Rellenos de Papa (Puerto Rican Potato Croquettes)

Rellenos de Papa (Puerto Rican Potato Croquettes)

vegan ~ dairy-free

Servings: Makes about 14
Total Time: 2 hours includes rest time 
Difficulty: Intermediate
Author/Credit: Jessica Williams/Vegan Rescue

Rellenos de Papa (Puerto Rican Potato Croquettes)! Rellenos de Papa are also known as Papas Rellenas! Frituras Boricuas…Mmm. Every cultural dish I create has such a nostalgic place in my heart. Certain dishes and meals always make me feel closer to my family…and my roots. This is certainly one of those recipes – Rellenos de Papa. I’m so grateful for my mother, who is such an amazing cook. Growing up, I quietly watched her cook. I truly had the privilege to watch her create magic in the kitchen.

As I started creating this recipe, I marked it as intermediate. Only because this is a bit of a labor of love in a sense. From boiling the potatoes – mashing the potatoes – cooking the meat – letting things cool – filling the potatoes – making them into balls… and then frying them, whew! My mother made everything look easy growing up. When I was little, she would whip these up in what felt like five minutes, lol.

These are frituras, so they are traditionally deep fried. But for this recipe I also created an air fried version (pictured below). Let me tell you… we LOVE the air fried version. They came out so fluffy and creamy.

I certainly hope you try these vegan Rellenos de Papa, a taste of Puerto Rico. Enjoy!

For more Puerto Rican recipes – click on the titles/links below:

Quesitos (Puerto Rican Cream Cheese Pastries)
Sorullos/Sorullitos de Maíz (Puerto Rican Corn Sticks)
Limber de Coco (Puerto Rican Coconut Icy)
Tostones ~ Twice Fried Plantains
Sopa de Fideos (Vegetable Noodle Soup)

Ingredients:

3lbs of Russet Potatoes, peeled and halved
1/4 Cup Cornstarch, plus additional for molding/stuffing
1 Tbsp of Flax Meal
2 Tbsp of Water from the Boiled Potatoes
2 Tbsp Earth Balance (vegan butter), melted
14oz (1 pkg) Gardein Crumbles (beefless ground crumbles)
2-3 Tbsp Oil (for cooking the Gardein Crumbles)
2 Tbsp of Sofrito
2 Tbsp of Tomato Sauce or Ketchup
3 to 4 Large Green Pimiento/Pepper Stuffed Olives, optional
Salt/Pepper/Adobo to Taste
Additional Oil for frying the Papas Rellenas
Serve with Ketchup-Mayo (Equal parts of vegan mayo and ketchup mixed together)

Directions:

-In large pot, add the peeled/quartered potatoes. Then, add enough cold water to cover potatoes about an inch or two above.

-Set a timer to 30-35 minutes and bring the pot with water to boil over high heat. Boil/Cook the potatoes until fork tender. Once the water starts to boil, begin checking the potatoes for doneness around the 15-minute mark.

-Reserve two tablespoons of the potato water and set aside. Then drain the water from the remaining potatoes.  

-Allow the potatoes to cool, enough to touch and handle – about five minutes.

-Once the potatoes are cooled, with a box grater – grate all the potatoes (I used the small sized holes). If you have a potato ricer, you can save time on allowing them to cool and use the ricer.

-Add the grated potatoes back to the empty pot. To this, add the reserved water, cornstarch, flax meal, earth balance (vegan butter), and salt/pepper/adobo to taste.

-Mix all ingredients well to combine. Cover the potato mixture with plastic wrap and set aside while you prepare the filling.

-Next, in a large non-stick pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat, and add the Gardein crumbles. -Cover and cook for about five minutes.

-Remove lid, then add seasonings (salt/pepper/adobo), sofrito, chopped olives, and tomato sauce. Continue to cook (uncovered) for an additional five minutes over medium heat.

-Remove the “meat” filling from heat, cover and set aside.

-Line a large cookie sheet/pan with parchment paper/wax paper.

-Remove a palm-sized amount of the mashed potatoes (about 1/2 cup) and with your hands roll into balls to portion them out. *This step allows you to portion out your potato mixture before adding the filling to be sure that the potato balls are evenly distributed.

-Next coat your hands with a dusting of cornstarch. Then grab each potato ball to be filled.

-Press down into the center of the ball, making an indent to add the filling mixture.

-Add about one to two tablespoons of “meat” mixture. Cover with the remaining potatoes to reform a ball. Once the Papas Rellenas are formed add them back to the cookie sheet onto the parchment paper. Refrigerate for about an hour before frying.

To Deep Fry:

-In a pot, add additional oil for frying. Heat the oil to about 350 degrees, then deep fry the Papas Rellenas for about five minutes. As they fry, be sure to turn periodically for even cooking; the outside should be nice and golden.
-Remove from oil and allow to drain on a paper towel.

To Air Fry:

-Take an additional couple of tablespoons of olive oil in your hands and rub each ball before adding them to the air fryer basket. You can also brush the Papas Rellenas with melted vegan butter before air frying.
-Fry about three or four potato balls at a time, in an air fryer set at 400 degrees. Be sure not to overcrowd the basket.
-Air fry for seven minutes, turn the potatoes then continue frying for another eight minutes.

Notes:

-If you do not have adobo – you can substitute with ground garlic, cumin, salt/pepper.
-If you do not have sofrito – you can make a quick sofrito by adding the following ingredients in a blender – fresh garlic, half an onion, bell peppers, and cilantro. They may also sell frozen or refrigerated sofrito in your local grocery store.
-If you do not have tomato sauce – you can just use ketchup. 😊
-I prefer to include the step of grating the potatoes because this makes them fluffier, however, you can save time and just mash the potatoes if you prefer.
-Also, refrigerating the potatoes in between allows them to hold up better for frying.
Enjoy!

Deep Fried:

Air Fried:

*Check out @Veganrescue on Instagram for more reels!