These kohlrabi fritters with avocado cream sauce highlight these purple vegetables, and they’re vegetarian and gluten-free.
Looking for kohlrabi recipes? Neither Alex nor I had ever heard of kohlrabi when we first started shopping at our local farmer’s market. A kind farmer saw me looking intently at the green and purple vegetables, and he slipped a bulb to for free, “just to see I what I thought of it.” I’m embarrassed to admit the poor kohlrabi turned shriveled before I got the time—or courage—to attempt eating it.
So the next year, we started to ask around at the farmer’s market: “What can you do with kohlrabi?” The first answer we heard was to slice the kohlrabi bulb and eat it raw on a salad. We promptly tried it and it turns out, it’s pretty delicious. The crisp slices have a refreshing taste similar to a broccoli stem.
The next time we picked up some kohlrabi, we thought we’d go for something more adventurous. Alex suggested the idea of a fritter, so we developed this recipe together. (After our experience making traditional latkes, we felt ready to up our fritter game.) I admit I was a bit skeptical—fritters can be tough to pull off texture and flavor-wise—and with kohlrabi? However, Alex’s creative risk paid off: the fritters turned out crisp and savory. And even better was the accompanying avocado cream sauce—a sauce made simply of avocado, yogurt, and a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice, it turned out to be incredibly addictive. We’d recommend using the sauce on any fritter recipe of your choosing.
How to make kohlrabi fritters
While we’re on the subject, a few tips on fritters, since they can be notoriously tricky to make at home:
- Fritters are best eaten as soon as possible after frying. If you’re making them for a crowd or entertaining, here’s a tip for keeping them warm and crispy: place a wire baking rack on top of a baking sheet, then place it in a 300F oven. As the fritters come out of the pan, place them onto the wire rack until ready to serve. Using the wire rack makes sure excess oil drips off and that both sides of the fritters stay crispy.
- Excess moisture is the enemy with fritters, so in this recipe we indicate to squeeze out the moisture of the grated veggies prior to frying.
- Frying can be a bit messy, so using a splatter screen can be helpful to avoid spitting oil.
- Grating the vegetables in a food processor with a shredding disk or blade can significantly speed up the process versus grating the vegetables by hand. (It also helps to save knuckles!)
So if you happen upon any odd-looking green or purple vegetables like the picture above at your local farmer’s market, we’d recommend giving them a try. Kohlrabi is becoming more and more popular these days, and is even popping up at mainstream grocery stores. Note that the bulbs above have been de-stemmed; you may also find them at markets with the leaves still intact.
Have you cooked with kohlrabi? What are your best kohlrabi recipes? We’d love any suggestions for preparation methods you love! See below for a few of our favorite kohlrabi recipes.
About purple vegetables
Interest in purple vegetables like kohlrabi is high. Why? Purple vegetables contain compounds called anthocyanins. Research suggests that anthocyanins may help protect cells, heal the body, decrease inflammation, and lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. Some of our favorite other purple vegetables: purple cauliflower and purple potatoes.
More kohlrabi recipes
Since we wrote the original post with this recipe, interest in the green and purple vegetables has soared! Here are a few of our other favorite kohlrabi recipes that venture outside the fritter:
- Kohlrabi Slaw Bright, crunchy and zingy! It’s one of the best ways to eat this unique vegetable.
- Beet Hummus with Kohlrabi Sticks This recipe features one of our top ways to eat kohlrabi: as relishes, similar to carrot sticks! They have a refreshing crunch and a nuanced, unique taste. Cut them into rectangles and eat them with your favorite hummus—or maybe this Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip.
- Kohlrabi Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette Another easy idea for kohlrabi recipes is to slice the bulb and use it to top a salad. It brings a subtle flavor and crunchy texture, here played off by the sweetness of the beet and tart grapefruit vinaigrette.
This kohlrabi recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free.
