Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters are great for brunch and healthy breakfasts, served with pink pickles, vegan “sour cream” and a fresh tomato avocado salsa.

There is nothing not to love about brunch and one morning, I woke up craving courgette (aka zucchini) fritters. Since then I think I have had them almost every day, and why not? They are so easy to make, healthy and wholesome, packed with flavour and good-for-you ingredients and they taste amazing. Whether you serve them with fried off veggies like mushrooms and spinach or this fresh and zingy tomato avocado salsa, you are sure to enjoy these fritters.

What makes these fritters so special?

I love these fritters for as few reasons, they are:

• Easy to make in a few steps
• Delicious
• Crisp on the outside
• Tender in the middle
• Packed with rich flavours of cumin, turmeric, chilli and nutritional yeast
• Naturally vegan, high protein and gluten-free
• Loaded with vegetables

If you are already in love with these fritters, skip ahead to the recipe card below. First, let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

Let’s start with the fritters:

• Courgette: or zucchini. Firstly grate the courgette (no need to peel) and allow it to sit in a sieve suspended over a bowl. Leave this while you prepare the rest of the fritter batter and then give it a good squeeze to get rid of the excess moisture.
• Pepper: chop this small and add to the batter for some crunch and added vegetable goodness. I used a yellow bell pepper but any colour will work.
• Spring onions: or you can use ¼ red or white onion, chopped very small but spring onions are my favourite. They are milder in flavour and easy to prepare without making your cray.
• Fresh herbs: I love using fresh chive when I can find it but parsley, mint and/or coriander are also great herbs to use in the batter. Fresh really is best here, so if you don’t have any, try chopped some fresh spinach really small instead.
• Chickpea or gram flour: or you can find this as besan flour. I like to buy this in big kilo bags in the Asian supermarket aisles which is much cheaper (about £3 for 1 kg) than buying it in the cooking aisles. This flour is important to these fritters so do not swap this for another flour. It absorbs more moisture than other flours and as it’s made from 100% dried chickpeas it is also high in protein and fibre.
• Buckwheat flour: I am obsessed with buckwheat flour at the moment, even though it took me ages to buy a bag. It can be a bit more expensive but it lasts a long time, so I really recommend having a bag to hand (especially as I have more buckwheat flour recipes coming up). You can swap this flour for plain or GF plain flour, too, with great results. Just a note that buckwheat flour is 100% gluten-free, despite the name.
• Nutritional yeast: for the cheesy savoury taste that I just love. You can swap this for some vegan grated parmesan, too, or grated vegan cheese.
• Ground chia or flax seed: this is important as it helps to bind the batter for these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters. I love to grind up some chia seeds in bulk so they are ready to go.
• Baking powder: for a little rise and the fluffy texture.
• Spices and herbs: for these fritters, I use ground cumin, turmeric and chilli flakes which have a lovely warming, lightly spiced and subtle flavour. you can play around here, though, and add smoked paprika, for example.
• Salt and pepper: to season.
• Unsweetened plant-based milk: I like oat, almond or soya for the fritters.
• Water: I use half dairy-free milk and half water for the batter, this means it’s creamy and thick but not too heavy. I really recommend using half and half and not skipping the milk.
• Apple cider vinegar: this really elevates the fritters as not only does it help to bind the batter again, it makes the batter lighter as it fries off.
• Oil: for frying. You can use any neutral oil or olive oil is great, as is coconut oil. If using coconut oil, check that you like the flavour that coconut oil adds, or use refined coconut oil which has no taste/flavour.

To serve these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters, I’ve made a Lime yoghurt aka sour cream:

• Coconut yoghurt: or another unsweetened thick dairy-free yoghurt, for the base. My favourite is Cocos Organic natural yoghurt.
• Lime juice: or lemon juice but lime adds a better flavour.
• Fresh herbs: as above, my favourite is fresh chive but others are great too like parsley, coriander or mint.

For the Tomato and Avocado Salsa:

• Tomatoes: I use cherry tomatoes and chop them into quarters or halves, depending on their size.
• Avocado: ripe, tender and in-season avocado is best.
• Lime: just the juice for a quick and easy zingy salsa. You can sub for lemon juice.
• Cumin: for a slight warmth and flavour.
• Chilli flakes: only a little bit for heat and you can omit if you prefer.

All that’s left to serve these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters are:

• Pink pickles: shop-bought or you can make your own, see my recipe here.
• Herbs: as above, use chive, mint, coriander or parsley.
• Lime wedges: for some extra zing!

How do I make these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters?

They really are so simple to make and easy to batch cook too for saving for future meals:

• Grate the courgette: and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes in a sieve suspended over a bowl.
• Squeeze out the excess moisture from the courgette: and discard the water (or add to juices/smoothies.
• Prepare the vegetables: chop the pepper, spring onions and herbs.
• Whisk together the dry ingredients for the batter: till mixed up.
• Add in the wet ingredients: and whisk to a smooth batter.
• Allow to sit for 5 minutes: to thicken.
• Prepare the lime sour cream: by stirring together all the ingredients.
• Make the salsa: by chopping and stirring together the ingredients.
• Add the vegetables to the batter: and stir again.
• Heat a non-stick pan with oil: and allow to heat up.
• Drop a few tbsp of batter per fritter: and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, till bubbling on top and golden underneath.
• Flip over and cook the second side: repeat to make all the fritters.
• Serve the fritters warm or cold: with the lime sour cream, salsa and other toppings.

How long will these last?

These fritters will keep for 2-3 days wrapped well in the fridge once cooled or you can freeze them for up to 1 month, too. You can enjoy them cold from the fridge or warm back up in a frying pan, or under the grill.

Are these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters gluten-free and nut-free?

Yes, these fritters are free from gluten and nuts. Check that your plant-based milk and yoghurt are nut-free, too. Note that buckwheat flour does not contain wheat and is safe to eat if avoiding gluten.

I love these fritters, what else can I make?

I hope you are going to love making and eating these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and for more brunch ideas, how about my:

• Sweetcorn Fritters with Avocado Tomato and Feta Salad
• Red Pepper and Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Shakshuka
• Roasted Sticky Potatoes and Turmeric Scramble
• Vegan Pesto Eggs
• Sweetcorn and Red Pepper Fritters

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Courgette Chickpea Flour Fritters so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these, I’d love to see them so please tag me in your fritters, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With fritters of love x