Pumpkin fritters (or ‘pampoen koekies‘ as we call them in Afrikaans) is one of my all time favourites. Although usually served as a side to meat and veggies in a traditional Afrikaans home, they are typically quite sweet and desert-like.
I’ve made the traditional South African pumpkin fritters several times, but most recipes require a lot of sugar, flour, and oil for deep-frying. This is fine, but it might not feel great to eat these delicacies on a regular basis.
I experimented with several tweaks to the traditional recipes for these fritters, but battled to find a combination that works. When I decreased the flour, they fell apart. When I tried to fry them in less oil, they stuck to the pan like mad. I pretty much gave up on trying to create a lighter version. Until I started experimenting with oats as a replacement for flour in pancakes, and realized how amazingly well it works! This led to the discovery of the most amazing flour-less pumpkin fritter recipe.
The recipe can be made gluten-free (if necessary) by using gulten-free oats. I use 1 – 2 teaspoons of honey for sweetness, but you can replace with sugar or a sweetener of your choice if you prefer. You can increase the sweetness a bit if you have a very sweet tooth.
These healthy pumpkin fritters can be served as a side dish, as a breakfast with some fruit and yoghurt, or as a snack.
They are so easy to make, and hold together incredibly well. They do burn quite easily though, so cook them slowly on a low-to-medium heat before flipping.
Enjoy!
If you like this recipe, you may also like the recipe for banana oat pancakes or the recipe savoury green pea fritters.
P.S. please leave me a comment if you made these, and let me know what you think.
Lighter flourless pumpkin fritters (pampoen koekies)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups cooked mashed pumpkin or butternut about 1/2 of a medium butternut
- 3/4 cup oats gluten free if necessary
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 – 2 tsp honey or sweetener of choice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- splash of milk if needed
Instructions
- Blend everything together in a Nutribullet (or equivalent powerful blender) until completely smooth. Add a splash of milk or two if your batter is to thick to blend.
- Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat (not too hot or they will burn before cooking through!), spray with non-stick spray, then fry spoonfuls of the batter. Flip the fritters when the bottom is golden brown – you might have to use two spatulas to lift and flip each fritter. Squeeze each fritter gently with the back of a spatula to help them to cook through. Remove from the pan when the fritters are golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
- Serve! See notes on serving suggestions.
Notes
Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats Healthy flour-less pumkin fritters pampoen koekies with oats
These are so yummy!!!
Definitly going to try these, they look yummy