Papas Rellenas

5 from 8 votes

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

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Cuban

Servings:

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Julie Maestre

Ingredients

6 Russet potatoes
2 lbs ground beef
1 tsp sazon
1 tsp adobo
1/4 cup olives
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 onion finely diced
3 garlic cloves finely minced
4 eggs
2 cups plain bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Instructions

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.
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.
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.
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.
In a bowl, whisk 3 eggs. Add the plain breadcrumbs to a separate dish and season with salt and pepper
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.
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.

Notes

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 cheese to switch it up.
Enjoy the papas rellenas with ketchup or hot sauce.

Nutrition