Cheesy Fried Mashed Potato Balls are a comfort food appetizer or side dish made with mashed potatoes, filled with melty cheese and fried with a crispy panko breading. A great way to use of leftover mashed potatoes!
The Ultimate Appetizer
I love to make these fried mashed potato balls as a first course for a dinner party or serve up a platter of them at an open house. It’s hard to resist anything combining potatoes and cheese. Too, if you’re like me and like to get creative with a recipe, you have endless options for the kind of cheese you can use inside of these mashed potato balls. Mozzarella is another big winner for this recipe.
Pictured here, you can see I served them with a tangy marinara sauce, but pesto, ranch, alfredo, really any savory dipping sauce would also work well.
About the Potatoes
You can either make mashed potatoes per the recipe below or use up leftovers. I love to make these as a Black Friday appetizer when I have leftover mashers from Thanksgiving. The only thing to pay attention to is the consistency of the mashed potatoes. Some folks like to prepare theirs a little on the thinner/sticky side. Just know that the potatoes need to hold up to being rolled into a ball.
Like this. I also roll them in flour to help the panko breading to adhere.
The Frying Process
If you’re not used to frying, it can sound a little scary. But, I promise, it’s not as bad as you think! You just have to keep two things in mind for that perfect golden browned crust on your cheesy mashed potato balls, or anything fried for that matter.
- Pick the right oil – you will want something with a high smoke point so that you can reach frying temperature without burning the oil and the food. I love to fry with coconut oil for this reason. It’s also very neutral in flavor, though just ever so slightly sweet. But, vegetable oil, avocado oil, and peanut oil would all work, too.
- The right temperature – Frying works best at 375F. I use a candy thermometer to ensure my oil is the right temp before adding the food to be fried.
- Consistent temperature – You want to maintain in the 350F to 380F range during the frying process. The best way to do this is to not add too many balls to the oil at once. I was using a 5 quart pot and was able to fry three at a time without too much variation in temperature. Too, I like to use cast iron because it does a better job of holding heat compared to other metals.
When they’re all done, frying, I place them on a cooling rack inside the oven at 250F to keep warm until they’re ready to serve. The time in the oven also helps to ensure the melty cheese factor.
Make in Advance
These can also be made in advance! Prepare them per the recipe except don’t put them in the oven to keep warm. Just let them cool, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate. Then, when you’re ready to serve them, heat the oven to 350F and bake them for 12 to 15 minutes until heated through and the breading has crisped up again.
What kind of sauce do you think you’ll serve these with? I’d love to hear your comments below!
[tasty-recipe id=”6630″]
