Cheese croquettes are easy to make and always satisfying with their crispy, fried exterior and melted fontina cheese in the center! They make an excellent appetizer or side dish and are perfect for dipping in marinara! It's also a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes after the holidays!
Best Cheese Croquette Recipe
When I have leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge, these crispy, golden, cheese-stuffed croquettes are the first recipe that comes to mind! They are a wonderful finger food that can be served as an appetizer or side dish, and they're perfect for dipping in your favorite sauces!
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🥘 Cheese Croquettes Ingredients, Notes, & Substitutes
If you prefer to rice your potatoes instead of mashing them, that works, too. Follow my instructions for how to boil potatoes before mashing or ricing them (if you don't already have leftover mashed potatoes on hand).
Cheese Croquette Filling
- Fontina Cheese - One 8 -8-ounce block of Fontina cheese.
- Mashed Potatoes - 2 ½ cups of mashed potatoes (about 1 ¼ lbs of mashed Russet potatoes). You can find out more about the best potatoes for mashed potatoes here!
- Egg - 1 large egg or a suitable egg substitute.
- Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Parsley - 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley or a parsley substitute
- Salt & Pepper - ¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper (to taste).
- Nutmeg - ⅛ teaspoon of nutmeg (to taste). Nutmeg highlights the sweet and creamy flavor of Fontina cheese beautifully.
Cheese Croquette Breading
- All-Purpose Flour - ½ cup of all-purpose flour or an all-purpose flour substitute.
- Eggs - 5 large beaten eggs or an egg substitute.
- Breadcrumbs - 2 cups of plain or seasoned breadcrumbs or a breadcrumb substitute.
- Oil For Frying - Your favorite neutral-flavored frying oil, like canola oil or vegetable oil. Enough to fill a frying pan about 3 inches deep.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Cheese Croquettes
Don't let the seemingly long list of instructions fool you; these croquettes are super simple! You're going to need a sharp knife, a mixing bowl, your measuring utensils, a frying pan, and a wire cooling rack.
This recipe makes 6 servings of croquettes with a few croquettes per person.
Combine, Shape & Chill The Croquettes
Step 1: Slice the cheese. Remove the rind off of 8 ounces (198.45 grams) of Fontina cheese and cut it into thin strips about 1 inch long. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the filling. Add 2 ½ cups (525 grams) of mashed potatoes, 1 large egg (50 grams), 1 cup (100 grams) of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon (4 grams) of fresh parsley, ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) each of salt & pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon (0.25 grams) of nutmeg (to taste) to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
Step 3: Stuff with cheese. Grab a small handful of the potato mixture and flatten it into a pancake. Put a thin slice of fontina cheese in the center, then mold the potato pancake into an oval shape around the cheese. Set it aside and repeat with all of the remaining potato mixture.
Step 4: Make a dredging station. Set up a dredging station by placing 3 shallow dishes side-by-side. Add ½ cup (62.5 grams) of all-purpose flour to the first dish, 5 large eggs (250 grams) beaten in the second dish, and 2 cups (208 grams) of breadcrumbs in the third dish.
Step 5: Dredge. One by one, coat the balls of potato in flour, followed by the eggs (letting the excess drip off), and then the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process a second time with each croquette to get a thick coating.
Step 6: Chill. Put your prepared croquettes on a baking sheet and pop them in the fridge to chill for 1 hour before frying.
Fry & Serve The Potato Croquettes
Step 7: Heat the oil. Heat a large frying pan filled with a good amount of frying oil to medium-high heat.
Step 8: Fry. Once the oil is hot, add 2-3 cheese croquettes (or more, as long as you don't overcrowd the pan). Use tongs to turn each croquette until golden brown on all sides, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack with a paper towel underneath. Repeat with remaining croquettes.
Step 9: Serve. Once you have fried all of the croquettes, they can be served immediately.
🥗 What To Serve With Cheese Croquettes
I love to pair my cheese croquettes with a dipping sauce like marinara or my garlic pizza aioli! They also make a wonderful starter for any French-inspired meal like this elegant and delicious steak au poivre or a hearty bowl of beef bourguignon.
While you might usually opt for serving French fries when preparing burgers or sandwiches, croquettes are also a perfectly suitable choice. After all, they are also crispy and made with potatoes! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- Chives would make an excellent addition to these cheese croquettes! I didn't have any on hand this time, but I plan to add them the next time.
- While you may be tempted to roll the croquettes into a ball, cylinder or oval-shaped, sometimes disc-shaped, is more traditional.
