Rellenos de Papa are fluffy mashed potatoes stuffed with a savory ground beef picadillo filling and fried until golden brown. These crispy potato balls are a popular street food in many Hispanic neighborhoods. Their crisp exterior and flavorful picadillo filling make them a favorite snack in Puerto Rico and a popular Latin American dish.
*This post was originally published in June 2020. I’ve updated the article to make it more concise.*
Where Are Rellenos de Papa From?
Rellenos de papa, pronounced reh-YEH-nose day PAH-pah, are Latin American meat and potato fritters. The name rellenos de papa translates to “potato fillings,” which perfectly describes these potato croquettes. They are called rellenos de papa, papas rellenas (stuffed potatoes), papa rellena in Latin American countries, or stuffed potato balls here in the States.
Authentic sofrito, adobo, and sazón, make this version a classic Puerto Rican recipe.
What Ingredients Are In Rellenos de Papa?
To make rellenos de papa, you need russet potatoes, ground beef, sofrito, sazón, adobo, onion, green pepper, garlic, olives, capers, tomato sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper. I prefer to make my rellenos de papa with a beef picadillo filling. However, you can use pork, chicken, or ground turkey in this recipe.
In addition to the potatoes, the exterior potato filling requires beaten eggs and cornstarch. A coating of cornstarch and Bijol, an annatto powder, covers the rellenos before frying to create a crispy, colorful exterior. Bijol gives a beautiful golden color to the rellenos, but it’s optional. You can use saffron or turmeric in its place or omit it completely.
You also need frying oil like peanut oil, lard, corn oil, or vegetable oil to fry the rellenos de papa.
What Are The Best Potatoes For Rellenos de Papa?
Russet potatoes are the best potatoes to use when making rellenos de papa. They are starchy enough to create their own binder, which is important because you want the ball to hold together before and during frying. You can prepare the potatoes for rellenos de papa a day ahead or use leftover mashed potatoes; make sure they don’t have a bunch of cream or milk. The added ingredients loosen the potatoes, making them fall apart more easily during frying.
Add WHOLE, peeled potatoes to a large pot and cover them with at least 4 inches of cold water. Bring the water to a gentle boil over medium-high heat and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, or until a knife can pass through the center of the largest potato without resistance. Drain the potatoes in a colander once they’re tender and leave them to cool completely inside the colander.
How Do I Make Puerto Rican Picadillo?
I recommend making the potato mixture and the picadillo filling the day before you fry the rellenos de papa. Both components must be as cool as possible to keep the fritters from falling apart in the frying oil.
Prepare the picadillo while you wait for the potatoes to cool.
Heat a large pan over medium heat to make this seasoned ground beef filling. Add the beef to the pan right after turning on the stove and allow it to come up to temperature with the pan. Cook the meat until it starts to brown, then add garlic, diced bell peppers, and onion to the pan, using the rendered fat to sauté the aromatics.
Sauté the meat mixture for 3-4 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the meat is brown and the vegetables are translucent.
Can I Make Picadillo With Other Proteins?
You can make picadillo with any ground protein. Replace the ground beef in this recipe with ground pork, turkey, chicken, or a plant-based ground protein. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan only if you use ground chicken, turkey, or plant-based ground protein because they’re so lean. Lean meats don’t render enough fat to sauté the aromatics in.
Stir the sazón, adobo, granulated garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, and sofrito into the ground meat to season the picadillo. Cook the meat for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, sliced green olives, and capers to the pan. Continue cooking the picadillo for 2-3 minutes or until it begins to dry out slightly. The finished picadillo will be thick but not dry, much like taco filling.
If you didn’t have time to make the picadillo a day ahead, spread it in an even layer on a sheet pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow it to come to room temperature, then refrigerate it for as long as possible.
How Do I Prepare The Potatoes?
Cutting and mashing the potatoes for rellenos de papa creates lumps, so grating or ricing the potatoes is the best way to make the potato mixture. Food processors heats the potatoes, making them gummy and creating a dense relleno de papa instead of a fluffy one, so I don’t recommend using one.
Use a box grater to grate the cooled potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
Use a fork or potato masher to combine the beaten egg and potatoes.
Add the cornstarch and bijol to the potato mixture and use your hands to combine the mixture completely.
The mixture should be pliable without being runny or too stiff. Press it into a thin layer in the shape of the mixing bowl to cool it quickly.
Press a piece of plastic film against the potatoes to keep them from drying out, then put the bowl in the fridge to chill them completely. Chill the potatoes for at least one hour or up to 3 hours. Again, chilling them overnight is even better.
You can use instant potatoes to make this papas rellenas recipe, but homemade mashed potatoes are top-tier.
