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This tortitas de papa con queso recipe includes potato cakes filled with plant-based cheese. They have a crispy outside and a creamy, cheesy inside. All you need is 5 ingredients for this simple and affordable meal!
Table of Contents
📖 About
Tortitas de papa con queso (small potato cakes with cheese) are an easy-to-make, budget-friendly, and delicious Mexican dish. They’re the perfect option for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or meal prep before a busy week ahead.
Most recipes incorporate a few base ingredients:
- Potatoes
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Breadcrumbs
From there, additional ingredients may be included like jalapeños, poblano peppers, shrimp, ham, or tuna.
This version is modified to be plant-based, but you can make further changes to suit all dietary needs. Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or just prefer different seasonings, there is an option for everyone.
History
Tortitas de papa don’t seem to have a well-known origin story, but potatoes themselves were around in Mesoamerica long before Spanish colonization.
Potato cultivation began in Peru as early as 8,000 BC, and these varieties were apparently brought to Mexico during the 1500s. In modern Mexican cuisine, this crop is part of many popular recipes like papas a la Mexicana, tacos dorados, and tacos de canasta.
While tortitas de papa can be found at any time of the year, this dish is commonly served during the Lent season in Mexico.
🌱 Is it vegan?
Typical ingredients found in tortitas de papa con queso that make them non-vegan include:
- Eggs: Used mainly as a binding agent, we don’t find eggs necessary for these potato cakes. Instead, just add a little more flour and you should be good to go.
- Cheese: Replace the usual options like queso fresco, panela, Chihuahua, or Manchego with a dairy-free variety.
🍲 Ingredients & substitutions
For complete ingredient measurements and instructions, see our recipe card.
- Potatoes: Regular white or Yukon Gold potatoes work best for this recipe. You can also use red potatoes in their place. Russet potatoes will provide a drier consistency, so you may need to add a few tablespoons of water.
- Cheese: There is a vegan Chihuahua cheese available near us, so that is what we typically use. But, mozzarella is also another great option. We find vegan queso fresco doesn’t hold its shape well enough for these potato cakes.
- Flour: Used as a binding agent and to coat the outside of the patties.
- Salt, pepper: To add flavor. You don’t need pepper, but we always add some!
- Oil: Use a neutral vegetable oil with a high smoke point. A few good options include avocado oil, canola oil, corn oil, and peanut oil.
🔪 Instructions
If you have questions about these potato cakes, check out our FAQs or leave a comment.
Step 1: Boil the potatoes in a pot of well-salted water for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. It’s important to leave the skins on so the potato consistency doesn’t become too wet.
Step 2: Drain and peel the potatoes when they are cool enough to handle. Roughly mash them in a large mixing bowl. Add the vegan cheese, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix the dough into a uniform texture.
Step 3: Measure out a ¼ cup of dough, then form a patty by rolling and flattening it back and forth between your palms until it’s about ½-inch thick and round.
Optional: Lightly coat the patties in extra flour (dredge) before cooking to achieve a crispier texture. We’ve tried it both ways and prefer the flour coating.
Step 4: Heat about 3-4 tablespoons of neutral oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, cook the patties in batches on both sides until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
Step 5: Drain the patties on a paper towel-lined plate or a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet. Continue the same process with the rest of the patties.
Step 6: Serve your tortitas de papa while hot on their own or with sides like salsa, crema, salad, roasted vegetables, beans, rice, etc. Happy eating!
🥗 Serving suggestions
Tortitas de papa con queso may be served with a variety of side dishes, but some of our favorites include:
- Salpicón: Shredded jackfruit and mixed vegetables served over a bed of lettuce with citrus vinaigrette.
- Ensalada de nopales: Prickly pear cactus paddles served with tomatoes, onions, queso, and Mexican oregano.
- Huevos a la Mexicana: Tofu scramble mixed with green chiles, onions, and tomatoes.
- Ensalada de coditos: Egg and dairy-free macaroni salad mixed with carrots, celery, and onion.
Garnishes: Try queso fresco, crema, or pickled onions. Alternatively, you might like to try a few variations of this recipe.
🌡️ Storage
Follow these easy storage tips in order to keep your tortitas fresh:
- Fridge: Store leftovers in containers for up to 6-7 days. We prefer using glass containers to preserve the flavors best.
- Freezer: Store the uncooked patties in freezer-safe bags or containers before dipping them in flour. They will keep for at least 3 months. We don’t recommend storing cooked tortitas de papa in the freezer.
- Reheat: Pan fry, heat in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F, or double fry your already-cooked tortitas. If they’re frozen, thaw them in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, dredge in flour and fry them until golden.
Note: If the texture becomes too soggy after being frozen, break the patties down into dough once more and add flour as needed.
♻️ Variations
- Add-ins: Try adding roasted poblano pepper strips (rajas), pickled jalapeños, onions (green or white), or diced chipotle peppers in adobo into your mixture.
