Mashed Potato Fritters are the BEST use of leftover mashed potatoes! They are incredibly easy to make with just 2 main ingredients, and you will love their crispy edges. A perfect side dish or snack, and a great way to use up leftovers.
This recipe is for you if you LOVE mashed potatoes but are always underwhelmed with leftover mashed potatoes, because they can get dry, clumpy, and not so appetizing.
Turn those leftover mashed potatoes into something even BETTER than freshly made mashed potatoes: Crispy Potato Fritters!
(And by the way, if you have holiday dinner recipes, you might want to take a look at leftover turkey quesadillas, and this avocado egg salad with ham to use up leftover ham!)
These savory potato pancakes can literally be made with just 2 ingredients: mashed potatoes + all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour, if you must!).
Related recipe: Bubble and Squeak Cakes
But as usual, I will give you LOTS of ideas for how to switch things up so you can add more flavor to these mashed potato fritters based on your tastes, and on what you have in the fridge.
But first thing's first....
Related recipe: Salmon Potato Cakes
How to make mashed potato fritters
Simply combine leftover mashed potatoes with flour in a large bowl and mixing well. Season with salt, and stir in any add-ins you might want to use (see below for ideas!)
Related recipe: Crab Cakes with Mango Relish
Then you form small patties with your hands, dredge them in flour (this is just a fancy way of saying place them on a plate of flour, shake off the excess, and repeat on the other side).
Then fry these bad boys in olive oil until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
THAT'S IT. DONE.
More leftover mashed potato recipes: Shepherd's Pie
The only tricky part to this recipe is figuring out the exact ratio of mashed potato to flour, since everyone's mashed potatoes are different!
Related recipe: Instant Pot Potato Salad
Mashed potato to flour ratio
The wetter your mashed potatoes, the more flour you will need.
You want to make sure you end up with a mixture that is like a soft paste - something you can form into patty shape or into a mashed potato nugget shape without it totally falling apart or flopping over when you go to dredge the mashed potato patties or when you go to cook it.
For dryer mashed potatoes, you will need about 3 cups mashed potatoes + ¼ cup flour (plus extra for dredging). For wetter mashed potatoes, you might need to use up to 1 cup of flour. Play around with the mixture and see!
Related recipe: Draniki (Russian Grated Potato Fritters)
Cooking tips for making mashed potato patties:
- If your mashed potatoes are well seasoned, you might just need to add a bit of salt to these fritters and they'll be amazing. If your mashed potatoes are on the blander side, then definitely add a bit of garlic powder and/or fresh herbs (see below for add-in ideas!)
- Do a test fry to check that the patty is good! Make the mixture, then form 1 potato patty and fry it as a test. If it holds up well, then you're good to continue with the rest! If it breaks while dredging or cooking, then stir in a bit more flour.
- Do NOT skip the dredging step!! It helps get that nice golden brown crust on the patties and keep the patties from breaking when you flip them.
- You'll definitely want to use a non-stick skillet for frying these! You can get away with just a small amount of oil, but of course they'll be crispier and tastier if you use 1-2 tablespoons of oil to cook these.
Potato patty add-ins:
Basic mashed potato patties are a favorite here, but here are some ideas to spruce them up. You'll definitely want to consider adding herbs or garlic powder, if your mashed potatoes don't have that already:
- Season with garlic powder (½ teaspoon) or smoked paprika (½- 1 teaspoon)
- Add fresh herbs, such as finely chopped parsley, dill, chives, or scallions (1 tablespoon - ¼ cup)
- Add cooked crumbled bacon (1 lb... just kidding! A few slices will do)
- Add finely diced ham
- Add cheese!! Shredded cheddar, gouda, fresh Parmesan, mozzarella - ANY cheese will be great! (¼ cup - 1 cup, depending on whether you want a subtle cheese flavor or lots of stringy cheesy meltiness)
- Bread crumbs - you can substitute the flour with bread crumbs in this recipe, and you can dredge the potato patties in breadcrumbs too! This gives the patties a bit more crisp. You can use regular or Panko breadcrumbs, like I do in my zucchini fritters recipe.
