By blog team member, Kiran. To learn more about Kiran, check out our team page!
As you may recall from some of our previous posts, “pulse” is an international term for legumes such as lentils, beans, dry peas, and chickpeas. These are all nutritional powerhouses that are easy and cheap to grow, and they’re also real food of course! So, since the UN declared 2016 as the International Year of the Pulse, we’ve been partnering with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada to help create awareness and encourage people to incorporate more pulses into their everyday diets. This could help with many food related issues around the world, so it’s truly a win-win for everyone!
But, rather than just telling you to eat more pulses, we thought we’d show you how to do just that with a series of easy and tasty recipes. The first three were: Indian-themed Spinach Chana Dal, Shrimp and Lettuce Wraps, and (a family favorite) Breakfast Cookies made with Chickpea Flour. And today you’ll find Yellow Split-Pea Fritters below. I also encourage you to find out more about pulses and their value worldwide by clicking here and then taking the pledge to incorporate more pulses into your diet.
Personally, this topic hits very close to home. During my trip to visit family in India last year, I saw many different forms of pulses – more than I ever realized were available – while perusing the street bazaars. In fact, most every meal I ate there included at least one pulse. In addition, I recently learned what an economically important crop this is for farmers in my father’s home country. We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – you vote with your dollars, and it’s important to know the facts before you buy.
So on the topic of India, I have another Indian-themed recipe for you to try. This is kind of similar to falafel but utilizes yellow split peas, which are rich in dietary fiber and protein. I like them because they are a plant-based protein source, bite-sized, and also fairly inexpensive (and easy!) to make. Oh, and did I mention that they are pretty yummy, too? :) I like to serve these with a chutney or yogurt sauce, or you could even throw them in a wrap, nestled in with some fresh vegetables. They could also make a unique topping for a salad. No matter how you eat them, you can’t go wrong!
Yellow Split Pea Fritters
Similar to falafel, these split pea fritters are a plant-based protein source, bite-sized, and also fairly inexpensive (and easy!) to make.
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow split peas, soaked 4+ hours
- 1 onion, medium, chopped
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- avocado oil, or olive oil, for shallow frying
Instructions
- Soak yellow split peas for a minimum of 4 hours. Drain and rinse.
-
Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until combined.
- Heat 1 - 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet. Scoop a spoonful of mixture into your hand and form into a loose ball. Add to pan and flatten with a spatula. Be careful not to overcrowd.
- Cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes, flip and repeat until cooked on the other side.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Let me know if you try this or any of our other recipes from this pulses series.
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This recipe is easy, quick, costs pennies to make, and produces DELICIOUS fritters. It made enough for two people to have two meals of them. We topped them with mango chutney and unsweetened cashew yogurt that I mixed with grated cucumber, cumin and a little salt (I won’t call it raita but it’s inspired by that). So good! Thank you for a great recipe that I will use again and again.
I would think you can still make them. maybe chopping things really fine as if you were doing a chopped salad and adding some sort of biding agent such as egg or some flour. Texture might be different but might still work. Good luck!
I was thinking of mixing with cornmeal……and spices other than listed…. experiment a bit as we’ve never had yellow split peas. It will take a lot of convincing to get my family to try something different so I need to go with known likes.
I’m thinking of a sort of Southern hush puppy like thing…. wish me luck!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am the food coordinator at our church’s food pantry. In an effort to expose our precious families to new and nutritious foods, I have started fixing things to have a sample for them when they come to get their groceries. This looks like a fantastic treat and could be the answer to end the refusal of the delicious and underestimated split pea.
All of the ingredients are simple and can be found in our pantry. We will be using dry cilantro since it might be hard to come by for our pantry.
Looking forward to trying these!!
Has anyone tried baking these instead of frying for a lower fat version? Curious for feedback. Thanks
What if you don’t have a food processor can I still make them
How many fritters per person is this recipe talking about?
I would think a few per person. But sometimes you just can’t stop at that many since they are so good! – Nicole
I can’t stop eating these… I only had a 1/2 of an onion so I added green onions and celery … Delicious ! …. I plan on making tiny bite ones as an appetizer for my next family gathering
Haha! Glad to hear you like them so much. – Nicole
Fantastic! So glad that you enjoyed them!!
Hi, can you make these with green split peas or do you think it would change the texture or taste?
I made these today. I was gifted bags of yellow split peas. I was very happy with how they turned out. I will crank up the spice a little next time
Glad to hear they turned out great for you! – Nicole
Note that these will absorb a lot of oil and thus will become significantly more calorically dense than 54 kcal per serving.
This is absolutely delicious!!! Made with dried green peas and it is my new favorite thing!!! Fabulous!!! Thank you for posting such as easy breezy vegan delight!!!
You are so welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed them:).
Do these still turn out well if you make them ahead of time and freeze them?
Haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. – Nicole
Good for diabetes?
Never had split peas before. But your recipe sounds good. I’m going to try making them and let you know. Ok, thanks
Delicious! Tastes a lot like falafel. Relatively easy, too.
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed them:).
These are a really nice alternative to falafel that I look forward to making again. Mine were a bit dry, but I think I may have overblended them. They were flavorful and went great with a side salad and some dipping sauce.
These are delicious! Served with yogurt garlic sauce.
So glad that you enjoyed them!
Would it work to substitute green split peas? I’d really like to try these and already have the green ones on hand.
Kiran, thank you for this recipe. I tried them the first time with green split peas as I didn’t have yellow. It was a success!! I like the fact that I don’t have to cook them first and can make them into patties after a few instructions. My boys love them! making them again, tonight!
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed them, and thank you for reporting in on the fact that the green split peas worked:).
I honestly have not tried them with green split peas. If you give it a try, let us know how they work!
I thought I would be cooking my yellow split peas somehow today but then I came across your wonderful little recipe and want to thank you for sharing it. Really like this!!! It was so easy, and perfect that I had cilantro on hand. I added a dollop of Trader Joe’s Harissa hot chili paste and fried them in half olive half peanut oil. Then I spread a few tablespoons of leftover hummus over a lavash rectangle, added 3 of the patties, a pile of arugula and a lemon tahini dressing, rolled it up, and devoured it! So good, yum
Since it’s just me, I put half the recipe in the fridge thinking I will fry a fresh batch in a couple of days. This is a perfect food for Lent. Thank you, again :):)
These were delicious, but they seemed to fall apart? I made them and they didn’t work as thick as the photo shows. If you pick them up, they bend and mush. It was like fried re-friend beans as far as texture. Do they need a binder added into the recipe or did I do something wrong?
The only change was I had to do a quick soak on the lentils because I decided to make them for dinner, I boiled the lentils for 1 minute and let them sit in the warm water for an hour.
I used mayo as an emulsifier when I encountered the same problem. I think an egg would work great, but I was out!
Hi Melany,
I suspect that since you boiled them they were a bit mushier than mine. You can always add a TBSP or two of flour (and use gf 1:1 flour if you want them to be gf) to act as a binder. Let me know if you have better luck next time.
Kiran
Hello, did you try this recipe with your waffle adventures? I’ve seen falafel made in a waffle maker before and I wasn’t sure if this would work as is or if you would have to add a bit of flour.
That’s a good idea. Let us know if you try it! :)
Thank you for this idea. I completely agree to Taste of France :-) Happy holidays to all !