Tacos dorados de papa – crispy fried potato tacos! These tacos dorados are filled with creamy mashed potatoes and fried for an extra crunchy golden shell. They’re especially tasty topped with sour cream queso fresco dip!

Tacos dorados recipe

Potatoes are my favorite food…Puerto Rican papas rellenas (beef stuffed mashed potato balls) are one of the absolute best potato dishes!

There are so many ways to enjoy papas, but one of my favorites are these tacos dorados de papa (crispy fried mashed potato tacos)!

Tacos dorados means “golden tacos” – a beautiful name for tacos fried until golden brown.

Tacos dorados can be filled with anything. Chicken, cheese, beans, you name it!

My grandmother was famous for her beef and potato filling for dorado tacos.

My grandfather-in-law stuffs his tacos with raw beef and then fries them.

As a potato lover, I can’t get enough of the creamy mashed potato filling combined with the shatteringly crisp taco shell!

So good you don’t even need meat! Plus, they’re great to make for vegans or vegetarians.

After cooking you can open them up and fill them with your favorite taco toppings, or you can pile them all on top.

For me, I love these with just my homemade queso fresco dip and a few extra dashes of hot sauce.

It’s a cool and creamy sour cream dip with crumbled cheese, cilantro and other spices. Delicioso!

And if fried food is not your thing, try my abuela’s papas con huevos (potato and egg tacos).

How to make tacos dorados

For tacos dorados de papa, we start with the potatoes. Peel and cut into large, even chunks.

Bring to a boil in water that’s been salted with about 2 tablespoons of salt.

Don’t forget the salt! This is where most of the flavor gets added.

Boil until they can easily be pierced with a fork, then drain the water.

Put the potatoes back in the pan and return to the heat to “dry” them.

You want the excess water to evaporate or it will react with the oil when frying causing a mess.

Mash until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sometimes I like to add a few dashes of cumin and garlic powder as well.

Place a large spoonful of the mash (about 3-4 tablespoons) onto a tortilla and fold in half. You can also roll them up like taquitos.

To keep the filling from escaping, you may want to secure the edges with two toothpicks.

Fry these potato tacos in hot oil. It doesn’t need to be very deep – just enough to completely cover the bottom of the pan.

Since these are already fully cooked, simply fry until they are golden brown, then flip and fry the other side.

I enjoy these hot, cold or room temperature, but definitely with that queso fresco dip!

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