Bacon and Cheese Potato Croquettes

These delicious little Bacon and Cheese Potato Croquettes are filled with chopped bacon and meltingly good cheese. Fluffy inside and crispy outside. These are perfect as a side, buffet food, or for snacking.

Croquettes are a lovely way to eat potatoes. Originally, these were made to use up leftovers, so you can imagine all different kinds of fillings being used to mix with the mashed potatoes.

For this recipe, we have used chopped bacon and cheese as the filling to go with the potatoes.

If you're feeling creative, feel free to add other ingredients. So long as you stick to the mashed potatoes which is the main ingredient, you could add finely chopped leftover chicken, some tuna or salmon, chopped shrimp, sprinkle some herbs in the mixture, and so on.

We've given you instructions to cook these croquettes in 3 different ways, baking, deep frying, and shallow frying, so you can choose which you prefer.

As for the breadcrumbs, I've taken photos of using standard shop bought breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs, so you can see the difference in appearance. Sometimes panko breadcrumbs can be a bit tricky to get hold of, so don't worry if you can't get them. just use what you can get!

What goes well with potato croquettes?

You can serve these with your favorite dipping sauce, depending on what you have as a filling.

For example, if you used shrimp or tuna, you could serve with a lovely lemon and garlic butter sauce.

If using bacon and cheese, I like to have a BBQ sauce for dipping.

You can also serve these alongside our Grilled Cheesy Chicken Sandwich as part of your lunch.

If you want to serve these as a side dish to the main meal, just add some veggies and gravy.

Can potato croquettes be frozen?

You can certainly freeze croquettes.

We suggest you lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and when completely cool, pop them in the freezer for an hour, and then transfer to sealed bags.

That way, they won't stick together, and you can just take out as many as you need. Simply let them defrost and then reheat in the oven until hot right through.

What are croquettes made of?

Traditionally, croquettes were made of anything leftover, usually tuna or chicken, then mashed or cut up very small, and then combined with mashed potatoes.

Where do croquettes come from?

The croquette originated in France and it was in 1898 that Monsieur Escoffier, the founder of the classical French Cuisine

Prep time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Serves

16

Ingredients

The Filling

1lb 10oz or 750 g floury potatoes, cut into cubes
1oz or 25g butter
2 egg yolks
1¾oz or 50g cheddar cheese or gruyere
3 Rashers cooked bacon, finely chopped

The Coating

1¾oz or 50g plain flour
2 whole eggs
3½oz or 100 g panko breadcrumbs
olive oil, for drizzling (if baking)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes. Transfer to a saucepan of boiling water with a pinch of salt. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

2. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, chop the bacon into small pieces and fry in a pan. Drain on some kitchen paper and set aside.

3. Drain and mash the potatoes thoroughly, preferably with a ricer. Make sure you don’t have lumps.

4. Add the butter and 2 egg yolks and cooked bacon bits. Add the grated cheese and combine.

5. Transfer to a bowl or plate and allow to cool enough so you can handle.

6. Take a large tablespoon of the mixture and shape into tube shapes, about 1 ½ inches in length. You should get around 14 - 16 croquettes from the mixture.

7. Take 3 shallow bowls and add the flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs into the separate bowls.

8. Dip each croquette in the flour, shake any excess, then coat in the egg before dipping in the breadcrumbs. Make sure the croquettes are completely covered in the breadcrumbs.

9. Transfer to a baking tray, then leave to cool. They will firm up if you let them cool and that will avoid them falling apart if you are going to fry them.

To Bake

Preheat oven to 400 F or 200C. Drizzle the croquettes with oil and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, turning halfway through and bake until golden brown.

To Deep Fry

Heat oil to 350 F or 180C in a large saucepan or deep fryer and fry for 3–4 minutes. Drain well on kitchen paper and serve piping hot.

To Shallow Fry

Heat some oil in a large frying pan, turning regularly until golden brown

Recipe Card