Tuna Fritters are a quick and easy recipe perfect for lunch or dinner. With chunks of flaked tuna, juicy corn kernels and a simple batter we bring together this tasty combination. Corn and tuna fritters are a recipe the whole family will love and they come together with minimal effort!
Recipes like the Prawn Fritters, Ham Fritters, Zucchini Carrot Fritters and the Bacon And Corn Fritters are all fritter recipes with differing flavour combinations.
The Tuna Pesto Pasta, Tuna Fried Rice, Tuna Pasta Bake and Tuna Spaghetti Recipe all use canned tuna as the star of the show!
Jump to:
🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about this tuna patty recipe in the points below:
- Simple ingredients: everything you need to make these tuna and corn fritters can be sort from your local grocery store. A humble can of tuna is a pantry staple and the rest of what you need ais available all year round and will be easy to get your hands on.
- Family favorite: these quick and crispy corn tuna fritters are a delicious recipe that the whole family can enjoy together. Everyone of all ages will enjoy the golden brown crispy fritters and a hearty dollop of sauce on top!
- Budget friendly: this is a cost effective recipe that won't break the bank. You might already have some of the ingredients to make the fritters in the fridge or pantry so you can pull the recipe together last minute if needed. It will soon become one of your favorite ways to make something satisfying at the last minute.
- Versatile: serve the tuna fritters for a simple weekend brunch, in the kids lunch box or whip them up on a busy night when you don't have hours to get dinner sorted. They make a great finger food, or snack, will work for many occasions and are satisfying and delicious.
- Beginner cooks: this is a straight forward recipe that takes us back to basics in the kitchen. It is a great recipe to get started on if you are learning the ropes in the kitchen and want to master a few easy recipes. A big batch of these work perfectly for a light dinner during the week, to have snacks on handy ready to go or simply because you know the kids will love them!
Top tip: some countries call these tuna fritters (Australia and New Zealand) and some countries call these tuna patties (USA), tuna cakes (UK) or tuna pancakes aka chamchijeon (Korea) The names whilst slightly different all refer to an easy recipe with tuna as the protein in a batter that is shaped and cooked in a flat round form.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make these simple tuna patties recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see this simple recipe calls for:
- Vegetable oil: we use vegetable oil to cook the fritters in on the stove top.
- Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
- Egg: we use 1 large egg that we whisk ourselves. This helps to 'stick' the fritter batter together.
- Onion powder: using garlic and onion powder in the fritters is to give them an extra level of flavour without straying from the tried and true wet to dry ingredients ratio levels.
- Garlic powder: as above. A complimentarily pairing to the onion powder and a fantastic pantry staple to have on hand so that it can be used as needed.
- Milk: we use a little bit of milk along with the egg to bind the dry ingredients together to form the fritter batter.
- Plain flour: plain flour, also known as all purpose flour. This is the key dry ingredient for the fritter batter.
- Corn: we want to use tinned corn kernels that we drain and rinse. We need 1 x standard or regular sized tin.
- Tuna: canned tuna fish makes things so simple! Stored in spring water is best and known for being healthier than the olive oil version. This way we don't add any extra oil or greasiness to the fritters. We use 1 large can of tuna and drain but don't rinse it.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which you can skip down to if you wish 😉👌.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can omit the garlic and onion powders if you are feeding kids and want to keep the flavors very basic.
- Or you can use some spring onion (green onion) or fresh garlic in place of these if you wish too. In which case I recommend very finely chopping either before adding to the batter.
- Or you can chop ½ a medium red onion and add that as another texture to the fritters.
- Use a tin of sweetcorn in place of regular corn to make them tuna and sweetcorn fritters.
- Add a tablespoon of sriracha sauce (hot sauce) to take these simple tuna patties up a notch or too in the flavor game if you like (not recommend for little ones though!).
- For cheesy tuna fritters, add a small amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese to the fritter batter.
- You can use also some chopped chives for flavor or garnish if you wish too.
- For an alternative vegetable to use in place of the corn, shred a zucchini and use 1 cup of the shredded zucchini flesh.
- Or you can add some leftover mashed potato to the fritters for a tuna and potato fritter recipe.
- Fresh parsley chopped finely is a great way to garnish the fritters for serving. You can also use some chopped spring onions (green onions) if you like.
