Homemade cheese and onion crisp bakes
If you’ve never had the cheese and onion crisp bakes from Marks and Spencer, you are missing a trick. They’ve not paid me to write this, in fact they most likely have no clue who I am, but I must say, Mr Marks and Mr Spencer: good job on the crisp bakes (side note: they are both very definitely long dead, but my appreciation still stands).
If you live in a country that doesn’t have M&S, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me explain what exactly I mean by cheese and onion crisp bakes. They’re basically cheesy potato cakes that are breaded and cooked until they’re nice and crispy, and they are heaven on earth.
Cheese + potato + onion… there was no way that wasn’t going to be a winner.
I love to occasionally indulge in one of M&S’s finest, but since I apparently like to torture myself, I thought I’d have a go at making my own homemade cheese and onion crisp bakes too. It’s definitely not something I’ll do regularly, since it’s much more labour intensive than just opening a packet – but, it was a fun way to spend the morning nonetheless, and this recipe will hopefully bring the wonder that is a cheese and onion crisp bake to a few of you who may not have tried them before.
Let’s break it down a word at a time.
Cheese – you want to use something nice and melty to help stick everything together. A good old British mature cheddar is ideal.
Onion… well, that’s just onion.
Crisp – start by frying the crisp bakes quickly until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. This makes them nice and crispy, and adds loads of flavour (let’s face it, fried things taste great).
Bake – finish them off in the oven until they’re piping hot all the way through.
I only made six crisp bakes, but they were a little on the large side, and if I’m entirely honest, I did eat a fair amount of the cheesy mashed potato straight from the pan (stop judging me), so if you have a little more self-restraint I reckon you could easily stretch the mixture to make 8.
I made half of my crisp bakes with fancypants panko breadcrumbs, and half with plain old breadcrumbs that I bought in a tub, and to be entirely honest I didn’t notice much difference once they were cooked (my palate is obviously not refined enough) – so just use whatever you have on hand.
Then just dig in and enjoy the cheesy, creamy, oniony mash and crispy breadcrumbs…
I bloomin’ love a cheese and onion crisp bake.
Homemade cheese and onion crisp bakes
Ingredients
- 900 g potatoes (~ 3 large potatoes)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 large onions, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 200 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 2 2/3 cups when grated)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 50 g plain flour (~ 1/3 cup)
- 80 g panko breadcrumbs (~ 1 cup)
- 2 eggs
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes, and cut them into 2cm chunks (you can peel them first if you prefer; I didn't bother). Boil them in a large pan of water for around 10 minutes, or until soft.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook over a medium-low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until very soft.
- When the potatoes are soft, drain them and mash thoroughly. Add the cooked onions, grated cheese, and plenty of salt and pepper, and mix well until the cheese has melted. If you have time, allow to cool for half an hour (it makes the mash easier to shape, but don't worry if you don't have time).
- To prepare for breading, place the flour in a wide bowl or deep plate, and do the same with the breadcrumbs in a separate dish. Lightly beat the eggs in a wide bowl.
- Using your hands, shape around an eighth of the potato mixture into a patty, and coat it in the flour. Next, coat it in the beaten egg, shaking off any excess, then cover it in breadcrumbs. Place it on a plate or baking tray ready to be fried. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture.
- Once you've breaded all of the potato mixture, coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil, and place over a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough that it makes a breadcrumb sizzle, add the first batch of crisp bakes (I fried 3 at a time - don't overcrowd the pan). Cook for a few minutes until the underside is golden brown, then flip and repeat with the other side. Transfer to a lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining crisp bakes. The crisp bakes may expand a little while baking, so don't leave too much space between them.
- When all of the crisp bakes have been fried on both sides, place in the oven and cook at 200°C (Gas Mark 6 / 400°F) for around 30 minutes, until piping hot and crispy.
Note: nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is based on 8 crisp bakes.
Are you able to freeze this recipe ???
I haven’t tried but I don’t see why not!
Hi, I’m just about to make these cheese and onion bakes, do you know if I can freeze them? And if so do I cook first then freeze or freeze before cooking once formed?
Thanks for the great recipes
Hi Laura, I haven’t tried freezing them, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work! I think either way would work, I’d probably lean towards freezing before cooking, but let me know what you try :)
I have just made cheese n onion baked FANTASTIC but wat did o do wrong my mix was just a lot of slop but the taste was great
Could just be that your mash was a bit wetter than mine! Try adding a spoonful or two of flour to the mixture to help thicken it up :)
Mine keep oozing out the sides and look deformed! I didn’t use flour though. Will that help? I love them otherwise!
