What if I don't have mashed potatoes?

You will need to make some. You can’t make these with raw, shredded potatoes ( that is a tater tot ). See Mashed Potatoes 101 from Life As A Strawberry for all the info on making the best mashed potatoes.

Do I have to fry these?

NO! We tested these (multiple times) by deep frying, using the air fryer, and baking in the oven. While all three methods worked, we definitely found the deep fried method gave the best overall result. Both the air fryer and oven resulted in a less evenly fried outside, but they work and were still delicious! To fry in the air fryer. Place the croquette balls about an inch apart on the air fryer rack ( per your units directions). Place in the air fryer for about 3 minutes. Turn the croquettes and continue air frying until they are golden brown all over. (Ours took between 7-8 minutes and we turned them twice.) To bake in the oven. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat it to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the oven is hot and your croquettes are breaded, spray the top of each croquette with cooking spray (we like our Misto oil sprayer for this). Remove the sheet pan from the oven (be careful - it’s hot!). Place the croquettes, sprayed side down, on the sheet pan and spray the tops. Place the sheet pan in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Turn the croquettes over and cook another 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and hot inside.

Parmesan Potato Croquettes - Appetizer Bliss

Name: Parmesan Potato Croquettes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 large egg yolks; 1 1/2 pound mashed potatoes; 1 cup (3 ounces) parmesan cheese, shredded; 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped; 4 teaspoons flour; 2 large eggs; 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs; Oil for frying (vegetable oil or canola oil works great); Dip for serving - marinara sauce ranch dressing, sour cream (OPTIONAL)

Description

Made with leftover mashed potatoes, these potato croquettes with parmesan cheese will quickly become your newest craving!

Ingredients

Scale

3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 pound mashed potatoes
1 cup (3 ounces) parmesan cheese, shredded
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
4 teaspoons flour
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
Oil for frying (vegetable oil or canola oil works great)
Dip for serving - marinara sauce ranch dressing, sour cream (OPTIONAL)

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Instructions

NOTE: This works better if the potatoes are room temperature or slightly warm - not hot. Leave on the counter for about 20 minutes (or heat for a few seconds in the microwave) before mixing with other ingredients.

Add the egg yolks, mashed potatoes, parmesan cheese, parsley, and flour to a mixing bowl. Mix, by hand, until well combined. NOTE: if you use a mixer, run for just a few seconds so you don’t over mix and make the potatoes gummy.
Use a cookie scoop to form the potato mixture into balls (a little smaller than golf ball sized is about right).
Roll them lightly between your hands until they are nice and round.
Add the 2 eggs to a bowl and whisk them until they are scrambled together for an egg wash.
In a separate dish place the panko breadcrumbs.
Roll each formed croquette ball in the egg wash then in the panko breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet pan. Once they are all coated you can immediately cook them or place them in the refrigerator for a few hours until ready to cook.

TO DEEP FRY:

To a deep pot, add 2-3 inches of oil and heat over medium heat. If you have a deep fryer that would be great here, just make sure you control the temperature of the oil.
Once the oil is hot (between 290-310 degrees Fahrenheit) add croquettes. The number you can fry at once depends on the size of your pan. Add just enough croquettes so there is a single layer and they have enough room for you to move them around easily. Carefully roll them around in the oil as they fry to cook all sides. Keep an eye on the temperature of the oil, too hot and the cheese inside won’t melt, too cool and they will get greasy.
Once the parmesan potato croquettes are golden brown, remove from the oil to a sheet pan with a wire rack to drain. Let the oil heat again and continue until all are fried.
You can place the fried croquettes in a warm oven, 170 degrees Fahrenheit, to keep them warm while you finish frying all of them.
Serve warm with dip; marinara sauce, sour cream, ranch dressing.

Notes

Other Options to Deep Fried. We made these by deep frying, using the air fryer, and baking in the oven. While all three methods worked, we definitely found the deep fried method gave the best overall result. Frying took about 5 minutes per batch. Both the air fryer and oven resulted in a less evenly fried outside, but they work and tasted great! See FAQ's above for notes on using the air fryer or baking in the oven.

Freezing Croquettes. Croquettes freeze great either before they are breaded and fried or after they are fried. For both, store in an airtight container in the freezer. If not breaded, let croquettes thaw in the refrigerator then proceed with the coating and frying steps. If breaded and fried, thaw in refrigerator and reheat in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven until warmed through - about 5-10 minutes. You can also place them directly from the freezer into a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven and heat until warmed through 15-20 minutes.

Are these just homemade tater tots? No, they are actually different. Tater tots are made with shredded potatoes while potato croquettes are made with mashed potatoes. You can add additional ingredients; cheese, bacon, ham, veggies, to both tater tots and croquettes, but the base ingredient (potatoes) is in a different form which makes the texture different.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Assembly Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Appetizer
Method: Frying
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 piece
Calories: 111
Sugar: 0.9 g
Sodium: 169.3 mg
Fat: 7.5 g
Carbohydrates: 8.2 g
Protein: 3 g
Cholesterol: 40.7 mg