Bubble pillow potato is the new way to enjoy potatoes! It's deep fried and crunchy on the outside and creamy and on the inside. It makes for a great appetizer and/or snack, using 5 ingredients! (An air fryer alternative has been added!)
A little while ago, we saw this bubble pillow potato trending on social media. As we are carb and potato lovers, how can we pass it up?! We absolutely love these crispy pillow pillow potatoes!
They're creamy on the inside and is so good with ketchup and mustard! Plus, they are super easy to make with only 5 ingredients. And our favorite part? They were crispy for like 15 to 20 minutes!! 🤩
If you liked this recipe, you may also like our quick cucumber kimchi, rice paper cheese tteokbokki, and crab rangoon dip with crispy baked wontons!
Ingredients
- Russet potato - These potatoes are the best for frying because they are starchy and fluffy. Avoid waxy potatoes, as they tend to be gummier.
- All-purpose flour - This will be used as the binder to make the pillow potato dough. Using enough all-purpose flour will keep the potato from disintegrating when frying.
- Cornstarch - Just a little extra starch so that the pillow potatoes are extra crispy. You can also use potato starch.
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- Oil for frying
Optional ingredients:
- Breadcrumbs - If you're making the air-fried or oven-baked versions of these bubble pillow potatoes, bread crumbs are highly recommended for crunch and to protect the potato balls.
- Low moisture mozzarella (optional cheese filling)
- Grated parmesan (optional)
How to make bubble pillow potatoes
Boil the potato:
1. Peel and wash the russet potato. Cut the potato in half, lengthwise. Then, cut it into 1 inch thick "D's".
🌟 Pro tip: Cutting the potato into different thickness can affect more than just the cook time. It can also pack the potato with more or less moisture. This will affect how much flour will be needed. So try your best to cut the potatoes into 1 inch thickness.
2. Place the potatoes in a pot, along with enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
🌟 Pro tip: You can insert a toothpick, fork, or knife into the center of a potato to test the doneness. If you can easily insert your utensil, the potato is done.
Fry the pillow potatoes:
3. Once the potato is done, drain the water completely and transfer the potato to a mixing bowl. Mash the potato with a fork, potato ricer, or potato masher.
4.Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper. Mix until just combined.
*Make sure to not over-mix the dough! Over-mixing will make the pillow potatoes dense and doughy. So just mix until no more dry flour is visible.*
5. Add about 2 to 3 inches of oil to a pot and bring it up to 325°F. While the oil is heating, prepare a plate or tray lined with paper towel.
6. With a small cookie scoop, scoop and gently release the potato dough into the hot oil. Repeat with the rest of the dough and fry until the bubble pillow potatoes are golden brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Fry in smaller batches if necessary.
*Our small cookie scoop is about 1 ¾ inch in diameter and holds about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough. So, if you scoop is smaller, you may need to decrease the fry time by a minute or two.*
7. Remove the pillow potatoes from the oil and let it drain on the paper towel for a minute. You can lightly sprinkle the bubble potatoes with some salt if you'd like
8. Enjoy while hot! They are also great with ketchup and/or mustard!
Alternative way to shape pillow potatoes for frying
If you don't have a small cookie scoop, you can still make this crispy pillow potato!
After the potato dough comes together, gently roll it into an 1 inch thick rope. Separate into multiple ropes if needed. Cut the rope into ½ inch pieces. You can gently round out the dough if you wish and indent it with the back of a fork.
Repeat with the rest of the dough and fry according to the recipe.
How to make bubble pillow potato in the air fryer
Here's our best air fryer alternative for making these bubble pillow potatoes since we had so many requests. They were pretty, but not as crispy as the fried ones. We also coated them in breadcrumbs to give them more crunch and to prevent them from getting stale and dried out while air frying.
1. Boiled and drain the potatoes as instructed for the deep fried bubble pillow potatoes.
2. Mash up the potatoes, and then add the salt, pepper, flour, and cornstarch. You can also add in any additional seasonings and cheese at this stage. Mix until just combined and no more dry flour and starch are visible. Don't over mix! It'll make the bubble potatoes gummy.
3. Grease the bottom of the air fryer basket well with oil or oil spray.
4. Scoop the potato dough with a small cookie scoop and round it out into a ball. Roll the potato ball in breadcrumbs to coat. Place the potato ball in the greased air fryer basket and repeat with remaining potato dough.
*If you want to stuff the bubble pillow potatoes with cheese, do it before you round it out into a ball.*
5. Generously spray the potato balls with oil and air fry them at 400°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown and hot throughout. Remove the bubble pillow potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes before enjoying.
