20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Cookie Named Desire

You can never make too many mashed potatoes—or have too many leftover mashed potatoes. Maybe the kids aren't crazy for cranberry or your Dad doesn’t love green beans, but mashed potatoes are the one side dish everyone can agree on (and always get passed around for seconds). Even so, leftover mashed potatoes can leave you with that age-old holiday conundrum: what to do with the leftovers?

You can always eat leftover mashed potatoes straight from the fridge, use them as a topping for shepherd's pie, or thin them out with chicken broth and simmer with sautéed leeks, thyme, and a splash of white wine for soup. Or you can make one of these delicious recipes. It's a win either way.

Remember that proper storage is key: always use an airtight container and keep them on the highest shelf in your refrigerator. You can store them (and other leftovers) for up to four days. When reheating, add a bit more milk and a pat of butter to preserve their creamy texture.

RELATED: These Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Are Practically Foolproof

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Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties

Diethood

These super savory spinach-stuffed leftover mashed potato patties are not only great at dinner, but can be topped with a poached or fried egg for breakfast, paired with a turkey burger at lunch, or even make a great finger-food appetizer if friends are coming over.

Recipe and photo from Diethood. Get the recipe here.

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Cheesy Mashed Potato Egg Skillet Casserole

Tbsp

One-pan breakfast dishes are a great way to feed the family en masse (and on their own schedules—when the early birds are done, the stragglers can grab a fork and dig in).

Recipe and photo from Tbsp. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Doughnuts

Dinner with Julie

We love how this creative re-think of a traditionally savory side dish is reborn as one of the all-time favorite sweet treats: doughnuts. Icing sugar adds the finishing touch, but a cinnamon-sugar combo would be great, too!

Recipe and photo from Dinner with Julie. Get the recipe here.

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Mini Shepherd’s Pot Pies

Unsophisticated Cook

Shepherd’s pie has got to be one of the world’s best comfort foods. While traditionally made with lamb, beef works just as well—you could even go completely vegetarian.

Recipe and photo from Unsophisticated Cook. Get the recipe here.

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Potato Rolls

Spicy Southern Kitchen

You need a little time to allow the yeast to do its work here, but these fluffy, golden-brown orbs of bready deliciousness are worth the wait. A round cake pan is suggested for baking these up, but a handy-dandy cast iron pan works just as well.

Recipe and photo from Spicy Southern Kitchen. Get the recipe here.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Soup

Noble Pig

Feel free to add some sautéed leeks or chives in lieu of green onions to this soothing leftover mashed potato-based soup, sure to ease the chill on a cold day!

Recipe and photo from Noble Pig. Get the recipe here.

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Twice Baked Potatoes Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Genius Kitchen

We love the crunchy bits of bacon and kick of red pepper in this twice-baked leftover mashed potato hack. If you don’t like too much heat, half the amount of pepper (or exclude it altogether).

Recipe and photo from Genius Kitchen. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato and Mushroom Quesadilla

Cooktoria

Packed with mushrooms and onions, this veggie-centric snack can also be packed up for picnics and eaten at room temperature. They're great reheated if you want a grab-and-go lunch for work, too.

Recipe and photo from Cooktoria. Get the recipe here.

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Potato Cakes From Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Natasha’s Kitchen

Serve these potato cakes with a dollop of sour cream for the ultimate comfort-food combo.

Recipe and photo from Natasha’s Kitchen. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Waffles

Do You Even Paleo

Aside from the fact that they’re already waffles (yay!), you can eat them solo, topped with a poached egg and hollandaise, or made into a meaty little breakfast sandwich.

Recipe and photo from Do You Even Paleo. Get the recipe here.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Puffs

Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

This recipe employs all the fun bits of a stuffed potato—cheese, sour cream, chives—but without the messy scraping out of potato skins. These easy puffs go right into a nonstick muffin pan and are a quick and easy side dish with little prep time and a lot of flavorful reward!

Recipe and photo from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Gnocchi

Macheesmo

Leftover mashed potatoes make these gnocchi light and fluffy—just like we want them to be!

Recipe and photo from Macheesmo. Get the recipe here.

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Loaded Mashed Potato Crunch

Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

These clever, crunchy handheld slices of leftover mashed potato goodness are half potato pancake, half potato pizza. The recipe calls for cheddar, but you can use whatever you have on hand—try mozzarella cheese, gouda, goat, or even feta.

Recipe and photo from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Pancakes

For the Love of Cooking

The saltiness of these leftover mashed potato pancakes is lip-smackingly evened out when topped with mildly sweet apple sauce.

Recipe and photo from For the Love of Cooking. Get the recipe here.

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Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

The Cooking Jar

Golden and crispy outside, plush and cheese-flecked inside, these mashed potato balls makes a great appetizer or fun side dish. The panko bread crumb coating adds a nice gentle crunch. No bacon? Skip it altogether—or use up other leftovers like sandwich meat (ham, for instance!) or Italian sausage.

Recipe and photo from The Cooking Jar. Get the recipe here.

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Potato Croquettes

Goodie Godmother

Simple and classic, potato croquettes are a leftover mashed potato staple. These get a great crunchy coating due to the recipe’s flour, egg, breadcrumb combo.

Recipe and photo from Goodie Godmother. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Egg Casserole

Foxe Love Lemons

Hearty, cheesy, and filling, this leftover mashed potato casserole is great served with a side of peppery arugula.

Recipe and photo from Foxe Love Lemons. Get the recipe here.

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Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins

Just a Taste

Use an ice cream scoop to create even portions of this great fork-free recipe for leftover mashed potatoes.

Recipe and photo from Just a Taste. Get the recipe here.

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Mashed Potato Fries

Cookie Named Desire

Last but by no means least, crispy-creamy mashed potato fries. Best eaten fresh out of the oven, skip the mashed potato making portion of this recipe and go right to the sheet pan directive in step four.

Recipe and photo from Cookie Named Desire. Get the recipe here.

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Loaded Mashed Potato Egg Rolls

Spend with Pennies

While you can certainly go with traditional mashed potato matching flavors (cheddar, chives, etc.) with this super cool rethink of egg rolls, we say let your culinary creativity run amok. Typical Indian spices and ingredients, like curry, onion, spinach, and fennel seed, work particularly well here.

Recipe and photo from Spend with Pennies. Get the recipe here.

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20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes

1 of 20

Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties

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2 of 20

Cheesy Mashed Potato Egg Skillet Casserole

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Mashed Potato Doughnuts

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Mini Shepherd’s Pot Pies

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Potato Rolls

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Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Soup

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Twice Baked Potatoes Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes

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Mashed Potato and Mushroom Quesadilla

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Potato Cakes From Leftover Mashed Potatoes

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Mashed Potato Waffles

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Leftover Mashed Potato Puffs

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Mashed Potato Gnocchi

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Loaded Mashed Potato Crunch

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Mashed Potato Pancakes

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Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

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Potato Croquettes

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Mashed Potato Egg Casserole

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Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins

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Mashed Potato Fries

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Loaded Mashed Potato Egg Rolls

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