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!
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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!
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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!
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KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious meal ideas like this one? Try these!
- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
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- Easy Honey Garlic Shrimp
- One Pan Sesame Orange Chicken
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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
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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.
I made these with my leftover Christmas potatoes. There very good. I will definitely make them again. Thank you.
Thank you Linda! So glad you liked them!
Can I use regular flour for this recipeOr does it have to be wheat ?
Use any kind of flour you like. 🙂
I used almond flour and they came out delicious!!! Thank you! Will definitely be making these again.
Sounds amazing! Thank you for letting us know it works with almond flour too.
Can I form these ahead of time?
Yes!
Thanks so much for the great recipe. Made them last night! They were so delicious my boys ate them all up. Only problem was I smoked up the whole house when frying them.
So glad they liked it so much 😊and I’m sorry for the inconvenient!
These are good! I had mashed potatoes & baked brown sugar ham going to waste from Thanksgiving. I used shredded white cheddar and left out the thyme & parsley. I fried them in oil as suggested & they came out with a nice crust and a loaded baked potato tasting filling. Nice job.
So glad you like the recipe!! 🙂
Made this rexioe exactly how you wrote it and they were amazing. Served alongside homemade applesauce.Thanks for sharing!
They really are 😉. Thanks Dianne!
Just made these with all of our leftover potatoes from Thanksgiving. I was on baby duty, so I threw them in the oven for 30 minutes, and then broiled on each side until crispy…they turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe! I always feel guilty for throwing out all of the leftovers after holidays.
so glad you liked these!!
Awesome idea! Thank you too cause my apartment is so small It fills with smoke so fast and I made them and it was a smoke filled mess!!! This is the way I will do it next time !!
I’m so glad I found this recipe, these are so much better than frying raw potato pancakes. The spices were just perfect, I didn’t have any thyme, so I added dill and garlicpowder..
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the positive feedback!
Oh my Gosh!! These are faaantastic!! I can’t wait to try them!!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them!
This is seriously making me hungry! I gotta make this! Looks great!
Thanks!
Cheese and potatoes; my two favorite things combined! Can’t wait to give these a try!
Thanks so much! Hope you love them as much as we do!
I would eat some right now! These pancakes look so inviting!
Thanks so much! I hope you give them a try!
The perfect way to use leftover mashed potatoes!
I know,right!? I hope you give them a try!
My family cannot get enough of these ! So delicious !!
So glad you love them as much as we do! 🙂
I added a cup of spicy panko crumbs for a lil kick. Awesome!!
Thanks so much! Glad you liked them! 🙂
Wow, was this ever good. I think I will make this again and again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Just made these pancakes. Substituted dill for parsley (love dill with potatoes). The are perfection! Thank you!
So glad you liked them!!
Can you freeze them?
Thanks.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing them, no. The texture of the potatoes after frozen is not the best 🙂
I loved this recipe! We had about 5 cups of left over garlic mashed potatoes from Christmas dinner and this was a great way to use them up. i did use some Italian bread crumbs to the recipe. It gave it just a little extra flavor. will be using this a lot in the future
So glad you loved this recipe as much as we do! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Thanks for the binder suggestions. Once I got to the actual recipe, that is.
Everyone, add more spices than the recipe suggests so it isn’t so bland. Consider tripling the garlic and adding powdered mustard, as a start. The thyme isn’t really optional.
Feel free to add extra spice, etc. if you prefer! Since I have young kids I’ve got to be careful with too much spice 😉
Wow! After reading your comment, “anon”, I know who to go to if I need to borrow a cup of snark.
To pack 3-4 insults and/or backhanders into so few words is such an accomplishment!
Chrissie, the recipe is clear and makes for a great meal. Thanks for sharing it.
Lol agreed!
Your comment sounds so rude.
How hateful! Loved this recipe! Your food must taste awful because food is prepared from the heart and it seems you don’t have one. Thank you for sharing Chrissie!!
Thanks for your support! We’re so glad you love this recipe as much as we do! 🙂
Just made these potato pancakes and just wanted you to know how awesome they are. I improvised and used what cheeses I had, cheddar and pecorino. I also used mixed blend of dried Italian spices since I didn’t have parsley or thyme. Thank you so much!
Those additions sound SO good! Glad you enjoyed them!
Can I cook these in the oven ?
They need to fry on both sides, so I wouldn’t recommend that!