📝 Note: Different air fryers cook differently. So if need be, adjust the cook time as necessary. Also, if starting with a cold air fryer (not preheated), add 2 to 5 extra minutes to the cook time.
For the oven baked version:
*Ovens can be different in each household, so do adjust the cook time and temperature as you see fit.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare a sheet pan lined with foil and grease it with oil or spray. Follow the instruction for the air fried bubble pillow potatoes and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Bake them for about 25 minutes or until the bubble pillow potatoes are golden brown and hot throughout.
🌟 Pro tip: If your oven has a top heating element, move the rack to the third slot closest to the top (about 8 to 9 inches from the top). If you have a bottom heating element, keep the rack in the center.
Recipe Tips
- Don't over-mix the dough! Over-mixing the dough will result in dense, doughy potatoes.
- Measuring the flour properly. Adding too much flour to the potatoes can cause it to become dense. So use a scale or properly measure using the spoon and level method to prevent overpacking!
- Drain the potatoes immediately and completely. It is important that the potatoes DO NOT have extra moisture. Having extra moisture means more flour and cornstarch is needed or your potato balls will break apart while they are frying.
- Depending on how big your cookie scoops are, fry time may vary. Our small cookie scoop is about 1 ¾ inch in diameter and holds about 1 ½ tablespoons. If your cookie scoop is smaller, you may need to reduce the fry time by a minute or two.
- Coat them in breadcrumbs if using the air fryer method. The breadcrumb coating gives the air fryer bubble pillow potatoes more crunch and prevent them from drying out while air frying. We tried them without coating and the outside developed a stale texture instead of crispy.
Storage and reheating
These bubble pillow potatoes are best eaten right after frying. If you have leftovers, let the pillow potatoes cool completely then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To reheat, place them in the air fryer basket and air fry on 350°F for 5 minutes. Do note that the potatoes will be crispy again, but the texture may be a touch denser.
FAQ
Absolutely! Using a cookie scoop was the most simple way to shape these pillow potatoes, but you can cut them by hand as well. Please refer to the topic above for more details.
If your potatoes are too wet and not enough flour was used, the potato dough will fall apart as it fries. So make sure to try and cut the potatoes into 1 inch slices, drain the potatoes immediately and completely when they are tender, and the measure the flour properly.
If your pillow potato is gummy on the inside, you most likely over-mixed the dough or used too much flour. Over-mixing the dough will cause the potato to become gummy and the flour to develop gluten.
If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰
📖 Recipe
Bubble Pillow Potato
Ingredients
- 14 ounces russet potato usually 1 large russet
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour fluffed, spooned, and leveled
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt a little less if using fine salt
- Few cracks of black pepper
- Oil for frying
- Breadcrumb (if using the air fryer or oven method)
Instructions
Deep fry method:
- Boil the potato:Peel and wash the russet potato. Cut the potato in half lengthwise, then cut the potato into 1 inch "D" slices.
- Place the potatoes in a pot and cover it with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until you can easily insert a fork through the center, about 10 to 15 mintues.
- Once the ptoatoes are cooked, drain well and transfer it to a mixing bowl.
- Make the pillow potato dough:Mash the potato with a fork. Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, and cracked black pepper. Mix everything together until well combined and a dough forms. DON'T overmix! It will result in a denser pillow potato!*You can also mash the potato with a potato ricer or potato masher.*
- Fry the pillow potatoes:Fill a pot with 2 inches of oil and heat it to 325°F. Also prepare a plate or tray lined with paper towel.
- Using a small cookie scoop (about 1½ inch in diameter), scoop and gently release the potato dough into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining dough. Fry the pillow potatoes for about 6 to 8 mintues, or until they are golden brown and crispy.*Fry the pillow potatoes in batches if needed.*
- Remove the pillow potatoes from the oil and let them drain on the plate lined with paper towel. You can lightly season with some salt if you'd like.
- Enjoy the bubble pillow potatoes while they're hot! They are great with ketchup and mustard.
Air fryer method:
- Boil and make the potato dough as instructed for the deep fry method above.
- Grease the bottom of the air fryer basket with oil or cooking spray.
- Scoop the potato dough with a small cookie scoop. Release it from the scoop and round it out with your hands. Roll the potato ball in breadcrumbs to coat, and then place it into the greased air fryer basket. Repeat with the remaining potato dough.
- Once done, generously spray the potato balls well with cook spray. Air fry them at 400°F for 17 minutes, or until golden brown and hot throughout.
- Let the air fried bubble pillow potatoes cool for a few minutes before enjoying.
