Fried Stuffed Rice Balls

This post is sponsored by Veetee, but all opinions are my own.

This post does contain affiliate links for your convenience.

Please stop whatever you are doing and save this recipe.

SAVE THIS RECIPE.

I know typing in all caps kind of sounds like I'm shouting behind the scenes of this blog at you, but that is because I am!

These fried stuffed rice balls, otherwise known as Arancini de Riso in Italian, are an easy, yet looks like you spent all day on them, type of appetizer that you could feed your neighbors or the Pope. Fancy, yet equally down to earth.

But why lie?  I ate them as my lunch the day I made them.  Yep.  Ate them as my lunch.  I have no shame.

I am enjoying every single moment I have had this year as a Veetee Brand Ambassador. Who knew creating recipes could be so much fun?  I wandered into my laundry room the other day {where I'm storing my shipment of Veetee rice} and thought to myself, 'what can I make this month'?

I wanted something creative, a bit out of the box, abnormal with typical families, yet equally delicious and easy.

I first saw a version of these fried stuffed rice balls on T.V. a few years back.  First off, anything that you dip in red sauce is pretty much golden to me.  Secondly, it's fried.  Bless. Third, it's stuffed with cheese.

It's like the holy trinity.

And can we just take a moment to talk about how beautiful they are?  They are fried to a golden perfection.  Crispy and crunchy on the outside and tender and cheesy on the inside. Sprinkle with some fresh Parmesan cheese, sit them on a bed of marinara and garnish with basil?

My god, I almost fainted just typing out that sentence.

Veetee's ready to heat rice is perfect for this dish.  A quick cook for 2 minutes in the microwave is half the work!  Once the rice has cooled, I mixed it together with some Italian breadcrumbs, basil, cheese and egg.  A little roll in my secret coating and dip in the hot oil and these babies were done! Honestly, super easy.

You  know what's great about being a food blogger?  In my opinion it's having all these little tidbits of food leftover in your fridge from various projects and declaring dinner as a "grazing night".

The husband called mid-afternoon today asking what was for dinner and I replied, "Some leftover fried stuffed rice balls, leftover pizza from the birthday party last night, fresh fruit, a ham sandwich if you want it and chocolate milk that needs to be used up from the other day."

After 6 years of this, he is used to at least once a week eating up a hodgepodge of whatever we have left from my random cookerings.

Thank god he's flexible.

I'm so stoked for you guys to try these.  Make them for dinner {or lunch}, fry them up as a Saturday appetizer, bring them warm to a party, whatever works for your tribe.  

Kids love them.  Adults drool over them.  They are a hit!

Fried Stuffed Rice Balls

Print this Recipe!

Filling:

2 c. cooked Veetee Thai Jasmine rice {or any white rice}

2 eggs

1/2 c. Italian style seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 pieces of string cheese, cut into 1/2 in. pieces

1 t. dried basil

Breading:

1/4 c. Italian style seasoned breadcrumbs

1 c. crushed corn flake cereal

Frying:

2-3 c. canola oil, enough to fill a large saucepan halfway up

1.  In a large bowl combine the cooked and cooled rice, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese and dried basil.

2.  With wet hands form the mixture into balls, about 1 1/2 in. in size.  Press your finger into the ball making a dent for the cube of cheese.  Fold the rice over the cheese and form it back into a ball.

3.  Roll balls in the breadcrumb/corn flake mixture and set aside while the oil is heating.

4.  When the oil is hot {around 350 degrees}, place 6-7 balls at a time in the oil.  Turning every couple of minutes until a deep golden brown.  Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

5.  Serve the balls warm with marinara sauce for dipping, garnishing with additional fresh Parm and basil.

6.  If cooking early and serving later, simple reheat the balls in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

See a full listing of where to buy Veetee rice HERE.

A big thanks to Veetee for sponsoring this post.

Stay tuned for next month's fun recipe!