These Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes are the perfect easy meal or snack made with leftover mashed potatoes, cheese, ham, and all the fixings you love!
NEVER MISS A POST! FOLLOW ME ON:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
I don’t know about you, but my kids are in this phase right now where they’ve decided they no longer like basic foods like rice, or mashed potatoes. Thankfully they still wolf down salads, grilled chicken, and all kinds of fruits and veggies, but this potato-hating phase is starting to get to me. I’m always left with a mass of mashed potatoes after all the other leftovers are gone, and so I’m forced to get creative! These Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes are the PERFECT way to re-purpose leftover mashed potatoes AND they’re totally kid-friendly. Even if your kids are potato-haters at the moment like mine.
How to Use Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Not only is this recipe the perfect way to re-purpose leftovers, it’s also totally flexible. Feel free to add whatever you have in your fridge that you need to get rid of – diced red peppers, grated carrots, onions, leftover ham – and add whatever spices you want too! A little bit of cayenne for heat, taco seasoning for a Mexican twist…they sky is the limit. These Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes make a great appetizer or side dish, or even an easy meal idea with a side salad or some steamed veggies. Our family loves these Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes!
QUICK & EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS
Get my 4-week meal plan guide e-cookbook for the price of a coffee!
How to Make Mashed Potato Pancakes
Making these mashed potato pancakes is SO easy!
- Start with room temperature mashed potatoes. They’ll be so much easier to mix this way, and they won’t be so crumbly.
- Add some cheese. Cheese helps keep the mashed potato pancakes together AND it adds a delicious flavour and texture!
- Add some flour. A little bit of flour helps absorb any excess liquid, creating the perfect texture for frying!
- Add some eggs. Eggs help these mashed potato pancakes stay together, and they add some protein!
- Don’t forget the flavour! Adding some spices, herbs, green onions, bacon, or even ham is a great way to make these mashed potato pancakes taste great!
- Fry to perfection! Only about 5 minutes per side for pancakes about 1.5 centimetres thick.
- Serve with sour cream. What could be better than creamy sour cream on top of these delicious mashed potato pancakes?!
How to Freeze Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Simply freeze mashed potatoes in an airtight container or freezer bag and defrost to room temperature before making it into mashed potato pancakes.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite way to use up leftovers? I’d love to know!
NEVER MISS A POST! FOLLOW ME ON:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious meal ideas like this one? Try these!
- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- One Pot Creamy Enchilada Pasta
- Easy Honey Garlic Shrimp
- One Pan Sesame Orange Chicken
- Skillet Pesto Caprese Stuffed Chicken
QUICK & EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS
Get my 4-week meal plan guide e-cookbook for the price of a coffee!
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this easy snack. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
If you made this, share a photo!
Are you trying this recipe? Use the comment form below to share your take; now with support for image uploads and comment voting!
Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes
Recipe: Equipment
- potato masher
Recipe: Ingredients
- 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes (plain is best, but garlic mashed potatoes work too!)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I like a combination of cheddar and mozzarella)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions plus more for garnish
- 1/3 cup crumbled cooked bacon OR chopped ham
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley, if you have it)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt for flavour, at least)
- a small amount of vegetable oil for frying
- sour cream for serving
Recipe: Instructions
- Add the leftover mashed potatoes to a large bowl. They shouldn't be cold from the fridge if you can help it - let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before adding any other ingredients OR mash them up well again to break up the clumps with a warm potato masher.
- Add the cheese, flour, green onion, bacon or ham, eggs, garlic powder, thyme, and salt and pepper.
- Stir all the ingredients together very well until everything is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- Form the mixture into 12 patties about 1.5 centimetres thick.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add a small amount of vegetable oil (around 1-2 teaspoons).
- Fry the patties in batches (don't overcrowd your skillet!) for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown and completely cooked through.
- Enjoy warm with a dollop of sour cream, some more sliced green onions, and some extra cheese, if desired.
Recipe: Notes
Freezer Instructions
Store mashed potatoes in the freezer until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before making into mashed potato pancakes.Storage Instructions
Store the leftover pancakes in the fridge in an airtight container.Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Can i make this without eggs?
Well the eggs are a binding agent so if you omit them your pancakes might be a bit crumbly.
These were absolutely delicious!! I have IBS so I avoid gluten and made with gluten free flour and they were tremendous. Definitely one that I am adding to my recipe book to make again and again.
We’re so happy you enjoyed our recipe! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Hello again….only have 2 cups leftover mash making these for my daughters this eve- will 2 eggs be enough?
Yes! For sure.
Hello, I’m planning on making these panckakes tonight, can you use plain flour or does it have to be whole wheat flour? Thank you!
You can use plain flour ☺️
I loved the recipe but what would happen if there wasn’t any flour added?
They wouldn’t hold together as well.
I did make the recipe. I didn’t put bacon in mine because we were already having a meat dish and I was serving this as a side. Also decided to pat them in some panko crumbs before frying. They were a great way to use my leftover potatoes.
That panko addition sounds great! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback.
How do you make the mix into patties, mine seemed a bit too gooey to do that?
If your mashed potatoes were a little more moist and your batter is also a bit moist, you could add an extra tbsp of flour or form the patties straight in the pan like a pancake. Hope this helps ☺️
These were delicious. Only had 2.25 C of mashed potatoes so added an extra egg and .75 C of panko instead of 1/2 C flour. Used (somewhate grated) brie and grated semi hard parma-type cheese. Otherwise followed directions. Absoulutely delicious!!
We’re so happy you enjoyed them! The cheese combo sounds amazing. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!