork. Microwave until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Simply scoop out the flesh, mash and combine with the remaining ingredients. Or bring a pot of water to a boil and boil diced sweet potato for about 15 minutes or until soft.
- I used pink lady apples, but you can use another type of apple if that’s what you have on hand. Try to stick with a sweeter apple variety rather than tart, to help bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.
- You can either use homemade or store-bought oat flour. To make your own oat flour, blend quick or rolled oats in a blender until a fine flour-like consistency is achieved.
Love this recipe! Freezes well. Baby favourite.
Amazing! So happy baby enjoyed the fritters 🙂 They’re so handy to store in the freezer!
Very tasty and convenient for feeding on the go.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