Crisp, golden and naturally plant-based, these gluten-free pumpkin and herb an easy addition to café, pub, catering and function menus.

Made with a simple potato and roasted pumpkin filling and coated in GF Lifestyle Breadcrumbs, they deliver a crunchy exterior with a soft, savoury centre. Serve as an entrée, bar snack or share plate, or reduce the portion size for canapé service.

Yield: approximately 11 × 50 g croquettes
Dietary: Gluten-free | Plant-based
Cooking method: Frying recommended

Ingredients

Pumpkin & herb filling

• 400 g potato, peeled
• 300 g Kent/Jap pumpkin, peeled
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
• 1–2 small garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
• 1 tbsp gluten-free plain flour or brown rice flour
• 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp paprika
• Black pepper, to taste

For crumbing

• 100–120 g GF Lifestyle Breadcrumbs
• 40 g gluten-free plain flour or brown rice flour
• 80–100 mL unsweetened plant milk
• 1 tbsp gluten-free plain flour or brown rice flour
• Neutral frying oil

Method

1. Roast the pumpkin.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut pumpkin into chunks and roast for approximately 20–30 minutes, or until tender and beginning to caramelise. Roasting rather than boiling helps minimise excess moisture in the croquette mixture.

2. Cook the potato.
Boil or steam potato until tender. Drain thoroughly and allow it to steam-dry for several minutes before mashing.

3. Prepare the filling.
Add roasted pumpkin to the potato and roughly mash together. Leaving a little texture in the pumpkin gives the finished croquette a more rustic centre.

Fold through parsley, chives, garlic, nutritional yeast (if using), flour, salt, paprika and black pepper.

Refrigerate the mixture for approximately 20–30 minutes, or until firm enough to shape.

4. Portion and shape.
Weigh approximately 50 g of filling per croquette and shape into short cylinders with rounded ends.

If the chilled mixture remains too soft to handle, add a small amount of additional GF flour. Avoid adding excessive flour, which can make the finished centre dense.

5. Crumb.
Prepare three bowls:

1. GF plain flour or brown rice flour
2. Plant milk whisked with 1 tbsp GF flour
3. GF Lifestyle Breadcrumbs

Lightly coat each croquette in flour, dip into the plant-milk slurry, then roll thoroughly in breadcrumbs. Gently press the crumbs onto the surface.

For best results, refrigerate the crumbed croquettes for another 10–15 minutes before cooking.

6. Fry until golden.
Deep fry at approximately 175–180°C until crisp and golden brown, or shallow fry over medium heat, turning carefully to colour evenly.

Drain and serve immediately.

Serving Ideas

For a café or pub entrée, serve three croquettes per portion with garlic aioli or herb sauce, dressed leaves and fresh herbs.

For catering or functions, make smaller 25–30 g croquettes and serve as a canapé with a dipping sauce.

Foodservice Notes

Batch preparation: Croquettes can be prepared and crumbed ahead of service and held refrigerated until required. Food businesses should apply their own validated food-safety procedures and storage limits.

Scaling: This recipe produces approximately 550 g of portioned filling / 11 × 50 g croquettes. For larger foodservice batches, multiply the ingredient quantities proportionally and portion by weight for consistent size and cooking.

Cooking: Frying produced the best crispness and crumb adhesion during recipe testing. If adapting the recipe for oven cooking or freezing, test the process under your own production conditions before service.