Rice balls are an Italian food, called Arancini Di Riso, which means balls of rice. The traditional rice balls are deep fried, but since I do not deep fry things, I decided to try and bake them.
It turns out you can bake them and they are delicious. Now to be fair I have never had rice balls before let alone the deep fried version, but I was extremely happy with my baked version.
Before baking the rice balls I refrigerated them for about 30 minutes, but the cheese still melted out on me. So I recommend freezing them for 30 minutes to help prevent the cheese from melting out. Even though the cheese melted out a little they were still delicious and did not last long.
Baked Rice Balls
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked and cooled arborio rice
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4 ounces mozzarella, cut into 8 small cubes
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
For Serving (not included in the nutritional info):
- marinara sauce
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a small bowl gently beat 1 egg and in another small bowl add the breadcrumbs. Set both bowls aside.
- In a large bowl combine the rice, Parmesan cheese and 1 egg. Mix thoroughly (hands work best for this).
- Take a small amount of the rice mixture in your hand and place a mozzarella cube in the middle and form the rice around the cheese cube to form a ball.
- Dip the ball into the egg and then coat in the breadcrumbs, gently shake of any excess breadcrumbs.
- Place the rice ball on the prepared baking sheet and repeat this process until all of the rice mixture has been turned into a rice ball.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Serve with warm marinara sauce.
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Nutrition Facts |
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Servings 2 |
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Amount Per Serving |
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Calories 883 |
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Total Fat |
21.1g |
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Saturated Fat |
11.6g |
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Polyunsaturated Fat |
1.2g |
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Monounsaturated Fat |
6.6g |
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Trans Fat |
0g |
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Cholesterol |
269.7g |
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Sodium |
1,493.1g |
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Potassium |
145.8g |
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Total Carbohydrates |
114.7g |
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Dietary Fiber |
0g |
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Sugars |
9.2g |
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Protein |
43.6g |
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Vitamin A 12.5% Vitamin C 0% |
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Calcium 74.6% Iron 7% |
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*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use. |
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