Ham and Cheese Macaroni Croquettes (Extra TASTY!)

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Use your leftover pasta to make some crispy croquettes with ham, cheese and a creamy béchamel. Great as an appetizer! Perfect for a party!

If you’re looking for a quick and easy recipe for a party, friends or family reunion or just for your date night appetizer, ham and cheese macaroni croquettes really are incredible. This recipe is part of those appetizers that never fail to impress when I have guests over. Just like my Fried Coconut Shrimps or my Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls, always a hit!

This is actually a recipe from my mom and a variant of my grandma’s recipe. Over here we would call them “croquettes” rather than balls. These can be served as an appetizer but also as a side with meat, fish, veggies or anything you fancy. If having them as a side, I like to shape them as a cylinder just like regular croquettes. But let’s face it, scooping in some balls is much easier : )

By the way, this recipe isn’t “mac and cheese balls” as they call it (a similar version) in the US. This recipe uses a thick béchamel sauce with quite a heap of grated cheese. So indeed their looks are pretty similar but they differ quite a lot in terms of taste as mac and cheese normally features cheddar.

ingredients to make ham and cheese macaroni croquettes

• Macaroni: macaroni is a good fit for this recipe since they are small and easy to cut. But really ANY pasta will do, yes even spaghetti – the béchamel helps hold everything together. Pasta must be cooked a few minutes extra as the package indicates, the objective here is not to obtain al dente pasta. Well-cooked pasta will be easier to work with and shape.
• Grated cheese: added into the béchamel, I normally use Emmental which provides the perfect taste, not too empowering – pasta + fried = already heavy, so personally I prefer a cheese light in taste.
• Ham: here I’m using some ham strips, easier to cut afterwards, but ham dice will also do.
• Béchamel: for this recipe, I am not using the quantities of my usual béchamel, the reason is that we want a consistency thicker than the traditional béchamel to hold pasta together when shaping it. Thicker béchamel calls for more butter and flour, which together makes the thickening agent of a béchamel. I am using a combination of milk and water in this recipe, but if you prefer a lighter béchamel, replace the milk with water.

What to serve ham and cheese macaroni croquettes with?

As an appetizer: it’s great with some lettuce, tomatoes, or seasoned tomato sauce. I usually make a tomato sauce, season it with herbs and add some fresh parsley on top.

As a side: serve with anything you like, typically I have it with meat and some lettuce. If making this recipe as a side, you could also ignore the ham if you’re already got some other meat in your plate.

Can I freeze them?

Yes, they are totally fine to freeze. Just place them in a zip bag or in a container, then once you’re ready to have them, just reheat them in the oven until they’re defrosted. They won’t lose too much crispiness.

How to prepare ham and cheese macaroni croquettes?

1. Cook the macaroni/pasta in a pot with a pinch of salt for 9 min. Pasta should not be al dente, but well cooked. If using any other type of pasta, cook for 1 or 2 extra minutes as compared to the package indication.

2. Make a thick bechamel. This bechamel is thick and acts as a glue to shape the croquettes. Heat up a casserole on medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk it together with the butter. Pour the water. Add the chicken stock cube. Whisk well until the mixture warms up and becomes thicker (2-3 min). As soon as it is getting thicker, add the milk and keep whisking until you get a very thick bechamel (2-3 min). Once the bechamel has thickened enough, season it with a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove the pot from heat, add the grated Emmental and stir to combine.

3. Add ham to pasta.
4. Use a scissor to cut ham and pasta into small bits (easier to shape balls)

5. Pour the bechamel over the pasta and ham. Mix well to coat all pasta with bechamel.

6. Refrigerate for 1 hour. The bechamel will harden and hold the pasta/ham together.
7. Shape some big balls (+/- 6cm diameter or any shape you prefer).

8. Dip each ball into the beaten egg then cover with breadcrumbs.

9. Heat up cooking oil in a casserole (or use a fryer). The oil should reach 180°C (360°F).
10. Fry all croquettes – in batches – until evenly golden (about 3 min).

11. Remove from heat, and place on some paper towel to absorb excess oil.