Corned Beef Fritters are a delicious old fashioned potato based recipe made with freshly prepared or leftover corned beef. Ready in 25 minutes, the pan-fried corned beef patties have a crispy texture and a salty, hearty flavor. This recipe is excellent on it’s own but can also be served with a tangy, sweet honey mustard sauce to elevate it from already good to fantastic!
If you’re a corned beef fan and made my dutch oven corned beef recipe or just bought some, you might be wondering what to do with the leftovers. Wonder no longer my friend! These corned beef fritters are THE recipe you’ll want to make every time you have corned beef leftovers or when you’re searching for quick and simple dinner ideas.
Its also just a great, unique corned beef and potato recipe on its own if you want to stray a bit from the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal. Who says you can only eat it on Saint Patrick’s Day anyways? It’s awesome on it’s own right and these patties make for a tasty quick 30-minute meal.
They can be served as a hearty appetizer, side dish, main meal or even for breakfast making them so versatile. I normally eat them for dinner with leftover carrots and cabbage from the night before and then turn any leftover corned meat fritters from that meal into breakfast the following morning. This creates 3 meals out of one original corned beef recipe!
If it is that time in March and corned beef isn’t your thing but you wan to make a festive dish for St. Patrick’s Day, try my Instant Pot Irish stew. It’s so hearty and comforting.
Featured comment
“We’re going to be traveling for St. Patrick’s day so I made your corned beef this week and used the leftovers in this and holy cow! Both turned out so good! Eating one of these leftover fritters for breakfast with a poached egg on top as I type this.”
– Heather Haltly
Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients but uses them well. I used almond flour to make them gluten free and paleo without sacrificing flavor or texture but you can swap with regular wheat flour (for true paleo, buy corned beef without brown sugar).
They’re also dairy free so the lactose intolerant can enjoy them too! The images below show what you’ll need for the fritters and the honey mustard sauce, listed separately.
One note on the recipe: I used corned beef leftovers and recommend using leftover cooked corned beef brisket like this if you have it. In a pinch, you can use canned corned beef. It won’t be quite the same texture and flavor wise but should still taste good. If using canned, be sure to remove all of the jelly coating and only use the actual meat for the recipe.
And for the sweet, tangy honey mustard sauce:
How to make the corned beef patties
This is an easy recipe with shortcut options. There are lots of pictures provided to guide you through too.
- Mix the honey mustard sauce ingredients.
- Whisk the eggs.
- Chop corned beef in a food processor or with a knife.
- Peel potatoes and then grate those and the onion using a food processor or a box style grater.
- Squeeze excess water out of the potato and onion mixture.
- Mix the fritter mixture up. Don’t forget to take off your rings! 😉
- Form 12 patties.
- Heat a skillet with oil and fry the fritters.
- Serve with the honey mustard sauce, a dollop of sour cream and/or with cream style horseradish.
Recipe TIPS:
- Don’t use a nonstick skillet. Cooking on a nonstick skillet will not create the same crispiness.
- Don’t skimp on the oil. I know you’re tempted to skip the frying but it isn’t that much oil. The flavor and crispiness it adds is so worth it!
- To make ahead you can form the patties up to 1 hour before cooking but making them further in advance is not recommended since the potatoes will oxidize and the patties will become wet and loose their shape.
- Make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Some potatoes and onion have more water than others and you can’t control this. Squeezing out as much water as possible will keep your patties together better.
Variations and Serving Ideas
This corned beef fritter recipe is fan-flippin tastic as written! I tried to keep the recips traditional, but if you want to play around with it a bit, I certainly understand and here are some ideas:
- Add shredded cheddar cheese, swiss cheese or gruyere
- Add fresh herbs like chopped parsley, green onions (spring onions) or dill
- Add a little bit of leftover, chopped up cooked cabbage from St. Patrick’s day to the patties or serve it alongside the fritters as a side dish
- Serve corned meat fritters in place of the English muffin in eggs benedict
- Replace some of all of the potato with sweet potato for a healthy, tasty twist
- With tomato sauce or ketchup added to the patties or served on the side
- Add cooked corn kernels for a potato – corn fritters mash up
- Use leftover mashed potatoes or mash up the potatoes that were cooked with the corned beef in place of the grated potato
- Coat patties in panko before frying for a breaded texture
And if you love these, you’ll love my cheesy cauliflower fritter recipe too!
Storage, freezing and reheating
The cooked corned beef fritters can be stored in a container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They technically keep longer but, from my experience, the texture can get kind of dry and mealy.
To freeze, once they’re fully cooled, place the corned meat fritters in an airtight container or freezer safe ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months. If stacking, place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together. Let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat just before eating.
For reheating, use one of these methods:
- in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side until the inside is warm.
- in the oven preheated to 350° F (175° C) on a sheet pan for about 8 minutes or until center is warm.
- in an air fryer at 350° F (175° C) for about 6 minutes, making sure not to overlap them.
The reheating times are approximate and will depend on how cold your fritters are, size, and what equipment you’re using.
Quick Pan-Fried Corned Beef Fritters
Equipment
- 1 Food processor Or a box grater and cutting board
- 1 Medium bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Kitchen towel or paper towels
- 1 Small bowl for optional dipping sauce
- 1 Small spoon for optional dipping sauce
Ingredients
Fritters
- 2 eggs
- 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes can substitute russet or red potatoes
- 1 small yellow onion outer skin removed
- 2 ½ cups cooked corned beef
- 1/3 cup almond flour can substitute regular all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil for frying
Honey Mustard Sauce (optional)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise can substitute sour cream or yogurt if preferred
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon dijon mustard or stone ground, can add more to taste
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Stir all honey mustard sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the two eggs with a fork for about a minute until they become frothy. Set aside.
- Chop corned beef up into small pieces by pulsing in a food processor or chopping with a knife.
- Peel potatoes and then grate them and the onion using a food processor or the large holes in a box style cheese grater.
- Use your hands to squeeze excess water out of the potato and onion mixture using a kitchen towel or paper towels.
- Add potato and onion to bowl with the eggs along with corned beef, almond flour, salt and pepper. Use your hands to work the mixture together and mix evenly.
- Form 12 patties out of the corned beef mixture. Patties should use just under ¼ cup of the corned beef mixture and be about 2 inches (5cm) across and about ½ inch thick (1.5cm).
- Heat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until oil is hot but not smoking.
- Add fritters and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes on the other side until each patty is golden brown. If all of your fritters would not fit in the pan at once, cook them in two batches to not over crowd the pan.
- When fritters are done cooking, place them on a serving plate and serve immediately on their own with the optional honey mustard sauce, sour cream and/or with cream style horseradish.
Notes
- To serve as main dish – assume 3 fritters per person (4 servings per recipe) but possibly only 2 if served with sides.
- Using canned corned beef – make sure to remove all of the jelly coating and only use the actual meat.
- To make ahead – you can form the patties up to 1 hour before cooking them but making them further in advance is not recommended since the potatoes will oxidize and the patties will become wet and loose their shape.
- Storing – store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing – once fully cooled, cooked fritters can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer safe ziplock for up to 3 months. If stacking, place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to keep the fritters from sticking together. Let defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat just before eating.
- Reheating – using one of these methods (times are approximate)
- in a skillet on the stovetop over medium high heat for about 2 minutes per side until the inside is warm.
- in the oven preheated to 350° F (175° C) on a sheet pan for about 8 minutes or until center is warm.
- in an air fryer at 350° F (175° C) for about 6 minutes, making sure not to overlap the fritters.
Nutrition
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