Name: Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 525 g leftover mashed potatoes; 2 spring onions (scallions, minced); 3 tbsp cornflour; 1 tsp dried mixed herbs; 1 large egg; salt to taste; olive oil for frying

6 Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes in a stack

Raise your hand if you simultaneously love and loathe leftovers.

Leftovers are sometimes the last thing you want to think about after eating a big meal. Loathe.

Leftovers have to be eaten or stored quickly. Loathe.

Leftovers can take up valuable space in the fridge. Loathe.

But… leftovers are extra food that you don’t have to prepare again. Love.

Leftovers sometimes taste even better the next day. Love.

Leftovers allow you to transform an old dish into something new. Love.

I promise this Christmas you will be firmly in the ‘love leftovers’ camp with the recipe I’m about to share with you: Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes. It is the perfect way to use leftover mashed potatoes that are staring you in the face every time you open up the fridge. It’s not just a recipe – it’s a problem solver.

And really, this potato pancake recipe is so good you don’t have to use leftover mashed potatoes. It doesn’t have to just be a ‘leftovers recipe’ – it can stand on its own as a side dish (especially for Christmas) that you planned to make ahead of time, not just in a ‘oh no what do I do with all of these mashed potatoes’ moment of panic in the kitchen.

In fact, I plan to make them for a side dish this Christmas. If you’re reading this with time to spare before Christmas this year, I suggest you do the same – you won’t regret it. Potatoes don’t have to be samey samey every year, and this potato pancake dish makes them fun and exciting for Christmas. I’d like to think that these potato pancakes are an upgrade to traditional mashed potatoes… mashed potatoes 2.0, perhaps.

These potato pancakes really do taste best with mashed potatoes that have aged two or three days, so all you have to do is make the mashed potatoes ahead of time and let them sit in the fridge. Easy peasy.

Here’s How to Make Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes – Step by Step

Whether you’re using actual leftovers or ‘faux leftovers,’ here’s how to make Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes. They are sooo easy (especially after all of that hard holiday cooking) you may just cry tears of joy.

Step 1. Start with the star of the Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes show: mashed potatoes. (For easy mashed potatoes, use my Instant Pot Mashed Potato recipe.) Add them to a large bowl.

Step 2. Add all other ingredients to the mashed potatoes and mix until combined. If your mixture is a little loose, then you can add a tbsp. of flour at a time till it can hold its shape when formed into a patty.

Step 3. Split the mixture into 12 equal portions and shape them into patties.

Step 4. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a pan. Add the potato pancakes in a single layer with space in between them for turning. Cook for 3-4 mins per side until golden.

Step 5. Remove cooked potato pancakes and keep them in a warm place until you finish frying the remaining pancakes.

Step 6. Serve your potato pancakes with things like chutney, sour cream, or scrambled eggs.

Leftover mashed potatoes perfection.

More Tips for Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes

If you’ve made Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes and are still up to your ears in leftover mashed potatoes, here are a few more ideas for you.

Use leftover mashed potatoes…

As the top layer of a shepherd’s pie
In quiche
In muffins
As a meatloaf topping
In soup
In desserts – yeap, mashed potatoes can be used in foods like cakes and doughnuts

In short, potatoes don’t have to be boring. Potatoes can be pretty exciting, really, as long as you ‘think outside the (potato) box.’

Now excuse me while I enjoy a potato pancake (or three)…

Here is how to make potato pancakes. Please do try it and if you do make it then please do tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter so that I can pop over and have a look. It is really, really awesome for me when you make any one of my recipes. You can also share it on my Facebook page.

Thank you for reading my potato pancake post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you.

Don't forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Potato Pancakes with Leftover Mashed Potatoes! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I'd love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.

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4.75 from 4 votes