Vegetable Fritters From Leftover Cooked Vegetables

If you end up with a load of leftover cooked vegetables after a big festive feast, vegetable fritters are a great way to use them up. They’re quick and easy to make and very tasty too. In fact they’re a great way to pep up jaded palates after all the Christmas festivities.

What To Do With Leftover Cooked Vegetables

First thing is, don’t throw them away. Vegetables are a precious commodity and I’m all for the slogan, “love food, hate waste”. For some further ideas on what to do with them, head over to my what to do with your Christmas leftovers post.

Soup is the easiest way to use up leftover cooked vegetables. I love soup and will happily bung in all sorts of leftovers when I’m making it. But if I have a lot of leftover veg, I will make a dedicated leftovers soup. It’s a nice quick way of making a delicious meal.

Depending on what you have, you may want to fry up an onion and some garlic first. Add the vegetables, some herbs and spices, any leftover gravy and top up with vegetable stock or water. Cook for five minutes or so, then blend. Season to taste and enjoy.

Alternatively, you could make these easy vegetable fritters.

Vegetable Fritters from Leftovers

This recipe is really just a guide as it will depend on how much in the way of leftover vegetables you have. See the next section for more on this.

I’ve already mentioned this is a quick and easy recipe to make. That’s mostly down to the leftover veg that’s already cooked. It takes just fifteen minutes to get the first batch of fritters onto the table. It will take longer to cook the rest. You can, however, have the second batch cooking whilst you’re eating the first and so on. Alternatively, keep the first batch warm in a low oven whilst you cook the rest.

So, all you really need to do is mash the leftover cooked vegetables, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Heat up a large pan and fry spoonfuls of the mixture on both sides. Voilà, you have hot and delicious vegetable fritters.

Root vegetables are ideal for fritters as they mash relatively easily. But if you want to add leftover Brussels sprouts or other greens, go right ahead. Just slice them up and add to the the fritter mixture after you’ve mashed any root vegetables.

I used swede & carrot mash, roast parsnips and roast potatoes with a tiny bit of braised red cabbage to clear up the leftovers from our Christmas and Boxing Day meals. In fact swede & carrot mash make excellent fritters all on their own. I made a batch of them when I knocked up this carrot and swede mash before Christmas.

Serve hot with yoghurt sauce or tomato sauce. Coleslaw, salad or a green vegetable of choice make a good accompaniment.

Different Quantity of Leftover Cooked Vegetables?

This recipe for vegetable fritters is more of a guide than anything else. I happened to have 600g of leftover cooked vegetables after we’d finished feasting. This made eleven fat fritters. But it’s quite likely you will have more or less in the way of leftovers.

If you have a couple of hundred grams more or less than the quantity stated here, stick to one egg. But you’ll need to adjust the amount of flour you use so that the fritter mixture can hold its own. You don’t want it to be too wet. If you’ve got more than 800g, go for two eggs and adjust the flour, spices and seasoning accordingly.

Can You Freeze Vegetable Fritters?

Fritters will freeze well. Freeze fritters on an open tray so that they don’t lose their shape or stick, then bag up until needed. Defrost and heat in a pan, in the oven or in an air fryer.

Other Recipes for Using Up Leftovers You Might Like

• Chocolate macaroons
• Frozen stock cubes
• Leftover Easter egg chocolate ice-cream
• Leftover mincemeat buns
• Mincemeat brownies
• Pear almond butter
• Pineapple shrub
• Slow cooker end of season vegetable stew with mushroom dumplings
• Summer green soup

Leftover Vegetable Fritters. PIN IT.

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these fritters from leftover vegetables, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more fritter recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have a few of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Vegetable Fritters – The Recipe

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5 from 5 votes

Vegetable Fritters Made From Leftover Cooked Vegetables

Vegetable fritters are a great way to use up leftover cooked vegetables. They're easy to make and very tasty too. This is just a guide as exact quantities will depend on how much leftover veg you have.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Lunch, Supper

Cuisine: British

Keyword: cooked vegetables, fritters, leftovers

Servings: 11 fat fritters

Calories: 67kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 600 g leftover cooked vegetables (I used swede & carrot mash, roast parsnips and rosemary roast potatoes with a tiny bit of braised red cabbage)
• 1 tsp madras curry powder , chilli powder or smoked paprika – go with your favourite (I’ve used both zhug and smoked paprika to good effect)
• 1 large egg
• 50 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
• salt and pepper to taste (I just used a pinch of sea salt as my vegetables were already seasoned)
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil or sunflower oil

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Roughly mash all of the vegetables together in a large bowl.
  600 g leftover cooked vegetables
• Stir in your spice mix of choice then beat in the egg, followed by the flour and any salt and pepper you’d like to add.
  1 tsp madras curry powder, 1 large egg, 50 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat), salt and pepper
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Drop in heaped tablespoons of the vegetable mixture, placing them well apart. Flatten them a little with the back of the spoon and shape into rounds. I got four into my pan.
  1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• Fry for about five minutes on one side, then flip over and fry for 3-4 minutes on the other side. If it looks like the fritters might burn, turn the heat down a little.
• Repeat the process until all of the mixture has been used up.
• Serve hot with yoghurt sauce or tomato sauce. Coleslaw, salad or a green vegetable of choice make a good accompaniment.

Notes

If you have a couple of hundred grams more or less than the quantity stated here, stick to one egg. But you will need to adjust the amount of flour you use so that the fritter mixture can hold its own. You don’t want it to be too wet. If you’ve got more than 800g, go for two eggs and adjust the flour, spices and seasoning accordingly.

Fritters will freeze well. Freeze fritters on an open tray so that they don’t lose their shape or stick, then bag up until needed. Defrost and heat in a pan, in the oven or in an air fryer.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 197mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9134IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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