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These papas rellenas aka relleno de papas are crispy stuffed potato balls filled with savory ground beef. A cuban classic recipe that is inexpensive to make and feeds a crowd.

Papas rellenas are super popular in Latin America and for good reason. They are absolutely delicious and are super fun to make. I remember my mom would make the picadillo and my aunt would prepare the potato mixture. I would help roll the potatoes and it was a blast!

Why You’ll Love This Papas Rellenas Recipe

• Super easy to make and there’s so much flavor.
• Perfect for parties and Holidays.
• You can make them ahead of time and freeze them until you’re ready to serve.
• This recipe is super versatile, you can easily swap the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken.
• Can be served as a snack, appetizer, or main course.

Ingredient Notes

• Potatoes – I highly recommend using big russet potatoes.
• Olives – Feel free to omit the olives or use capers instead.
• Sazon and Adobo Seasoning – Spices that can be found in the Hispanic section of your local supermarket. Although feel free to season the beef with chipotle seasoning or Cajun seasoning.

How To Make Papas Rellenas Step By Step

1. Start by peeling the potatoes and rinsing them in cold water. Chop them into quarters and place them in a large pot. Cover with water and cook for 25-30 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain well. Pass hot potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. Add the egg, butter, granulated garlic, and salt. Season generously. Let the potato mixture cool completely.
3. While the potatoes cool, prepare the ground beef mixture. Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and brown completely. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the onions and tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, adobo, sazon, bay leaf, tomato sauce, and olives. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Allow the beef mixture to cool completely.
4. Measure out about 1/4 cup of the potato mixture onto the palm of your hand. Flatten the potato mixture with an indentation in the center. Add about 1-2 tbsp of the beef mixture to the center and roll the potato into a ball. You can make these as small or big as you like.
5. In a bowl, whisk 3 eggs. Add the plain breadcrumbs to a separate dish and season with salt and pepper.
6. Dip the balls into the egg mixture and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat this process twice or until the potato balls are completely coated. Place the potato balls on a lined baking sheet with parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes.
7. Heat some oil and fry the potato balls for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. It’s important to flip the potato balls frequently for even coloring.

Top Tips And Recipe Variations

• The ideal oil temperature for frying potato balls is between 350 and 375 degrees F.
• Use peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil for frying. Don’t use olive oil for deep frying, it has too low a smoke point and will overheat.
• Freeze the potato balls before frying, this is so important. Otherwise, the potatoes can fall apart.
• Stuff the potato balls with hard-boiled eggs and/or cheese.
• Enjoy the papas rellenas with ketchup or hot sauce.

Can I Make These Ahead?

Absolutely! Prepare them up to the breading part and then place them in an air-tight container and freeze until you’re ready to fry them. Enjoy these immediately after frying.

What Can I Serve These With?

Although most people serve these as an appetizer, I consider it a meal. Papas rellenas are very filling so I would serve these with tomato avocado salad or vegetable salad.

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