- Or fresh lemon wedges can be paired with the tuna fritters as a simple offering that allows a squeeze of lemon juice to be drizzled over the top.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the fritter batter. You will need a medium bowl and wooden spoon to start with.
- Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl (Photo 1)
- Stir to combine (Photo 2)
- Add the milk to the bowl (Photo 3)
- Then add the whisked egg (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Tuna Fritters
To make the tuna fritters start by adding the dry ingredients for the fritter batter to a large bowl. Once you have, stir to combine until they are consistently mixed.
Then add the milk to the bowl, followed by the beaten egg.
- Add the flaked drained tuna (Photo 5)
- Then add the corn kernels (Photo 6)
- Stir to combine (Photo 7)
- Portion into pan (Photo 8)
Once the fritter batter has been consistently mixed together, add the flaked tuna and corn kernels to the bowl. Stir to gently combine these as until the mixture is like shown in the photo above.
Next get ready to cook the fritters. To do so, place a large frying pan onto the stove top and turn the heat to high. Then add the vegetable oil and let it heat. Once the oil is hot (hold your hand above the pan and you will feel the wave air rising) use an ice cream scoop and portion the wet batter into a single layer of small patties in the pan.
Then flip the scoop and gently press down on the top of the patty mixture to form the round flat shape you see in the photo below.
Cook the fritters for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Cook the fritters for 2-3 mins per side (Photo 9)
Next make the second batch then keep working in batches of 2-3 fritters until all of the mixture is used up. When the fritters are cooked, remove them from the pan and place them onto a paper towel lined chopping board. This will allow any excess oil to be absorbed before serving.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving the fritters you have plenty of options to choose from!
Pair them with a salad like the Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad, Healthy Panzanella Salad or the Fresh Herb Salad. Or simply pop them alongside a bed of greens with a little tartar sauce.
Have potatoes on the side such as the Potato And Broccoli Bake, Potato And Onion Bake, Potato And Ham Bake or the Potato And Sweet Potato Bake.
Serve them along with take out style rice such as the Pork Mince Fried Rice, Pork Belly Fried Rice, Scallop Fried Rice or the Basmati Fried Rice.
For a garlic bread side try the Tortilla Garlic Bread, Garlic Pizza Bread, Ciabatta Garlic Bread or the Turkish Garlic Bread.
Or keep it super simple and straightforward with some parsley, sliced cherry tomatoes and sweet chilli sauce like shown in the photo below 😁👌.
For homemade sauces, try the Horseradish Yogurt Sauce, Lemon Yogurt Sauce, Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce or the Spicy Yogurt Sauce for variety. Whilst not essential a dipping sauce offers the perfect finishing touch to these fritters!
For sauce with more punch try a homemade condiment like the Chilli Tomato Jam or the Tomato Bacon Jam.
If you are looking for an easy recipe for dinner tonight, pair these with a green salad and then you can put your feet up 😄👍.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Store leftover fritters in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge. They can be kept for 2-3 days and eaten either cold or hot.
How to Freeze
Whilst cooked fritters tend to loose their crispiness when frozen, they can still be stored like this as a means to meal prep or get lunch box snacks sorted in a hurry. Let cooked fritters cool, then wrap rather firmly with cling film. Then place into the freeze for up to 3 months.
Remove and allow to thaw before consuming.
How to Reheat
Place the fritters onto a plate and cover with cling wrap. Then reheat on high in the microwave for 1 minute intervals until heated through. Or for more crispy results, reheat the fritters in the air fryer.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- When opening the cans of tuna, drain the liquid from the tin using a colander over the sink, but don't rinse the tuna. Do however, use a fork to flake it so that it is in little bits not big chunks.
- An ice-cream scoop will come in super handy as a means to portion the fritters. This will also mean that they are (almost) all the same size as each other.
- Using a large skillet will allow you to cook multiple fritters at once, if the skillet is too small, you will only be able to cook 1-2 at a time.
- Top up the vegetable oil in the pan as needed throughout the cooking process.
- We always want the wet batter to be added to hot oil, so after topping the oil up, let it heat before continuing to cook more batches.
- Once the fritters are done, transfer them out of the pan and place them onto a paper towel lined chopping board. This will ensure that any excess oil gets absorbed by the towel before you serve the fritters.
