Mashed Potato Cakes
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Mashed potato cakes are amazing. In fact, I think the only thing better than buttery homemade mashed potatoes, is having leftovers that get turned into Mashed Potato Cakes! Patty mashed potatoes, flour them and fry them to a golden brown. Top them with sour cream and chives. So hearty, you can make a meatless meal out of them but they also make a wonderful side dish.
The leftovers will soon be upon us, isn’t that a wonderful thing? I love holiday leftovers almost as much as the original thing, and eating them just warmed back up is fine, but what about turning them into something else entirely? That’s brilliant! Like making these Mashed Potato Cakes from leftover mashed potatoes!
Are Mashed Potato Cakes, Potato Pancakes and Latkes the same thing?
All three of these are very similar, but have small differences, too. All are made from scratch, frying pattied potatoes.
- Mashed Potato Cakes tend to be a little thicker, and use the potato itself as the binding agent. They are dredged in flour before frying.
- Potato Pancakes, considered to be “peasant food” in European countries, because potatoes were inexpensive and easy to come by. Known as placki in Poland, rarakor in Sweden, kartoffelpuffer in Germany and boxty in Ireland, they are a thinner version of a mashed potato cake. They sometimes use mashed potatoes and will appear smoother, other times using shredded potatoes, with the appearance of hashbrowns. They are bound together with egg, sometimes using flour but not always.
- Latke are fritter-like, and can be made of all sorts of vegetables, but potatoes are the most common. They use milk and egg, shredded potatoes and are dredged in either flour or matzo meal and baking powder before frying them crispy.
How many potatoes per person?
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to mashed potatoes and pasta, I have never seemed to be able to master not making enough for the tri-state area. Which I guess plays into my love of leftovers, but what if you really want to know how many potatoes will be enough?
Honestly, the answer is that it truly depends on the variety and size of the potato. If you use the big russets, then one per person works just fine.
But of course, you want to end up with leftovers so you can make mashed potato pancakes, right? So double it up. Figure at least two big potatoes per person.
The Best Potatoes For Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
Big russet potatoes, also called “Idaho” potatoes, are the potatoes you probably are using to make your mashed potatoes. These big starchy potatoes also happen to be the best for making fried mashed potato pancakes. Being extra starchy, they fry up nice and crispy on the outside but stay incredibly fluffy on the inside.
Should I peel potatoes before I mash them?
I personally like the skins on. But of course, if you are a fan of peeling potatoes and want to start with skinless, then that is fine too.
It’s really a personal preference. If you decide to leave them on, make sure that you wash the skin and remove any dirt or eyes in the potato, before you cube them up to boil.
The skin has a good amount of minerals and vitamins and that means it adds a bit to the flavor too.
But again, these are great either way!
How to Prepare Mashed Potato Cakes from Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Simple ingredients go into these delicious potato cakes! Here is what you’ll do:
Divide potatoes
to make 8 portions and form into patties.
Mix together flour, garlic, salt and pepper and
dredge uncooked potato patties in the flour mixture.
Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over
medium-high heat and cook patties 10-12 minutes or until a golden brown on each
side.
Turn patties halfway through cooking time.
You can find the full printable recipe at the bottom of this post.
Fried Mashed Potato Cakes
You do want to get a nice crunch on the exterior. So make sure your oil is nice and hot. The hotter the better because then everything holds together much better with that nice crunchy golden brown on the outside. There are some tricks to keeping them intact and not falling apart during cooking.
First, and most importantly, be gentle and use a nice wide spatula to flip them. If the oil is hot enough, then browning them up also helps hold them together. Watch and as the steam stops coming off the top of the oil then you know the inside is ready and will hold together better.
Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes
To make them extra delicious and even more hearty and main course worthy, then load your mashed potato cakes up! I served them here with sour cream and fresh chives. They are also super good with green onion and bacon bits! Add some cheese and you’ll have about the same ingredients that go into my recipe for Loaded Mashed Potatoes!
Other ideas Mashed Potato Cake Toppings
- Horseradish Sauce
- Sauerkraut (link to our cornerstone)
- Applesauce
Love them? Pin them!
Don’t forget where you found the recipe for these Mashed Potato Cakes! Pin them to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!
Mashed Potato Cakes for brunch
Mashed potato cakes are a great addition to brunch! I think they would compliment these brunch items nicely, don’t you?
- Sausage & Crescent Breakfast Bake (pictured above)
- Zwiebelkuchen (German Onion Pie)
- Ham & Smoked Gouda Quiche
- Resort Omelets
- Dutch Oven Bake
- Puffles (Puff Pastry Waffles)
- Bacon & Swiss Quiche
There are so many ways to repurpose those holiday leftovers! Whether you have leftover turkey, ham, veggies, stuffing, cranberries, pecans, rolls, or pie crust — I have you covered with all sorts of ways to turn leftovers into new recipes!
Everything from salads, to soups, from appetizers to cocktails and full meals. Check out all of the recipes and ideas in this handy post: Holiday Leftovers Repurposed
Let’s get to the recipe for these Mashed Potato Cakes, shall we? 
Mashed Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups prepared mashed potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Fresh chives and sour cream for serving if desired
Instructions
- Divide mashed potatoes to make 8 portions and form into patties.
- Mix flour, garlic, salt and pepper together. Dredge uncooked potato patties in flour mixture.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Cook patties for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy on both sides, turning patties halfway through cooking time.
- Serve hot.
- Top with sour cream and chives if desired.
These are the best! I make them and freeze so I have extras for nights when I just don’t have time. They are also perfect in lunchboxes as the “bread”.
These mashed potato cakes are incredible! One of the best ways to start a day – simple, delicious and just what I prefer!
These sound delicious and are such a great way to use up leftover mashed potato! I am definitely going to whip up a batch next time we have some leftovers.
This is such a good idea! Saving it to try after Thanksgiving next week!
Oh my goodness my daughter and husband are going to love this recipe! I’m so excited to give this a try! Looks so delicious and tasty!
These potatoes cakes take me back to my childhood! They are so tasty and make for the perfect side dish or snack. I’m saving your recipe to remind myself to make these with my little one I know he’ll love them!
awesome! this will be perfect for the inevitable leftover potatoes from thanksgiving!