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  5. 20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes

20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Betty Gold
By Betty Gold Updated November 13, 2020
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Credit: Getty Images

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. 

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Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
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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. 

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Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pancakes

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pancake
Credit: Heami Lee
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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. 

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Loaded Mashed Potato Balls

Loaded Mashed Potato Balls
Credit: The Cooking Jar
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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.

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Mashed Potato Fries

Mashed Potato Fries
Credit: Cookie Named Desire
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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.

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Mashed Potato Waffles

Mashed Potato Waffles
Credit: Do You Even Paleo
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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.

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Loaded Mashed Potato Rolls

Loaded Mashed Potato Egg Rolls
Credit: Spend with Pennies
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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.

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Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties

Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties
Credit: Diethood
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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.

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Cheesy Mashed Potato Egg Skillet Casserole

Cheesy Mashed Potato Egg Skillet Casserole
Credit: Tbsp
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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).

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Mashed Potato Doughnuts

Mashed Potato Doughnuts
Credit: Dinner with Julie
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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!

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Potato Rolls

Potato Rolls
Credit: Spicy Southern Kitchen
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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.

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Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Soup

Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Soup
Credit: Noble Pig
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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!

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Easy Shepherd's Pies

Easy Shepherd's Pie
Credit: Marcus Nilsson
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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.

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Mashed Potato and Mushroom Quesadilla

Mashed Potato and Mushroom Quesadilla
Credit: Cooktoria
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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.

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Potato Cakes From Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Potato Cakes From Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Credit: Natasha’s Kitchen
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Serve these potato cakes with a dollop of sour cream for the ultimate comfort-food combo.

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Mashed Potato Gnocchi

Mashed Potato Gnocchi
Credit: Macheesmo
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Leftover mashed potatoes make these gnocchi light and fluffy—just like we want them to be!

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Mini Twice Baked Potatoes Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Mini Twice-Baked Loaded Potatoes
Credit: Grace Elkus
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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.

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Mashed Potato Pancakes

Mashed Potato Pancakes
Credit: For the Love of Cooking
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The saltiness of these leftover mashed potato pancakes is lip-smackingly evened out when topped with mildly sweet apple sauce.

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Potato Croquettes

Potato Croquettes
Credit: Goodie Godmother
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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.

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Cheesy Potato Casserole

Cheesy Potato Casserole
Credit: Alison Miksch
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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.

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Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins

Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins
Credit: Just a Taste
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Use an ice cream scoop to create even portions of this great fork-free recipe for leftover mashed potatoes.

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    1 of 20 Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
    2 of 20 Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pancakes
    3 of 20 Loaded Mashed Potato Balls
    4 of 20 Mashed Potato Fries
    5 of 20 Mashed Potato Waffles
    6 of 20 Loaded Mashed Potato Rolls
    7 of 20 Spinach and Garlic Potato Patties
    8 of 20 Cheesy Mashed Potato Egg Skillet Casserole
    9 of 20 Mashed Potato Doughnuts
    10 of 20 Potato Rolls
    11 of 20 Leftover Mashed Potato Cheese Soup
    12 of 20 Easy Shepherd's Pies
    13 of 20 Mashed Potato and Mushroom Quesadilla
    14 of 20 Potato Cakes From Leftover Mashed Potatoes
    15 of 20 Mashed Potato Gnocchi
    16 of 20 Mini Twice Baked Potatoes Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes
    17 of 20 Mashed Potato Pancakes
    18 of 20 Potato Croquettes
    19 of 20 Cheesy Potato Casserole
    20 of 20 Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins

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