These popular Japanese potato and meat croquettes called Korokke are breaded and deep-fried until golden and crispy on the outside but still creamy and succulent inside. This well-loved food in Japan is so delicious served with rice and salad or in your bento lunch.

In Japan, Korokke (コロッケ) are as ubiquitous as fried chicken in convenience stores. They are tasty street food, casual diner food, specialty food, and a home-cooked dish loved by all ages. These potato and meat croquettes come with a crispy-crunchy crust that reveals a creamy, mashed potato filling. You need to try it to believe how good they are!
Since I always have a soft spot for potato dishes and crunchy food, korokke easily tops the chart of my favorite foods. I once had six pieces of these golden-fried patties for one dinner. Shhh…I shouldn’t be too proud of my big appetite, but I’m absolutely excited to share my best korroke recipe with you today.
Table of Contents

What is Korokke?
Korokke is said to be originated from the French croquette or Dutch kroket. I don’t speak French, but when I looked it up, I learned that croquette came from the verb croquer in French, which is to crunch. Makes total sense! Since everyone loves a good crunch, the Japanese started adapting croquettes and it became a popular Japanese-western food in the early 1900s.
At the most basic, korokke is made of a mixture of mashed potatoes, ground meat, and vegetables that have been shaped into small round patties. They are then coated in panko breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until crispy.
These days you can many versions of korokke, with a variety of additions such as ground meat, vegetables, or seafood. Some are flavored with curry powder, and some make use of leftovers from nikujaga. Another must-try flavor is kabocha croquette (my recipe). Each region of Japan also has its own korokke, featuring famous local ingredients such as shrimp, crab, or sweet corn.

Quick Tips for Making the Best Korokke At Home
- Use starchy potatoes such as russet potatoes
- Use quality ground beef – I used organic beef.
- When mashing the potatoes, leave some small chunks for textures.
- Discard any moisture before combining the cooked meat & vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes
- Use only panko breadcrumbs for an extra crispy exterior.
- Lastly, always make extra because they are great for leftovers, and store well in the freezer for up to a month!
My mom makes her Korokke without any written recipes, so over the years, I’ve developed my own version by adopting her method and making personal adjustments.
The recipe that I am sharing here includes carrots and shiitake mushrooms, which are typically not included regular korokke from the stores or my favorite korokke my mom makes. I started adding them to give some colors and extra nutrition when they were small.
I finally posted my mom’s korokke recipe in March 2012 if you’re interested. Her recipe is delicious, and I make this recipe all the time, so please give it a try!

Can I Air Fry or Shallow Fry Korokke?
The short answer is YES. I don’t own an air fryer; so I can’t provide the exact steps. However, many of my readers have tried air frying with my korokke recipe with success.
You can also use a frying pan to shallow fry Korokke. The inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to brown the breaded outer layer. You just need less than 1/2 inch (<1 cm) of oil in the pan! It’s easy for cleanup, too.


What to Serve with Japanese Croquettes
Korokke can be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, main, or as a featured dish in your bento lunch box. They are delicious on its own, but we also often serve it with a sweet-savory Tonkatsu sauce.

This homemade Korokke won’t disappoint you at all!
More Korokke Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Mom’s Best Korokke Recipe (Japanese Croquettes)
- Baked Croquettes
- Korokke Bento
- Kabocha Korokke
- Croquette Sandwich
- Creamy Crab Croquette