- If lunch is your favorite meal to make, you might like to also try the Caramelised Onion Tarts, Mini Croissant Sandwiches, Ham And Cheese Toastie, Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese, Havarti Grilled Cheese or the Brie Croissant 😁👌.
- Or if tuna is your pantry staple try the Tuna And Rice Casserole or Fettuccine Alfredo With Tuna.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
How do you keep tuna patties from falling apart?
Using a large beaten egg in the fritter batter will work as the glue to ensuring that the fritters won't fall apart.
What can I mix with canned tuna?
Corn is an excellent pairing with canned tuna. Rice is another great option.
Is canned tuna cooked tuna?
Yes, canned tuna is always pre cooked tuna.
😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes
Here are some more ideas offering you diversity and something different to keep your dinners interesting and inspired:
- Pork Mince Fried Rice
- Chorizo Pasta Bake
- Thai Minced Pork
- Garlic Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Chorizo Fried Rice
- Mince Pasta Bake
- Fettuccine Alfredo With Scallops
- Ham Fried Rice
- Scallop Linguine
- Meatball Rigatoni
It is time to get our tuna fritters on my friend. You can also find all of my lunches recipes and dinner recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
PIN and save this recipe for later!
Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
📖 Recipe
Tuna Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour Note 1
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder Note 2
- 1 teaspoon onion powder Note 3
- ¼ teaspoon salt Note 4
- ½ teaspoon black pepper also Note 4
- ⅓ cup/ 80 ml milk Note 5
- 1 large egg free range, whisked, Note 6
- 425 grams/15 oz tinned tuna (in spring water) Note 7
- 400 grams/ 14 oz tin corn kernels drained and rinsed, Note 8
Instructions
- Dry ingredients: add the plain flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl an use a wooden spoon to stir and combine.
- Wet ingredients: add the milk to the dry ingredients then add the beaten egg and stir until the batter is thick and consistently mixed.
- Tuna and corn: next add the flaked tuna and drained and rinsed corn kernels to the wet fritter batter. Gently stir to fold them in and ensure that the batter is consistently mixed.
- Cook: place a large non stick frying pan onto the stove top and turn the heat to high. Add the vegetable oil and let it heat. Once the oil is hot (hold your hand above and over the pan to determine this) start to portion the wet batter into the pan using an ice-cream scoop. Work in batches and cook 2-3 fritters at a time. Ensure the 1st side is cooked for 2-3 minutes then use a slotted turner to flip the fritters to the other side and cook this side for 2-3 minutes also. Once both sides of the fritters are golden brown, transfer them out of the pan and place them onto a paper towel lined chopping board.
- To serve: serve the fritters warm with sweet chilli sauce, garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and add some sliced cherry tomatoes to the plate.
Notes
- Note 1 - Plain flour: plain flour, also known as all purpose flour. This is the key dry ingredient for the fritter batter.
- Note 2 - Onion powder: using garlic and onion powder in the fritters is to give them an extra level of flavour without straying from the tried and true wet to dry ingredients ratio levels.
- Note 3 - Garlic powder: as above. A complimentarily pairing to the onion powder and a fantastic pantry staple to have on hand so that it can be used as needed.
- Note 4 - Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
- Note 5 - Milk: we use a little bit of milk along with the egg to bind the dry ingredients together to form the fritter batter.
- Note 6 - Egg: we use 1 large egg that we whisk ourselves. This helps to 'stick' the fritter batter together.
- Note 7 - Tuna: stored in spring water is best. This way we don't add any extra oil or greasiness to the fritters. We want to use 1 large tin that we drain but don't rinse. Then we want to use a fork the flake the tuna into small pieces.
- Note 8 - Corn: we want to use tinned corn kernels that we drain and rinse. We need 1 x standard or regular sized tin.
- Note 9 - Vegetable oil: we use vegetable oil to cook the fritters in on the stove top. Top the oil up as needed throughout the cooking process.
- Serving size: this recipe will make approximately 10 fritters when portioned with a standard size ice-cream scoop. So it allows for 2-3 per person for 4 people.
Danielle Radworth says
Love having these fritters for lunch. They are filling and delicious.
Adrianne says
Great to hear Danielle 😄.
Melanie Reynolds says
My kids love these fritters and ask me to make them both for lunch and dinners!
Adrianne says
Thanks Melanie for your feedback 😄😄.