How Do I Form The Rellenos de Papa?
Set up the bowls with the potato mixture and picadillo next to one another. Sift the remaining cornstarch and a few dashes of bjiol for color onto a sheet pan or tray.
Score the potato mixture in the bowl into 12 equal portions using a rubber spatula. Aim for sections of mashed potato that are about 1/2 cup each, borrowing from other sections as needed. You can also scoop the potato mixture with a portion scoop (ice cream scoop).
Lay the plastic wrap over the palm of your hand and place a portion of the potato mixture onto the center of your palm. Press the potatoes into a 1/4″ thick disc with the opposite hand. Place a mound (about 3 tablespoons worth) of chilled beef mixture into the middle of the potato disc.
Close the fingers of the plastic-covered hand to bring the potato mix up and around the picadillo. It may take a few rellenos to perfect this, but the goal is to encase the picadillo in the potatoes with the least amount of filling poking out.
Add a little potato mixture to patch cracks in the surface as needed.
How Do I Prepare Them For Frying?
Coating rellenos de papa in a flour, egg, and bread crumbs mixture is not the traditional way to bread them. It’s also too much work with not enough reward.
Lay the relleno de papa on a lightly greased sheet pan and continue molding until you’ve used all the potatoes and/or picadillo.
Coat your hands with cornstarch from the dusted sheet pan once the rellenos are formed. Toss a relleno de papa gently back and forth between your dusted hands to give them a light dusting of cornstarch. Carefully place the dusted rellenos on a large sheet pan, ensuring they don’t touch, which will cause them to stick together.
You can skip this dusting step if you’re air-frying them.
How Do I Stop The Rellenos de Papa From Breaking Apart?
Rellenos de papa fall apart in the frying oil because they aren’t cold enough, the potato mixture is too loose, or the oil isn’t hot enough. Ensure the potato mixture and picadillo are ice-cold before forming the rellenos de papa. Make sure that the potato mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, as well. The oil must be at the proper temperature before you start frying.
If all else fails and they continue to break apart, brush them with oil and bake them in a 375°F (190°C) oven.
Begin heating the oil before dusting your rellenos de papa so the oil gets hot while you coat them. Heat the frying oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat to a temperature between 350°F (180°C) and 375°F (190°C). You can also fry your rellenos de papa in a deep fryer.
Use a slotted spoon, preferably wooden, to gently slide a relleno or 3 into the hot oil. It’s okay if the relleno sticks slightly to the sheet pan when lifting it. Just scrape up what was left behind and mold it onto the relleno.
Fry rellenos de papa for 6 minutes in oil that’s between 350°F (177°C) and 375°F (190°C). After 1 minute of frying, use a flat spider (pictured above) to nudge the papas from the bottom of the pot. This helps them brown evenly without burning. Swish them around in the oil carefully as they cook to keep them from frying too close to one another.
Transfer the golden brown fritters to a rack placed over a sheet pan and allow them to drain thoroughly. Continue frying the rellenos, allowing the oil to return to temp before adding the next batch.
Can I Bake Or Air Fry Rellenos de Papa?
To air-fry rellenos de papa, skip coating them in the cornstarch mixture, and be sure to use an Air fryer with a tray basket.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C) on the air fry setting. Lightly grease the tray and arrange the potatoes on it, leaving space around each to allow air to circulate.
- Brush or spray a very light coating of oil on the outside of the ball and air fry them for 15 minutes. If they become too brown, carefully flip them over to the other side before continuing to cook.
To bake rellenos de papa:
- Arrange the uncoated balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan with an inch of space around each one.
- Bake the rellenos de papa at 450°F (232°C) for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan after 10 minutes to ensure they bake evenly.
How Do I Serve Them?
Serve rellenos de papa alone or with a side of mayo-ketchu or your favorite hot sauce. Mayo-ketchu is a condiment that Puerto Ricans serve with many of our frituras (fried snacks). To make it:
- Combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 1/3 cup of ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of adobo in a small bowl.
- Use a whisk or spoon to stir the ingredients together.
- Serve the mayo-ketchu in a dipping bowl.
You can also serve them as a main course with a garden salad and arroz con gandules.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Leftover rellenos don’t taste as good as they do freshly made. Store leftover rellenos de papa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat rellenos de papa, arrange them on a lightly greased sheet pan and heat them in a 400°F (204°C) oven for 5-10 minutes. They won’t have that crispy crust, but the flavor will still be amazing.
Can I Freeze Rellenos de Papa?
To freeze rellenos de papa, don’t coat them in the cornstarch mixture. Instead, lay the formed potatoes on a lightly greased sheet pan and freeze until solid. Store the frozen papas in a freezer bag for 6 months or less.