Print
Kolhrabi Fritters with Avocado Cream Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 fritters 1x
Description
Looking for kohlrabi recipes? These kohlrabi fritters with avocado cream sauce highlight these purple vegetables, and they’re vegetarian and gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the kohlrabi fritters
- 2 kohlrabi
- 1 carrot
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil (enough for ¼-inch depth in a large skillet)
For the avocado cream
- ½ avocado
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ½ lemon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Green onions (for garnish)
Instructions
- Cut the leaves off the kohlrabi and peel the bulb. Peel 1 carrot. Shred the vegetables in a food processor, or by hand using a grater. Squeeze the shredded vegetables in a tea cloth (or with your hands) to remove moisture, then add to a medium bowl with the egg, kosher salt, and cayenne. Mix to combine.
- Place the oil in a large skillet (enough for 1/4-inch depth). Heat the oil over medium high heat, then place small patties of the fritter mixture into the oil. Fry on one side until browned, then fry on the other side. Remove and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
- For the dipping sauce: Remove the avocado pit and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. In a small bowl, mix the avocado, plain yogurt, lemon juice, and kosher salt to make the avocado cream (or blend the ingredients together in a food processor).
- To serve, slice the green onions. Serve fritters with avocado cream and green onions. Note: These fritters are best eaten warm the day of making; they don’t save well. Like anything made with avocado, the avocado cream sauce will become brown after exposure to air. Make sure to cover the surface with plastic wrap when storing.
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Kohlrabi Fritters, Kohlrabi Recipes
You are making me feel brave to finally buy this vegetable!! These look absolutely delicious. I can also completely relate to the side note. :)
Haha! Just a few years ago, we didn’t have much idea what kohlrabi (or fritters) were, let alone the knowledge to do anything in the kitchen! Thankfully now we can actually feed ourselves :)
What a unique recipe! I love the look of this!
I’ve been good friends with kohlrabi for many years:-) I love its taste and the best thing you can do is eat it raw without combining it with anything else. Not to speak of how healthy it is. Thanks for the great recipe. If you want to combine kohlrabi with another vegetable, carrot simply is the best choice.
I agree – raw kohlrabi is wonderful! I must admit this fritter doesn’t keep much of the lovely raw taste — but it still is delicious! My favorite is raw too, though :)
This is so creative! I always shave kohlrabi really thin and treat it like a slaw or cut it up and braise it like baby turnips. This recipe sounds so much better, especially with that brilliant avocado cream. High fives to new vegetables and adventures in the kitchen! :)
Braising is an interesting idea — we’ll have to look into that! Thanks, Laura :)
How very brave and inventive! A kolhrabi latke! I will have to give it a try. I have avoided this veggie as well.
It is delicious roasted!!
I love to chunk kohlrabi and roast or grill it- looking forward to trying your treatment of this too often overlooked veg.
I must say I’ve never heard of roasted kohlrabi — but I’m intrigued about how that might taste! Thanks for the idea!
Looks great! We definitely have to try…
Greetings from Spain :)
Thanks, Jorge & Carmen! Spain is one of our very favorite countries — thanks for saying hello! Greetings from the US (and we hope to visit your country again someday in the future!).
It amazes me how kohlrabi strikes you as odd. Here, in Austria, it’s something really really common. But it must be like sweet potatoe are to us. I, for one, simply can’t get used to its taste. We mostly eat kohlrabi in vegetable soups or as a side dish called “Rahmkohlrabi” (kohlrabi in cream) – it’s delicious. i find your recipe pretty innovativ (kohlrabi and AVOCADO!!) though and will definitely try it to get a completely new kohlrabi experience ;)
Regards from Vienna.
Thank you for letting us know about kohlrabi in other parts of the world! It is fun to know it is much more common — and I love the idea of rahmkohlrabi! One of my dearest friends lives in your city — I will have to ask her whether she has tried it :) Thanks for saying hello!
Another comment from Europe ;-)
In Germany it’s the same like in Austria: Kohlrabi (it’s the same name in German) is very popular! There are tons of kohlrabi recipes, but the most popular way is to eat it raw with a dip (German “Quark” or sour cream with fresh herbs).
I really like the fritters idea!
Best wishes from Cologne,
Maja
Thank you for saying hello! So glad to hear from Germany, and know kohlrabi is a popular veg there as well. I had never heard of quark, but it sounds delicious! Thanks for writing!