Mashed Potato Cakes Recipe
Take your leftover mashed potato and make this crispy yet fluffy potato cakes recipe. They’ll simply melt in your mouth!
Wondering what to do with the leftover mashed potato from Thanksgiving? I highly recommend transforming them into a serving of these flavorful mashed potato cakes. This old-fashioned potato cakes recipe is quick and easy to follow and you’ll have a delicious new side dish in no time. Crispy on the outside but tender on the inside, these easy potato cakes are sure to be a hit!
Serve your potato cakes with turkey leftovers over the holidays, or as a side alongside main dishes like meatloaf, roasted chicken, or beef brisket any time of the year. You can even serve them with bacon and eggs for breakfast or as an appetizer with apple sauce or sour cream for dipping. The choice is yours!
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour (either self-rising or all-purpose flour; whatever you have on hand)
- Cold mashed potatoes (don’t use instant. Trust me).
- Eggs
To your mashed potatoes, add egg and mix up really well. Then add flour. Stir it up really well with a fork until well blended like this. It will be very thick and sticky.
You can also add some finely diced onion or green onion at this point as well.
Heat just a little bit of butter or oil (about two tablespoons of either or , it doesn’t take much) in the bottom of a large skillet and place over medium heat for two to three minutes, or until hot.
This is important because if you don’t heat your oil first, your potato cakes will be greasy.
Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture into the hot oil.
Dip the back of your spoon into the oil and then press down with it onto the mashed potato patties to flatten them a bit.
Fry until browned and then carefully flip them over and brown on the other side.
Once they are golden brown on both sides, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate and eat up!
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat them in the oven, the air fryer, or over low heat in a skillet.
- You can also individually wrap your potato cakes in foil and store them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- If you can’t resist the addition of cheese, add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese or shredded cheddar cheese to this potato cakes recipe.
- Add some seasoning to your crispy potato cakes with dried herbs, like thyme, parsley, basil, or rosemary. Alternatively, opt for spices like or .
- If you want to sneak some veggies into these potato cakes, add some mashed cauliflower, chopped spinach, or finely shredded carrots.
- I strongly recommend using real mashed potatoes. Save those instant mashed potatoes to thicken your stews and use them in the crust on my taco casserole recipe instead.
- The flour and egg act as a binder to keep these together. But you can also refrigerate the batter before frying to ensure they don’t fall apart.
- There are several variations on this potato cakes recipe if you want to change things up! For example, add diced pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to your batter to make pizza potato cakes. You could also add leftover taco meat, cheese, and diced bell pepper for taco cakes. If you’re feeling Greek-inspired, opt for sundried tomatoes and feta cheese.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve this mashed potato cakes recipe?
This potato cakes recipe is the definition of versatile. Serve them as a side dish alongside any meat main course, like grilled chicken or pork chops. You can also enjoy them as an appetizer and dip them in ketchup, apple sauce, salsa, or make a homemade sauce with mustard and mayonnaise or sour cream. Another option is to serve them as a side with soup and green salad.
Can I make these potato cakes gluten-free?
Absolutely! Simply use gluten-free flour and you have yourself some gluten-free potato cakes.
Check out these other popular potato recipes:
Fried Potatoes Recipe (Steppin’ Up The Flavor)
Greek Potatoes With A Twist: Meet Big Fat Greek Taters
The BEST German Potato Salad Recipe
Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe (Freezer Friendly)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 whole egg
- 1/4 cup flour all-purpose or self-rising
- 2 tbsp finely diced onions optional
Instructions
- Mix the egg into the mashed potatoes with a fork until well blended. Add the flour and onions (if using onions) and mix well. The mixture will be very stiff.2 cups cold leftover mashed potatoes, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tbsp finely diced onions
- Pour approximately 2 tablespoons of oil into a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium heat.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoons of mixture into the hot oil. Dip the back of a spoon into the oil and then the mashed potato mixture to flatten to about a 1/4-inch thick. By dipping the back of the spoon into the oil, the spoon will not stick to the potatoes, making flattening them much easier.
- Fry until golden brown and then flip and continue to brown the potato patty on the other side.
- Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to serve.
My Italian grandmother used to make these! Then we’d dip/coat them in Cinnamon and Sugar for a tasty treat.
THANK YOU for posting this, all the other recipes add in other stuff, and I’ve been wanting to make them like Grandma used to.
I was raised on potato cakes, I am now 73 and still often make these even though I am now only cooking for my husband and myself, we love them. The only thing I would mention is I like to leave a few lumps of potato when mashing them. I use a potato masher, never a mixer which whips instead of mashing and leaves no lumps.
We like the flavor of a bit of minced onion also even though my mom did not add onion to hers.
Thanks for the “old” recipes, most of which I know of but my memory is not what I would like it to be.
My mom made a raisin pie which I loved but I have not found the right recipe for it. I remember she used vinegar in some way and the filling was brown and not too sweet. This may sound odd but the flavor was wonderful!
My mother also made these, exactly the same recipe. And she also made the best raisin pies I ever ate! Do you have a recipt for the pies?
Thank you for the recipe. My mom never made these. When i recentlygot married( I’m 49) my husband requested these. Because he is from the south, i chose this recipe. It was a big hit. Again, than you!
I am so glad they were a hit Terri!!! Congratulations on your recent marriage!!!
Hey I just wanted to say thanks for sharing this recipe, cause I have been trying to remember how my grandmother made hers cause they are one of my favorite things, and all the recipes have all kinds of stuff in them. And I could just never get mine right. Thank so much!!!
Gosh, mom has been gone for over 10yrs! I could never remember the ratio for the flour! Remembered the eggs, but again, ratio! 🙂 Your recipe is what I needed tonight! Thank you so much! What a life saver you are! Tastes just like mom’s! 🙂 Oh by the way, I marked your page under my favorites for recipes!
I am so glad that they turned out like your Mom’s!! Thank you for letting me know!!
I have some leftover mashed sweet potatoes that I am going to make into potato cakes. Hope they turn out as good as the potato cakes my Grandmother used to make with mashed potatoes. I have really enjoyed your posts. I never got any recipes from great or otherwise grandmothers or aunts. I am collecting them now for my five kids to have as they learn to cook. Thank you so much.
I can’t wait to hear how they turn out!!
My mother made these exactly like you do back in the forties and fifties, Thanks so much for refreshing my mind.