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Close-up of tortilla de yuca or cheese stuffed cassava patties topped with avocado and tomato onion salsa
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Tortillas de yuca (Cheese stuffed yuca or cassava patties)

These savory patties are made with mashed yuca or casava, filled with cheese and cooked on a griddle until golden and crispy. Served with mashed avocado and a tomato onion curtido salsa.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Ecuadorian, Latin American, South American
Keyword Cassava, Comfort food, Llapingachos, Manioc, Patties, Tortillas, Yuca
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 to 10 yuca patties

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of peeled fresh yuca or frozen yuca cassava, cut into large round pieces
  • 2 tbs of butter room temperature or melted
  • A couple tablespoons of the water from cooking the yuca if needed
  • 1 ½ cups of grated or crumbled cheese can use mozzarella or a mix of mozzarella and queso fresco
  • ½ white onion finally diced
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for the griddle pan

Serve with:

Instructions

  • Cook the yuca in a large pot with plenty of water and some salt. Boil the yuca until it is soft and tender, but not too mushy.
    A red pot with boiling water and cassava pieces being cooked
  • For fresh young yuca it will take about 20 minutes, for older yuca it can take up to 30 minutes. If you use frozen yuca it can take 40-50 minutes.
  • Let the yuca cool down before handling, save some of the cooking water in case you need it.
    A blue bowl filled with pieces of cooked cassava
  • Remove the inner veins or strings from the cooked yuca pieces.
    Cooked yuca pieces on a board
  • Mash the yuca pieces or put them through a potato ricer, mix the mash with the butter and salt to taste. If the mixture is very dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of the cooking water.
    A blue bowl full of mashed yuca or mashed cassava
  • If the yuca dough mixture is warm, let it cool down completely, you can refrigerate it for 30 minutes if needed.
  • Mix the grated cheese with the finely chopped white onions. You can omit the onions if you are not a fan of onions.
  • Form the mashed yuca dough into small balls, then gently make a hole in the middle of each ball.
  • Fill each hole with some of the cheese and onion mix and carefully seal the hole while shaping it into a thick tortilla or patty.
  • For best results, let the yuca dough tortillas rest in the fridge for 30 minutes or until ready to cook.
    Eight uncooked yuca patties on a white platter
  • Heat a cast iron griddle pan and brush it with a small amount of oil. You can also use a regular frying pan.
  • Cook the yuca tortillas on the hot gridle until browned and golden on each side, probably 5-8 minutes per side depending on the exact temperature and pan. Be careful when turning them the first time. The cheese will also start to melt as they start to form that golden crispy exterior.
    Three yuca patties cooking on a grilled
  • Serve the tortillas de yuca with mashed avocado (or guacamole) and some curtido salsa as an appetizer.
    Three tortillas de yuca on a red plate, each topped with avocado and tomato and onion salad.

Notes

You could also serve these yuca patties with the traditional potato llapingacho style toppings (fried egg, Ecuadorian peanut sauce, avocado slices, etc).