🥟 Croquetas

Name: Croquetas
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: 100 g cooked ham, finely chopped; Half a small onion, very finely chopped; 60 g butter; 70 g flour; 600 ml milk; Pinch of nutmeg, black pepper; 2 eggs, beaten; 100 g fine breadcrumbs; Oil for frying

Origin: Spain

312kcal

per serving · 120 g

260kcal

per 100 g

11 gProtein9 g / 100 g

18 gFat15 g / 100 g

26 gCarbs22 g / 100 g

Croquetas are Spain's favourite tapa: small logs of thick, silky béchamel mixed with finely chopped ham, coated in egg and breadcrumbs and fried until crisp. The perfect croqueta has a thin crunchy shell and an almost molten, creamy centre. They are served hot in bars as a tapa or ración, and made at home from leftovers.

Diets

Not vegetarianbecause of: ham

Not veganbecause of: béchamel sauce, ham, egg

Contains porkbecause of: ham

Contains glutenbecause of: béchamel sauce, flour, breadcrumbs

Contains dairybecause of: béchamel sauce

Not keto22 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Eggs ⚠ Milk

What it is made of

béchamel saucehamflourbreadcrumbsegg

Recipe

6 servings45 min

Ingredients

100 g cooked ham, finely chopped
Half a small onion, very finely chopped
60 g butter
70 g flour
600 ml milk
Pinch of nutmeg, black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
100 g fine breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Method

Melt the butter, add the onion and ham and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the milk and cook, stirring, for 8–10 minutes until very thick. Season with nutmeg and pepper.
Spread the mixture in a dish, cover the surface and chill for at least 4 hours.
Shape into small logs, roll in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs.
Fry in 2–3 cm of hot oil at 175 °C for 2–3 minutes until golden, drain on paper and serve hot.

How to make it lighter

Bake instead of frying: brush with a little oil and bake at 200 °C for 15–20 minutes, turning once.
Count them before you start — each croqueta is small but rich, so three or four with a salad make a portion.
Use semi-skimmed milk for the béchamel; the texture stays creamy.

History

Croquettes are generally thought to have reached Spain from French cooking in the 19th century. Spanish cooks made them their own with béchamel and leftover meat, ham or fish, and croquetas became a home and tapas-bar classic across the country.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →