29 Of The Best Recipes For Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes are such a versatile vegetable and there are plenty of recipes where you can use up some leftover mashed potatoes.

Try it as gnocchi, as a pizza topping, or as fritters, bread, balls, cakes, and scones. In this guide, we will look at several ways to incorporate leftover mashed potatoes into several recipes.

1. Mashed Potato Gnocchi

The first recipe you should probably try with leftover mashed potatoes is gnocchi as it forms a key ingredient. Combine mashed potatoes with an egg, salt, and enough flour to create a dough.

Divide the dough into five sections and roll each one into a long rope just under an inch thick.

Chop the rope into inch-sized pieces and boil them in water in batches until they float to the top.

2. Mashed Potato Balls

Cooking leftover mashed potatoes does not have to be fancy. Simply combine them with grated cheese, chives, cayenne pepper, and cooked bacon to create balls.

You should create 25 balls which you can dip in eggs, then Panko breadcrumbs (see also ‘Panko Breadcrumbs Substitutes: 5 Top Picks‘), and fry them in a stockpot over a medium-high heat until golden brown.

Drain the excess fat on kitchen towels then sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. 

3. Mashed Potato Waffles

If you’re a fan of creative uses for leftovers and enjoy trying out leftover sour cream recipes, then you will love these mashed potato waffles.

If you know how to make waffles, then you can make them with leftover mashed potatoes.

Whisk together oil, eggs, and buttermilk then stir in your mashed potatoes, cheese, and scallions.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder then fold into the potato mixture.

Warm up your waffle maker and grease with cooking spray before cooking the batter in an even layer then serve with sour cream.

4. Mashed Potato Cakes

Mashed potatoes are a vital ingredient in these potato cakes for a rich consistency. Stir together eggs, mashed potatoes, grated Cheddar cheese, and flour.

You may need to add more flour to ensure that the potato cakes can hold their shape. If they can, fry them in a large skillet over a medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides. 

5. Aloo Tikki Potato Cakes

Spicy potato cakes are a wonderful addition to Curry Night.

Mush together milk and white bread then incorporate the mashed potatoes and add chiles, ground coriander, ground cumin, and salt.

Shape the mix into around six patties then shallow fry them for around four minutes until golden brown. Drain away the excess oil on paper towels and serve warm.

6. Mashed Potato Muffins

With leftover mashed potatoes comes the possibility of Mashed Potato Muffins. Combine mashed potatoes with an egg, grated Cheddar cheese, and chopped chives.

Add seasoning and create scoops to bake for 35 minutes at 375°F (190°C). They should have crisped up and you can add more cheese to create a melted layer on top. 

7. Tattie Scones

Tattie Scones are a great Scottish way of using up leftover mashed potatoes.

Combine the mashed potatoes with butter, salt, flour, an egg, and baking powder to form a dough.

Roll it out to a half-inch thickness, cut into rounds then cut into wedges. On a buttered baking sheet, bake the scones for 20 minutes at 400°F (205°C)  until risen and golden brown.

8. Potato Soup

Potato Soup can also be made with leftover mashed potatoes.

Add flour to a large pot then gradually whisk in the milk to create a roux then add the mashed potatoes, grated Cheddar cheese, and seasoning.

Once the cheese has melted, add sour cream and green onions. You can also add some of your favorite herbs such as thyme or dill, even some chopped ham works really well.

9. Potato Gâteau

Yes, that translation works as this is essentially a cake made from potatoes. Warm up the mashed potatoes and mix with butter, eggs, nutmeg, grated Pecorino cheese, and seasoning.

Grease a baking dish and sprinkle on some breadcrumbs then spoon on half of the potato mix and flatten it out. 

Layer on some prosciutto cotto then scatter on gorgonzola (see also ‘What Does Gorgonzola Actually Taste Like? Does Gorgonzola Cheese Taste Nice?‘) and mozzarella pieces.

Follow that with another layer of mashed potatoes and flatten again before dusting with breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for between 45 and 50 minutes then serve.

10. Potato Croquettes

Fluffy potato croquettes are a wonderful side dish to have.

Combine a couple of eggs with the mashed potatoes then Parmesan cheese, chopped chives, and flour. Season, roll into balls, and then chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. 

Dip the balls in egg then breadcrumbs and fry in a skillet over a medium-high heat. Fry them in batches until golden brown and crispy all over.

11. Irish Soda Bread

The Irish have found many ways to use the humble potato, even creating bread from it.

Mix the mashed potatoes with nutmeg, honey, olive oil, and buttermilk and, once combined, add wholewheat flour, grated and soaked potato, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and seasoning.

