Potato Cheese Balls are the ultimate cheese-stuffed snacks. Popularly known as batata vada, these snacks are a staple diet of Indian people. But unfortunately, these cheese balls are not served at fast food shops, and neither they are on the street food menus. Nope.


However, plain batata vadas are available everywhere, but cheese batata vada is rare. It’s a homemade fusion snack; you must make it yourself. It is a simple and easy recipe. Let’s make it. Shall we?

What are Potato Cheese balls?

Boiled & mashed potato mixture with masala having cheese stuffing rolled in a ball shape, and deep fried gives you potato cheese balls. That’s our cheese wala batata vada. Before deep-frying, the balls are coated using all-purpose flour & breadcrumbs.

It’s cheesy, tummy-filling, and crispy. Everyone will love it. These potato cheese balls remind me of a popular Gujarati snack called pattice. The cooking method is almost similar. However, the filling inside is different. See the below image.

manglore goli baje & surti pattice

image credit: nehascookbook & divine taste

There’s one more south Indian snack similar to pattice—Mangalore’s famous Goli Baje aka Mangalore Bhajji aka Mysore Bonda with coconut chutney.

Again the stuffing inside is different. Refer to the image above. All in all, many popular snacks resemble our potato cheese balls.

Now that we know what potato cheese balls are let’s make them. I am already hungry da.😍 Here you go.

Cheesy tip for Potato Cheese Balls

If you look closely, I have used Amul cheese. However, there’s one exciting suggestion that I would like to share. If you want cheese threads in your potato cheese balls, use Mozzarella cheese. When mozzarella cheese melts, it gives a thread-like structure. It looks & feels similar to the pizza you eat at dominos. Try it.

Potato Cheese Balls Extra Shots

Here are a few tips to make delicious and cheesy potato balls. Please read them before you begin the making process.

  • Use medium size potatoes so that they boil faster.
  • Toast and crush bread in a toaster or microwave to make bread crumbs.
  • Replace Amul cheese with mozzarella cheese if you want cheese threads.
  • Don’t over-fry potato balls in hot oil. It will shatter or burn.
  • Roll the potato balls in slurry & breadcrumbs until you get a thick coating.
  • Cut cheese into small cubes. It will help you quickly wrap the mashed potato around.
  • Adding any liquid to the potato mix will make it lose and runny. Hence, avoid it.
  • Don’t replace all-purpose flour with rice, corn flour, or besan flour.

Potato Cheese Balls FAQs

Now that you know much more about making cheesy potato cheese balls, let’s conclude the recipe by answering your queries. Here are some faqs to help you.

How are potato cheese balls different from aloo vada?

The main ingredient in both of them is cheese. If you remove the cheese, it becomes plain aloo vada, similar to the vada pav. Additionally, aloo vada is coated in gram flour slurry, whereas our cheese balls are in all-purpose flour.

Can we use readymade breadcrumbs?

Yes, you can use readymade breadcrumbs available in the market. So using readymade breadcrumbs is not a problem here. But I recommend making it at home so you can use it in other recipes.

Mozzarella cheese is not available. Can you recommend another cheese?

You can use Amul cheese or any other cheese instead of mozzarella cheese. However, mozzarella cheese is not compulsory. Yet if you want cheese threads, mozzarella cheese is an excellent choice.

Why do my potato balls shatter while deep frying?

There are multiple reasons why that happened. First, your potato mix is loose. It must be tight enough to hold the round shape. Second, the all-purpose flour coating was thin. It must be thick. Third, the oil temperature was too high for the balls to be in one piece. Last but not least, your cheese cubes are too large.

Can we use corn flour or gram flour (besan)?

No, you can’t use corn, gram flour, or all-purpose flour. I have already mentioned this point in the helpful tips section above. Corn or gram flour is not a suitable ingredient here. Hence, avoid using them.

Are they good enough for kids to eat?

Yes, the potato cheese balls are an excellent snack for kids. They will like it and ask for more. Therefore, keep extra ingredients on standby to make more balls.

Are cheese recipes healthy?

It is subjective whether or not cheese recipes are healthy. In other words, it depends on the quantity of the cheese and the recipe in which it is used.

Do let me know how was your experience with making these cheese balls. Also, try our other potato recipes like Potato Fingers and Potato Poori.