Tiny ball-shaped Pumpkin Croquettes are crispy, sweet and savoury. Each ball is so small that you can pop it into your mouth just like a Lindt chocolate ball. This is a perfect dish for a people gathering occasion to pass around as well as a main or even a side dish.
Pumpkin Croquettes are called ‘kabocha korokke’ (かぼちゃコロッケ) in Japanese. Kabocha is pumpkin and korokke means croquette. It is made in a similar way to the standard Korokke (Japanese Potato and Ground Meat Croquettes). But a subtle flavour of cinnamon and the sweetness of the pumpkin distinguish these croquettes from other croquettes.
What’s in my Pumpkin Croquettes
The main ingredients are almost the same as Korokke ingredients if you replace potatoes with pumpkin. But the flavouring is a bit different.
Croquette Base:
- 2cm / ¾” cubes of pumpkin, no skin
- Pork mince
- Finely diced onions
- Butter
- Salt & pepper
- Soy sauce
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cinnamon
For Deep Frying:
- Flour
- Beaten egg
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Oil
In the case of Korokke, I added mirin and sugar to give a sweetness to the croquette base. But pumpkin is so sweet that you don’t need to add any sweetness.
Nutmeg and cinnamon are good match with pumpkin.
How to make Pumpkin Croquettes
- Sauté onion and mince until cooked through, then season the mince.
- Spread pumpkin cubes on a plate, cover and microwave for 5 minutes.
- Mash the pumpkin and mix with the mince.
- Make 16 small balls of about 4cm / 1½” in diameter
- Coat the pumpkin balls in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.
- Deep-fry at 170°C / 338°F degrees for a couple of minutes.
If you want to be meticulous when making pumpkin balls, you can divide the mixture into 16 equal portions, then make a ball from each portion. Alternatively, you can make about 4cm balls and if you run out of mixture, you just live with a smaller number of balls or take some from larger balls and make up for the last ball.
If you think about it, they do not have to be the same size, and you don’t need to make 16 balls.
Since the ingredients are all cooked already, you only need to deep-fry the croquettes to brown them.
Recipe Variations
Pumpkin: I used J.A.P (Kent) pumpkin today, but you can use other pumpkin varieties such as butternut and blue pumpkin.
Mince (ground meat): can be just pork or a combination of pork and beef. You could use chicken mince but since the pumpkin flavour is quite prominent, the chicken flavour might be lost.
Cooking pumpkin: I microwaved the pumpkin pieces, but you can steam them instead. I think that microwaving or steaming is better than boiling pumpkin because:
- Cooked pumpkin pieces become too moist when boiled.
- Microwaving and steaming can retain nutrients better.
Shape: Instead of a tiny ball, you can make the flat oval shape of the standard Korokke. Or shape into a fat log like my Creamy Shrimp Croquettes. Depending on the occasion, you may want to change size and shape of the Pumpkin Croquettes.
Make ahead: You can make crumbed pumpkin balls ahead of time and fry them just before serving. You can also freeze the crumbed croquettes before frying. Store the crumbed balls in a container, without touching each other, and freeze them. Deep-fry frozen or only slightly thaw in microwave and fry.
Pumpkin Croquettes are great nibbles for a crowd. The tiny size of the croquette makes it perfect to pack in a bento box too.
Yumiko
Tiny ball-shaped Pumpkin Croquettes are crispy, sweet and savoury. This is a perfect dish for a people gathering occasion to pass around. But pork mince mixed in the mashed pumpkin makes this Pumpkin Croquette perfect for a main dish as well as a bento box.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 400g / 0.9lb pumpkin peeled and deseeded, cut into 2cm / ¾” cubes (note 1)
- 60g / 2.1oz onion finely chopped
- 2 tsp butter
- 120g / 4.2oz pork mince/ground pork (or 50/50 pork and beef)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- A pinch of ground nutmeg
- A pinch of ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Oil to deep fry
- Few sprigs of parsley
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Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat and sauté onion until the onion pieces become transparent.
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Add pork and cook for about 2 minutes until the pork changes the colour and is cooked through. Add salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Mix, then turn the heat off.
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Spread the pumpkin pieces on a large plate without overlapping, loosely cover with cling wrap and cook in microwave for 5 minutes at 600W (note 2). If a bamboo skewer can get through a pumpkin pice, it is done.
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Mash the pumpkin and transfer to the frying pan. Mix the pumpkin and the mince well. Add nutmeg and cinnamon and mix. Let it cool.
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Take a small amount of pumpkin mixture and make a ball of about 4cm / 1½" in diameter. It should make 16 balls (note 3). Wet your hands if the mixture is too sticky.
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Coat pumpkin balls in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs.
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Heat oil to 170°C / 338°F. Gently drop the pumpkin balls into the oil and fry for a couple of minutes until golden brown (note 4). Transfer to a tray lined with kitchen papers.
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Pile the croquettes on a serving plate, place sprigs of parsley to decorate. Serve while hot.
1. I used J.A.P (Kent) pumpkin, but you can use a different varieties of pumpkin such as butternut pumpkin and blue pumpkin.
2. If you cannot fit all the pumpkin pieces on a plate, you can either cook in two batches with a shorter cooking time for each batch or cook at once overlapping and turn over the pumpkins halfway.
3. To evenly divide the mixture into 16, you can spread the pumpkin mixture in the frying pan evenly, then draw diameter lines like cutting a pizza, making 16 thin pies.
16 is not a magic number so if you end up with more or less than 16 balls, that's OK too.
4. You will achieve the best results when you deep-fry with an adequate amount of oil that is deeper than the thickness of the ingredient to fry. Also, the oil should not be over-crowded with the ingredients.
