Butternut Fritters with Lemon Chevre
These crispy, tender butternut fritters are perfect for holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not that I would ever need a publicly anointed occasion to enjoy these crispy, tender little marvels – and I urge you not to conform to a once-a-year indulgence of these tasty bites. Butternut Fritters with Lemon Chèvre are a treat every time you make them.
I probably should have posted these last week for Thanksgiving, but again, why be beholden to a holiday? They will be devoured equally as fast on a Tuesday night as they will on Thanksgiving or Christmas. And unlike most Thanksgiving sides, this one won’t take you the better part of a day to make. You’re welcome!
Butternut squash is the foundation of these fritters with some onion and shallot thrown in for good measure. Start by sautéing the vegetables to soften them a bit.
Stir in the flour and spice mixture and then the beaten eggs to form the batter. Next comes the lemon zest. Did I mention the zest? It really brightens this dish.
In fact, I’ve added it to the fritter batter and to the luscious chevre topping. I know. CHEVRE! Okay, the topping isn’t mandatory. These fritters are good no matter what! But a dab of melty-lemon kissed goat cheese atop a hot, crispy butternut fritter? C’mon!
What are you waiting for?
More Vegetable Starters:
- Creamy Asparagus Sunchoke Soup
- Italian Stuffed Artichokes
- Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
- Spicy Edamame
- Potato Broccoli Soup
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Butternut Fritters with Lemon Chèvre
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ butternut squash peeled and seeded, grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon zested
- ½ cup self rising flour
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons canola oil for frying
for lemon chèvre
- 4 ounces chèvre goat cheese
- 5 tablespoons cream
- zest and juice of one lemon
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- In a small bowl combine the goat cheese and cream. Stir until smooth and creamy. Add lemon juice, zest and black pepper, stir to combine and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a 9-10″ skillet. Add the butternut squash and kosher salt and sauté for 5 minutes until squash is slightly softened. Stir in the green onion and shallot and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, cayenne pepper and black pepper together and sprinkle over the butternut squash. Stir until well combined. Add the eggs and stir to combine – until the batter is just moist.
- In a heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron or enamel coated like Le Creuset works great) heat the olive and canola oil until very hot, but not smoking. Spoon heaping tablespoons of butternut squash batter into the pan and flatten with the back of a spoon. Don’t crowd the pan — work with only 3-4 fritters at a time. Cook for 3-4 minutes until browned and crispy then carefully flip the fritters and brown on the other side. Transfer the fritters to the paper towel lined pan and keep warm in the oven, while you continue to make the rest of the fritters.
- Serve fritters hot. Have your guests top the warm fritters with a spoonful of the lemon chèvre which gets delightfully gooey.
NUTRITION:
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This looks amazing! Love the photos.
I love butternut squash, this looks like a fun way to eat it!
This looks amazingly delicious!
Great looking fritters. Love the photos.
What a perfect use for butternut squash! Love this delicious idea and cannot wait to try! XO
Please let me know how you like them!
Your pictures are always so classy & food delicious. I love the idea of putting the squash thru the shredder for the base. Going to try these. Thanks.
I’m glad you like them – and the photos!
These sound heavenly! I love the melty chevre!
I know – it’s so rich and tangy!
These look fantabulous! I just posted a butternut and quinoa fritter recipe on Monday! Great minds…?
absolutely!
They sound and look heavenly. YUM!
Thanks, I’m so glad you like! I’m always looking for something new to do with butternut squash.
So the topping isn’t mandatory, but man does it look delicious. I’ll definitely make these with my last butternut squash from Thanksgiving that I forgot to use, with a hefty dollop of that lemon chevre on top!
Food blogging doesn’t suck, does it Marianne?
Your pictures are amazing. I am once again hungry… and I just had breakfast. I’m so looking forward to trying these.
Thank you! Trying to get the hang of my camera!
Yum! I love fritters but I’ve never made them with butternut squash. Such a great idea. They look amazing. Can’t wait to try them ?
Looks so delicious. I just love veggie fritters! I made zucchini ones a few weeks ago.
Tell the truth…I’m way behind on posting holiday recipes but I think these can be eaten year round! Looks delicious X
Oh wow, definitely making these!! These fritters look amazing.
Enjoy them Jesse!