Mashed Potato Pancakes

4.92 from 25 votes

Quick and easy to make, these mashed potatoes pancakes are great for using up leftovers; they're shallow fried for perfectly crispy edges.

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Make the most out of your Thanksgiving and holiday leftovers and make up these cheesy mashed potato pancakes. Easy to make and quick to cook, they make for a great weeknight side dish and those fried crispy edges are so delicious!

Mashed potato pancakes on a plate with sour cream

Ingredients & substitutions

  • Mashed potatoes: This is a great way to use up any leftover that you have. You can also make some up from scratch. If you don’t have any, try it with olive oil mashed potatoes or instant pot mashed potatoes.
  • Egg: Egg is used to bind the ingredients together. To make them without eggs, you can use a flax egg or just extra cheese.
  • Cheese: Shredded cheddar cheese adds a great flavor. Other shredded cheese can also be used, so make the most of what you have.
  • Flour: Used to absorb moisture so that your pancakes hold together. You can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour if you have an intolerance or almond flour if you prefer them grain free.
  • Green onions: these are mixed into the mash potato with the cheese for extra flavor, but you can use grated onions or shallots.
  • Seasonings: Salt and pepper. Added to taste depending on the seasoning already in your mashed potatoes. Feel free to also add fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary.
  • Oil: For shallow frying for those crispy edges.
Ingredients to make the recipe

How to make mashed potato pancakes

  1. Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl.
  2. Mix well to combine.
  3. Scoop the mixture into balls in your hands.
  4. Gently flatten to form a patty.
  5. Place into oil in a hot skillet.
  6. Cook on both sides until golden brown with cheesy crisp edges.
6 image collage to show the ingredients before and after mixing, shaping the pancakes and then frying them in a skillet

Tips for making the pancakes

  1. Taste the leftover mashed potatoes before seasoning. It’s important to know if the mashed potatoes you’re using are already heavily salted or have strong garlic flavor for example so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly. This batch was made from leftovers of the olive oil mashed potatoes.
  2. Mix the ingredients well for the pancakes. There should be no dry flour left and the mixture should be smooth and even.
  3. Heat the oil in the skillet before adding the pancakes. If you add them to a cold skillet, the bottoms won’t crisp up quickly enough.
  4. Make them your own! This is a great basic recipe that you can have fun with! Try adding in different fresh herbs like parsley or dill, or add some caramelized onions to them. Depending on what mashed potato recipe you use, you can add in garlic or onion powder, or some chili flakes for some spice.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make them ahead of time?

You can make the mix for your mashed potato pancakes a day or two ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Cooked pancakes will keep well for around 4 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the oven at 350F.

Can you oven bake them?

For best results it’s best to shallow fry these pancakes so that you get those perfectly crispy edges, it’s also much quicker. To oven cook, place them on a lined baking sheet at 400F for around 30 minutes.

What do you serve with them?

These are a great everyday side dish that can be served with all of your favorite mains. Try them with:
Air Fryer Greek Salmon
Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Beef Stuffed Peppers
Grilled Harissa Chicken

Fork cutting into mashed potato pancakes

These fried mashed potato pancakes are a delicious way to make the most out of your Thanksgiving leftovers. They come together so quickly and they work with so mainy main dishes. You are going to love those crispy edges!

More Mashed potato recipes:

If you try this healthy-ish feel good Mashed Potato Pancakes recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Quick and easy to make, these mashed potatoes pancakes are great for using up leftovers; they're shallow fried for perfectly crispy edges.
4.9 from 25 votes
Servings 6 servings
Course Side Dish
Calories 163
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
  • 1 large eggs
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons green onions plus for more serving
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Greek yogurt or sour cream for serving

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, egg, cheese, flour, green onions and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Scoop about ⅓ cup of the mixture. Then roll it into a ball and flatten it out with the palm of your hands. The mixture will make about 6-8 pancakes.
  • Preheat a large skillet with the olive oil and cook the pancakes in two batches.
  • Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the pancakes are golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt and pepper while they’re hot.
  • Serve with greek yogurt or sour cream and green onions, if desired

Notes

Storage: You can make the mix for your mashed potato pancakes a day or two ahead or time and keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Cooked pancakes will keep well for around 4 days in the fridge.
Reheat: Cooked pancakes can be reheated in the oven at 360F.
Tip: Season your mashed potato to taste before frying.

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 78mg, Potassium: 325mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 155IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 83mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American
Course: Side Dish

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Comments

  1. Its ridiculous to say to roll these in your hand, the batter is wat too sticky. Next time I will try a recipe that is thinner and pours out.

  2. Hi , sorry if this sound silly but may I ask that the estimate calories you put here is for 1 batch or 1 piece of the pancake? My doctor said I need to eat less carb but this look so good. I’m here as soon as I saw you reels.

    1. For one serving (1/6 of the recipe), there are 17 grams of carbohydrates. The full nutritional facts are at the bottom of the recipe in the recipe card.

  3. Send me a good pastrami and corned beef recipe. The potato pancakes were delicious and easy to make. Added to some thyme and dry be parsley to turn that in corner.

  4. I love making mashed potatoes for my family but I’m really not a fan. I much prefer yams/sweet potatoes (especially those doctored up with butter, brown sugar, and pecans) at Thanksgiving. This recipe turned my yummy mashed potatoes into a to-die-for Latke this morning. Yumna, thank you so much for your creativity and generosity in sharing your creations. It’s….SO GOOD!
    I didn’t have scallions so I used chives and shredded Colby jack cheese… yum