Vegan Croquettes (Spanish Croquetas)

These Vegan Croquettes are the perfect dinner, snack, tapas night, or party food. Our plant-based Spanish Croquetas are golden crispy on the outside and perfectly moist and flavourful on the inside. For this recipe, we use our homemade Vegan Sobrasada for the filling, a sun-dried tomato pate.

Jump to:

• What are Croquettes?
• Our Vegan Croquettes are:
• How to make Vegan Croquettes
• Variations to our Easy Vegan Croquettes
• Serving Suggestions
• FAQ & Tips
• Vegan Croquettes (Spanish Croquetas)
• More Spanish Vegan Recipes:

What are Croquettes?

Croquettes or Spanish Croquetas are ball or cylinder-shaped dough that can be made with different ingredients such as meat, fish, or veggies, breaded with breadcrumbs, and then fried or baked to get a crispy outer layer while the inside dough stays moist.

The dough for the croquettes is made with your chosen ingredients and bechamel. For our vegan croquettes, we use vegan bechamel and a sun-dried tomato pate to make the filling.

Our vegan version of the Spanish Croquetas is easy to make and absolutely delicious. We use an air fryer to cook them so they need to be frozen the day before but if you want to cook them straight away after shaping them, you can deep fry them as well. If you want more recipes for the air fryer, don't miss these delicious cauliflower wings.

Our Vegan Croquettes are:

• A snack, appetizer, side dish, or main dish.
• Family-friendly
• Perfect for party food
• Air-fried
• Healthy
• Easy to prepare

How to make Vegan Croquettes

Ingredients

Vegan Sun-dried Tomato Pate or Spread. This is a homemade pate called Vegan Sobrasada, that takes no longer than 10 minutes to make. You can check how to make this delicious spread here or by following the recipe card. To make this Vegan Sobrasada you will need sun-dried tomatoes, cashews, roasted red pepper or pimientos del piquillo, olive oil, sweet paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Flour. To make the bechamel you will need all-purpose flour. You can as well use other types of flour such as gluten-free flour or whole wheat.

Plant-based milk. We use soy milk but you can use cashew milk or oat milk. Make sure you are using unsweetened milk.

Vegan egg. To prepare a "Vegan Egg" mixture all you need is cornflour, chickpea flour, vinegar, and water.

Breadcrumbs. You can use homemade or bought breadcrumbs. We use a local brand but if you can easily find panko bread crumbs, they are perfect to bread your croquettes. Other options are coconut flakes or gluten-free breadcrumbs. To make the coating more nutritious you can add some nutritional yeast to the breadcrumbs.

Step-by-Step Method

1. Heat some olive oil over medium heat using a medium-sized frying pan and add the Vegan spread. Add the flour and stir to combine well for 2-3 minutes. Then add the plant-based milk and stir until everything is well incorporated. At this point you can add some vegan cheese to the dough to make the croquettes cheesy.
2. Transfer the dough to a shallow pan or casserole and leave it in the fridge for an hour. This will make the shaping process way easier.
3. Shape the croquettes (see pictures below).
4. At this point, you can deep-fry the croquettes (see FAQ and Tips) or store them in the freezer overnight to air-fry them the next day. You can as well freeze them for another day when you need dinner ready fast. Do not intend to air-fry the croquettes the same day as they will break. To freeze them we use a Ziploc bag, place them on a plastic chopping board for an hour and then remove the board and leave them in the freezer. This way they won't stick to each other.
5. Air-fry the croquettes. Set the air-fryer to 200C (400F) for 2 minutes, then lower it to 180C (350F) for 16-18 minutes. Add some olive oil to the croquettes with a brush and add them in batches to not overcrowd the basket.
6. Serve while warm and enjoy.

How to shape the perfect Croquettes

1. To make the shaping process easier, your hands will need to be moist with cold water. Then take some dough and shape it into a cylinder or ball, depending on your taste. If you are shaping them smaller than the picture adjust the cooking time.
2. Place some flour on a plate and coat the croquette with flour.
3. Deep the croquette into the vegan egg mixture
4. Finally, coat with breadcrumbs and place on a plate to cook later. Repeat the process until the dough is finished.

Variations to our Easy Vegan Croquettes

• Make vegetarian croquettes. You can make these Spanish croquetas vegetarian by using egg instead of the vegan egg mixture. Whisk the egg so the white and yolk are mixed.
• Change the filling. Our croquettes are made with a sun-dried tomato filling but you can use mushroom, potato, mixed vegetables, or spinach to make the famous Spanish spinach croquettes or another filling of your choice to make delicious veggie croquettes. You will have to finely chop or blend all the ingredients, cook, and then mix with the flour and milk until you have a thick dough.
• Bake or deep-fry the croquettes. This vegan croquette recipe has been made with an air fryer but you can bake or deep fry the croquettes. To bake the croquettes, you will need to freeze them for a day and then you can bake them. Place them over parchment paper on a baking tray and bake at 190C (3740F) until golden. To deep fry, you can do it straight after shaping them.

Serving Suggestions

Most recipes indicate that croquettes are a snack or party food. This is true but I am Spanish and at home, we have croquettes as a main dish, side dish, or appetizer as well. It depends on the occasion.

Snack or party food. They are great finger food dish to bring over as they can be enjoyed cold as well. Simply try to make them before you are leaving or before you are serving them. I have made these for birthday parties and they are always gone. We have a list of the best Vegan Appetizers if you need more inspiration.

Side dish or appetizer. Croquetas are considered a tapas dish as well as the classic tortilla de patata, or garlic mushrooms. You can make these for a tapa night or enjoy them with other small dishes (tapas)

Main dish. As a Spanish mum, I cannot tell you how many nights have been saved by just taking some croquettes out of the freezer, cooking them, and serving them with some chips or a salad. Kids love them so do we, a perfect dinner for the whole family.

You can serve these croquettes with sauces such as vegan sour cream, garlic mayo, vegan aioli, sriracha mayo, hummus, or any creamy dip of your choice.

To reheat Spanish croquettes you can place them in the air fryer again or heat them by deep frying the croquetas again. If you use the microwave they will lose their crispiness so it is best to simply eat them at room temperature.

If you loved this recipe and you want to try more vegan croquettes recipe, I recommend you try these delicious vegan potato croquettes from Bianca Zapatka.

FAQ & Tips

• Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes. you can use gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs to make this recipe gluten-free.
• To deep fry the croquettes, add cooking oil to a frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat, and in batches, fry the croquettes for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Then, place them on a paper towel to release any excess oil.
• Can I freeze the croquettes after cooking? I strongly recommend freezing the croquetas before you cook them. Then you can take them out the day you need them and simply fry them or bake them.
• How many croquettes does this recipe make? Our recipe makes 15 medium-size croquettes. You can make more by shaping them smaller.

If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations!

More Spanish Vegan Recipes:

• Garlic Mushrooms
• Gazpacho
• Vegetable Paella
• 20 Vegetarian and Vegan Spanish Recipes
• Carrot and Lentil Soup