You can also add a topping such as mozzarella and sundried tomatoes or seeds and herbs.

Pour out the dough onto a baking mat covered with rolled oats then fold by hand until you have a loose round shape.

Top with the rest of the oat flakes and bake for 35 minutes at 375°F (190°C)  then turn the oven down to 355°F (180°C) to bake for a further ten minutes. Allow to partly cool then serve warm. 

12. Potato Bread

That’s right, you can turn leftover mashed potatoes into bread.

Activate your yeast in warm water and milk then add granulated sugar, an egg, salt, mashed potatoes, bread flour, and melted salted butter.

Let the ingredients combine using the paddle attachment in your stand mixer then change to the dough hook and beat until sticky.

Knead the dough in a greased bowl and cover to double in size which should take around half an hour. Divide the mix into two and shape into loaves to be into greased loaf pans.

Let them rise again to fill the pans then bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown then leave to cool. 

13. Mashed Potato Rolls

You can make rolls from mashed potatoes too. Get your oven up to 200°F (95°C) then turn it off so it remains warm. Microwave some butter, milk, and water until the butter is fully melted.

Combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment then add your buttery milk with the mashed potatoes and eggs. 

Mix until there is a tacky dough which you leave to rise in the oven until doubled in size, usually after 45 minutes. Punch down the dough, create 15 pieces and roll them into circles.

Cover them in plastic wrap and leave them in the oven to rise and double in size but make sure that the sides are not touching.

Remove them from the oven, turn up the heat to 350°F (175°C) and bake for around 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. 

14. Pierogi

For a somewhat exotic, European take on leftover mashed potatoes, create some Pierogi. Create the dough by blending flour, salt, egg, and oil then gradually add water until you get a ball.

Knead it, wrap it in plastic wrap then leave to chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Combine your mashed potatoes with grated cheese, butter, sour cream, and seasoning for your filling.

Roll out the dough and create nine-inch round circles then place a teaspoon of the filling in each one and seal them.

Crimp them with a fork then lightly boil until they float to the top of the pan and fry until golden brown. 

15. Turkey And Potato Soup

Turkey and Potato Soup is another recipe you can use with some Thanksgiving leftovers. Melt some butter in a large saucepan and sauté onion with mushrooms, carrot, and thyme.

Add chicken stock with the mashed potatoes then stir until you have a smooth soup when you can add the chopped, cooked turkey.

Bring to a simmer and serve once the turkey has heated through, add seasoning to taste.

16. Mashed Potato Focaccia

Baking with leftover mashed potatoes is also a really good way of using it up.

Activate some yeast in warm water and combine 00 flour with bread flour with the mashed potatoes, and salt in a stand mixer.

Mix in olive oil to the foamy water and gradually add it in until you get a sticky, slightly wet dough. 

Drop the dough into an oil-greased bowl after some kneading to form a smooth ball and leave it to rise for an hour.

Line a pan with parchment paper and spread some oil across it then smother the dough in it and spread to fit the pan. Cover it with more plastic wrap and leave it to rise for an hour. 

Create some indents with your fingers, drizzle over some olive oil, and sprinkle on some salt flakes.

Bake in the bottom third of the oven at 425°F (220°C) for around 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and leave to cool for ten minutes.

You can also top the bread with sundried tomatoes, rosemary, or even Parmesan cheese. 

17. Fried Mashed Potatoes

You could simply fry the mashed potatoes to give them a new lease of life. Coat the mashed potatoes with olive oil in a hot skillet with butter and garlic powder.

As a large patty, let the mashed potatoes fry until golden brown underneath then break it up and create crispy bits throughout.  

18. Thanksgiving Potato Fritters

If you have some mashed potatoes leftover from Thanksgiving then there are a couple of recipes to use.

The first is to create potato fritters by stirring them with egg and breadcrumbs, maybe some seasoning too.

Create patties from the mix, roll them in Panko breadcrumbs, and shallow fry them in a skillet over a medium-high heat. You can throw in more leftovers such as cooked turkey or Brussels sprouts. 

19. Thanksgiving Pizza

You can put almost anything on a pizza and that includes leftover mashed potatoes. Simply roll out your pizza dough and spread on some tomato sauce as you would normally.

Add your favorite leftovers such as dollops of cranberry sauce, chopped-up Brussels sprouts, turkey slices, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.

Cover with cheese and bake until golden brown.

20. Ham And Mashed Potato Casserole

This is a really simple but tasty recipe to use up some mashed potatoes and cooked ham. In a bowl, mix the mashed potatoes with garlic salt.

Layer it in a baking dish, sprinkle on some shredded ham and fold the cheese with the whipped cream to put on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F (230°C) until golden brown. 

