Rellenos de Papa: Savory Puerto Rican Picadillo encased in smooth mashed potatoes, coated in cornstarch and panko breadcrumbs, then deep-fried to crispy, golden perfection. A deliciously irresistible treat!
Rellenos de Papa (Stuffed Potato Balls) is one of my absolute favorite foods by far!
And really if you’re anything like me where comfort food for you means home, then this recipe is for you!
You will absolutely love rellenos de papa too! It’s comfort food in a little sphere!
What are Rellenos de Papa?
Well if you’ve ever had Shepherd’s Pie, then this is sort of Shepherds pie in a sphere Puerto Rican style! 🙂
It’s a soft potato blend surrounding a delicious, savory carne molida (Puerto Rican picadillo) and then lightly coated with cornstarch and fried to golden perfection!
Rellenos de papa, are simply a deep fry genius creation, period!
It is sort of a potato croquette.
All Latin countries have their own version of a relleno.
Whether it is how the picadillo is seasoned, potato is blended or how they are coated.
For example, in Puerto Rico once the rellenos have been formed, they are then lightly covered in cornstarch.
In Mexico, these potato fritters are covered in breadcrumbs and are known as Bombas.
For the love of my own cultural food and upbringing we are going to make my hyper flavorful Puerto Rican rellenos!
But I am also going to share with you how they are coated traditionally but also a little extra delicious idea!
Plus normally we have rellenos with hot sauce or pique, which is my favorite way to have them!
But if you are not all about hot sauce, I’ve also added a Mexican dipping sauce that is really mild and doesn’t take away from all the delicious relleno flavor!
So this is your choice, you can either make it or not, you decide, either way they will be amazing!
How do You Make Rellenos de Papa?
- Start with boiling quartered potatoes.
- Make the hyper tasty carne molida.
- Form relleno balls.
- Fry potato balls.
Serve rellenos with hot sauce or poblano pepper dip sauce or both!
Here is another delicious recipe made with carne molida, espagueti (Puerto Rican spaghetti).
Recipe and full recipe steps with photos below ↓
📖 Recipe
Rellenos de Papa (Stuffed Potato Balls)
Puerto Rican Rellenos de Papa are delicious stuffed potato balls filled with a savory carne molida filling and fried to crispy perfection!