Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Supplì
Fried risotto rice croquettes with a molten mozzarella centre, the Roman street snack found around the Vatican.
Roman · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 20 min
~1157 cal · 50g protein · 127g carbs · 48g fat · 5g fiber · 7g sugars · 25g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Supplì are the classic fried rice croquettes of Rome, the city that surrounds Vatican City, sold from friggitorie and pizzerie as a hot, handheld bite. They are Rome's answer to the Sicilian arancino, but with their own oval shape and soul.
Risotto rice cooked in a tomato sauce is wrapped around a cube of mozzarella, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried until crisp and golden. The name of the classic version, supplì al telefono, comes from the string of melted cheese that stretches like a telephone wire when you pull one apart. Crunchy outside and molten within, they are Roman street food at its most satisfying.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups risotto rice (superfino)
8 oz ground beef, for the ragu
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp and 1/2 cup butter and grated Parmigiano, for the rice
2 cups tomato sauce
8 oz mozzarella, in cubes
2 eggs, for coating
2 cups breadcrumbs
for frying oil, for frying
Instructions
1
Make a ragu: brown the beef (or mushrooms), splash in the red wine and let it cook away, then add the tomato sauce and simmer.
2
Cook the rice directly in the ragu, loosening it with hot stock or water as it drinks the liquid, until it is tender and all the liquid has gone, then beat in the butter and Parmigiano, season, and cool it completely.
✎ Chef’s note
Rice cooked in the ragu, not white rice mixed with sauce afterwards, is what makes a suppli a suppli rather than a Sicilian arancino. Cool it thoroughly before shaping: warm rice will not hold together around the cheese.
3
Drain the mozzarella cubes well and pat them dry, then take a handful of rice in oiled hands, press two cubes into the centre and close it into an oval.
✎ Chef’s note
Wet mozzarella is the usual cause of a burst suppli, so let the cubes drain and dry first, and make sure the cheese is fully enclosed with no gaps. The shape is an elongated oval, not a ball: that is the Roman form. And do not salt the outside before frying, since the salt draws out water and the crust suffers.
4
Coat each in egg, then breadcrumbs.
5
Deep-fry in a deep pan at no more than 340F (170C) until deep golden, and serve hot.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the oil at or below 170C in a deep pan. Hotter and the crumb burns before the mozzarella inside melts, and the melted cheese is the whole point: the full name is suppli al telefono, for the string of mozzarella that stretches out like an old telephone cord when you pull one in half.
Roman street-food tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vatican City. Vatican City is a Roman enclave, and its table is Roman: cacio e pepe, carbonara, and artichokes fried or braised. Papal kitchens have long drawn on the same pasta, pecorino, and seasonal vegetables as the city around them.
🗺️
Vatican City. The state has no farmland, but the Holy See does. The papal estate at Castel Gandolfo, extraterritorial under the 1929 Lateran Treaty, runs a working farm with a herd of Holsteins, hens, beehives, an olive press and a vegetable garden, and its milk, cheese, eggs, honey and oil are sold in the Vatican's own Annona supermarket.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vatican City
Fettuccine alla PapalinaA refined Roman pasta of fettuccine with prosciutto, egg, and Parmesan, created for a pope.
Maritozzo con PannaA soft, sweet Roman bun split and filled with a thick cloud of whipped cream.
Crostata di Ricotta e ViscioleA shortcrust tart of sweet ricotta and tart sour cherries, the classic Roman-Jewish dessert of the old Ghetto.
Browse all Vatican City recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Deep pot for frying.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Vatican City meal
Crostata di Ricotta e ViscioleDessert
Carciofi alla RomanaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Supplì?
Fried risotto rice croquettes with a molten mozzarella centre, the Roman street snack found around the Vatican.
Where does Supplì come from?
Supplì is a Roman dish from Vatican City, Vatican City.
Can Supplì be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Supplì recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Supplì safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Supplì take to make?
About 50 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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