Today I have for you a yummy and gluten-free chickpea and shrimp fritter recipe. Just look at these crispy, little pillows! They are so light and fluffy and you can make them with shrimp for seafood fritters or with chickpeas for vegan fritters.
Way back when I was writing up my Potato and Chorizo Spanish Tortilla recipe, I had the idea of putting some Spanish shrimp fritters on the site. However, there are so many things to cook and only so many days in the week, meaning it took until now for me to refine my recipe and take the pictures. š
In other words, don’t worry about me running out of inspiration any time soon. I have a dozen other Spanish tapas recipes on my list along with a pile of other recipes just waiting for me to have the time to post them.
As for the fritters, I think (and hope) they were worth the wait!
How to Make Chickpea Shrimp Fritters
For this recipe, you will need to have chickpea flour and rice flour. Chickpea flour forms the base of the fritter and gives it a great, earthy flavor from the beans while rice flour makes the fritters especially light and crispy. You could sub in regular flour for the rice flour, but you won’t get the same results. (And then don’t feed the fritters to your gluten-free friends, of course!)
Both flours are wonderful to have on hand for other sorts of fritters, or if you want to experiment with gluten-free baking. Chickpea flour is used a lot in Indian cooking and I know I’m going to try a few recipes from my Indian cookbook using the flour. Rice flour is great for dusting seafood before sauteing it, and I was just reading that it can be used as an addition to Shortbread Cookies to make them exceptionally tender. I’ll have to give that a try! Does anyone have any other ideas for the chickpea or rice flours?
Or you can just make some more Chickpea Shrimp Fritters. I certainly would be happy with another batch in the house.
If you try my recipe for Gluten Free Shrimp Fritters, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Gluten Free Chickpea Shrimp Fritters
Ingredients
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 3 tbsp rice flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp minced shallots
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 8 oz shrimp, finely chopped and well dried
- OR 1 cup chickpeas, drained and patted dry
- 1/2 cup water, soda water if you have it for a lighter fritter
Instructions
- Heat the Oil: Pour about 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil into a deep sided pot. Heat the oil until it reaches 350F. Keep the burner temperature fairly low since you don't want the oil to heat up too fast.
- Make the Fritter Batter: Whisk together the chickpea flour, rice flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and paprika.
- Add the shallots, parsley, shrimp OR chickpeas, and water. Mix with a large spoon or silicone spatula until just combined. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Fry the Fritters: Drop the fritters into the batter in heaping tablespoons. Fry for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Don't overcrowd; fry up the fritters in 2-3 batches. When each batch is done, remove it to a towel lined platter to drain.
- Serve with Quick and Easy Romesco Sauce or with Lemon Garlic Aioli.
Notes
- Vegetable Oil: You will need a couple of cups of vegetable oil to fry the fritters. Any high temperature stable oil can used in place of the vegetable oil
- Making Vegan Fritters: If you are making both the vegan and non-vegan versions of the recipe, make the vegan version first and then the shrimp version.
- Chickpea Caution: Whole chickpeas will splatter sometimes! Use a high-sided pot, keep back while they are cooking, and use caution when turning the fritters.
- Notes about the Sauces: The recommended Romesco Sauce recipe is not gluten free as written. You can use the Aioli as the sauce or, if you want to have the Romesco, for a completely gluten free appetizer, you can either omit the bread entirely or substitute a slice of gluten free bread. Also, the Aioli is not vegan (though the Romesco Sauce is). You can substitute a vegan mayonnaise for the homemade mayonnaise in the Aioli.
- Scooping out the Fritters: I use my 1 1/2 tablespoon Zeroll Disher to make the fritters. The quick cookie scoop motion makes it easy to get them in the oil without the batter sticking to the spoon while also giving them a nice, round shape and all the same size.
Sandy says
Those look amazing, Annemarie. My Dad adores anything made with chickpea flour. This is a recipe I need to show him.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! I can’t speak for being authentically Spanish, but we did love them and they tasted like the tapas we’ve had at restaurants.
jayne says
These look really tasty – sound like you have got a lot of flavour in there. great pics too!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! And the flavors were a hit here. š
Amanda says
I am gluten free and I love using the coating of chickpea flour! Such a great recipe for me, especially with the shrimp!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m always happy to come up with a great gluten-free recipe for something that isn’t usually. This is something I’ll be making for my gluten-free friend when she comes over again.
Sally says
We’re on the same wavelength – just posted a quick and easy Romesco recipe myself. Just need your light, crispy, succulent shrimps to dip into it. Lovely.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! And a quick romesco is great sauce to have on hand for fritters or other tasty nibbles.
Fareeha says
Wow, what a beautiful visual treat. I feel like grabbing one from the screen and devoring it right away. The fritter look so yummy
justalittlebitofbacon says
If only I could send them through my screen! Thanks. š
Sara says
They look delicious and I can only imagine the lovely crunch from the chickpea flour.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! I love how light and crispy they are. š