Dish guides
What are croquetas?
Croquetas are Spanish croquettes: small fingers of thick, creamy béchamel mixed with a filling, most often cured ham, then breaded and deep-fried. The outside is crisp and the inside almost molten. They're on nearly every tapas menu, usually sold as a ración of several pieces or by the piece.
- At a glance
- Croquetas
- Creamy béchamel croquettes, usually with ham, breaded and fried.
- Pronunciation
- Say it like kroh-KEH-tahs · IPA /kɾoˈketas/
- Also written as
- croquetas de jamón, croquetas caseras, croquetas de jamón ibérico, surtido de croquetas, croquetas de pollo, croquetas de bacalao, croquetes, croqueta
What’s in it
Core ingredients
- béchamel (milk, wheat flour and butter or olive oil)
- a filling, most often jamón (cured ham)
- egg and breadcrumbs for the coating
- oil for frying
Often added
- chicken (often from the stock pot)
- bacalao (salt cod)
- squid in its ink (chipirones)
- prawns
- mushrooms (setas)
- blue cheese or other cheeses
- spinach
- onion and nutmeg
Allergens
| Allergen | How likely |
|---|---|
| Gluten | Typically contains |
| Dairy | Typically contains |
| Eggs | Typically contains |
| Fish | Sometimes contains |
| Shellfish | Sometimes contains |
| Molluscs | Sometimes contains |
| Celery | Rarely contains |
| Tree nuts | Rarely contains |
| Peanuts | Rarely contains |
| Soy | Rarely contains |
| Sesame | Rarely contains |
| Diet | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian | Depends — Ham and chicken are the usual fillings; cheese, mushroom or spinach croquetas are vegetarian, but they're often fried in the same oil as meat and fish. |
| Vegan | No |
| Pescatarian | Depends — Bacalao, prawn, squid and tuna croquetas fit; ham and chicken ones don't. |
| Halal | Depends — Most croquetas contain ham (pork); cheese, fish or vegetable ones don't, but chicken versions are rarely halal and the frying oil is usually shared. |
| Kosher | No |
| Gluten-free | No |
Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
What's inside a croqueta
A Spanish croqueta starts with a very thick béchamel sauce: flour cooked in butter or olive oil, then milk added slowly until it becomes a stiff, smooth dough. The filling is stirred in, most classically finely chopped jamón, or chicken left over from making stock. The mixture is chilled, shaped into small logs, rolled in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, and fried until golden.
A good croqueta is creamy, almost runny inside, with a thin, crisp shell. Home cooks treat them as a way to use leftovers, and many bars proudly list theirs as caseras (homemade). Others serve frozen, factory-made ones, which tend to be firmer and more uniform.
Typical price
Median price 10.5 EUR
Typical range 5–15 EUR.
Median of 113 menus, 2025-04 – 2026-04. Basis: Spanish-language menus scanned with MenuGuide; price per portion as printed (some bars also sell them by the piece).
How to order it
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Una ración de croquetas de jamón, por favor. | A portion of ham croquetas, please. |
| ¿Cuántas croquetas vienen en la ración? | How many croquetas come in a portion? |
| ¿De qué son las croquetas? ¿Llevan marisco? | What are the croquetas filled with? Do they contain shellfish? |
Not to be confused with
- Arancini — Sicilian fried balls of rice, usually with ragù or cheese; rice instead of béchamel.
- Buñuelos — Light fried dough fritters, sweet or savoury (e.g. buñuelos de bacalao), not béchamel.
- Potato croquettes — Croquettes made from mashed potato, common in northern Europe; Spanish croquetas use béchamel.
Frequently asked questions
What are croquetas made of?
Croquetas are made of a thick béchamel sauce (milk, wheat flour and butter or olive oil) mixed with a filling, usually cured ham, then coated in egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Other common fillings are chicken, salt cod, squid in its ink, mushrooms and cheese. The menu normally names the filling after de.
Are croquetas gluten free?
No, normally not. The béchamel is thickened with wheat flour and the coating is breadcrumbs, so croquetas typically contain gluten twice over. A few restaurants make gluten-free croquetas with other flours and crumbs, and these are usually labelled sin gluten. Even then, ask whether they're fried in separate oil.
Are croquetas vegetarian?
Usually not, because the most common fillings are ham and chicken, and fish or seafood versions are also popular. Cheese, mushroom and spinach croquetas are vegetarian by recipe, but they're commonly fried in the same oil as meat and fish croquetas. Ask what each kind contains, since menus don't always say.
What's the difference between croquetas and croquettes?
In much of northern Europe and the US, croquettes are often made from mashed potato or a firm meat mixture. Spanish croquetas are based on béchamel, which makes them much creamier inside, almost liquid in a good one. The egg-and-breadcrumb coating and the deep-frying are much the same. On a menu in Spain, croquetas almost always means the béchamel kind.