21. Broccoli And Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole

While probably not the main ingredient, mashed potatoes can bulk out a casserole.

Cook up some broccoli florets until tender then add the mashed potatoes with grated cheese, garlic powder, and seasoning then combine.

Move to a greased casserole dish and smooth it out to bake at 375°F (190°C) for around 30 to 35 minutes.

Cook up some bacon rashes and crumble them up to place on top of the mashed potatoes with diced green onions and even more grated cheese then allow to melt in the oven. 

22. Colcannon

A traditional Irish recipe (see also ‘33 Traditional Irish Recipes For Any Occasion‘) to use up leftover mashed potatoes is Colcannon. Simply blanch some kale, blitz it with spring onions, then combine with the mashed potatoes.

Add some more finely chopped spring onions and seasoning then top with a knob of butter. 

23. Japanese Potato Salad

Leftover mashed potatoes can go in a salad too, like this Japanese one.

Add rice vinegar and pepper to the mashed potatoes then boil corn kernels until tender then remove while you boil an egg in the same pot.

Slice the egg into pieces and thinly cut some peeled cucumber and carrot into rounds or half-rounds. 

Sprinkle the rounds, or half-rounds, with salt then squeeze out some moisture then rinse off the salt and rinse again.

Assemble the salad by combining it all with cooked ham pieces with some Japanese mayonnaise and serve.

24. Mashed Potato Quesadilla

As a filling ingredient, mashed potatoes go great in quesadillas.

Spread some sour cream on the tortilla, layer one half with mashed potatoes, grated cheese, and scallions, then add more cheese and fold over.

Grease a medium-hot pan with butter then cook the quesadillas until crunchy and the cheese has melted.

25. Shepherd’s Pie

Another recipe that uses mashed potatoes as a covering layer is Shepherd’s Pie.

Simply brown some ground beef then add a chopped onion, garlic then frozen mixed vegetables, beef stock, flour, and dried dill.

Once the sauce has thickened up and the vegetables are cooked through, add seasoning and pour into a baking dish.

Spread your final layer of mashed potatoes and bake at 425°F (220°C) for around 20 minutes when the potatoes should be browning.

26. Bubble And Squeak

A traditional dish to deal with leftovers is Bubble and Squeak. Simply combine mashed potatoes with leftover finely chopped Brussels sprouts or cabbage then add seasoning.

Fry the mixture flat in a skillet pan and fry until both sides are golden brown. Cut into wedges and this goes really well with a casserole or on its own with a fried egg on top.

27. Mashed Potato Biscuits

Sure, you can use mashed potatoes in sweet recipes such as these biscuits. Whisk together baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt then add shortening (see also ‘5 Substitutes For Shortening‘) until you get coarse crumbs.

Add in your mashed potatoes with honey and egg then combine with milk until you get a dough.

Roll the dough and cut with a biscuit cutter for around 20 biscuits that you can bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 425°F (220°C) until browned.

28. Mashed Potato Donuts

Mashed potatoes create a really dense dough which is ideal for donuts. Combine the mashed potatoes with milk, sugar, butter, and eggs.

Add in salt, ginger, cinnamon, and baking powder to create a sticky dough that you can refrigerate overnight.

Pat down the dough to a half-inch thickness then cut into rounds with a donut cutter and fry in oil in a heavy pot until golden brown on both sides. 

29. Potato Candy

While it may not be the most glamorous candy, Potato Candy is remarkably simple.

Add powdered sugar to your mashed potatoes then mix in vanilla extract until you get a thick, cookie dough-like consistency.

Sprinkle on some more powdered sugar and roll out to a quarter-inch rectangle then spread on peanut butter, roll tightly and cut in half.

Chill for half an hour then chop into inch-thick slices and serve.

Final Thoughts

As a typical dish on the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table (see also ‘35 Best Christmas Appetizers To Try This Year‘), you can simply make too much mashed potatoes.

Knowing what to do with it with only a few more ingredients is crucial.

You could create even more side dishes such as croquettes or potato cakes or use it as the basis for a new main meal such as a casserole or Shepherd’s Pie.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Can You Keep Mashed Potatoes In The Refrigerator?

Leftover mashed potatoes can last for a few days in the refrigerator if covered well.

Typically from three to five days though that could depend on how much dairy you have used. If you freeze a portion, it can last for up to a year.

Can You Eat Potatoes That Have Sprouted?

Though they can look a little odd, as long as you remove the sprouts, you can cook with sprouted potatoes.

Snap them off with your fingers and cook the potato as you would normally. You would also be advised to peel the potatoes to get rid of any remnants of the sprouts.