- Gluten-free: Swap out all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. We suggest King Arthur Baking Company, but any 1:1 variety should work.
- Baked: Skip the oil and bake your tortitas de papa at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes per side. You can also coat them in panko bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes, or crushed tortilla chips to achieve a crispier exterior.
- Salsa: Serve your patties drizzled with salsa roja, salsa verde, salsa taquera, or cashew crema.
🧑🍳 Top tips
- Use a thermometer. To prevent the tortitas from burning or absorbing too much oil, use an oil thermometer for a consistent temperature (350-375 degrees F).
- Salt generously. Make sure you taste the dough and add more salt before cooking the patties if you feel it needs extra.
- Keep the skins on. Boil the potatoes with their skins on to prevent them from absorbing too much water. This will help keep your patties together while they cook.
- Dredge the patties. Inspired by Mely Martinez of Mexico in my Kitchen, we’ve tried this recipe with and without dredging and prefer the crispier texture of a flour coating.
- Cook 3 at a time. If you overcrowd your pan, the oil will cool too much. Choose a 10-12″ pan for this recipe.
- Test one first. To ensure your oil is at the right temperature and your dough will hold up, cook a test batch of a small piece first.
💬 FAQ
First, make sure the oil is hot enough. If they are still falling apart, mix 2-3 tablespoons more of flour or breadcrumbs into the mixture and try again.
Use a generous amount of oil, use a non-stick pan, and don’t flip your tortitas too soon. You should be able to see a golden brown underside before flipping.
If your potato cakes are burning too fast, the oil is likely too hot. If you don’t have a thermometer, turn your stove down, wait 5 minutes, and try a small piece of dough again.
Tortitas de Papa (Without Dairy)
Equipment
- Stockpot
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 medium white or yellow potatoes ($1.06)
- ⅔ cup shredded vegan Manchego, Chihuahua, or mozzarella ($0.83)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- Salt & pepper to taste ($0.02)
- 4-5 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil ($0.44)
Serving optional
- Salad
- Salsa roja
- Vegan Mexican crema
- Roasted vegetables
- Rice
- Beans
Instructions
Potatoes
- Bring a stockpot of water to boil. In the meantime, wash and scrub the potatoes. Once the water is boiling, salt it well and add in the unpeeled potatoes. Boil for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.
- Once tender, drain and peel the potatoes. Add them to a mixing bowl and roughly mash. Add vegan cheese, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix into a uniform dough using your hands.
Shaping
- Measure out a ¼ cup of dough, then form a patty by rolling and flattening it back and forth between your palms until it’s about ½-inch thick and round. Continue the same process for the rest of the patties.
- Optional: lightly coat the patties in extra flour before cooking.
Cooking
- Heat about 4-5 tablespoons of neutral vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, cook the patties on both sides until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
- Drain on a paper towel-lined plate or a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet. Continue the same process with the rest.
- Serve while hot on their own or with sides like salsa, crema, salad, roasted vegetables, beans, rice, etc. Happy eating!
Video
Notes
- Use a thermometer. To prevent the tortitas from burning or absorbing too much oil, use an oil thermometer for a consistent temperature (350-375 degrees F).
- Salt generously. Make sure you taste the dough and add more salt before cooking the patties if you feel it needs extra.
- Keep the skins on. Boil the potatoes with their skins on to prevent them from absorbing too much water. This will help keep your patties together while they cook.
- Dredge the patties. Inspired by Mely Martinez of Mexico in my Kitchen, we’ve tried this recipe with and without dredging and prefer the crispier texture of a flour coating.
- Cook 3 at a time. If you overcrowd your pan, the oil will cool too much. Choose a 10-12″ pan for this recipe.
- Test one first. To ensure your oil is at the right temperature and your dough will hold up, cook a test batch of a small piece first.
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price or calories of our recipes.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe to recipe. All prices are in USD.
Nutrition
🍴 Similar recipes
If you enjoyed this tortitas de papa recipe, check out some of these other flavor-packed dishes:
- Pambazos: Chile-brushed bread rolls stuffed with soyrizo and cubed potatoes.
- Caldo de res: A hearty soup filled with vegetables, potatoes, and plant-based “beef” chunks.
- Caldo de albóndigas: Black bean “meatballs” served in a savory tomato broth with squash and potatoes.
- Tacos dorados: Crispy tacos filled with mashed potatoes and topped with lettuce, radish, onions, and green salsa.
- Chilaquiles verdes: Crispy corn tortilla chips served in spicy green salsa topped with cashew crema and queso fresco.
- Stewed potatoes: Rich, creamy, and comforting Southern-style potatoes.
- Air fryer hash browns: Perfectly crisped, healthy, and golden-brown patties.
Loved these little potato tortitas!