Green Pea Fritters with Lemon Dill Sauce

Why We Love This Recipe

• Lighter than other fritter recipes: A lot of other pea fritter recipes call for a thick, sticky batter that's tough to work with. We used peas and quinoa to create a much lighter, falafel-like texture that's easy to form and absolutely delicious.
• Fresh and herby: We added spinach, parsley, dill, and leeks to give these fritters a ton of fresh flavor. It makes them an amazing spring time snack that's packed with herbs and veggies.
• Customizable: These fritters can be made with corn, chickpeas, or even black eyed peas. They're the perfect vehicle for your favorite veggies!
• Great for kids: These are a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies, with a texture that feels like a hash brown and a tasty dipping sauce.
• Vegan and can be made gluten free: We used a flax egg to keep this recipe vegan, and two simple swaps make it completely gluten free.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these pea fritters:

Ingredient Notes

• Peas: You can use fresh or frozen peas, but we opted for frozen because they're a lot easier to find. Just cook them according to the instructions on the back of the package - we like microwaving them to save time. Note that if you use fresh peas, you'll still need to cook them to soften before adding to this recipe.
• Flour and breadcrumbs: If you want to make this recipe gluten free (we did), then you can simply use the gluten free flour of your choice (we'd advise an all-purpose since that's what we tested), and gluten free breadcrumbs.
• Leeks: These add a depth of flavor to the pea fritters, but we understand they take some time to prep. You can replace with green onion or regular onions if you don't have any leeks on hand.
• Herbs: We used parsley and dill in the fritters, but you can sub for your favorite fresh herbs. If you're using dried herbs, use the tried and true conversion: 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs is equal to 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
• Quinoa: Really any variety will work in this recipe, but we used white quinoa.
• Flax meal is our egg substitute of choice for these pea fritters. If you're not vegan, you can sub with 1 regular egg.
• Lemon pepper seasoning is optional, but adds a nice extra kick of flavor! If you don't have any, just sub with regular black pepper.

Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Cook quinoa and peas according to package directions and set them aside until ready to use.

Stir together flax meal and water and let sit for 15 minutes.

(2) Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in chopped spinach, parsley, and dill, season with ¼ teaspoon of salt, and cook for 2 minutes.

(3) Add cooked peas to a bowl and use a hand masher to mash the peas. It's okay if some are smashed and some are left whole. Stir in the cooked quinoa, leek/garlic mixture, flax mixture, and lemon juice.

(4) In a separate bowl, stir together flour, breadcrumbs, the remaining salt, and the lemon pepper seasoning. Add to wet mixture and stir to combine. We like using our hands for this step. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes so that it has a chance to bind together before cooking.

(5) Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add some olive oil. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to measure out the batter for each fritter. Flatten each patty using your hands and pan fry for 4-5 minutes until lightly browned. Then carefully flip each fritter and cook for 4-5 minutes on the other side.

(6) Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until smooth. Serve fritters warm with lemon dill sauce.

Expert Tips and FAQs

• Use a nonstick pan: To make sure the pea fritters don't stick and fall apart, be sure to use a nonstick pan. Trust us, it's much easier!
• Make sure to clean your leeks well: Leeks are notorious for holding a lot of dirt in between each layer, so it's important to thoroughly clean them before using. To do so, trim the upper dark green leaves, then slice the bulb in half lengthwise. Run under water, using your hands to separate the layers, to remove as much dirt as possible. If they're still dirty, slice the leeks, then transfer to a colander and rinse a second time.
• What part of a leek should you use in this recipe? We only use the tender white and light green part in this recipe. The dark green part is edible, but it's much tougher and needs longer to cook, which isn't the case with this recipe.
• Storage: Store leftover pea fritters in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (store sauce in a separate container). You can also freeze the fritters for up to a few months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
• Dipping sauce: I can't get enough of the creamy lemon dill sauce we serve with these pea fritters – it's the perfect pairing! However, you can also serve these with ketchup, sour cream or another dipping sauce of choice.
• Customize: Try changing things up by swapping peas with corn, black beans, or another similar ingredient of choice!

Related Recipes

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.