Spanish Spinach Croquettes (2024)

Published: Aug 23, 2017 · Updated: May 17, 2019

These Spanish spinach croquettes are a typical tapa in bars all around Spain. They’re simple to make, packed with flavour and make a great vegan party finger food or appetizer!

Although Spanish croquettes are fairly straightforward to make, they do take a bit of time – I ain’t gonna lie!

The difference between Spanish croquettes and other varieties of croquette is that the filling is made from a thick béchamel sauce to which you can add whatever flavouring you want. In order to make a smooth and creamy béchamel, you need to stir, stir, stir!

The filling then needs to be chilled for several hours or overnight in order for it to firm up to a consistency that you can handle and roll into a croqueta shape. Forming the croquettes one by one and dredging them in breadcrumbs before frying is the final time-consuming step but a great one to recruit your kids for!

So you’ll definitely need to be determined to make Spanish croquettes but you’ll be rewarded with a tasty tapa at the end! As I mentioned before, once you’ve got your béchamel filling ready, you can add any flavouring that you want.

Typically, croquetas would be made to use up any leftover bits of meat and veggies from the night before. For this recipe, I’ve made one of the common vegetarian options for Spanish croquettes: spinach. I then veganized it by using plant-based milk and oil in place of butter.

So coming up with a vegan recipe for Spanish spinach croquettes was really hard. No joke, every cook does the béchamel differently! The proportions of flour to fat to milk were different in every single recipe I checked.

That means that you can feel free to adapt this recipe to your tastes. If you want a creamier, but harder to work filling, add a bit more milk. If you don’t like spinach, try sautéed mushrooms or finely chopped vegetables instead.

If you’re interested in seeing more typical Spanish tapas done vegan, be sure to check out my Spanish potato salad (Ensaladilla Rusa) or my Spanish potato bombas.

Wanna see how easy Spanish Spinach Croquettes are? Watch the video and share it on Facebook!

Yield: about 25 croquettes

Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

These Spanish spinach croquettes are a typical tapa in bars all around Spain. They’re simple to make, packed with flavour and make a great vegan party finger food or appetizer!

Ingredients

200 grams (7 oz) frozen spinach
2 ¾ cups (650 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk, divided
½ cup (120 ml) vegetable stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
Half an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup (75 grams) flour
½ teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
1 ½ cups (135 grams) bread crumbs
Oil, for frying

Instructions

Boil the spinach according to the package directions. Refresh under cold water and drain. Squeeze as much water out of them as you can. Set aside.
Combine 400 ml (13 fl oz) of the plant milk with the stock in a small pot and heat it gently over low heat.
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil and onions. When they are soft, add the garlic. Once soft, sift the flour into the pan. Mix well. Fry, stirring from time to time, for a couple of minutes to remove the taste of raw flour. Once the mixture begins to turn light brown, add a ladle of the milk-stock mixture. Stir well until incorporated then add another ladleful. Continue this way until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
Add the spinach, salt and pepper. Transfer to a dish and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the top of the filling and put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
Put the remaining 250 ml of plant milk in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another. Take about a teaspoon of the filling and use your hands to roll it into a small log shape. Dredge it in the breadcrumbs, then into the plant milk, then again into the breadcrumbs.
Heat oil for frying in a small pan. Fry the croquettes in batches of 5 or 6 until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Allow to cool slightly then serve.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6Serving Size: 4 croquettes
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 265Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 486mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 8g

