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These potato balls make a great snack. They’re loaded with bacon and oozing with cheese. What could be better?
Potato Balls Are A Real Treat
There’s so many things you can do with leftover mashed potatoes. My mother used to make fried potato patties with them. She’d add some seasonings then fry them up for a side for another dinner.
Again, these potato balls are nothing new; just another working of my mom’s (and a lot of others’) recipe.
Here I’ve dressed them up a bit. I also added some cheese into the works as well. I might add here that none of this is unique. In fact I was actually looking for something I could manage after having massive dental surgery since this type of food requires no chewing. For those who are curious, I am getting implants–and that’s not an overnight process either. So if anyone reading this has gone through the process, please let me know how you managed it as this is new territory to me.
Cheese Adds So Much
I think the cheese is what makes these potato balls special.
It’s hidden in the center so it’s a nice surprise to those who don’t know it’s in there. I had half a block of nice sharp cheddar leftover from making cauliflower cheese. This was a great way to use that up.
Any melting cheese will do here so don’t restrict yourself to cheddar. That’s just what I wanted to use up and it pairs nicely with bacon.
Now About The Bacon
One recipe I saw used crumbled bacon to actually coat the balls. I found that to be a bit difficult and where I may have soldiered on if I wasn’t so hungry, it may have worked. However after two days of eating yogurt because of the surgery, I lacked any patience so I just mixed the bacon bits in with the potato mixture itself. That worked very well for me. But if you want to mix them with the breadcrumbs go right ahead. They will taste great no matter where that bacon is.
The Recipe
Cheesy Bacon Potato Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed potatoes cold
- 2 tsp dehydrated onion optional
- 3 tbs fresh chives chopped
- 1-2 tbs sour cream see directions
- 1/4 cup finely crumbled crisp bacon
- 4 oz cheddar cheese cubed
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbs Parmesan or Romano cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C.
- Line a baking sheet with foil then spray with non-stick spray.
- Mix the breadcrumbs and grated cheese in a small bowl; set aside. Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl; set aside.
- Mix the mashed potatoes, onion (if using), chives and bacon. Mixture should be soft but hold together. If it seems too dry, add 1 tbs of the sour cream then check the texture. If it's still too dry, add the remaining sour cream.
- Form a 2-inch/5 cm ball around a cheddar cheese cube.
- Roll each ball in the beaten egg then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese starts to melt out.
- AIR FRYER--follow the above but reduce baking time to 8-10 minutes (time may vary with the power of your air fryer.
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