Oven-bake method:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Grease the aluminum foil with oil or cooking spray.
- Boil the potato and make the potato dough as the deep fried method.
- Scoop the potato dough with a small cookie scoop. Release it from the scoop and round it out with your hands. Roll the potato ball in breadcrumbs to coat, and then place it into the prepared greased sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining potato dough.
- Spray the breaded potato balls with cooking spray and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and hot throughout.
- Remove from the oven and let the bubble pillow potatoes cool for a few minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- You can also add more seasonings and cheese to your bubble pillow potatoes. Refer to the post for more information and instruction (Under the air frying topic).
- Both air fryers and ovens can be different from home to home. So make sure to adjust the cook time and temperature as needed.
- If you don't have a small cookie scoop, you can also use a tablespoon to scoop and pre-shape the potato dough. You can also shape the dough into an inch thick rope and cut into ½ inch pieces.
- Depending on how big you cut the potato and your environment, the potato may require a little more flour to form a dough.
- Test fry a ball of dough. If it starts disintegrating in the oil, the dough needs more flour. Add 1 tablespoon at a time.
- It is very crucial that the potatoes are drained immediately and completely when they are done boiling. Extra moisture in the potato means you'll need more flour and cornstarch. If not, the potato balls will break apart in the oil.
Lisa H. says
Can I use leftover mashed potatoes for this? Or will it turn out better if I make the mashed potatoes and use them for this recipe right away? Thanks!
Mei says
Hi Lisa!
That will depending on your mashed potato recipe (how much butter and milk/cream/sour cream used). That will change how much flour and cornstarch needed to form a dough. We recommend that you use plain mashed potatoes that were cut into 1 inch chunks and then boiled. Please refer to the post for photo references.
Hope this helps!
Mei ❤️
Allison says
I made these with leftover homemade mashed potatoes and they turned out to be so much better than I was expecting (I did have high expectations)! They were perfectly crunchy on the outside and smooth/creamy on the inside. 100/10 recommend this recipe.
Mei says
Hi Allison!
Thank you so much for trying out our recipe! We're so happy that you enjoyed it and met your expectations! 😉
Mei ❤️
Eldon Neufeld says
Can you share what was all in your leftover mash potatoes and did you alter the original recipe? Thanks
Jessica says
Hi, thanks for the recipe! Can I do this with an air fryer?
Mei says
Hi Jessica!
So glad you checked out our recipe! As of now, we have not tested making it in an air fryer. However, they reheat really well in an air fryer. We do plan on testing a batch using the air fryer, so keep an eye out on our social media or newsletter!
Mei ❤️
Jen D says
I have tried cooking this in the air fryer- it was a bit too dry even though I sprayed (one spray each) it with olive oil.
Lisa Palacios says
Can I make big batches and keep it in the fridge? If yes, how long will it keep?
Mei says
Hi Lisa!
Yes, you can make a larger batch and keep it in the fridge, best up to 3-3 days if properly cooled. You can also freeze it for longer storage time, about 1 month.
Mei ❤️
Qamar says
How about airfrying? Does this work when air fried??
Mei says
Hi Qamar!
We have not tested this recipe using an air fryer, but it's on our list!
Mei ❤️
alex says
Mine always break apart, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong? Too much flour/corn starch?
Mei says
Hi Alex!
If your potato dough keeps breaking apart in the oil, then most likely your potato was too wet. You may need to add an extra tablespoon or two of flour to help bind the dough. Do make sure the potatoes are drained immediately and are well drained after boiling.
Hope this helps!
Mei ❤️
alex says
Thanks so much Mai! Love your recipes, can’t wait to try more of them!
alex says
Mei**
Mei says
Thank you, Alex! Feel free to let us know if you ever have any questions!
Mei❤️
Sheila says
These were so easy to make! Since I don’t have an ice cream scooper I use one tablespoon measurement spoon and formed the little balls. My husband loved them
Mei says
Hi Shelia!
Thank you for trying our recipe! We're so happy that both of you enjoy the pillow potatoes =)
Mei ❤️
Hoda says
Hi, can you share how
Much cornstarch and flow you used for one russel potato?
Mei says
Hi Hoda!
The exact ingredient amounts are in the recipe card, right above this comment section. =)
Mei❤️
Bug0075 says
This recipe is great. I weighed my potatoes to have an accurate recipe. A little over 13 oz gave me 12 bubbles. I fried them in oil but next time they will go in my air fryer. They turned out exactly as you stated. Thank you
Mei says
Hi there!
Thank you for trying out the pillow potatoes! Hope you enjoy the air fried ones just as much =)
Mei ❤️