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Square image of a cheese pull from one of the rice balls.
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Arancini

Want a delicious and filling appetizer that can be made into a meal? This Arancini recipe is an Italian classic made of deep fried rice and cheese, a dish that you cannot resist!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 10 rice balls
Calories: 151kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

  • 2-3 cups cooked white rice
  • ¾ cup parmesan cheese
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 5 eggs
  • 10 cubes mozzarella cheese cut from the block about ½-inch diced or cheese of your choice
  • 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
  • Oil for frying
  • Marinara sauce for dipping optional

Instructions

  • Heat oil to 375 degrees F.
  • In a bowl, mix together your rice, parmesan, 2 eggs, salt and pepper.
  • Form portions of rice around cubes of cheese.
  • Press around cheese creating a ball shape, squeeze tightly to make sure they hold together. Repeat until all rice and cheese are used. If you have rice leftover that's ok.
  • In a small bowl whisk together your remaining eggs. In a separate small bowl place your bread crumbs.
  • Dip arancini in egg until coated.
  • Then dip in the breadcrumbs until covered.
  • Place on sheet pay while you repeat for each remaining ball,
  • Place 2-3 balls in oil and fry until golden and heated through, about 3 minutes.
  • Place on paper lined towels to drain.
  • Repeat until all are done. Serve with marinara sauce and enjoy!

Notes

  1. You can fill these with other things in addition to cheese and rice, I shared some suggestions above. 
  2. These can easily be doubled to make more to have on hand.
  3. I used Italian style breadcrumbs for the breading of this recipe but you can use Panko or homemade breadcrumbs.
  4. Instead of cooked rice you can use day old cooked risotto. This risotto holds together nicely and keeps the ball form very easily when you go to fry them.
  5. I love my deep fryer, but you can also make these in the air fryer as well, see above on how to do that.
  6. These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 318mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 207IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 1mg