Fried Stuffing Balls have a beautiful, golden brown, crispy outside with a tender, fluffy, delicious stuffing on the inside. These fun little fried balls of stuffing are unique, crunchy pops of deliciousness to enjoy.
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The best part is the texture of these deep Fried Stuffing Balls reminds me of hush puppies, with their tender inside and crispy outside. Using Thanksgiving leftovers, these go wonderfully with Turkey Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
Why This Recipe Works
It's a great way to use any leftover holiday stuffing, and can be served as a delicious appetizer, side dish, and would be a fun thing to bring out for game days. These stuffing balls are delicious dipped in Cranberry Sauce.
Changing up traditional Thanksgiving, or other holiday meals can be fun with recipes like this one with stuffing or my Slow Cooker Turkey and Gravy. You can even use leftover turkey for Turkey Noodle Soup. There are so many great recipes to use up leftovers so you don't have to be bored with the same things day after day and don't have to worry about wasting anything either.
Don't forget to have some fun Thanksgiving treats for when you need a sweet pick-me-up later on!
Let's Gather The Ingredients
- Leftover stuffing: use whatever leftovers you have from your favorite recipe. Or make a box of stove top stuffing up.
- Cheese: grated parmesan cheese
- Eggs
- All purpose flour
- Panko bread crumbs: Adds the perfect crunchy texture.
- Paprika, garlic and salt
- Oil for frying: Vegetable oil, canol or avocado oil.
- Sauces: BBQ sauce and cranberry sauce
How to make Fried Stuffing Balls
- Step 1: In a large bowl, mix cold leftover stuffing, parmesan cheese, and whisked eggs together until combined. Scoop out about 2 Tablespoons of this stuffing mix in your hands and roll to form a ball.
- Step 2: Add flour to a bowl, roll the stuffing balls in the flour, shake off any excess flour, and set aside. Repeat until all balls have been coated in flour.
- Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and dredge flour-coated stuffing balls through the whisked eggs, letting any excess eggs drip off.
- Step 4: In a third bowl, add Panko breadcrumbs with spices. Roll each of the balls through the last mixture.
- Step 5: Once all of the balls have been coated, place them on a lined baking sheet.
- Step 6: Heat oil in a large skillet. Place balls in the hot oil to fry for a few minutes.
- Step 7: Use a slotted spoon to flip them over or roll them over so they cook properly.
- Step 8: Once they're cooked, carefully remove them from the oil and place them on a wire rack sitting on parchment paper lined baking sheet to help catch and clean up any drippings.
Recipe Tips
- I have a delicious cornbread sausage stuffing that is amazing for these deep fried stuffing balls.
- If your stuffing is super dry you can add in a couple of tablespoons chicken stock or milk, to moisten it a bit.
- Dice up some turkey and toss it into the mixture.
- I make 12 2" stuffing balls, but you can make them smaller.
- Serve with cranberry bbq sauce or leftover turkey gravy.
Recipe Faq's
You'll find that the words stuffing and dressing get used interchangeably quite often. But there are technically a few very subtle differences. Basically, you call it stuffing when you place and cook it into the cavity of the turkey, when you place it into a baking dish and bake it separately it's called dressing.
Leftover stuffing/dressing is good for 3-4 days stored in an airtight container and placed in the refrigerator. Or freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Yes, they are delicious in an air fryer. Place a few balls into a preheated air fryer spray the tops with nonstick cooking spray and fry on 380 for 4-6 minutes. Flipping halfway through and spraying the other side with cooking spray.
More Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas
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Deep Fried Stuffing Balls
Equipment
- 1 Spider Strainer
Ingredients
- 3 cups leftover stuffing
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 egg whisked
For The Breading
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Oil for frying
For The Dipping Sauce
- ½ cup BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup cranberry sauce
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the stuffing parmesan cheese and whisked egg and mix.
- Scoop stuffing, about 2 tablespoons per serving, and roll into a ball using your hands. Place on a baking sheet and set aside. (if stuffing is to dry to hold together add a splash of milk to moisten)
- Place flour in a bowl, and whisked eggs in a second bowl, then the panko, paprika, granulated garlic, and salt in a third bowl.
- Dredge each stuffing ball in the flour and shake off any excess. The place in the eggs and shake off any excess finally roll in the panko bread crumbs until coated. And return back to the baking sheet.
- Heat a pot or skillet with 2 inches of vegetable oil on medium-high heat
- Once the oil is ready place 6 of the stuffing balls into the oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes then roll the ball over and cook another 1-2 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix the bbq sauce and cranberry sauce until combined.
These stuffing balls are so good I made them last year and they were a hit! I made extra stuffing this time just for these balls lol
I have not done it in the air fryer, but my daughter did at 350 for about 15 minutes flipping halfway through.
Do you have air fryer time/temperature, by any chance?