- Use a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point for frying. Peanut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or safflower oil are all great choices. I personally love to use beef tallow for frying foods, which is a great option as well!
- Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C/Gas Mark ½) to keep the first batch of croquettes warm while you fry the rest. Put a baking sheet on the middle rack and transfer your fried croquettes to it as you work in batches.
- If you don't want to fry your cheese croquettes, you can bake them at 400°F (205°C/Gas Mark 6) for 20 minutes. They won't be quite as crispy, but they are still perfectly delicious!
🥄 Make Ahead Options
If you'd like to save yourself some extra time later, you can prepare your cheese croquettes in advance! The raw cheese croquettes can be assembled and breaded, then placed on a baking sheet and flash-frozen for 1 hour.
After that, you can transfer them to a heavy-duty freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. There is no need to thaw them out before frying them. Note that they will take a few minutes longer to cook.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Let the cheese croquettes cool completely, then put them in a Ziploc bag or airtight container. Enjoy them within 3-4 days for the best flavor and texture.
Freezing Cheese Croquettes
Put the cooled croquettes in a heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag and squeeze out any excess air before sealing it fully. They can be frozen for up to 3 months,
Reheating Cheese Croquettes
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and put your croquettes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
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❓ FAQ
Yes, cheese croquettes can be vegetarian-friendly. However, ensuring your cheese does not contain rennet derived from animal sources is important. Many vegetarians eat eggs, but some do not, so always ask before serving these croquettes to anyone who is a vegetarian.
I love the rich and creamy texture as well as the subtly sweet flavor of fontina cheese. However, as long as it melts well, you can just as easily swap it out for your preferred cheese! Cheddar, mozzarella, Gouda, or Swiss would also be great choices.
For the crispiest croquettes, ensure the oil is at the right temperature (around 350°F or 175°C) before adding the croquettes. You want to fry them in small batches, so they have enough space to cook evenly without overcrowding the oil. *Allow the oil to return to the correct temperature before starting your next batch.
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📋 Recipe
Cheese Croquettes
Ingredients
Cheese Croquette Filling
- 8 oz fontina cheese
- 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes (about 1 ¼ lbs of mashed Russet potatoes)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (fresh, chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (to taste)
Cheese Croquette Coating
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 cup breadcrumbs (plain or seasoned breadcrumbs)
- frying oil (favorite neutral-flavored frying oil like canola oil or vegetable oil)
Instructions
Combine & Shape Croquettes
- Remove the rind off of 8 oz fontina cheese and cut it into thin strips about 1 inch long. Set aside.
- Add 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes, 1 large egg, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley, ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepperand ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Grab a small handful of the potato mixture and flatten it into a pancake. Put a thin slice of fontina cheese in the center, then mold the potato pancake into an oval shape around the cheese. Set it aside and repeat with all of the remaining potato mixture.½ cup all-purpose flour, 5 large eggs, 2 cup breadcrumbs
- Set up a dredging station by placing 3 shallow dishes side-by-side. Add ½ cup all-purpose flour to the first dish, 5 large eggs beaten in the second dish, and 2 cup breadcrumbs in the third dish.1 large egg, 1 tablespoon parsley, ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper
- One by one, coat the balls of potato in flour, followed by the eggs (letting the excess drip off), and then the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process a second time with each croquette to get a thick coating.
- Put your prepared croquettes on a baking sheet and pop them in the fridge to chill for 1 hour before frying.
Fry or Bake The Potato Croquettes
- Heat a large frying pan filled with a good amount of frying oil to medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add 2-3 cheese croquettes (or more, as long as you don't overcrowd the pan). Use tongs to turn each croquette until golden brown on all sides, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack with a paper towel underneath. Repeat with remaining croquettes.frying oil
- Once you have fried all of the croquettes, they can be served immediately.
Equipment You May Need
Notes
- Chives would make an excellent addition to these cheese croquettes!
- Traditionally, croquettes are oval-shaped, cylindrical, or disc-shaped rather than round.
- Use neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point for frying, like peanut, vegetable, canola, safflower oil, or beef tallow.
- Preheat your oven to 250°F (121°C/Gas Mark ½) to keep the first batch of croquettes warm while you fry the remaining batches.
- To bake your cheese croquettes, cook at 400°F (205°C/Gas Mark 6) for 20 minutes.
- To store: Place cooled croquettes in a Ziploc bag or airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
- To freeze: Store in a heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag to freeze for up to 3 months,
- To reheat: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and put your croquettes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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