Spiced Jamaican Saltfish fritters – Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A tastebud sensation!
I like to think of these salt fish fritters as your ticket to a Caribbean culinary vacation, without the high price of a plane ticket or hotel room.
Can this Jamaican salt fish fritters really make you get a taste of the Caribbean? Absolutely. 
Whether you are from the Caribbean Islands or trying to enjoy something different, these Jamaican saltfish fritters will definitely appeal to you. Fresh from the fryer and paired with pepper sauce makes for one happy camper.
Dry salted saltfish is cod fish that has been preserved by drying after salting. Without the salt, it is most often referred to as stockfish. (A very popular and expensive dried fish used in African cooking). In Italy it is known as baccala and the Portuguese call it bacalhau.
No matter what the name, it is dried Atlantic cod. To make this fish edible, it is important that you soak the fish in water for about 1-3 days to get rid of the salt – if not, you will have wasted an expensive fish. This is not a spur of the moment fritters, unless you get your cod fish from a seller that sells it frozen and it has been desalted for you. 
Okay, I know you are wondering why go through all this trouble to use salted codfish, can’t you just use regular white flesh fish? Well, it is the same as comparing prosciutto to ham. Why use prosciutto when you can just use ham. It is all about the flavor – nothing compares. You may serve it with this pepper sauce.
Enjoy!
If you love this saltfish then try this salt fish and bake featured here.
Watch How to Make It
Salt Fish Fritters
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound boneless salted cod fish or use any white fish
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ medium onion finely diced
- ½ teaspoon minced scotch bonnet pepper replace with hot sauce
- 3 tablespoon parsley minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
- 2 tablespoons minced bell pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 -1/2 cup milk or water
- Freshly grated pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying about 3 cups
Instructions
- Soak salt fish in water overnight or several days (water changed several times). Drain and shred fish using a food processor to achieve a really fine shred. If not finely shred by hands
- Combine the dry ingredients, flour baking powder, smoked paprika, granulated garlic and sugar. Stir for about a minute then add onions, salted shredded fish, thyme, and red bell pepper, scotch bonnet parsley and egg
- Whisk until ingredients have been blended. Then add milk gradually starting from about 1/3 cup until desired thickness.
- Adjust seasonings.
- You may have to do a test taste first
- Heat oil to 350 degrees in a skillet or saucepan. You may also use the oil test by dropping a 1-inch square of bread into the oil. If it takes 60 seconds to brown, then the oil is at around 350 degrees.
- Carefully place spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry for 3-4- minutes, or until the fritters are crisp and golden-brown (you may need to do this in batches). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- You may drain on paper napkin to remove any excess oil
Nutrition Information:
Brian Fleming says
I paired these with some pineapple salsa. Soooo good.
Immaculate Bites says
Ooh this sounds delicious, Brian! Thank you for sharing!
Jana Wright says
I doubled this recipe and it’s by far my favourite recipe for these fritters. Added a little black pepper and they were absolutely delicious. Thank you
Immaculate Bites says
Awesome! Thank you for sharing, Jana!
Sarah says
I now make these all the time for my other half, he loves them. I tend to leave the paprika out other than that these are delicious. I actually turn to your pages for all recipes I find them all easy to follow and they turn out perfectly everytime.
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Sarah!
Elton J. says
I don’t understand how you take a snack that’s made throughout the entire Caribbean ( all 26 countries) and label it “Jamaican”?…
Immaculate Bites says
Hello Elton! This is a “Jamaican” take of the Caribbean snack. Thank you for your comment 🙂
Ramona says
I made some of these scrumptious little bites yesterday. Tripled the recipe for my large family and there still was not enough. Even the picky eater had seconds then thirds. Big hit with this one. Totally loved this and thanks so much for sharing. It was pure perfection. (Small tip to anyone who had soggy in the middle: lower the temp on your cooker and cook for a bit longer. That worked for me and they came out perfectly)
Immaculate Bites says
Yay! I’m happy you and your family loved it, Ramona!
Jenny Pruim says
Air Fried & Loved! I followed your recipe exactly and then air fried in the bucket part of air fryer with cooking spray. Double the recipe and keeping half the batter in freezer to fry per your directions when guests come over. Memories of Jamaica!
Jenny Pruim says
PS- I air fried at 350 degrees for 16 min total, flipping half way through and they were just right imo.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing ,Jenny!
Edith says
I really like your recipes. Salt fish is one of my favourite fish in pastry so I am going to try nd make these. Can I bake or air fry them?
And I wanted to know how you, do the calculation of the nutritional value? As I am so conscious of fried foods.
imma africanbites says
Hi, Edith. I haven’t tried air frying them so I can’t say for now. As with the nutritional value information, I’m using an online calculator embedded in my site. Please be informed that what you see is a rough estimate rather than a guarantee since nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on several factors such as ingredient brands and measurements. We encourage our readers tho to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Thank you.
John Doe says
I Loved this recipe so much
Dawn says
Any ideas on how far ahead I can make these for a food truck
Dawn says
Hi imma! Great recipe. Starting a food truck and would love to put these on menu
Any suggestions for best method to make ahead?
Thx
Dawn says
Hi there, I stumbled on your recipe for these and they look great! I am opening a Caribbean food truck in a couple months and wanted to put these on the menu.
Just wondering in the interest of speed how these would retain the crispy ness if made ahead? What’s the best method
Thx
ImmaculateBites says
Hello! I would make freeze and reheat before serving .You might have to play with it a little to make it work for you.
Shelia Dingle says
Hi can you bake these fritters instead of frying them
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can- however the texture wouldn’t be as crisp.
Dlights says
I cannot believe how light and airy these are. This is by far my favorite fritter. My only wish is that they had a sauce to go with it.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad you enjoyed it .I think this Caribbean Pepper Sauce sauce would pair well with these fritters
Tara says
Your website has been amazing. I was really missing home(St. Maarten) while staying in Scotland so decided I wanted to make a Caribbean feast. My go to dishes I wanted was salt fish fritters(accra), jerk chicken, and rice and peas. I have never made any of these dishes before and they were not only easy to make but they tasted just like home. These fritters were amazing, better than I ever could have imagined. Thank you so much!
ImmaculateBites says
AMAZING! High-five on nailing the recipes 🙂 ! I am so glad your Caribbean feast was a success. Thanks for sharing, Tara!
jos says
I too am from St.maarten, living in the uk and oh so missing home as well and really missing how its done by my mom, so very glad that I stumbled upon this recipe. Will definitely be trying it out! Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Fantastic! Looking forward to you trying out this recipe, Jos!
Sonja says
I have made several of your recipes and all have been delicious. Just made these but used canned wild salmon and added some salt since not using saltfish. Perfect recipe, came out beautifully and tight amou t of flavor.
ImmaculateBites says
Terrific!!! I am so glad to hear it turned out great, Sonja!