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Close up of a stuffed potato ball on a plate with a bite missing
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Papas Rellenas Recipe (Stuffed Potato Balls)

Papas Rellenas are delicious, beef-filled stuffed mashed potato balls kids and adults both love!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Cuban
Keyword baked mashed potato balls, Cuban potato balls, fried mashed potato balls, mashed potato balls, papas rellenas, papas rellenas recipe, stuffed potato balls, stuffed potatoes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 288kcal

Equipment

  • Frying pan
  • Wooden spoon or spatula
  • Large dish
  • Baking sheet
  • Oven

Ingredients

  • 2 cups mashed potatoes hot
  • 3 Tbsp. butter softened
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 8 Tbsp. tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp. garlic minced
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs

Optional Halloween additions:

  • fried chow mein noodles
  • black olives

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and add ground beef. Cook until it browns, stirring it occasionally to break it up as it cooks.
    Cooking ground beef in a skillet
  • Add tomato sauce, minced garlic, dried oregano, and salt to the ground beef. Mix thoroughly.
    Adding tomato sauce and seasoning to ground beef in a skillet
  • Turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the heat and allow the ground beef to cool.
    Ground beef mixed with tomato sauce and seasoning in a skillet
  • Add bread crumbs to a large dish.
    Spread a spoonful of mashed potatoes in your hand. Make an indentation in the middle and stuff it with 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture.
    Filling a mashed potato ball with ground beef
  • Cover with more potato, and then shape into a ball.
    Roll the potato ball in the bread crumbs until evenly coated, then place on a baking sheet. Repeat until all of the potatoes and meat are used up.
    Rolling potato ball in bread crumbs
  • Melt butter, then brush all stuffed potato balls with it. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove and allow to cool.
    Stuffed potato balls on a baking sheet

Make it Halloween themed! 🎃

  • Slice 2 olives into tiny squares or rectangles – these will be the eyes. Place them side-by-side on the potato ball. Using a little extra leftover mashed potatoes makes them easier to stick on to the ball.
    Carefully add fried chow mein noodles as the legs. They should stick right in! Add 4 noodles on each side.
    There you have it – your own spider spuds!
    Three mashed potato balls formed to look like cute spiders for Halloween

Video

Notes

  • You can fry these mashed potato balls, too! Check the post for instructions on how to fry papas rellenas.

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 617mg | Potassium: 361mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 225IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg