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Super Easy 2-Ingredient Sweet Potato Fritters

by erika Published: Feb 22, 2013 Modified: Aug 2, 2023

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These simple and delicious 2-ingredient sweet potato fritters are a perfect choice when you want a bite of something crispy and savory but still need to get your veggies in!

A stack of five sweet potato fritters on a white plate.

These 2-ingredient sweet potato fritters are so easy to make and were inspired by my extremely bare fridge! Simply combine grated sweet potato and egg in a hot frying pan and you have a satisfying patty to add as a side dish or base to your next meal.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

  • Simple and easy: you don’t need any special equipment or years of cooking experience to make these. All you need is a sweet potato, egg, box grater, and frying pan, and you’ll have delicious fritters in 20 minutes!
  • Cost and time effective: with only two ingredients, this recipe couldn’t be cheaper or quicker. Next time you’re hosting people, try these topped with a little sour cream and potato chips instead of an expensive cheese platter or time-consuming appetizer. Making these is the definition of working smarter, not harder!
  • Healthy: Made with just sweet potato and egg, these are simple and delicious–they almost taste like hash browns!
A sweet potato next to an egg.

Ingredient Notes:

  • Sweet potato: You can substitute a regular potato, but I think sweet potatoes provide the best flavor.
  • Egg: I always use large eggs, but any size works. If your mixture doesn’t seem wet enough (the egg should be well-incorporated into the potato), try adding another egg.
  • Spices: I used salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but you can use whichever you prefer!
  • Oil for frying: Alternatively, you could can use a nonstick cooking spray.

How to make:

  • Shred: using the largest hole side of a box grater or the shredding attachment of a food processor, shred the sweet potato
  • Bind: add the egg to the shredded sweet potato, allowing it to bind the pieces together.
  • Flavor: add your preferred seasonings to the mixture.
  • Fry: using just a little oil or a spritz of cooking spray, coat the bottom of a frying pan to avoid sticking. Once your pan is hot, add in the potato-egg mixture in the shape of pancakes, flipping once so that both sides are crispy.
  • Serve: serve with sour cream, salsa, ketchup, or whatever else your heart desires!
A white plate lined with sweet potato fritters.

FAQs

Do I have to use sweet potatoes?

No! You can try this same technique with other firm vegetables like regular potatoes, zucchini, carrots or turnips.

Do I need to peel the sweet potatoes before making the fritters?

Yes, I recommend peeling them. If you like, you can scrub the skin well and keep the skin on before grating and making the fritters.

What else can I add to the fritters?

Try mixing up the vegetable base of the fritters–combining zucchini and sweet potato, for example. You can also add other spices as needed.

Why do my fritters keep falling apart?

To avoid this, make sure your pan is pretty hot before adding your mixture in, and try to keep it in a tight patty once in the pan. Alternatively you can add an extra egg white or whole egg if your fritters seem a bit loose.

A stack of five sweet potato fritters on a white plate.
A stack of five sweet potato fritters on a white plate.

2-ingredient Sweet Potato Fritters

Erika Kwee
These crispy, super simple, really healthy and tasty sweet potato fritters are great paired with sauteed greens and a soft egg or pan-fried tofu for a full meal.
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Servings 5 fritters
Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled about 7-8 oz
  • 1 large egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil for greasing the pan
  • optional seasonings: garlic powder onion powder, smoked paprika, paprika, chili powder, basil, oregano, herbs de provence. I used ½ teaspoon garlic powder and dashes of smoked paprika and chili powder.

Instructions
 

  • Shred 1 ¾ to 2 cups of sweet potato using a box grater or in a food processor with the shredding attachment. In a medium bowl, add the egg to the sweet potato and whisk until combined. Add seasonings to taste.
  • Preheat your skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1/2 teaspoon or so of oil to the pan—you don’t need a lot. Using a spoon or a quarter cup measure, add about ¼ cup of the sweet potato mixture into the pan at a time.
    Mixture will be very loose and may fall apart in the pan—that’s okay. Use your spatula to nudge all the sweet potato scraps into a neat pile and press down on the top with the back of the spatula to flatten.
    Let cook about 2-3 minutes before flipping. If the patty starts to fall apart when you try to flip it, cook it longer. The bottom should be sturdy enough to slide the spatula underneath. Repeat with the rest of the mixture, but don’t overcrowd the pan—I only cooked three at a time in my largest frying pan.

