The BEST Sourdough Apple Fritters (in under 30 minutes)

Make these sourdough apple fritters in under 30 minutes! You'll need 200g of sourdough discard or sourdough starter and 3 fresh apples to make these delicious sourdough apple fritters.

While this can be a simple no wait sourdough recipe, you can also choose to the ferment the batter overnight if you prefer. These are not your average apple fritters! They are made using your amazing sourdough starter for a wonderful flavor addition! It's a bold claim, but I think these sourdough apple fritters are going to be the best you've ever had!

If you love making sourdough recipes that you can deep fry, then make sure you check out these sourdough banana fritters, sourdough elephant ears or sourdough donuts with vanilla glaze. You might also enjoy this sourdough apple fritter bread.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Done in Under 30 Minutes - While you can ferment this sourdough apple fritter batter overnight, you can also make it from start to finish, including frying, in under 30 minutes! There's no proofing, no commercial yeast and very minimal effort!

Use Fresh, Raw Apples - There's no need to precook the apples, you can make these sourdough apple fritters with fresh, raw diced apples. So easy and no extra washing up! You don't need to precook the apples in a cast-iron skillet - it's so much easier than that!

Lots of Serving Ideas - whether you like to smother your fritters with glaze or just dust in cinnamon sugar, there are lots of ideas to make your sourdough apple fritters extra special. You might also like this sourdough discard apple fritter bread.

Sourdough Starter or Sourdough Discard?

Unlike sourdough bread, where you want to use an active, bubbly starter, you can use unfed sourdough starter for these fritters. Making these spiced cinnamon apple fritters are a great way to empty your sourdough discard jar. You'll need 200g of sourdough discard to make these.

Using fed or unfed sourdough starter won't make any difference to these fritters, even if you ferment them overnight. This is because baking powder is used as the leavening agent in this recipe.

You can read more about the difference between sourdough discard and sourdough starter here.

How To Make Sourdough Apple Fritters in Under 30 Minutes!

There are a few different ways you can make this sourdough apple fritter recipe - these instructions are for the no wait version. They will be ready to eat in just 30 minutes! 

I like to make sure all my ingredients are at room temperature before I begin - especially the eggs and sourdough discard.

If your discard has been in the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature before you add it to the other ingredients. This is really important when you're deep frying food as you don't want the oil to spit everywhere when you add the fritter batter.

Before you begin

Add the oil to a large pot and begin to heat. You want to have the oil at 175C (350F) when you're ready to fry.

Line a wire cooling rack with paper towels (to put the deep fried sourdough apple fritters on) and make sure you have a slotted spoon or spider net scoop handy.

Prepare the glaze by adding the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and whole milk to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Set this aside.

To Make the Sourdough Apple Fritters

Add the all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to a small bowl and stir until all the dry ingredients are well combined.

In a separate large bowl, add the eggs, vanilla extract and sourdough starter together and whisk until light and foamy.

Now add the chopped apples and dry ingredients to the top of the wet ingredients and use a spatula to gently combine.

It's ok if there is a little dry flour still - don't over mix it.

Once the oil is at temperature, use a scoop (like a ¼ cup or mini ladle) to scoop portions of the sourdough apple fritter batter into the hot oil.

I usually fry 5 fritters at a time, allowing them to cook for around 2 minutes each side. You'll know they are done when they are a deep golden brown color and really puffy).

Place sourdough apple fritters on paper towel to drain.

Drizzle with glaze once you're ready to serve the fritters.

How To Ferment The Batter Overnight

While this recipe works really well as a no wait sourdough recipe, the batter can also be fermented overnight. This is a great option if you're wanting to make these sourdough apple fritters for breakfast or brunch.

To ferment the batter overnight, mix as per the recipe instructions, but omit the apples, baking powder and spices. Allow the batter to ferment in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to make the fritters, stir through the chopped apples, baking powder and spices and proceed with the deep frying.

Fermenting the sourdough fritter batter overnight is a similar process to making these long fermented sourdough waffles.

Ingredient & Flavor Notes

Apples - I've used a couple of granny smith apples, as well as a jazz apple. These are what I had on hand in the fridge so I used the combination. You can really use whatever apples you have on hand.

I've chosen to peel them, but you can leave the skin on if you prefer (adds a little extra fibre too). I've used quite a chunky dice because I like the texture, but you can chop the apples much finer if you prefer.

For a little extra zing, try soaking the chopped apples in a little lemon juice before adding them to the batter. It brings out the tart flavors in the apples and creates a fresh flavor for your sourdough apple fritters.

Oil - I've used vegetable oil to fry the sourdough apple fritters in. You can use whatever oil you prefer to fry in. Rice bran oil is another one of my favorites to fry in (you can see me use that when making these sourdough elephant ears).

Sugar - I've used white granulated sugar, however you can use brown sugar if you prefer. Coconut sugar also works really well.

Sourdough Starter - you can use sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard in this recipe. There's no need to add any commercial yeast as the baking powder creates the "puff" when the sourdough apple fritters hit the hot oil.

Cinnamon & Nutmeg - you can add as much or as little spice as you like. I love using the combination of cinnamon and nutmeg with apples. You can use apple pie spice if you prefer. Ground ginger is another lovely addition to these sourdough apple fritters.

Vanilla Glaze - the vanilla glaze is totally optional. You can just dust them in a little cinnamon sugar if you prefer.

Serving Ideas for Sourdough Apple Fritters

These simple apple fritters are perfect just as they are (have I mentioned how good they are with vanilla ice cream?). But if you're wanting something a little different, then try some of these ideas:

• Lemony Apple Sourdough Fitters - Soak the diced apple in lemon juice before adding to the fritter batter. Use lemon juice in the glaze instead of milk and vanilla extract. Drizzle the lemon glaze over the apple fritters and shave over some lemon zest for a little extra zing! These will get people talking, I promise!
  
• Caramel Pecan Apple Fritters - Instead of drizzling the sourdough apple fritters with vanilla glaze, use a caramel sauce and sprinkle with a little salt and chopped pecans - YUMMO!
  
• Maple Glaze Apple Fritters - You can also substitute maple syrup for the milk and create a maple glaze which is something a little different and creates the perfect fall treat!

Can You Bake or Air Fry these Sourdough Discard Apple Fritters?

These sourdough apple fritters are best deep fried in hot oil. They are not suitable to bake or air fry.

The only time I would use an oven or air fryer for these sourdough apple fritters is to "re-crisp" them if there are leftovers that have gone a bit soft.

Can You Use Use Other Fruit Instead of Apples?

While these are sourdough apple fritters, you can easily substitute canned pineapple, fresh strawberries, chopped pears or even fresh blueberries for apple, or add them on top of the apples for something a little different.

How To Freeze & Store

These sourdough apple fritters are best eaten on the day of frying. They will lose their crispiness after a few hours, however they can be gently warmed in the oven or popped in the air fryer to "re crisp".

This only works if they are unglazed. You can store leftover apple fritters for up to 2 days in an airtight container.

They are not suitable for freezing.

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