These crispy Spinach Fritters with feta cheese, almond flour, and mozzarella will soon become your favorite way to eat your greens.
I have a passion for sneaking spinach into my kids’ plates, and let’s say it’s much easier when it’s combined with cheese! This new spinach recipe is inspired by two of my favorite recipes: the spinach balls and my zucchini fritters.
I have had to rework these recipes because I used different veggies. Zucchini, and spinach are very different and using fresh spinach compared to frozen spinach that release more liquid that impacts the recipe.
Ingredients and Tips for Success
- Frozen Spinach is my favorite option because they are available all year and are much cheaper. My number one tip when working with frozen vegetables is to drain and squeeze out all their liquid after being thawed. This prevents adding liquid to the fritter batter which makes the fritter too soft and loose.
- Grated Mozzarella is my favorite cheese for crispy fritters. It hardens way better than grated cheddar, but feel free to use any hard shredded cheese you have at home.
- Feta Cheese is optional but any recipe that combines spinach and feta, like my loaded Greek keto frittata recipe, or spinach omelette tastes 100% better.
- Spices are my next tip to add a bang to spinach fritters. Spinach is very bland, and adding salt and black pepper is not enough to make spinach taste amazing. I like to combine onion, garlic powder, and a pinch of paprika in the batter, but feel free to swap for shallots, onion powder, or cumin to create different fritter flavors.
- Eggs are the binder, so my advice is don’t reduce or swap for egg alternatives. You can replace each egg with 3 egg whites to make egg white fritters.
- Avocado Oil is my top tip to fry fritters without burning them or creating smoke in your kitchen. Avocado oil has one of the highest smoke points makes it the best for frying food in a healthy waying. Other options are olive oil or coconut oil.
- Almond Flour is the best keto flour to bind fritters and keep the recipe healthy, low-carb, and gluten-free. However, even if I always like to develop my recipes with fewer carbs, you can also make the recipe differently by swapping almond flour for the same amount of all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blends works as well.
Making and Frying Fritters
- Thaw the spinach following the packaging instructions – there’s often many options, I personally like to use my microwave, it’s faster. Place the thawed spinach in a a sieve, press with your hands to remove all liquid then transfer to a large bowl.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to form a nice mixture.
- Warm some oil in a large frying pan, add 1/4 cup of fritter batter, and press into a 3-inch patty using a spatula or the back of a measuring cup.
- Cook the fritters for 2 to 3 minutes or until crispy on the edge before flipping and cooking them for an extra 1 or 2 minutes on the other side.
Serving Fritters
Fritters are great as a breakfast side dish. Like my cauliflower fritters, you can use these spinach fritters as next to sunny sideup eggs or pesto eggs.
Or serve the fritters as a dish with some toppings like:
- A dollop of Greek Yogurt for a touch of sourness to this cheesy savory fritter is delicious.
- 4-ingredient guacamole – spinach and avocado taste amazing together.
- Hot sauce for spicy fritters
- Whipped cottage cheese for a boost of proteins.
- Make my Keto salsa recipe for a fresh tomato a side to your fritters.
- Chopped fresh herbs like Parsley or dill.
Expert Tips For Frying Fritters
- Add more oil as you fry your fritters. Fitters absorb some of the oil. Add more oil to keep the same level in the pan, ensuring perfect frying.
- Preheat the oven to keep the cooked fritter warm. You won’t be able to fry more than 2-3 fritters at once in your skillet. It means the first batch of cooked fritters gets cold while frying the remaining batter. To keep them all warm and serve them all at once, I recommend preheating the oven to 350°F (180°C), lining a large baking sheet with a cooling rack, and placing the fritter on the rack. Keep in the oven while frying the rest of the food.
- Salt at the end. Feta cheese is often very salty. I recommend cooking the fritters and adding a pinch of salt before serving to avoid overly salty fritters.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cheese adds crispiness, and it helps the fritters hold their shape. If you make the recipe dairy-free, you must use a high-carb flour like all-purpose flour, or the fritters won’t crisp or hold very well.
Sure, if spinach is in season, you can use fresh spinach, but you will need to precook the spinach. Generally, 16 oz frozen spinach equals 2 1/2 cups of fresh, finely chopped spinach leaves. Cook with a bit of oil in a skillet over medium heat, cover and cook, until they shrink, remove excess water and drain in a sieve. Cool down for 10 minutes in the sieve, then use in the recipe.
You can bake fritters, but first preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lien a large baking sheet with greased parchment paper then place 1/4 cup of batter per fritters, leaving two thumbs of space between them as they do leak a bit when cooking. Flatten each fritter with the back of a spoon into a 3-inche cake. Bake them for 30 minutes, flipping them half way. Make sure you spray some oil on the fritters to help them crisp.
The cooked fritters can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Place the cooked fritters in a warm skillet, or preheat oven or in the air fryer at 350°F for 4 to 6 minutes or until crispy and warm.
More Fritter Recipes
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Prevent your screen from going dark
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Thaw the spinach following the packaging directions. I microwaved mine in a glass bowl.
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Place the thawed spinach in a colander, squeeze it with your hands to drain all their juice, then place the thawed, drained spinach in a mixing bowl.
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Add the almond flour, onion, garlic powder, paprika, salt (only if your feta is not salty!), pepper, beaten eggs, shredded mozzarella, and crumbled feta cheese.
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Stir to combine and form a consistent batter.
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Warm some avocado oil in a large, non-stick skillet. To keep them warm, preheat the oven to 300°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. As you cook the fritters, place them on the baking sheet to keep them warm while cooking the rest.
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Cook 1/4 cup of batter at once, and press to form a 3-inch patty. Cook for 2-3 minutes, adding a little more oil if it absorbs too quickly.
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Slice a spatula under the patties, flip them, and cook them for an extra minute.
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Place the cooked fritters on the baking sheet, place a large piece of foil on top and place in the oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining fritters.
Note 2: Goat cheese or more shredded mozzarella.
Note 3: If nut-free, use the same amount of sesame seed flour, all-purpose flour (this won’t be low-carb), or sunflower seed flour.
Storage: Store the cooked fritters in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to 1 month.
Serving: 3frittersCalories: 330.4kcal (17%)Carbohydrates: 8.6g (3%)Fiber: 4.4g (18%)Net Carbs: 4.2gProtein: 15.4g (31%)Fat: 27.6g (42%)Saturated Fat: 6.2g (39%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.8gMonounsaturated Fat: 12.3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 158.9mg (53%)Sodium: 623mg (27%)Potassium: 474.5mg (14%)Sugar: 1.6g (2%)Vitamin A: 13634.2IU (273%)Vitamin B12: 0.8µg (13%)Vitamin C: 6.6mg (8%)Vitamin D: 0.8µg (5%)Calcium: 306.2mg (31%)Iron: 3.3mg (18%)Magnesium: 95.2mg (24%)Zinc: 1.8mg (12%)
About The Author
Carine Claudepierre
Hi, I’m Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook and many ebooks, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I’m passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I’m also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
