Croquetas de Jamón – Cuban Ham Croquettes

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In a Cuban household, croquetas are the ultimate comfort food—crispy, creamy, and packed with flavor. These little bites of joy are made by combining a savory filling, like ham, with a rich, velvety béchamel sauce, shaping them into logs, and frying them to golden perfection.

We always had these at any party or gathering, whether for work or family, because everyone just loves them. They’re delicious all on their own, the perfect finger food really, but we also sometimes make sandwiches with them using Cuban bread (Croqueta Preparada 😋).

They are pretty easy to make but take a few hours because you have to chill them and you HAVE TO follow the steps exactly so they turn out right.

Ingredients for Croquetas de Jamón

Here’s what you’ll need to make these Cuban ham croquettes:

• Good quality cooked ham, like leftover baked ham, a ham steak, or diced ham. Do not use deli sliced ham. It needs to be ground which you can do in a food processor.
• Onion, chopped very finely (can be in food processor)
• Unsalted butter
• All-purpose flour
• Breadcrumbs or saltine crackers (I like to use seasoned breadcrumbs and reduce the amount of salt in the rest of the recipe)
• Eggs
• Whole milk, although I have used 2% and it’s been fine
• Oil for frying

Equipment:

• Food processor (or good knife)
• Saucepan
• Medium bowl
• Whisk
• Large sheet pan
• 2 bowls for breading station
• Large pot or pan for frying

How To Make Cuban Ham Croquettes

Start by blending the ham in a food processor. If you don’t have one, then chop the ham as finely as you can. Chop the onion very finely as well.

On medium-low heat, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped onion and cook for a few minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Slowly whisk in the milk, 1/3 cup of flour, and the spices. Mix until it forms a thick sauce that doesn’t stick to the sides of the pan. This is the roux.

Add the ground ham and continue mixing until it’s well combined. Turn off the heat and transfer it to a bowl to rest at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but can be overnight. This step helps make it easier to form the croquette logs.

Remove from the fridge and form the logs using your hands. You want them to be about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. The most important thing is to keep the size uniform so they cook evenly.

Once you’ve rolled out all the croquette logs, place them on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for about 3o minutes. This helps harden them up for breading and frying.

Set up a breading station with a bowl of whisked eggs, and another bowl with the flour and breadcrumbs mixed together.

Remove the croquetas from the fridge and bread them. Dip each croqueta in the egg wash and then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Place them on a sheet pan or plate and let them rest for about 5 minutes.

Heat a large pot or pan over medium-high heat with enough oil to cover the ham croquettes. Once the oil is hot enough, fry each croquette until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Be sure not to crowd them and only fry a few at a time.

Remove from the oil and rest on a paper-towel lined plate. Eat them as soon as you can! They are best eaten fresh.

How To Store Leftover Croquetas

It’s unlikely that you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, wait for them to cool to room temperature and store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in an oven, air fryer, or microwave.

I recommend you only fry the amount you know you’ll eat. You can prepare them through the breading step, then freeze or refrigerate them and take out when you want to make them. Then all you have to do is fry them up and eat!

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Yield: 20

Croquetas de Jamón (Cuban Ham Croquettes)

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Savor the crispy, golden goodness of Cuban croquetas—creamy bites filled with ham that are perfect for any occasion!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound ground ham (about 2 cups)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup bread crumbs (or finely ground saltine crackers)
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, melt butter at medium-low heat. Add onion and cook about 1 minute, until translucent.
2. Slowly whisk in milk, 1/3 cup of flour, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Continue to whisk until it becomes a very thick sauce (a roux).
3. Add the ground ham to the sauce. Mix together slowly until combined. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let it rest at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight (the longer the better). This step is important for the mixture to harden so you can form into logs and coat evenly. If you skip this step, it will be very hard to form logs, coat with the breading, and fry. Don't skip this step!
5. Remove the filling from the refrigerator and form the logs. You want the logs to be approximately 3" long and 1" wide. If the mixture is sticky, you can add bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the mixture until it's no longer sticky.
6. Continue forming the logs until you have all the croquette logs done then place them back in the fridge to firm up once again, for about 30 minutes.
7. To bread the croquette logs, you want to set up a breading station. In one bowl, whisk eggs and set aside. In another bowl, mix the remaining flour and bread crumbs.
8. Remove the logs from the fridge. Dip each croquette log in the egg wash and then coat in bread crumb/flour mixture. Repeat with each one until they are all breaded. Let the croquettes rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before frying.
9. In a large pot or pan, heat enough vegetable oil to cover the croquettes completely. Fry each croquette until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, at medium-high heat. Don't crowd the pot too much as you are frying. This will help them all get evenly cooked.
10. Remove the croquettes from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1 croqueta
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 289mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g

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