These loaded Mashed Potato Cakes are your favorite twice baked potato in patty form, and the best use of leftover mashed potatoes! Great as a side or appetizer.
We like to top these with sour cream, bacon, and chives like you would a baked potato. They’re also amazing with some candied jalapenos!
Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
Ya ya, I know the joke – “who ever has leftover mashed potatoes!” But you know what? I do! I always think I’m making the perfect amount for dinner, but end up with way more than necessary. When that happens, I make these mashed potato cakes the next day with the leftovers.
Including bacon, cheeses, seasonings, and topped with sour cream, these potato cakes are like your favorite loaded baked potato, but in a tender and creamy pan-fried patty.
It’s worth mentioning that mashed potato cakes are not the same thing as latkes (aka potato pancakes.) Both awesome potato recipes, for sure, but not the same thing.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make potato cakes from mashed potatoes.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Leftover mashed potatoes – They should be cold from the fridge, not warmed up.
- Vegetables – onion, celery, and garlic provide texture, aromatics, and flavor.
- Butter – Used to sauté the vegetables.
- Bacon – Because…bacon. Diced small.
- Cheddar cheese – Freshly shredded is optimal.
- Flour and Egg – Provide structure and help bind the potato patties.
- Seasonings – Yellow mustard, pepper, and hot sauce give the cakes great flavor.
- Vegetable oil – For the pan.
Tips for Success
- Use cold mashed potatoes. You want to use leftover mashed potatoes that are cold from the fridge, not warmed up. They should be thick and not too creamy.
- Don’t skip the flour. Flour is used as an important binder in the cakes. If your mixture ends up being too sticky, you can add a touch more flour, but be careful – if you use too much, your cakes will taste more like flour and less like potatoes.
- Get creative with the mix-ins. Don’t like bacon? Use ham. Don’t like cheddar cheese? How about Pepper jack. Want them to have more heat? Add more hot sauce. Have fun with it.
Video: Fried Mashed Potato Cakes
To make this potato cakes recipe, follow the steps below included in the printable recipe card and don’t miss the video below.
Serving Suggestions
For best results, serve fried mashed potato cakes right away while they’re hot and crispy. They’re great as a side dish or appetizer.
We love to top ours with a dollop of sour cream, some crumbled crispy bacon, and fresh chopped chives since that’s how we love a baked potato. These are also amazing with a bit of onion jam or cowboy candy.
Proper Storage
- Make ahead. You can form the patties up to 1 day ahead of time before frying. Refrigerate them in an airtight container and place parchment paper between layers to avoid sticking.
- Storing leftovers. Once fried, mashed potato cakes will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days tightly wrapped or stored in an airtight container.
- Freeze. Pan fry them, drain off any grease, and allow to cool completely. Store in freezer bags for up to 2 weeks. Or freeze them prior to frying and store up to 2 months. Defrost when ready to use, and reheat.
- Reheat. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until they’re crisp again, about 15 minutes.
More Easy Potato Recipes:
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Mashed Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon , diced small
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 & 1/4 cup leftover cold mashed potatoes
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- hot sauce , to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- sour cream , for serving
- minced fresh chives , for serving
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, stirring occasionally. Drain off grease and transfer to a large bowl (reserving some for garnish.)
- In the same skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion and celery; saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, 20 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon.
- Add to the bowl the mashed potatoes, cheese, flour, egg, mustard, pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce; stir to combine.
- Form mixture into 8 (1/3-cup) patties, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick.Place them on a lightly greased plate, cover, and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat. Fry patties until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side.
- Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream, chives, and reserved bacon.
Great Recipe……A keeper for sure!
Very similar to my grandma’s recipe but this one takes it over the top!!
Thank you for your delicious and simple recipes!! We just love them.
I used gluten-free flour and they came out great!
This sounds really good. I have leftover potatoes from making potato skins. What would you add to use baked potatoes?
Delicious! Used green onions, but otherwise followed instructions. Served with over easy eggs. Yum!
This looks like a great recipe! What is your favorite type of potato for this ?
I typically use russet or yellow for mashed potatoes.
I can’t wait to make this again, so I don’t over cook the garlic & onions (I left out celery)?????.. Even through the charred taste I can tell this recipe is a winner!!
I gotta tell ya, 1 – I had some leftover Instant Idaho Mashers, then I had less then the amount required but we’re not gonna let that stop us! 2 Next I used 1/4 cup onion & celery, then I added all the other stuff! Then, I checked the directions……oops I forgot to see sauté the onions & celery before….ok keep going….added the flour tried to make sure I didn’t add too much. Then, when it was time to cook, I put those suckers in the fry pan and cooked them until they were gloriously browned, while that was happening I sauté some pork cutlets for us….2,? as well as roasted green beans which are one of our favs…. all in all it turned out magnificently. Thanks for the recipe.
I used butternut pumpkin and potatoes all mashed together in this recipe and they were amazing!
Sounds like a good idea (I unfortunately am not one of those people that has leftover potatoes in the fridge but..) I was thinking if you use flour shouldn’t the mixture sit for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to develop before you fry them to avoid that awful raw flour taste?
Can you freeze these ?
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I hate leftovers because I never know what to do with them or how to prepare them so dishes are appetizing the second time! I was searching for a way to prepare leftover mashed potatoes and found your blog post. I tried it and they were a hit! You said to experiment, so I did. I didn’t have bacon, but I did have a beautiful slice of ham left over from breakfast and diced that up to sauté with diced onion. I added Louisiana Gold hot sauce to the potatoes and they were magic! Served them up with grilled pork chops and now I have no leftovers!!
We loved them!. I used the leftover bacon grease to fry these. We were both very happy with taste and texture.
I made these and they are fantastic! My husbands favorite!! I used my bacon drippings for gravy to put over the top and nothing is better than this! Thanks for the recipe and if you like gravy try it that way too!
These potato cakes look and sound amazing! Definitely saving this recipe.