Croquetas
Breaded, deep-fried bites of thick béchamel mixed with chopped meat, fish or vegetables. The most-ordered tapa in Spain.
Croquetas are the workhorse of the Spanish tapas table: a thick béchamel folded with finely chopped jamón, chicken, prawn, salt cod or whatever the kitchen has on hand, chilled until firm, rolled into oblongs, breaded and deep-fried to a golden crust. Done right, the inside stays loose and almost flowing, the outside crackly and shatter-thin. Almost every restaurant makes their own; the best ones (croquetas de jamón ibérico de bellota especially) are sometimes the most carefully made dish on the menu. Home cooks make a big batch on Sunday and freeze them for the week.
How it's served
Hot out of the fryer, four or five to a small plate, eaten with the hands or a fork. Standard tapa, also appears as a starter at sit-down meals. The interior temperature should be near molten; let them cool a few seconds before biting in.
Regional variation
The most-cited Spanish version is croqueta de jamón ibérico, but every region has its own: salt cod (bacalao) in Andalusia and Catalonia, chicken (pollo) almost everywhere, blood sausage (morcilla) in León, even cuttlefish-ink and squid versions in the Catalan modernist scene. The French and Dutch versions are heavier and breaded differently.
- Origin
- Spain (adapted from French croquettes)
- Etymology
- Spanish form of the French croquette, from croquer ('to crunch').
- Also called
- croqueta
Our ranked croquetas guides
The curated list of where to eat croquetas, ranked and reviewed.
Where to try it in Barcelona
16 restaurants on Guidavera mention croquetas in their kitchen description.
- 2 de VinsEl Prat de Llobregat
- BambarolSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- Bar CostaEl Raval
- Bo de BernatSant Antoni
- DeliciasHorta-Guinardó
- El Pescadito de MandriSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- FiligranaSants
- Garum Conserves i VinsSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- La Granota & CoSagrada Família
- La VermuGràcia
- Las FernándezEl Raval
- MakinavajaEl Raval
- Milk Bar & BistroGothic Quarter
- MogEixample
- Pollería FontanaGràcia
- Tapas LobitoEl Born
Frequently asked
What goes inside a Spanish croqueta?
A thick béchamel folded with finely chopped meat, fish or vegetable. The classic Spanish fillings are jamón ibérico, chicken, salt cod and prawn. Catalan kitchens sometimes use cuttlefish ink or wild mushrooms. The béchamel is the constant; the filling varies endlessly.
Why is the inside of a good croqueta so liquid?
The béchamel is made loose on purpose, then chilled so it can be shaped, breaded and fried. The brief fry sets the outside but doesn't fully reheat the inside, so the centre stays almost molten. A croqueta that's solid all the way through is technically overcooked or underbéchameled.
Are croquetas Spanish or French?
Originally French (croquette), adopted by Spain in the 19th century and made completely their own. Spanish croquetas are looser inside than the French version, smaller, often based on jamón or salt cod, and tied to the tapas-bar tradition. Spain didn't invent them; Spain made them famous.
Related terms
- TapaA small plate of food, usually eaten standing at the bar with a drink. The foundational social-eating format of Spain.
- Jamón ibéricoCured ham from the black-hooved Iberian pig. The top grade, jamón ibérico de bellota, comes from pigs fed on acorns in the dehesa.
- Bunyols de bacallàCatalan salt cod fritters: flakes of desalted bacallà folded into a light batter and deep-fried into puffy golden balls.
- Calamares a la romanaSquid cut into rings, dipped in a light flour batter and deep-fried — the golden calamari of Spanish bars, and the filling of Madrid's bocadillo de calamares.