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Korokke (Potato & Meat Croquette)
Ingredients
For the Korokke Patties
- 2 lb russet potatoes (about 4 potatoes)
- 1 onion
- ½ carrot
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil (for sautéing)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
For the Breading
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
For Deep–Frying
- 3 cups neutral oil (or enough for 2 inches (5 cm) of oil to completely submerge the patties)
For Serving
- tonkatsu sauce (you can make Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Korokke Mixture
- Peel and cut 2 lb russet potatoes into quarters. To a large pot, add the potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil. Cook the potatoes until a skewer pierces the potato easily, about 15–20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and drain the water completely. When you do so, use the lid to hold back the potatoes so they don’t fall out of the pot.
- Move the pot back to the stove. On low heat, shake the pot so that the remaining moisture will completely evaporate (but don’t burn them).
- Turn off the heat and mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks for texture. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, finely chop 1 onion and ½ carrot. Remove the stems from 2 shiitake mushrooms and finely chop the caps.
- Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Then, add 2 Tbsp neutral oil. Add the onion and sauté until soft.
- Add the carrot and shiitake mushrooms and cook until soft.
- Add 1 lb ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked through, add 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, ¼ tsp white pepper powder, and freshly ground black pepper (to taste). Remove from the heat.
- Drain the meat and add it to the pot with the mashed potatoes. Tip: Leave the cooking liquid behind as we don‘t want to introduce more moisture.
- Crack and add 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) to the mixture.
- Mix it all together until everything is well combined.
To Shape the Patties
- While the mixture is still warm but not hot, form the Korokke patties into an oval shape. Place on a plate or tray and cover, then cool and rest the patties in the refrigerator for 15–30 minutes. (Do not skip!) TIP: Cooling prevents the croquettes from exploding while deep-frying. If you place warm patties in the hot oil, the internal temperature of the korokke will increase fast, causing them to release steam and explode through the breading. Resting the patties also helps the ingredients meld together.
To Bread the Korokke
- Meanwhile, prepare ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), 3 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (beaten), and 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)on 3 separate trays or bowls. Take the patties out of the refrigerator and dip each patty in the flour, beaten egg, and panko, in that order.
- Now they are ready for deep-frying.
To Deep-Fry
- To a wok or a heavy-bottomed pot, add 3 cups neutral oil or enough for at least 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in the wok/pot. Bring the oil to 340–350ºF (170–180ºC) over medium or medium-high heat, using an instant-read cooking thermometer to check the temperature. Then, deep-fry the Korokke in batches until they are golden brown. The inside is already cooked, so all you need to do is to fry them until golden brown. Tip: When you deep-fry, do not crowd the pot because the oil temperature will drop quickly. Your ingredients should take up no more than about half of the oil surface area at any one time. For more helpful hints, read my post How to Deep-Fry Food.
- Transfer the Korokke to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Continue deep-frying the rest of the patties. Serve immediately with tonkatsu sauce.
To Store
- You can store the leftover in an airtight container and freeze up to a month. To reheat, put the frozen or half-defrosted Korokke on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 15 minutes or until the inside is warm.
First time making korokke and it was a huge hit! They came out great and were delicious. Thank you Naomi !
Hello, Sylvana. Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed Korokke as much as we do! Happy cooking! 🥰
Hi Nami-san. Just to add to some earlier comments, I left the assembled patties in the fridge for about 4 hours before dipping in flour/egg/panko. At first I was a little concerned that after that time, the patties were quite firm and thought the end result might be somewhat heavy. But the finished product was nice and light and, of course, very tasty! And goes very well with the tonkatsu sauce 🙂 Thank you again.
Hello, Trevor. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your experience.
Yes. As long as you leave out the eggs and panko, the patties should be fine.
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
Hi there! I was wondering if it would be okay to leave them in the fridge to cool down longer than 30 minutes before deep frying them?
Hello, Soma. Yes. You may store them in the fridge for longer than 30 minutes, but no longer than overnight.
We hope this helps, and we hope you enjoy Nami’s recipe.☺️
I made a veganized version of this last night – delicious! I used a package of Impossible meat and substituted the eggs for flax eggs in both steps. It worked great! They held together amazingly and the coating was perfect. I would make them again – just not on a weeknight because they were a lot of work to make and cleanup – but this recipe does make a lot so we will be eating them for a few days! Thanks for the recipe! It was my first time having a Japanese korokke.
Hello, Jennifer! We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed Japanese Korokke for the first time!☺️
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your culinary experience with us.
Happy cooking!
Flax eggs to coat! That’s a fantastic idea to use up that package of flax I bought that one time and haven’t come up with a way to use yet. The nutty flavor should be hidden by (or at least blend in with) the meat and potato.
What kind of oil is typically used/preferred in Japan for something like this or Tempura?
Hi Kezie, Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
For most deep-fried dishes, we use neutral-flavored oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil, bran oil, etc., and Nami’s Tempura recipe page explains the types of oils she recommends. We hope this helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tempura-recipe/
I jus made them! I had some leftover mashed potatoes and since it contained milk and butter I skipped the egg in the meat, viggie mix. Also my first time making. They are super good! My son said “This are the best Korokke, mommy!” Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Ildi! Aww. We are so happy to hear your son enjoyed homemade Korokke!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your sweet feedback. Happy Cooking!😊
Great recipe! Made them for Christmas Eve and everyone loved them!
Hi Marisol! We are so happy to hear everyone loved Korokke!
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback. Happy Holiday!💞
Hi Nami, I saw this article and thought I’d share. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/japan-kobe-beef-croquettes-30-year-waitlist/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_source=fbCNNi&utm_content=2022-11-14T08%3A00%3A21&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2rtJ-tqWPkHmlzt84szx0AbRPTuBubFCs8yycP0RWmZVbcnZONETMfTjk
Hi Toby! Thank you for sharing this! 😊
Hi Nami!
I have been missing my grandma lately and one of her favorite foods was croquettes! I was going to do a search for a recipe but I remembered that I wanted to try your recipe but at the time I didn’t have the ingredients on hand.
I am SO glad I used your recipe! So very tasty! I am sure my grandma would have loved them!
The only thing I did differently was I used ground pork because that was the meat she used. This is going in my regular rotation! Just have to wait for the leftovers to cool enough to package in the freezer!
Once again another wonderful recipe!
Thanks again!
Hi Victoria! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your story with us!
Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear the Korokke tourn out tasty, and you enjoyed them.
Thank you for your kind feedback.☺️
Hello! Sorry if this question was answered in the comments already, but I didn’t see it!
Is it possible to prepare the fillings the night before and refrigerate overnight before breading and frying?
Thanks!
Hello, Lindsay. Yes, you can bread and fry the following day. Refrigerate for no longer than overnight.🙂
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
Made these yesterday for the first time and had some friends over. I added some shichimi togarashi to the potato and meat mixture. Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing such an enjoyable recipe!
Hi Shingtal! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
We are glad to hear you and your friends loved the Korokke!😊
I am in the process of making this as a casserole…. a deconstructed Korokke!!!! I added cheddar cheese. Made the tonkatsu sauce.
Well !!!!! I was not expecting my “deconstructed Korokke” to taste as good as the individual croquettes but I was SO wrong! Wow, we loved it! I placed the filling in a square baking dish, topped with a generous helping of extra sharp cheddar cheese and then topped with panko breadcrumbs. I baked at 400 for about 30 min or until browned. Our homemade Tonkatsu sauce was wonderful. So much easier than making the individual servings. Served with fresh carrot strips and green pepper strips with my homemade low FODMAP ranch dressing.
Hi Marge, Awesome! Thank you very much for sharing your cooking experience and photo with us! It looks very yummy!😋