Allow frozen rellenos de papa to thaw for an hour in the refrigerator, then fry them for 7 minutes to account for being partially frozen.
You can freeze fried rellenos de papa, but I don’t recommend it because the exterior becomes soggy after thawing and reheating them. If you must freeze them after cooking, first freeze them until solid on a lightly greased sheetpan. Transfer the potato balls to a freezer storage bag and keep them frozen for 3 months.
Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes or in a 400°F (204°C) air fryer for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
You’re going to love these Rellenos de Papa. Once you have the technique down, you’ll see how easy these Puerto Rican fritters are to make. With their simple ingredients, rellenos de papa are a great party food, gameday appetizer, or snack for after school. Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments below. Don’t forget to pin this recipe to your appetizer boards and share this post with your friends and family.
Rellenos de Papa (Picadillo Stuffed Potato Fritters)
at Sense & EdibilityEquipment
- dutch oven
- Grater
Ingredients
For the Potato Mixture
- 2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kilograms) russet potatoes peeled
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons (8 grams) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt optional
- 1/4 teaspoon bijol or sazón or saffron, optional
For the Beef Picadillo
- 1 pound (454 grams) ground beef or other ground meat (see note)
- 1 small green bell pepper diced (about 1 cup or 135 grams)
- 1 small white onion diced (1 cup or 130 grams)
- 4 cloves (2 teaspoons or 10 grams) garlic minced
- 1/2 cup (130 grams) sofrito
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 grams) adobo seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 grams) sazón
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt optional
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 8-ounce can (227 grams) no-salt added tomato sauce
- 10 olives sliced (or 1 tablespoon/11 grams sliced olives)
- 1 teaspoon capers
To fry the rellenos
- 1/4 cup (16 grams) cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon bijol or saffron, optional
- oil for frying
Instructions
Boil the Potatoes Until Tender
- Add the peeled potatoes to a large pot and cover them with at least 4 inches of cold water. Bring the water to a gentle boil over medium-high heat and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, or until a knife can pass through the center of the largest potato without resistance.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander once they're tender and leave them to cool completely inside the colander.
Prepare the Beef Picadillo While the Potatoes Cool
- Add the ground beef to a large skillet or pan. Turn the heat on to medium and allow the beef to come up to temperature with the pan.
- Cook the meat until it starts to brown, then add the green bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan. Use the fat, rendered from the beef, to sauté the aromatics for 3-4 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the meat is brown and the vegetables are translucent.
- Stir the sofrito, adobo, sazón, granulated garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, kosher salt, and black pepper into the ground beef. Continue cooking the meat for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir the tomato sauce, sliced green olives, and capers into the meat mixture in the pan. Continue cooking the picadillo for 2-3 minutes or until it begins to dry out slightly. The finished picadillo will be thick but not dry, much like taco filling.
- Allow the beef picadillo to cool completely. If you didn't have time to make the picadillo a day ahead, spread it in an even layer on a sheet pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow it to come to room temperature, then refrigerate it for as long as possible.
Prepare the Potato Mixture
- Use a box grater to grate the cooled potatoes into a large mixing bowl, then use a fork or potato masher to combine the beaten egg and potatoes. Add the cornstarch, kosher salt, and bijol to the potato mixture and use your hands to combine the mixture completely.The mixture should be pliable without being runny or too stiff. Press it into a thin layer in the shape of the mixing bowl to cool it quickly.
- Press a piece of plastic film against the potatoes to keep them from drying out, then put the bowl in the fridge to chill them completely. Chill the potatoes for at least one hour or up to 3 hours.
Form the Rellenos de Papa
- Set up the bowls with the potato mixture and picadillo next to one another. Sift the remaining cornstarch and a few dashes of bjiol for color onto a sheetpan or tray.
- Score the potato mixture in the bowl into 12 equal portions using a rubber spatula. Lay the plastic wrap you covered the bowl of potatoes with over your hand and use your other hand to place a portion of the potato mixture into the center of your palm.
- Press the potatoes into a 1/4" thick disc with the opposite hand. Place a mound (about 3 tablespoons worth) of chilled picadillo into the middle of the potato disc.
- Close the fingers of the plastic-covered hand to bring the potato mix up and around the picadillo. Add a little of the potato mixture to any cracks in the surface if you need to. Lay the relleno de papa on a sheet pan and continue molding until you've used up your potatoes and/or picadillo.
Heat the Oil, Coat the Rellenos, Then Fry
- Begin heating the oil before dusting your rellenos de papa so the oil gets hot while you coat them. Heat the frying oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat to a temperature between 350°F (177°C) and 375°F (190°C).