Serving ideas:
- Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, sour cream, garlicky yogurt sauce (use dairy-free yogurt for a vegan sauce!), garlic-dill aioli, or a mayo+ketchup sauce
- Serve as a side dish, as a snack, or for breakfast or brunch with a fried egg on top
However you decide to make these, I hope you love them as much as we do! If you end up making these mashed potato patties, please take a picture and tag me on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK. You can find me at @babaganoshblog on both. I love seeing your creations!
Looking for more savory pancake recipes?
- Savory cabbage fritters
- Cauliflower fritters
- Corn fritters
- Cheesy savory pancakes with green onion
- Sweet potato latkes with leeks
- Sweet potato chicken nuggets
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Mashed Potato Fritters
Ingredients
- 3 cups mashed potatoes - leftover, day-old are best
- ¼ + ½ cups all purpose flour - or gluten free flour, see notes
- ⅛ teaspoons salt - or more, to taste
- Optional add-ins (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil - or more, for cooking
Special equipment
- Large non-stick skillet
Instructions
- Prepare a small shallow bowl or plate with about ½ cup flour for dredging. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potato, ¼ cup flour, and salt and other add-ins, if using. Mix well.
- Use your hands to scoop out about ⅓ cup of the potato mixture and form round patties with your hands. Add more flour to the mixture, if they are falling apart (see notes).
- Dredge each patty on both sides in the plate of flour. Gently shake off excess flour.
- Preheat a skillet with olive oil (~½ - 1 tablespoon olive oil, depending on the size of the skillet). Carefully place the dredged patties into the hot oil and fry undisturbed over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Repeat until all the patties are cooked. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve warm (see ideas for serving).
Notes
Cooking tips:
- You might need to add more flour if the patties are falling apart while dredging or cooking/flipping. The amount of flour will depend on how wet/dry your mashed potatoes are.
- Smaller patties are easier to fry without them breaking.
- Do a frying test by frying 1 patty and making sure it holds together. If yes, the mixture is just right. If it falls apart, you might need more flour.
- Use a non-stick skillet to prevent the crispy crust from sticking to the skillet.
Add-in ideas:
- Shredded cheese (any kind, ¼ - 1 cup, to taste)
- Fresh parsley, chives, scallion, or dill, finely diced (1 tablespoon - ¼ cup, to taste)
- Garlic powder (~½ - 1 teaspoon, to taste)
- Smoked sweet paprika (~1-2 teaspoons, to taste)
- Cooked crumbled bacon (~4-6 slices)
- Finely diced cooked ham (~½ - 1 cup)
- Seasoned breadcrumbs (instead of the flour for the dough and for dredging)
Serving ideas:
- Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, sour cream, garlicky yogurt sauce, garlic-dill aioli, or a mayo+ketchup sauce
- Serve as a side dish, as a snack, or for breakfast or brunch with a fried egg on top
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Brenda
Sunday 28th of January 2024
Can you freeze them
Debbie
Thursday 25th of January 2024
Great easy recipe. Can I add an egg and some milk
Kate
Friday 26th of January 2024
Yes, but you'll need to add more flour to absorb the liquid, so it might come out more doughy.
Laura
Sunday 15th of October 2023
Hi, I made this recipe yesterday and they were delicious. I added in garlic powder, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and a little milk to the mixture and they were great.
I heated the leftovers up in the air fryer the next day and they came out nice and crispy! I will make this recipe again.
Samantha
Thursday 19th of January 2023
These turned out great. I did add a couple eggs to my potatoes to be an extra binder. They already had add-ins because they were originally loaded potatoes with cheese, bacon, and chopped green onions. Super yummy!
Carol
Friday 30th of September 2022
These are easy & delicious. Directions were PERFECT so I knew the correct consistency and how to get there. I made more than we ate so they are in the frig for breakfast. Can't wait to try with bacon, egg, & a maple syrup drizzle tomorrow morning.
Ida
Thursday 22nd of December 2022
@Kate, Hi Kate. We LOVE onions! Can I add grated, blanched onions to these? Thanks. Ida
Kate
Monday 3rd of October 2022
So glad you liked these!