croquette

American  

[kroh-ket] / kroʊˈkɛt /

noun

croquettes plural

1. a small cake or ball of minced meat, poultry, or fish, or of rice, potato, or other food, often coated with beaten egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in deep fat.

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croquette British  

/ krɒ-, krəʊˈkɛt /

noun

1. a savoury cake of minced meat, fish, etc, fried in breadcrumbs

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• croquettes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of croquette

First recorded in 1700–10; from French, equivalent to croqu(er) “to crunch” ( Old French crokier “to break,” of expressive origin) + -ette diminutive suffix; see origin at -ette

Explanation

A croquette is a savory, breaded patty that can be made of meat or vegetables and is usually fried. You might use up leftover mashed potatoes by making croquettes. Almost every country's cuisine has some version of a croquette, a ball, patty, or cylinder of food that's mashed together, rolled in breadcrumbs, and baked or fried. You might eat beef croquettes in Brazil, or plantain and black bean croquettes in Mexico. The word itself, croquette, is French — it comes from croquer, "to crunch," plus the suffix ette, which usually signifies something little or cute.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

croquette croquettes

It was simply sublime, though the rabbit croquette was the best bite of the night.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2022

The roast dinner, with a courgette croquette as the vegetarian option, is popular with the children.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2022

Back at home, my mother started buying fresh salmon, and anytime there were leftovers I’d try to re-create that perfect salmon croquette.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2022

Some of the chef Masaya Shirai’s dishes are truffled potato croquette, grilled king crab, sukiyaki nabe with Wagyu beef in broth, hand rolls, and dry noodles with shrimp sauce.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2022

One evening when Eliot’s mother came to pick him up, Mrs. Sen served her a tuna croquette, explaining that it was really supposed to be made with a fish called bhetki.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

He includes some carp recipes in his “Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em!” cookbook, and wants to start a business to sell frozen Copi croquettes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Crunchy and smooth shrimp croquettes, bright and flaky Basque ham and asparagus tarts, briny confit tuna and conserved-tomato toast, crisp then juicy, and pistachio white chocolate mousse.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2025

Cubarrubia and Morales’ celebration featured a wide array of dishes, such as Filipino sour and savory soup of sinigang as well as Cuban picadillo and ham croquettes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2023

A hotel invoice shows the reception’s menu included Singaporean-style beef satay, fried goat cheese with truffle oil croquettes and sriracha chicken sliders, alongside a selection of seasonal mocktails.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2022

She remembers Gogol and Sonia helping her when they were small, Gogol’s hand wrapped around the can of crumbs, Sonia always wanting to eat the croquettes before they’d been breaded and fried.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri