15 minutes is all it takes to transform leftover mashed potatoes into these crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside mashed potato pancakes. Serve them for breakfast instead of hash browns or alongside your favorite main dish.

A white plate with multiple potato pancakes.
Photos by Mariam Hamdy

If you’ve made a lot of mashed potatoes for your holiday dinner party and need a delicious way to use up leftovers, this mashed potato pancakes recipe is your answer!

These crispy potato pancakes are easy to make with any leftover mashed potatoes you have on hand. Add in fresh herbs, a sprinkle of your favorite cheese (feta for me), an egg and flour for binding, and mix. Next, shape the mashed potato and herb mixture into disks and shallow fry them in some good extra virgin olive oil.

If you have a crowd to feed for breakfast, these tasty mashed potato pancakes are great next to a quick strata, egg scramble or sheet pan baked eggs. Heck, I’ve added them to my mean Mediterranean breakfast board for the holidays — everyone loves food on a board! You can also serve them as a side for dinner, after all, they are potatoes!

Table of Contents
  1. Ingredients for Making Mashed Potato Pancakes
  2. How to Make Potato Pancakes from Mashed Potatoes
  3. Storing and Reheating Tips
  4. More potato recipes
  5. Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes Recipe
Two mashed potato pancakes on a plate with a fork.

Ingredients for Making Mashed Potato Pancakes

Leftover mashed potatoes are the star ingredient in this recipe. From there, you can add your favorite cheeses and herbs, and a binding agent to bring the mixture together. Here is what you need to make these savory leftover potato pancakes:

  • Chilled mashed potatoes. I used roasted garlic mashed potatoes, but any mashed potatoes will work. You can even try them with my savory mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Cheese. I like feta cheese here, but you could use goat cheese, gouda, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano. Almost any cheese will work, but make sure it is crumbled or grated cheese, depending on the kind used.
  • Scallions or chives. I use scallions, both white and green parts for lots of flavor, but chopped chives will work here too.
  • Fresh herbs. A good handful of chopped parsley or, if you like, you can also add a little fresh thyme or rosemary.
  • Egg and flour. Both of these are needed to help bind the potato mixture so it won’t fall apart when fried.
  • Breadcrumbs. This is optional, but I like to lightly coat the pancake patties in breadcrumbs for an extra crispy crust.
  • Extra virgin olive oil for shallow-frying will give you a nice golden crust on these savory patties.
Five mashed potato pancakes frying in a pan.

How to Make Potato Pancakes from Mashed Potatoes

Like my Spaghetti Pie recipe, these potato pancakes are a great way to breath new life into leftovers. These are a breeze to make, since the mashed potatoes are already fully cooked, and you don’t need to worry about peeling and shredding raw potatoes to make potato pancakes. All you need is just 10 minutes! Here is how:

  • Make the leftover mashed potato pancake mixture: Combine about 3 cups chilled mashed potatoes with a good sprinkle of feta cheese (or cheese of your choice from the list above). Add chopped scallions, a handful of fresh parsley, one egg, and about 3 tablespoon of flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix until everything is well incorporated.
  • Form into small patties and coat with breadcrumbs: Take handfuls of the mashed potato mixture and form them into small discs. It helps to use a measuring cup so the patties are the same size. I used a 1/3 cup to measure my potato mixture. Lightly coat each patty with breadcrumbs on both sides.
  • Fry the potato pancakes: Coat the bottom of a large non-stick skillet with a 1/4 inch depth of extra virgin olive oil and set the heat to medium-high. When the oil begins to shimmer arrange the potato pancakes in the pan in one single layer. You may have to do this in batches. Cook on one side for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn over and cook on the other side for another couple minutes or so until crispy and golden brown on both sides.

Storing and Reheating Tips

You can store these savory mashed potato pancakes in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a tightly closed glass container. If you’ve had your cooked mashed potatoes in the fridge a few days before making these savory pancakes, then it’ll be best to use them up sooner rather than later. Reheat potato pancakes in your non-stick pan with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil.

A plate with two mashed potato pancakes.

Try our Arbequina EVOO in this recipe!

Olive oil will give you the perfect crust on your potato pancakes! This exquisite extra virgin olive oil made from Arbequina olives, which are native to northern Spain, is mild and slightly fruity tasting with an acidity level of 0.16%. It’s great for everyday recipes including these delicious pancakes!

bottle of arbequina extra virgin olive oil from the mediterranean dish.

More potato recipes

Browse more Mediterranean Recipes

Visit our Shop

4.94 from 45 votes

Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

Kate Kardel
two potato pancakes with feta cheese and a fork on a plate.
These easy mashed potato pancakes take only 10 minutes to make! Crispy on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside. This really is the best way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
Prep – 10 minutes
Cook – 5 minutes
Total – 15 minutes
Cuisine:
American/Mediterranean
Serves – 8 servings
Course:
Appetizer, Breakfast, Side

Ingredients
  

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil for pan frying
  • 3 cups chilled mashed potatoes, already cooked and stored in the fridge
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled, more for garnish
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 scallions, both white and green parts, chopped, plus more for garnish
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

Instructions
 

  • Make the mashed potato mixture: In a big bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, feta, all-purpose flour, scallions, and parsley. Break the egg and add it to the bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is well incorporated.
  • Prepare the breadcrumbs: Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate and set next to the bowl with the mashed potato mixture.
  • Make the patties: Using a measuring cup (either a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup, depending on the size of the patties you want), scoop a portion of the mashed potato mixture to fill the measuring cup. Form a ball between your hands, and then lightly flatten to make a 1/2-inch thick patty. Dredge the patty on both sides with the breadcrumbs and set it flat on a baking sheet. Repeat until the mashed potato mixture is finished.
  • Fry the mashed potato patties: Set a large non-stick pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to the pan so it's about 1/2-inch deep. When the oil shimmers, arrange the patties in the pan in one single layer (do this in batches, if needed). Cook on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the bottom is crispy and golden brown, then turn over and cook the patties for another 2 to 3 minutes, again watching for the crisp and color on the other side.
  • Using the spatula, remove the cooked mashed potato patties from the skillet and transfer them to a tray, lined with a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
  • Transfer the mashed potato patties to a serving plate and garnish with a bit more feta cheese and scallions. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Nutrition

Calories: 146.5kcalCarbohydrates: 25.3gProtein: 5gFat: 2.9gSaturated Fat: 1.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.7gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 28.8mgSodium: 172.9mgPotassium: 296.3mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1.2gVitamin A: 274.6IUVitamin C: 21.6mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?

Share it with the world

Get our best recipes and all Things Mediterranean delivered to your inbox.
4.94 from 45 votes (28 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

How many stars would you give this recipe?




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Lisa La Russo says:

    5 stars
    Delicious! My husband & I loved them. I mixed cheeses, also added a little shredded smoked gouda. And black pepper. What a great way to make mashed potatoes great again!

  2. Amanda says:

    I could tell this would taste delicious– but had to scratch my attempt and order dinner. The cakes refused to stay together before abd while in the pan. They also stuck so much to my fingers or spatula it was difficult to maintain a shape.

    I tried adding more flour, and putting mix in the fridge a while to firm but no luck. Also kept my hands wet to avoid sticking.

  3. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    Wow I loved this as a breakfast treat when I had some mashed pototates in the fridge to use up. I tend to have feta on hand and had some chopped chives in the freezer. It was super fast & easy to mix up the ingredients in a bowl and pan fry (I have no idea what the reviewer who said this has “18” (?) ingredients and was difficult to make is talking about). I also used gf flour and gf panko breadcrumbs- the crunch on the outside was great.

    1. TMD Team says:

      Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!

  4. BeckyB says:

    5 stars
    Perfect solution to too many mashed potatoes. I recommend the bread crumbs for sure – the extra crunch and crispy outside is worth it. thanks for this!

    1. TMD Team says:

      Thanks, Becky!

  5. Sarah says:

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious, a real savory idea to use up leftover mashed potatoes. I added a few more eggs then called for and didn’t use bread crumbs cuz I didn’t have any.

    1. TMD Team says:

      Thanks so much for the great review, Sarah!

  6. MISS K GODBY says:

    Can the potato mix pre cooking be frozen?

    1. TMD Team says:

      Hello! We’ve never tried that, so it’s hard to say. I feel like it would be better to fully cook them before freezing for later use.

  7. Tarien says:

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I am a sucker for a good hash brown and these hit the spot!

    1. TMD Team says:

      Thanks so much, Tarien!