Haha to be honest I’m not too fussed what they look like, as long as they taste good! But yes, I imagine the flour might help. You could also add a spoonful of flour to the mashed potato if you want it even firmer :)
My old mum used to make these when I was a kid and she put dried sage into the mash too and it works a treat.
Great idea!
I’m a Brit living in Australia and I really miss Marks & Spencer, and their crispbakes!! I’ll be giving these a go at the weekend.
Hope you like them! :)
I tried these today but although they were OK when I fried them, when I baked them they went flat and spread out over the pan. Perhaps I should continue to fry them next time. Tasted great, though and I am not a vegetarian, but look for good recipes for my wife,
Interesting! I do find that sometimes with cheesy things – as the cheese melts, they spread a bit. They worked fine for me though, strange! I’m glad they worked when fried – they taste so good :)
Sainsburys Glamorgan sausages spread like that in the oven. I don’t think those from Tesco do, though.
Weird!
I will definitely try these they sound great and as I have to have a potassium free diet I can easily adapt tnem to suit my diet but as I sometimes fell too ill to cook can these be frozen and the reheated
Hi Carolyn, I haven’t tried freezing these myself but I don’t see why they couldn’t be frozen – I say give it a try! Let me know how you get on :)
Becca: You are beautiful!
These patties sound so good that I will be making them very soon.
I loved Marks and Spencers! Unfortunately they pulled out of Canada years ago.
Another reason to move to England!
I have subscribed to your post.
Thank you so much Charlie! Not sure what brought on the random compliment but I’ll take it! ;)
I read your bio and you referred to your ugly mug.
Ah ok! Well thanks! :)
These cheesy onion potato cakes look amazing as we love everything they are made of. I will be trying these recipes soon as I believe the Indian Spice potatoes will be a hit with my family as well.
Ooh yes! I’ve never tried the M&S ones but I bet yours are even nicer! Hello panko breadcrumbs!
The first thing I though when I saw the photo at the top of the post was “Ooooh these look like the ones you get at M&S” so you must have done a good job!!
Aw I hope so! :)
Deliciousmessness!!! Sadly I can’t indulge in the cheesey aspect of this dish, but my fella certainly can, and I know he would LOVE to have them all to himself :)
Am off to pin…
Janie x
Ooh, these crisp bakes look so gooey and yummy, my kids would love these:-)
They do sound like heaven on earth! I’ve never tried the M&S crisp bakes but I definitely want to try this recipe :D
I used to eat so many of these when I was a vegetarian the last time. It is proper comfort food. I am going to have to try making them myself.
These look delish! Do you think you’d be able to freeze them? I’m thinking these would be great to have ready in the freezer for when I get in from work of an evening!
I’ve not tried freezing these, but I definitely think it’s worth a try. The ones from M&S come frozen so that’s a good sign! Let me know how you get on if you try it :)
I know EXACTLY what you mean! They’re so nice. Not as good as your version though because homemade is always better. Other things that are best from M&S include their scones and hot cross buns :)
Ooh ok I’ll keep an eye out for the hot cross buns next Easter!
Okay, so I’ve never had them, and I’m a little surprised at myself as I’m M&S obsessed! I’ll definitely have to be trying these. They’re right up my street and I could put some bacon in for the meat loving other half ;)
I have some ‘fancy pants panko’ because they were on offer in Tesco. But I totally can’t tell the difference. I just feel fancier
Right?!! I swear it’s just the same stuff, they just charge twice as much for it.
Awww, these look so sweet! Plus, they are oven baked!
I never try this before but they looks so yummy! I cant wait to have a try nw
Haven’t tried these before. They look good. I imagine they’d be even better with a dollop of tomato chutney…. And I would steam the potatoes and then push them through a ricer, but that’s how I prefer to make mashed potatoes, as I find they come out drier, but still creamy.
Tomato chutney would be good! You could definitely use a ricer – I always keep the skins on mine so I don’t use a ricer, I usually just mash with a fork :)
I’ve never had a cheese and onion crisp bake. These look so delicious, I must try them, anything with potatoes, cheese and some crisp can’t be bad!
Too right ;)
Love cheese and onion. I am going to make these for myself. They look so appetizing. Thank you for recipie.
Deirdre
Enjoy! :)
I do love the MandS crispbakes too but yours look so good. I LOVE the crispy outside and the cheesy potatoey middle – I am rumbling as I write!! I can’t wait to try these. :)
These sound amazing! I’m actually from the United States (Texas specifically) so I’ve never heard of Marks and Spencer but I’ll definitely have to give these a try :-). Anything with potatoes and cheese is a hit with me!
I agree! You should definitely try these :D