Potato Croquettes with Cheese

Dive into the crispy goodness of potato croquettes stuffed with cheese, where every bite is a cheesy surprise waiting to happen. These remind me of the copycat Trader Joe’s arancini we make using risotto and stuffed with fontina cheese. These golden bites are the ultimate comfort food, perfect for snacking or as a side dish that’ll steal the show.

Potato Croquettes with Cheese

We’d never tried croquettes until we took a family trip to Spain. The first city we visited, Malaga, we tried croquettes. In Spain, these potato delights aren’t just filled with cheese. In fact, they might not be made with potatoes at all. Nonetheless, you can order them with meat inside — chicken or ham — or vegetables or really anything. Some even have seafood. Throughout that Spanish trip, we ordered croquettes in every city we visited, including Seville and Barcelona.

Croquettes feel like they’re a cousin to arancini. Arancini are rice balls made with Italian risotto, stuffed with cheese and then fried in a pan. Some croquettes — including the ones in this recipe — are potato based and formed after cooking and mashing the potatoes. I know many people use leftover mashed potatoes to make them. Then, like the arancini, you stuff them with cheese and fry in a pan.

These are an upscale-feeling appetizer or side dish that are surprisingly easy to make. Try them for your next holiday dinner or family get together.

Ingredients

I’ve organized the ingredients for these potato croquettes in two batches. First is the ingredients list for the croquettes themselves. After that is the ingredients list for the coating you’ll use before frying them in oil.

For the Croquettes

• 7 ounces potatoes peeled
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 ounces cheese cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup oil for frying
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup water for boiling

For Coating

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

1. Peel the potatoes and then boil them in salted water until fork-tender.
2. Drain and mash them thoroughly while still warm. Add salt and flour, mixing until a smooth dough forms.
3. Take a small portion of the mashed potato mixture, flatten it in your palm and place a cheese cube in the center. Roll it into a smooth ball, ensuring the cheese is fully enclosed. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
4. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, flour, salt, black pepper and paprika. Place the bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish.
5. Dip each potato ball into the egg mixture, ensuring it is evenly coated, then roll it in the bread crumbs until fully covered.
6. Heat oil in a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pot to 350 F. Fry the croquettes in batches for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
7. Let them cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Anything you fry in a pan you can cook in an air fryer. So the next time I make croquettes — or arancini for that matter — I’m going to test cooking them in the air fryer. If the recipes work out, I’ll be sure to add a new recipe to this blog with instructions on how to make potato and cheese croquettes in the air fryer.

You can approach the cheese stuffing in two ways: mild so the potato of the croquette shines through. Or bold so that the flavor of the cheese does. We use fontina cheese when making arancini because it is mild. So I would definitely recommend trying it with these croquettes. However, a sharp cheddar could work for a bolder flavor profile here.