Notes

I preferred the feathery, shredded texture of the potatoes grated on the large holes of a box grater, but you can use a food processor if pressed for time.
The formula for getting perfectly crispy fritters that stick together is to use a hot pan (not too hot or they’ll scorch), add just a glistening of olive oil and a small amount of batter, and to wait until each fritter is cooked for long enough so that the egg sets before flipping.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcalFat: 5.5g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elise @ elisebakes

    March 4, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    My husband LOVES sweet potatoes – I’m going to have to make these asap!

  2. Brandi

    March 1, 2013 at 1:33 pm

    Yum!! These look delicious!!! I bet they’d be really yummy with some cinnamon too! I love that crispiness of them. My favorite way to eat sweet potatoes is as baked crispy fries…I’m loving this way too. Btw, I hate tofu lol! I’m sorry you have an issue though since you love it 🙁

    • erika

      March 1, 2013 at 4:51 pm

      Ooh yes cinnamon is such a good idea! I LOVE sweet potato fries as well..so good. I just have to switch it up once in awhile so I don’t get sick of them! And lol I know–I thought of you when I was writing that! Luckily, you won’t be seeing any more tofu posts on my blog 🙂

  3. yummychunklet

    February 26, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Tasty idea!

  4. Bam's Kitchen

    February 25, 2013 at 1:25 am

    Its the 2 ingredient little wonder! Take care, BAM

  5. eatsweetbycarlasue

    February 24, 2013 at 2:25 am

    Yum! These look soooooo good!

  6. Nancy @ gottagetbaked

    February 24, 2013 at 1:09 am

    Erika, I love what you’re doing with your photography lately. You’re trying out different things and your photos are stunning. Love the styling! These fritters look fantastic. I’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes (my crazy husband won’t eat them unless they’re in french fry form – maybe he’ll eat these!). As for the tofu allergy – that sucks, girl! Usually the only food I’ll eat at straight-up Asian vegetarian restaurants is tofu since I can’t stand the fake meat. Poor you. And yes, I do think you’re a freak of nature now – since you’re Asian, a tofu allergy shouldn’t be physically possible! 😉

  7. Francesca

    February 23, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    Look great and easy to make! You are not weird at all! I have mixed feelings too.

  8. Jordie

    February 23, 2013 at 9:04 am

    I love the look of these fritters… I’ve been craving sweet potatoes for ages and now I know how I should cook them next! As for the soy problems, soy beans have a lot of bad stuff in them, including phytic acid which makes them super hard to digest, making your tummy upset. 🙂

  9. petit4chocolatier

    February 22, 2013 at 11:13 pm

    Love sweet potatoes and this idea of fritters! They look delish 🙂

  10. Leah

    February 22, 2013 at 6:53 pm

    Your sweet potato fritters look awesome and I’m so jealous! I’ve tried these in the past (twice) but I baked them instead of pan frying them and they didn’t turn out well. The middles weren’t cooked all the way even though I tried adjusting heat/time. Your post has given me hope to try them one more time and this time I’m not going to bake them!

    Side question: After you shredded them, did you squeeze the excess liquid out of the sweet potato? If not, do you think it would have helped if you did?

    • erika

      February 26, 2013 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks!! Nope, after I shredded them, just tossed them with the egg and fried them in a hot pan. I actually poured some of the liquid that pooled at the bottom of the bowl on top of some of the fritters as they were cooking because it was mostly egg. Hope that helps! (There also wasn’t much liquid to squeeze out because I skinned the sweet potato, rinsed it, dried it, then shredded it. Not sure if you rinse the shreds or something.) Let me know how it goes!

  11. Alysa

    February 22, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Those do sound great. I’m dreaming of these for dinner. I also have a problem with soy. It’s funny because most people say it’s such a healthy option, but in reality – it’s just not good for some people.

    • erika

      February 26, 2013 at 3:00 pm

      Right??? Sad but true. I’ve been living a lie practically my whole life that tofu is super good for you! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂

  12. CCU

    February 22, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    2 ingredients and make such a delicious result 😀
    I love it!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  13. Heather

    February 22, 2013 at 8:23 pm

    Yummy! This is the first I’ve heard of this two-ingredient craze and I’m loving it! My mom is visiting this weekend and this is a recipe I actually have all the ingredients for, we may have to give it a try for breakfast!!

  14. Adri {Food-N-Thought}

    February 22, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    Yum, love me some sweet potatoes!

  15. Alex @ Brain, Body, Because

    February 22, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    These sound so amazing! I want to eat them smeared peanut butter. I guess I want to eat everything smeared with PB, but these ESPECIALLY.

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