- Coat your hands with some of the cornstarch from the dusted sheet pan once the rellenos are formed. Toss a relleno de papa gently back and forth between your dusted hands to give them a light dusting of cornstarch. Carefully place the dusted rellenos on a large sheet pan, ensuring they don't touch, which will cause them to stick together.
- Use a slotted spoon, preferably wooden, to gently slide a relleno or 3 into the hot oil. It's okay if the relleno sticks slightly to the sheet pan when lifting it. Just scrape up what was left behind and mold it onto the relleno.Fry rellenos de papa for 6 minutes in the hot oil. After 1 minute of frying, use a flat spider (pictured above) to nudge the papas from the bottom of the pot. Swish them around in the oil carefully as they cook to keep them from frying too close to one another.
- Transfer the golden brown fritters to a rack placed over a sheet pan and allow them to drain thoroughly. Continue frying the rellenos, allowing the oil to come back up to temp before adding the next batch.
- Serve rellenos de papa while hot with a side of mayo-ketchu or your favorite hot sauce.
Notes
Swaps and Substitutions:
- Replace half of the Russet potatoes with Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Replace the ground beef in this recipe with ground pork, turkey, chicken, or a plant-based ground protein.
- You can omit the olives and capers in this recipe.
- Replace the bijol with turmeric, saffron, or omit it altogether.
Tips and Techniques:
- I recommend making the potato mixture and the picadillo filling the day before you fry the rellenos de papa. Both components must be as cool as possible to keep the fritters from falling apart in the frying oil.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan only if you use ground chicken, turkey, or plant-based ground protein because they're so lean and won't render enough fat to sauté the aromatics in.
- Cutting and mashing the potatoes for rellenos de papa creates lumps, so grating or ricing the potatoes is the best way to make the potato mixture. Avoid using a food processor to mash the potatoes as it causes them to become gummy.
- Aim for sections of mashed potato that are about 1/2 cup each, borrowing from other sections as needed.
- You can also fry your rellenos de papa in a deep fryer.
- Ensure the potato mixture and picadillo are ice-cold before forming the rellenos de papa. Make sure that the potato mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, as well.
- You can freeze fried rellenos de papa, but I don't recommend it because the exterior becomes soggy after thawing and reheating them.
Air-Fryer Rellenos de Papa:
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C) on the air fry setting. Lightly grease the tray with cooking spray.
- Arrange the potatoes on the tray, leaving space around each to allow air to circulate around them.
- Brush or spray a very light coating of oil on the outside of the ball and air fry them for 15 minutes. If they become too brown, carefully flip them over to the other side before continuing to cook.
Baked Rellenos de Papa:
- Preheat an oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Arrange the uncoated rellenos de papa on the sheet pan with an inch of space around each one.
- Bake the rellenos de papa for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan after 10 minutes to ensure they bake evenly.
Mayo-Ketchu Dipping Sauce Recipe:
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup (115 grams) of ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of adobo
- Combine the ingredients together in a small bowl using a whisk or spoon.
- Chill for 10 minutes, then serve the mayo-ketchu in a dipping bowl.
Storage Instructions:
- Leftover rellenos don't taste as good as they do freshly made. Store leftover rellenos de papa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat rellenos de papa, arrange them on a lightly greased sheet pan and heat them in a 400°F (204°C) oven for 5-10 minutes.
Freezing Instructions:
-
To freeze raw rellenos de papa:
- Don't coat the formed rellenos in the cornstarch mixture. Instead, lay the formed potatoes on a lightly greased sheet pan and freeze until solid.
- Store the frozen papas in a freezer bag for 6 months or less.
- Allow frozen rellenos de papa to thaw for an hour in the refrigerator, then fry them for 7 minutes to account for being partially frozen.
-
To freeze fried rellenos de papa:
- Freeze them until solid on a lightly greased sheetpan.
- Transfer the potato balls to a freezer storage bag and keep them frozen for 3 months.
- Thaw frozen rellenos in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 minutes or in a 400°F (204°C) air fryer for 5 minutes or until warmed through.
This looked really good! I have never tried rellenos de papa but I’ve always wanted to. They were delicious! Especially with the sazon and adobo seasoning.
They’re an all-time favorite, Krysten!
I made these Rellenos de Papa and they turned out fantastic! The crispy exterior gave way to a perfectly seasoned and creamy potato filling. The balance of flavors was spot on, and I couldn’t get enough of the delightful combination of textures. Such a satisfying and flavorful dish – definitely adding this recipe to my favorites.
So glad you enjoy the rellenos de papa as much as we do, Hayley!