But you can shallow-fry the balls if you prefer. Heat 2cm-deep oil in a frypan to 180°C / 356°F. Fry the pumpkin balls for 2-3 minutes by turning them over occasionally.
5. You can make crumbed pumpkin balls ahead of time and fry them just before serving. You can also freeze the crumbed croquettes. Before frying, freeze the crumbed croquettes, ensuring that they are not touching each other. Deep-fry frozen or only slightly thaw in microwave and fry.
6. Nutrition per croquette assuming that the amount of oil absorbed into a Pumpkin Croquette is 10% of the weight of the croquette.
serving: 53g calories: 111kcal fat: 7.6g (12%) saturated fat: 1.4g (7%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 1.2g monounsaturated fat: 4.5g cholesterol: 18mg (6%) sodium: 89mg (4%) potassium: 132mg (4%) carbohydrates: 8g (3%) dietary fibre: 0.6g (2%) sugar: 1.3g protein: 3g vitamin a: 43% vitamin c: 4.3% calcium: 1.7% iron: 4%
Meal Ideas
A typical Japanese meal consists of a main dish, a couple of side dishes, a soup and rice. I try to come up with a combination of dishes with a variety of flavours, colours, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Today’s main is not as substantial as my usual main dish. So, I picked Jibuni for a side dish as it is cooked with chicken and tofu.
It is always a good idea to have a fresh salad when you have a deep-fried dish. The sourness from Pickled Plum Dressing of Daikon Salad refreshes the palate.
- Main: Pumpkin Croquettes – today’s recipe, can make ahead up to coating with breadcrumbs
- Side dish 1: Kanazawa-style Simmered Chicken and Tofu (Jibuni) – can make ahead
- Side dish 2: Daikon Salad with Pickled Plum Dressing – or other fresh salad
- Soup: Dried Tofu Skin Clear Soup – or other clear soup
- Rice: Cooked Rice
Yum! Brilliant recipe. This is such a wonderful site. Thank you so much, Yumiko.
Thank you, Julie.
Hi yumiko, love Nagi’s site.
Her recipes are my go to and I don’t use any other site
Could I bake the pumpkin instead of microwaving it? I am currently growing my own pumpkins in Melbourne they are no where ready yet, I’m going to make these with store brought pumpkin then when are ready I will make a again with my own.
I am not sure what type of pumpkin it is know it is not kent(J.A.P) it is a kind of silvery green skin with high moisture content, will this still be ok to use??
Hi Kim,
Yes, you can bake pumpkins. I know the silvery green pumpkin, which is usually much larger than Kent. By baking it, I assume the moisture of the pumpkin reduces a bit. As long as the mixture is not too loose to make balls, it’ OK. If you find that the mashed pumpkin is too soft, you can heat it up in a saucepan at low temperature to let the moisture evaporate.
Home-grown pumpkin must be very sweet and tasty.
These sound very yummy, could I bake them instead of deep frying them?
Hi Alex, you could. You need to spray the croquettes with oil. Since they are already cooked, all you need is brown the surface. You may need to turn them over for even browning.
Hi;
If I want to use potato instead of pumpkin which kind of potato would you recommend?
Thanks and Happy New Year 🎈
Hi Teresa, Happy New Year!
Starchy potatoes are best suited as they become nice and fluffy when cooked. The best to use are Russet (common in the US), Dutch Creams, King Edward or Red Delight. However, great all-purpose potatoes like Golden Delight, Coliban, Red Rascal and Sebago (popular in Australia) still work great.
Yumiko, I just love that you suggest dishes to make your new recipe a full complementary dishes meal. It’s pumpkin harvest season here in Thailand, so will made these fresh and make up a good batch of frozen for out of pumpkin season enjoyment. Thanks for all your recipe posts.
Hi Randy, Thank you! Your croquettes made with pumpkins in season will be very tasty! Good idea to make a lot and freeze them.
Hello, I recently discovered your website. Love the recipes and your clear writing style. My family plans to make these to enjoy at an outdoor winter dinner (we live in the American Midwest). Thank you!
Hi Anthony, welcome to RecipeTin Japan! I look forward to hearing from you when you tried few dishes.
I think saying JAPANESE pumpkin is a better idea than JAP…that is a really offensive and derogatory term.
Hi Mia, I am aware of the term and I am Japanese! But that’s how it is known in Australia unfortunately. I can add dots between the alphabets, perhaps.
I changed it to J.A.P (Kent) pumpkin.
I am glad you are aware. In the United States it is extremely derogatory and offensive to Japanese people.
Many, many years ago I was told the name JAP came about when the growers didn’t know how to market it and called it Just Another Pumpkin which was eventually shortened to JAP. Always one to avoid controversy it’s a good thing I prefer butternut I guess. How did your pumpkin croquettes turn out Mia you forgot to say?
Mia, bit harsh Mate, from what I have read on the internet, back in the day, they didn’t know how to market these Pumpkin’s, so they named them JAP, Just another pumpkin, so be nice and don’t make someone feel like crap
YUUUM!!! How did I not get to try one of these?? (Or THREE or FOUR….)
Hi Nagi, you did try when we were invited to Goh’s place! We you already drunk then?
These sound delicious and as i am very fond of pumpkin, I will be making them very soon. Thanks
so much for your fantastic recipes.
Hi Coral, please edo and let me know what you think.
Hello,
What is a JAP pumpkin?
Hi Debora, it is similar to Japanese pumpkin but a bit larger. It is sometimes called JAP or Japanese pumpkin in Australia.