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If you’ve ever wondered what to do with yellow split peas besides soup, we’ve got a tasty and easy recipe that you’ll love. These Indian-inspired Split Pea Fritters make a delicious lunch or dinner if you’re in the mood for something a little different that your taste buds will enjoy.
What is a Pulse?
Before we get into our yellow split pea recipe, let’s discuss the origin of the main ingredient a bit. 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!
Pulse Awareness in the US
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!
Featured Comment
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. So good!
How Can Learn More About Pulses?
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.
Is it Different than a Falafel?
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? :)
What to Serve with Yellow Split Pea Fritters
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!
Other Pulse Recipes
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.
- Indian-themed Spinach Chana Dal
- Shrimp and Lettuce Wraps
- Breakfast Cookies made with Chickpea Flour (a family favorite)
More Fritter Recipe Ideas
- Smoked Trout and Buttermilk Fritters
- Carrot Fritters with Yogurt Sauce
- Tex-Mex Corn Fritters + Black Bean Salad
Yellow Split Pea Fritters
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.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Let me know if you try this or any of our other recipes from this pulses series.
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No egg or flour to Hold this?
Correct! Some readers have said they added egg to bind them a little better, but most have not needed to do so and just followed the recipe as is. – Nicole
Can I use green split peas instead of the yellow variety?
Some of our other readers have successfully made them with green split peas. – Nicole
I will be trying this yellow split pee fritteres later this week or later today even thanks for. Posting.
I made quadrupled this recipe to use up a bag of yellow split peas. I didn’t feel like partying them so I laid them in a pan and browned them. Almost like you would hamburger.
VERY VERY delicious. Froze some for other dishes.
My kids and I didn’t enjoy these. They had a bit of a *bitter* flavor (perhaps due to the uncooked beans?). I soaked for around 8 hours. Too bad, they were quick and easy.
These turned out great, kids and I loved them. I cooked the onions before hand as I don’t like the raw onion taste in patties and fritters. Will be adding them to the regular meal plan!
Thank you for this recipe! I added some shredded cheddar cheese to mix before cooking them. They were delicious and I used them as a meat substitute on top of spaghetti.
Just checking; that the peas are not cooked?
That’s correct, just soak them first. – Nicole
Love, love this recipe. I make it all the time now. I eat them for breakfast with a couple of fried eggs.
I wonder if green split peas would work similarly or any other pulse or bean?
And They are excellent with homemade tsatziki.
While we have not tried that, some of our readers have successfully made them with green split peas! – Nicole
Had to add an egg and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to bind it. Also needs very little oil to cook, wouldn’t fry these. Also had to add waaaay more spices to flavor it.
Lol
I was looking over recipe abs was thinking I may need a egg along with a lil garlic/onion salt
I don’t use oil, has anyone pan-fried these oven-baked them with success? Tia
I was going to ask the same thing. I don’t see why you couldn’t line a baking sheet and bake them instead of frying them. I’ll give it a try tonight and let you know
How did you go? Did it work? :)
A great use of yellow split peas. Absolutely delicious and so similar to authentic falafel. Do easy and tasty. Served with flat bread, guacamole, white bean puree and salad. And a squeeze of lime xx
I love this recipe,it is easy, healthy and delicious. I added few hot peppers and served them with homemade tahini sauce.p
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!
How did the southern recipe style or hushpuppy style work out?
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
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?
Haha! Glad to hear you like them so much. – Nicole
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.
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 :):)
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:).
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.
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
I used mayo as an emulsifier when I encountered the same problem. I think an egg would work great, but I was out!
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 !
I cannot tell you how much I love these kinds of recipes. I made a bunch of zucchini fritters and froze them–they were a quick lunch ready to pop in the microwave. I am going to do the same with these. We usually have some leftover (homemade) tomato sauce in the fridge, which tends to work really well. Or yogurt with some spices and cucumber if I’m feeling more ambitious.
Thank you! I wouldn’t have thought of yellow split peas, but they are so nutritious.
Sounds delicious
Hi Rhonda. Trying the split pea fritters tonight. Are you sure you don’t cook these in any way before frying them?