Welcome to the second edition of Thow Back Thursdays! ♡ #tbt
I've been going through each and every post on TEM trying to tidy them up and get rid of any pesky grammar mistakes (with my handy new Grammarly app). I've found some awesome recipes, with hilariously awesome (read: horrible!) photos attached to them. The original photos of these leftover mashed potato cakes are probably the worst food photos I've ever taken. Seriously. Even if you're not into turning your leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas mashed potatoes into fritters, you have to check out the photos at the bottom of this post. I promise they'll make you laugh!
Terrible photos aside, these leftover mashed potato cakes are crazy delicious. They're everything good about mashed potatoes, only 100,000 times better. Melty cheese mashed potatoes with crispy edges … I can barely handle it.
OUR LATEST VIDEOS Seriously, can you think of any better way to use leftover mashed potatoes? Neither can I.
When I brought these out for dinner (being a food blogger means I get an awesome excuse to pig out on leftover mashed potato cakes and call it dinner) my handsome man had a look of horror cross his face and said, “Is this all there is?” Of course, four leftover mashed potato cakes for dinner is almost overkill and neither of us could finish our plates.
These should be eaten as a side dish. You know, as mashed potatoes are supposed to be.
I've left the rest of the post as is – in case you're wondering why suddenly the topic turns to Christmas when we haven't even made our way to Thanksgiving yet. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the post to see the hilarious original pictures!
Original post date: December 7th, 2011
Mashed potatoes take a close second place on my Christmas dinner plate. Stuffing always wins first, but this post isn't about stuffing; that will come later.
Do you also make an indent in the top of your mashed potatoes? A little swimming pool to hold the gravy, lots and lots of gravy. Maybe it's the gravy that takes first place. Without gravy, there's not need for stuffing or mashed potatoes. And without stuffing or mashed potatoes, there's no need for gravy. It's a little like the question about the chicken and the egg. Without one, there really cannot be the other.
After making these tonight, I have to warn you: don't make these for Christmas dinner. If you decide not to heed my advice, don't blame me for your dried out turkey and your mushy carrots. Even though they only take 20 minutes to make, they're far too time consuming to pull off at Christmas dinner. Save them for using up your leftover mashed potatoes.
Fried cheesy potatoes, do I need to say more? The outside of these leftover mashed potato cakes are light and crispy with a touch of cheese-melted-onto-the-side-of-a-pan taste. Inside they are warm and soft and slightly gooey from the melted white cheddar. They remind me a little of a pierogi. Serve them warm topped with sour cream and chopped green onions.
If you make these Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes, make sure to snap a pic and tag @theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create!
- 2½ cups cold mashed potatoes (from 3 medium Russet potatoes)
- 1½ cups grated cheddar cheese (I like to use aged white cheddar)
- ½ cup grated pizza mozzarella
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup flour (gluten-free, if needed)
- Neutral flavoured oil, for frying (see notes)
- Sour cream and sliced green onions, to top
- Taste the mashed potatoes to make sure they are seasoned well with sea salt. If needed, add some salt. In a large bowl, mix together the cold mashed potatoes, grated cheeses and the egg. Form the dough into eight balls then press the balls down to form patties. Dip each of the cakes in the flour so they are lightly coated.
- Heat a splash of oil in a medium-sized frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add half of the leftover mashed potato cakes. Let the cakes fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Carefully flip the cakes over and fry until the other side is brown, too. Repeat with the remaining cakes.
- Serve the leftover mashed potato cakes with some sour cream and green onions on top.
The hilarious original photos:
If you're curious about some of the tips I used to improve my food photography, check out the post 10 Photography Tips for New Food Bloggers.
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
My kids are going to love them and I know now what we are going to have for dinner tonight. The potato cakes look absolutely delicious……and the sour cream on the side just makes it perfect!
Hope you love them as much as I do!!
Okay, you’re seriously making me want to make a mashed potato dinner for the SOLE purpose of having leftovers so I can make these cakes! Dying over all that cheese!
