Holidays & Entertaining Holidays Thanksgiving 20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes Mashed potatoes in pancakes? You better believe it! And we're just getting started... By Betty Gold Betty Gold Betty Gold is a food writer and editor with more than a decade’s experience working on titles such as Food Network Magazine, Bon Appetit, and Good Housekeeping. She is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple and is currently overseeing all food and nutritional content for Well+Good as senior food editor. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 27, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Crystal Hughes Maybe the kids aren't crazy for cranberry sauce or your Dad doesn't love green beans, but properly cooked mashed potatoes are the one side dish everyone can agree on (and always get passed around for seconds). Even so, making a huge batch of mashed potatoes can leave you with that age-old holiday conundrum: What should you make with all the leftover mashed potatoes? You can always eat 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 leftover mashed potato recipes. Remember that proper food storage is key: Always use an airtight container and keep leftovers on the highest shelf in your refrigerator. (You can store mashed potatoes for up to four days.) Then, add a bit more milk and a pat of butter to preserve their creamy texture when reheating. 01 of 20 Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Caitlin Bensel Who says you need beef to bake an incredibly delicious Shepherd's Pie? This vegetarian version uses hearty eggplant, pearl onions, and carrots as a stand-in for meat—and trust us, you won't miss it once you see how fresh and flavorful the veggies taste. Top with your leftover mashed potatoes and pair with a rich red wine for easy dinner perfection. Get the recipe 02 of 20 Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pancakes Heami Lee White potatoes aren't the only versatile ingredient. Fortunately, leftover sweet potatoes can be transformed, too. In fact, the sweetness from the mashed sweet potatoes adds a delectable quality to this classic breakfast staple. So if pancakes from scratch usually intimidate you, don't worry—this recipe is easy to follow; just wait for each side to brown before flipping for optimal results. Get the recipe 03 of 20 Loaded Mashed Potato Balls The Cooking Jar Golden and crispy outside, plush and cheese-flecked inside, these mashed potato balls make 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. get the recipe 04 of 20 Mashed Potato Fries Cookie Named Desire These crispy-creamy mashed potato fries are best eaten fresh out of the oven. To make it with leftover mashed potatoes, skip the mashed potato making portion of this recipe and go right to the sheet pan directive in step four. get the recipe 05 of 20 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. get the recipe 06 of 20 Loaded Mashed Potato Rolls Spend with Pennies While you can certainly go with traditional mashed potato matching flavors (cheddar, chives, etc.) with this super cool rethink of fried rolls, we say let your culinary creativity run amok. Warming spices and ingredients, like curry, onion, spinach, and fennel seed, work particularly well here. Get the Recipe 07 of 20 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. get the recipe 08 of 20 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). get the recipe 09 of 20 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! get the recipe 10 of 20 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. get the recipe 11 of 20 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! get the recipe 12 of 20 Easy Shepherd's Pies Marcus Nilsson 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. Either way, this simple version is a total treat. get the recipe 13 of 20 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. get the recipe 14 of 20 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. get the recipe 15 of 20 Mashed Potato Gnocchi Macheesmo Leftover mashed potatoes make these gnocchi light and fluffy—just like we want them to be! get the recipe 16 of 20 Mini Twice Baked Potatoes Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes Grace Elkus We love the crunchy bits of bacon and kick of black pepper in this twice-baked leftover mashed potato hack. Prepare the recipe as described, then mix in your leftover mash to have even more loaded potato snacks. get the recipe 17 of 20 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. get the recipe 18 of 20 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, and breadcrumb combo. get the recipe 19 of 20 Cheesy Potato Casserole Alison Miksch Hearty, cheesy, and filling, this potato casserole takes a lot less time when you start with leftover mashed potatoes in place of uncooked russet potatoes. This recipe will have a slightly different texture with the mash, but it is still great served with a side of peppery arugula. get the recipe 20 of 20 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. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit