Bacon Cheddar Butternut Squash Fritters & Ranch Crema
A new spin on the classic Southern fritter, we’ve used butternut squash and added in shreds of sharp cheddar with crisp pieces of crumbled bacon. Fried to golden brown perfection and served with a drizzle of ranch crema– these Bacon Cheddar Butternut Squash Fritters & Ranch Crema will melt hearts, just like they melt in your mouth.
For all of my longtime followers, you know what’s coming to our recipe index in the heart of Summer– at least twice. For those newer readers– I’m so happy to have you here, and allow me to introduce you to one of our summer time traditions… FRITTERS.
They’re easy to make in any season with whatever veggies are on sale that time of year. They’re super simple, and can pretty much be made to order.
No matter what combinations we’ve tried– I’ve never had a fritter I didn’t like.
Is there even such a thing as a bad fritter? I mean they’re basically a combination of shredded veggies, some sort of cheese (which could totally be optional), batter and spices.
Little golden disks of fried perfection.
We’ve brought carrot, feta, and zucchni fritters. A sweet corn and cheddar version, and of course our now infamous Zucchini fritters with a Chili Lime Aoili. There seems to be a common denominator here.
What can I say? We really like squash! And even though there’s no argument that any health benefits are lost during frying, there’s no denying either that the ‘veggies’, fritters at this point, are super yummy and that more than makes up for it.
These butternut squash fritters version uses another of our favorite squash, butternut, combined with melted cheddar cheese, and crisp crumbled bacon. Again it’s fried to golden brown perfection and topped with a generous drizzle of ranch crema before serving.
Cheddar, bacon, and ranch are a classic flavor trio that you can’t go wrong with. Pair them with fried veggies and you’ve got a hit new twist on a classic Southern side dish.
If you’ve tried these BUTTERNUT SQUASH FRITTERS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Bacon Cheddar Butternut Squash Fritters & Ranch Crema
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash peeled, chopped, de-seeded & shredded (about 4-5 cups)
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup real bacon bits or crumbled cooked bacon
- salt and pepper to taste
- canola oil for frying
- Ranch Crema
- 2-3 tbsp Ranch dressing seasoning mix
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add all the fritter ingredients. Use a spatula to stir them together just until everything's evenly incorporated and the 'batter' has formed.
- Add about a 1/4" of oil to a large skillet. Heat the oil over medium high heat.
- When the oil's hot, drop 1/4 cup fulls of the fritter mixture into the pan. I do this in batches, working with 3-4 fritters at a time.
- Using the spatula, gently press each one down to slightly flatten. Brown them until just golden, then flip and repeat on the other side.
- Remove the fried fritters to a paper towel lined plate to drain, Repeat until all the fritter batter is gone.
- Ranch Crema
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until evenly incorporated and the crema is smooth.
- Drizzle the crema over the warm fritters just before serving.
Notes
recipe adapted from Tornadough Alli
Bookmarking right now! Love the sound of them!! 😀
You’re gonna love ’em!
Wow! My mouth is watering! Looks so yummy! I can’t wait for my squash to hurry up and grow!
Thanks!
Michelle
This is a perfect recipe to have on hand for when the time’s ripe, lol.
These look ridiculous. Totally going into my recipes folder. I found this, tried to watch a movie, and couldn’t stop thinking about them. And the movie had Ellen Page in it, even. Good stuff, these.
Thanks, Eli! They’re definitely a recipe binder must have, and that’s high praise indeed if they beat even Ellen Page out of your mind 🙂
I love fritters and this is a great recipe using butternut squash. Thanks for coming to the party…
Thanks, Judi! As always, so glad to be there.
I love fritters and these sounds absolutely delicious. Pinning for later
Yum these sound delicious!
Thanks, Caroline!
Anything with bacon will always catch my eye but with butternut AND cheddar as well… you are making me so hungry! I agree with you, there is no such a thing as bad fritters but these looks oh so good! 🙂 Happy Fiesta Friday!
Oh, Petra– you and me both girl, I had to walk away from the computer at one point. I had to remind myself that there wasn’t any acceptable excuse to whip up a second batch in the same day, lol.
Obviously these will be featured tomorrow at You Link It We Make It. And yes, I’ll be making them. Often. Bacon, cheese and butternut squash? This perfectly explains why my pants aren’t fitting properly these days! Amazing!
Thanks for the love, Kim! Yolo, and that’s why elastic waist bands & yoga pants are my bffs.
Meaghan, I am not a butternut squash fan but I’d try these! They look amazing!!
Mollie
You don’t want to let a little thing like that stand between these fritters and your taste buds, Mollie.
Popping over from the Throwback Thursday link up. I LOVE Butternut Squash! I have never thought of doing anything like this. I think my niece and nephew would gobble them right up. They look delish.