The cheese potato balls are a tasty and easy-to-make idea, perfect as an appetizer for happy hour, or to be served at a buffet or as an appetizer with an extra touch of flavor. Crispy on the outside and soft inside, these balls are not fried, but cooked lighter in a convection oven or, even better, in an air fryer, with just a drizzle of oil: the result is always excellent. The dough is based on boiled potatoes, flavored with grated parmesan and pecorino, for an intense taste that vaguely resembles the famous Fonzies. The recipe is simple and does not use eggs: to compact it, just a little all-purpose flour or, for a gluten-free version, rice flour. If you are looking for an easy and quick savory snack, cheese potato balls are the perfect solution: they are made in a few steps and disappear in no time! Discover in detail how to make them perfectly with both cooking methods.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 50 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Air frying, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 187.98 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 29.18 (g) of which sugars 1.20 (g)
- Proteins 6.38 (g)
- Fat 5.62 (g) of which saturated 2.24 (g)of which unsaturated 0.57 (g)
- Fibers 2.91 (g)
- Sodium 598.54 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for about 50 cheese balls
If you are celiac, you can use rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. However, make sure it has the label “gluten-free”.
- 1.1 lbs potatoes
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- to taste all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup; or gluten-free rice flour)
- to taste pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 2 tablespoons Pecorino cheese (grated)
- 3 sprays extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Potato masher
- 1 Air fryer
- Air fryer parchment paper
- 1 Oil sprayer
How to make cheese potato balls in an air fryer or oven
To make cheese potato balls, start by boiling the potatoes whole and with the skin in boiling water until tender. For medium potatoes, consider about 40 minutes, 20 minutes from the whistle if using a pressure cooker. If you have a microwave, even better: you can boil the potatoes in the microwave without water as explained in this tutorial. Once cooked, mash them with a potato masher (1) letting the puree fall directly into the bowl. Add salt and pepper (2).
Mix well, then add grated parmesan and pecorino (3). Blend them into the potatoes using a spoon, then start adding the flour little by little (4).
Knead with a spoon, then with your hands (5), adding more flour little by little, until you get a homogeneous and firm dough (6). The amount of flour needed depends on the type of potato used and how much water it absorbed during cooking; I who cooked the potatoes in the microwave used about 1/3 cup.
Place the potato balls side by side and spray with a little oil (9). If you don’t have an oil sprayer, you can lightly grease them using a kitchen brush. Cook the cheese balls in the air fryer preheated to 392°F for 8-10 minutes. If using a convection oven, bake at 428°F for about 15 minutes. In both cases, I recommend stirring them briefly halfway through cooking. In the end, you should get golden and crispy balls on the surface (10).
Remove them from the oven and serve immediately. They are excellent as a savory snack to enjoy for happy hour, to be served at a party or refreshment buffet, or even as an unusual appetizer.
Storage
The cheese balls should be served freshly made, as they lose their crispiness over time. If you want to prepare them in advance, you can form the balls the night before and store them in the fridge, then cook them just before serving.
Tips and variations
The proportion between parmesan and pecorino can be adjusted to taste.
