The Amazing Veggie Croquettes

These vegetable potato croquettes are delicious baked or fried. They're crispy on the outside, soft and potato-ey on the inside, and full of veggies!

You’ll Need:

Mashed Potatoes

• One 1.5lb bag The Little Potato Company's Baby Boomers
• 1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk (almond, soy, etc.)
• 2 tsp vegan butter
• 3/4 tsp salt

Vegetables

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks green onion, finely sliced
• 2 large mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup baby spinach (lightly packed), finely chopped
• 1/8 cup broccoli florets, finely chopped
• 1/8 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2-3 tsp vegetable oil
• pinch salt

Breading

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1.5 cups whole wheat or white panko bread crumbs

Instructions:

Potatoes:

1. Boil potatoes for approx. 18 minutes, until they feel tender when poked with a fork. Drain potatoes and mash with 1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk, 2 tsp vegan butter, and 3/4 tsp salt. Set aside.

Vegetables:

1. Heat 2-3 tsp vegan butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic, onion, carrots, broccoli, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and green onion. Sauté until tender. Season with a pinch of salt (about 1/8-1/4 tsp).
2. Mash vegetables into potato mixture. Refrigerate mixture until cool enough to handle.

Forming and Breading Patties:

1. Measure out approx. 2 tbsp of potato mixture, roll it into a ball and flatten into a 3/4" patty. Arrange patties on parchment paper. Makes 14-18 patties. Chill or freeze so that patties are firm before breading.
2. Gather 3 bowls or shallow dishes. Fill the first with 1/2 cup flour, the second with a well-blended mixture of unsweetened plant milk, cornstarch and salt, and the third with panko bread crumbs.
3. Dip each patty briefly into flour, followed by the cornstarch thickened milk, and then the bread crumbs. Firmly press the bread crumbs into the patties.

Frying or Baking the Croquettes:

1. Frying: Heat 1/2" of oil over medium heat. Once oil is evenly hot, fry patties in batches of 1-5 (depending on size of oil vat), flipping after about 1-1 1/2 minutes. Each patty should be golden-brown and fully heated within 2 1/2-3 minutes.
2. Notes: Overheating will cause the potato filling to spill out. Make sure oil is hot enough to sufficiently brown the patties in 3 minutes or less or the filling may spill out.
3. Baking: Preheat oven to 450F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Baked breaded croquettes for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

NOTES:

• Customization: Feel free to play around with the types and amounts of vegetables used. You'll want a total volume of 1 3/4 - 2 cups of finely chopped veggies.
• Notes on Baking: The white panko breaded croquettes don't brown very well in the oven and end up looking a little pale and unattractive. If you want to bake your croquettes I recommend using whole wheat panko crumbs because they have a nice golden-brown colour when baked.