Ha ha … you totally should! It’s definitely worth it. 🙂
Well, these potatoes got a nice photo makeover. And I can tell they taste amazing! Pinning to try soon.
Thanks, Suzy! They really were good. 🙂
Hi Kristen,
I was just reading your monthly blog report this morning when your kind comment showed up on my blog. I need some inspiration and help on monetizing so I’m studying you! lol. Love that you do this 🙂
I saw these gorgeous pancakes being shared on FB and knew they had to belong to you. Your lovely photography style is now familiar to me because I drool over your recipes!
Such a wonderful way to use up mashed potatoes. Going to use this for the morning after Thanksgiving Sunday to feed my houseful of company. Thanks so much!
I love that you knew they were mine! Seriously, that’s really awesome!
OMG, this is such a great throw back post. Love to see how far you have come. These mashed potato pancakes are the most delicious I have seen. Can’t wait to make “extra” mashed potatoes and lot let anyone go back for seconds so I can make these. 🙂
Oh, and thanks for the tip about Grammarly. I signed up for the free account (for now) through your link.
Thanks, Justin! It’s fun for me too to look back and see the progress. I cringe a little, but most have a laugh.
Hope you’re liking Grammarly. I bit the bullet and upgraded within about a week of first trying it. It doesn’t catch everything, but it catches a lot. It’s been really helpful for me!
Gorgeous. Kids and I absolutely adored them. Kids say this recipe is a keeper. No photos this time as they looked more like your first attempt!
I’m so happy you liked them!
I’m sure your pictures were totally great. It’s always tough to take great food shots on a phone without proper lighting.. I often get photos that look like my old one when I try to take shots at the dinner table too 🙂
Nah, it was more the appearance of the actual food! Bit sloppy probably because the mash had been made with butter and cream already 🙂
I bet they were extra good with all the butter and cream!
These look and sound amazing. I just might make them for Christmas dinner as ours tends to be a buffet-style meal. Thanks for sharing this!
They would be perfect for a buffet dinner! Hope you love them as much as I do!!
I love potato cakes, they are so addictive, and so fattening at my age. That said, living in the Caribbean, there is usually one person that cooks a big meal, including potato’s, so I don’t get left overs!! I need to have a dinner with mashed potato’s so .I can make these. That is afer we loose our vacation Lbs. and more?
I totally know what you mean! We’re going on vacation in a couple weeks and I thought to myself after eating all of these, “Maybe that wasn’t such a smart thing to do.” They were totally delicious though and worth eating salads for the rest of the week. 🙂
Where does the 1/2 cup flour go? In batter with the cheeses , potatoes,egg or are thy dredged in flour before frying?
Hi Edgar, The flour is for dredging the cakes in before you fry them. You’ll see that missing step in the recipe directions now. Thank you for pointing that out!
Ah yes! I’m starting SLOWLY to reshoot old recipes from my first days blogging and recipes that haven’t even been posted yet, but I made and shot years ago 😛
It feels good, doesn’t it? I found so many recipes that are hidden away and that I want to share. I think it’s a fun way to bring them out and give the old stuff a little facelift. 🙂
When I saw these bad guys, the next second I thought I would love to have them ASAP, and definitely with sour cream. And surprise – you’re suggesting the same. I mean, you’ve got the impeccable palate, Kristen, ha-ha:)
Ha ha great minds think alike!!
Is that half a cup of flour?
It only says 1/2 flour :/. I’ll try anyway and see how the mixture seems to have a good texture.
Hey FeliCity,
Oops, my bad! Yes it is a half cup of flour 🙂
Oh my goodness. These look addictive! YUM!
Lol you’re right, these things were a little bit dangerous. It was hard to stop after just a couple!
I’m not a fan of gravy but these little potato cakes would be perfect just on their own. Yum!
Not a fan of gravy? Well okay, I won’t judge 🙂
I actually ate these little guys with some sour cream on top. No gravy needed.