Zucchini Corn Cakes with Green Tomato Relish + Sunflower Sour Cream! A wonderful, savory, summer breakfast.
I’m now on the fourth of five zucchini recipes, in this informal Summer Series! This idea for Zucchini Corn Cakes with a sunflower seed sour cream came from Jessica Rasekhi, over on my IG post asking for suggestions. While I changed up somethings, I’m pretty damn excited about how this turned out!
The recipe was based on a sweet pancake here on VYA. But, as I was making it, I realized that it’s essentially a looser hush puppy recipe. That being said, I may make these again, but with a thicker batter, and fry ’em up! Because who doesn’t love hush puppies? People who haven’t had them yet, that’s who.
Back to these cakes! Topped with a green tomato relish, and homemade sour cream, you’ll love these zucchini corn cakes filled with the shredded green fruit. Oh, you didn’t know? Zucchini (and all squash) are botanically fruit, but culinarily are considered veggies. Kinda mind-blowing, yeah?
And let us focus on the green tomato relish, as it’s essential to this recipe! I used green Roma tomatoes from my garden, plus steamed corn, fresh jalapeño, cilantro, green onion, and salt. It complements the warm corn cakes with its cool, refreshing, and crunchy nature. I was really into this, and think that I may pulse it in the food processor next time to make more of a salsa.
As for the sour cream, I wouldn’t have thought to go the sunflower seed route on my own, so I was grateful for the suggestion! I typically would use cashews for something like this, but I like the seed option for a nut-free recipe. What I did find out, is that sunflower seeds, even after soaking, need more water to blend smoothly! That being said, you’ll have extra sour cream, but it’d be great on some nachos or tacos, too.
I couldn’t let you go ahead and make these zucchini corn cakes without saying that hot sauce is essential! The spicy, vinegar-y flavors go really well with the rest of the components. Something I wish I did, was whisk together some hot sauce with maple syrup. This morning, as I was eating leftover and did this; it was perfect to say the least. So, I’ve added it as an option in the recipe, below!
After this, I have one last zucchini recipe coming your way! Plus, some back-to-school ideas, a LOT of tomato recipes, and more. Stay up-to-date by subscribing to my newsletter!
1 year: Curry Cauli Grill Packets // 3 years: Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake // 4 years: Stone Fruit Bruschetta // 5 years: Summer Garden Wraps
Zucchini Corn Cakes with Green Tomato Relish
Zucchini Corn Cakes with Green Tomato Relish + Sunflower Sour Cream! A wonderful, savory, summer breakfast.
Ingredients
Sunflower Seed Sour Cream
- 1 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds, shelled
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
Zucchini Corn Cakes
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or GF Flour + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
Green Tomato Relish
- 1/2 cup diced green tomatoes
- 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
- 2 tablespoons diced green onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1-3 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño
- Salt, to taste
Hot Syrup
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2-3 teaspoons vinegar-based hot sauce, i.e. red rooster, tabasco, etc.
Instructions
- For the sunflower seed sour cream: Place seeds in a bowl and cover with boiling-hot water. Soak for 20 minutes, then strain and place in blender with 1/2 cup water, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt. Blend, and add remaining water gradually, until mixture is very smooth. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For the pancakes: In a small bowl, stir non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar together, set aside to curdle for 5 minutes, making vegan buttermilk. Sift corn meal, flour, nutritional yeast, onion powder, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cayenne together in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir maple syrup and oil into the buttermilk; then pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Whisk together until combined but still a little lumpy, do not over mix. Fold shredded zucchini into batter until incorporated. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes, to thicken. (take this time to prep relish)
- Line a hot griddle, or large pan over medium heat, with a thin coating of high-heat cooking oil. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop batter onto hot griddle, keeping at least an inch between pancakes. You may need to spread the batter out a little into a circle shape.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until there are no new bubbles and the edges start to brown lightly, then carefully flip pancakes. Cook for another 2 minutes, and place pancakes on plates. Repeat until the rest of the batter is used up.
- For the relish: Place all ingredients in a small bowl and mix together until combined, season with salt, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For Assembly: Stack either 2 or 4 pancakes on plates (see note), top with green tomato relish, and a scoop or large dollop of sour cream. In a small bowl, whisk maple syrup and hot sauce together, then drizzle a small amount over pancakes. Serve while hot!
Notes
Recipe serves 2-4 people depending on appetite, or if served with sides!
Save some time by buying vegan sour cream instead of making your own.
Green tomatoes can be found at the farmers' market, if you're not growing any!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Morgan
Saturday 2nd of July 2022
I made these with gf flour and the batter was super thick. I had to add a lot of extra milk to get the same consistency as shown in the picture. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be thick or what 🤷🏻♂️
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Sunday 3rd of July 2022
Some GF flours are more absorbent than others, so that may be what happened here. Which one did you use?
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Tuesday 26th of May 2020
[…] I also finish mine with crushed tortilla chips, and a drizzle of more Nacho Chee-Zee Sauce and Vegan Sour Cream. You can use your favorite store bought like Follow Your Heart or Tofutti, or make your own. I like this Cashew Sour Cream, and this Sunflower Seed Sour Cream. […]
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[…] Savory dishes to add with your Pecan Praline Bread Pudding. CHRISTMAS FRITTATA and ZUCCHINI CORN CAKES WITH GREEN TOMATO RELISH. […]
Bianca Pauleti
Saturday 15th of December 2018
I have tried this recipe and it was a failure, the pancakes were bitter :( Any idea why? I suspect the corn meal is supposed to be fine, and not coarse?
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Monday 17th of December 2018
Hi Bianca! It could very well be the grind of the cornmeal. I'll make a note in the recipe that I used finely ground! Sorry about your experience. <3
Andrew
Saturday 10th of November 2018
this recipe looks great! Very unique. Most pancake recipes I find are on the sweet side. This looks like a lot of fun. I also appreciate the sunflower rather than the cashew nut option. Cashews are expensive! Sunflower seeds ain't!
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Tuesday 4th of December 2018
My pleasure, Andrew! I hope you enjoy them!