Goat Cheese Fritters

By
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes
Marian Blazes is a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for South American food. She wrote a cookbook focusing on the cuisine of Brazil.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/3/22
Cheese fritters
sstrieu/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0
Prep: 60 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 75 mins
Servings: 25 servings

These cheese fritters with guava dipping sauce are a delicious variation on the traditional fruit and cheese pairing, and are quite the crowd-pleasing appetizer. The cheese fritters can be shaped ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry them. Once they have been fried, the fritters can be kept warm in the oven until ready to serve. Good optional add-ins include crumbled bacon, blue or manchego cheese, and finely chopped olives.

Ingredients

For the Cheese Fritters:

  • 14 ounces goat cheese

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened

  • 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 3 medium green onions

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

  • 1 1/2 cups fine breadcrumbs

  • 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying

For the Guava Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/3 cup guava paste

  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

  • 1 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1/2 cup canned or fresh mango juice, or pineapple juice

  • Crumbled cooked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, grated manchego cheese, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped green or black olives, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Prepare the dipping sauce: Place the guava paste in a small saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients (vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and juice) and whisk together over low heat until the guava paste has completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

  2. Prepare the cheese fritters: coarsely chop the green onions and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times for a few seconds each time, until the onions are more finely chopped. Add the goat cheese, the softened cream cheese, and the ricotta cheese to the food processor bowl. Add 2 eggs and the flour and process the mixture until it is well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste, and pulse to mix. If desired, add one or more optional ingredients to the cheese mixture at this point, such as crumbled cooked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, grated manchego cheese, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped olives, etc.

  3. Chill the cheese mixture for at least an hour.

  4. Once the cheese mixture is cold, shape the mixture into 1-inch diameter balls. Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs and thoroughly coat the cheese with the crumbs. Place the cheese balls on a baking sheet and keep them chilled until you are ready to fry them.

  5. Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep skillet or saucepan to 350 F. Fry the cheese balls, in batches, until they are very golden brown. Carefully remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve cheese fritters warm, with the dipping sauce. If you are not going to serve the fried fritters right away, keep them warm in a 200 F oven until ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
184 Calories
14g Fat
8g Carbs
7g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 25
Amount per serving
Calories 184
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 36mg 12%
Sodium 212mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 6mg 30%
Calcium 81mg 6%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 66mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)