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Valerie says
August 26, 2017 at 9:20 am
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This looks delicious! Just a quick question - if I'd like to use fresh spinach instead of frozen, would I substitute it with the same amount, or more? Thanks!
Reply
- Melissa says
  September 01, 2017 at 1:26 pm
  You'll need to use a bit more fresh spinach, about 12 oz or 1 1/2 cups. Take a look at the video and you'll see I've got a good handful of cooked spinach there. That's how much 🙂
  Reply
melody sieglitz says
August 29, 2017 at 9:22 pm
Melissa can these be baked instead of fried I have an air fryer they look delicious
Reply
- Melissa says
  August 30, 2017 at 3:05 pm
  I tried baking them several times and they always crack open. If you don't mind how they look, then go ahead and bake them. They still taste great!
  Reply
Brock says
November 09, 2017 at 7:53 pm
What plant-based milk do you recommend: almond, soy, or coconut?
Reply
- Melissa says
  November 13, 2017 at 9:08 am
  I usually use soy because I prefer the taste. You can use your favourite.
  Reply
Elise says
December 08, 2017 at 8:31 pm
I'm a Cuban / Spanish American who absolutely loves croquetas but have recently had to switch to a vegan diet for health reasons . . this recipe is a GIFT FROM GOD THANK YOU!!
Reply
Irene Cohen says
December 24, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Can these be made ahead and frozen? I am giving a party and would like to make these ahead of time.
Reply
Maria Koutsogiannis says
December 29, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Yum! I love croquettes. Pinning this for later 🙂
Reply
Ñora Paella & Tapas says
January 03, 2018 at 8:14 pm
Love it! Always great to see people spreading the gospel of vegan Spanish food! Have you tried making vegan paella? When you do it right, it's super satisfying, even for the die-hard meat lovers! Perfect for feeding a mixed crowd.
Reply
alex charles says
See Also
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January 24, 2018 at 7:04 pm
Ive just made these, first time ive ever made a croquette, they are delicious, thanks for taking the time to get the recipe right. so many recipes i follow online and they turn out wrong. This is so easy, im going to experiment with different flavors and dipping sauces now.
thanks again for your work
Alex
Reply
Sandra Kelly says
February 05, 2018 at 4:01 pm
I too was wondering if they can be made ahead and frozen.
Reply
- Melissa says
  February 06, 2018 at 1:34 pm
  I haven't tried that but I don't see why not. Obviously freeze them before frying. If you try it, let me know.
  Reply
narf7 says
May 16, 2018 at 7:02 pm
Hi, I just saw your recipe on Pinterest but not on your site. Someone is using your images and recipes. Here is the URL.
http://lowrecipe.net/spanish-spinach-croquettes/
Reply
- Melissa says
  May 22, 2018 at 11:35 am
  Thanks for letting me know. I've reported them for copyright infringement.
  Reply
  - Laura Ray says
    December 12, 2021 at 11:27 pm
    Making your recipe for daughter’s Spanish class and we need to cook them the day before and then reheat and store them in something to keep them warmish and not too soggy. The class party is not until the end of the day. Thanks in advance.
    Reply
Kathleen says
June 16, 2018 at 4:27 pm
Do you use any type of dipping sauce or just plain.
Reply
- Melissa says
  June 19, 2018 at 12:09 pm
  Just plain 🙂
  Reply
Kathleen says
June 16, 2018 at 6:10 pm
Are these eaten warm or room temperature and can they be made a day before and reheated.
Reply
- Melissa says
  June 19, 2018 at 12:08 pm
  Generally they're served warm while they're still crispy. If you reheat them in the microwave, they'll lose they're crispiness. Maybe you can reheat them in the oven, I haven't tried that.
  Reply
- Joana says
  March 23, 2019 at 6:34 am
  You can eat them warm or cold, if you want to reheat them best frying them again but they will absorb more oil so cold are good. If you microwave them they will become too soft.
  Reply
Jen moorhead says
July 01, 2018 at 5:27 pm
What types of flour do you suggest?
Reply
- Melissa says
  July 02, 2018 at 10:34 am
  All purpose
  Reply
Patricia says
October 18, 2018 at 6:58 pm
thanks for veganizing this recipe
being spanish myself, I only shall add: a pinch of nutmeg together with the salt & pepper 😉
Reply
Joana says
March 23, 2019 at 6:31 am
Try mushrooms and walnuts croquetas, delish! I am Spanish and love croquetas but trying to find a vegetable that would go great with them it’s hard so I came up with the mushrooms walnut croquetas and if you add some nutritional yeast for cheese flavour OMG!
Reply
Jax says
April 05, 2019 at 12:43 pm
Look lovely! Can you freeze them?
Reply
Zoe Murphy says
August 13, 2020 at 9:04 pm
Hi, I made these earlier and I didn't have much time so I couldn't let them set for long enough so added a bit of flour underneath the breadcrumbs to help them set a bit more. I fried them and then finished them off in the oven and they were delicious!! Obviously made a few alterations but they turned out incredible so I definitely recommend
Reply
Karen says
April 25, 2021 at 3:13 am
These were delicious. Instead of frying them I brush both sides with olive oil cooked them in the air fryer at 400 degrees, flipping halfway through the cooking time.
Reply
Michelle says
August 11, 2021 at 1:30 am
Hi can i make the croquets with non plant milk ..mivh
Reply

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