There's nothing better than frying up some deliciously cheesy potato cakes using up all those leftover mashed potatoes from the night before!

Well-seasoned mashed potatoes can be turned into equally delectable mashed potato cakes, with just a few extra ingredients, and plenty of grated cheese.

Use a cast iron skillet set and follow this recipe to learn how to make potato cakes that will really wow everyone!

Cheesy Mashed Potato Cakes

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Servings

9

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/2 cups worth of chilled mashed potatoes (leftovers are perfect!)*
• 2 /3 of a cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 tbsp of green onions , finely chopped
• 3 tbsp of milk
• Grated cheddar cheese (as much cheese as you like!)
• Vegetable oil (for frying the potato cakes from mashed potatoes)

Directions

1. Make sure your mashed potatoes are thoroughly chilled before starting the recipe. We recommend using leftovers and keeping them in the fridge overnight.
2. Finely chop your green onions, take your chilled mashed potatoes, and mix them together in a large bowl.
3. Add your flour, salt, pepper, and milk to the mixture.
4. Crack an egg into the middle and grate in your cheddar cheese.
5. Mix everything together until the mashed potatoes mix sticks well to the spoon
6. If it doesn't stick, add more flour to thicken the mix.
7. If it's too sticky and thick, add a dash of milk to loosen the mixture up.
8. Once your mixture is perfected, place your skillet on the stovetop and turn it up to medium heat.
9. Add your oil to the bottom of the pan and allow it to heat up.
10. Take a large spoonful of your mashed potato mixture and spread it onto the cooking surface. Try to keep each heaped spoonful an even shape and thickness.
11. Fry each potato cake for 5 min in the oil. Flip the potato cakes and fry for a further 5 min on the other side.
12. Remove the potato cakes when they are a lovely golden brown color.

Recipe Note

*It's all about the seasoning when it comes to mashed potatoes cakes, so it's important to properly season and prepare your mashed potatoes before turning them into cakes!

Potato cakes recipe FAQ

Now you know how to cook up deliciously cheesy potato cakes using up all of those leftover mashed potatoes.

Here are a few common queries we're often asked, and the answers to help you make your potato cakes as tasty as they can be!

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Potato cakes can be cooked for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

We love cooking these up in the morning, using up last night's mashed potatoes after they've had time to chill in the refrigerator. They go great with a big cooked breakfast, so get the sausages and bacon ready to fry too!

But you can cook potato cakes up for lunch or dinner as well. They are popular additions to a barbecue, and they go fantastically well with both red and white meat. They make a great side dish any time of the day, in our opinion!

What sauces go best with potato cakes?

Take your pick!

You can serve up potato cakes with all kinds of sauces. Traditionally, potato cakes are often eaten with a heap of sour cream or a few spoonfuls of applesauce, to really bring out the flavors.

Do potato cakes need to be cheesy?

No, not all.

We love our potato cakes to be super cheesy, but we know that not everyone has the same tastes!

You can use the same recipe above, but just leave out the grated cheese if you're vegan, have dietary requirements, or just aren't in a cheesy mood.

Alternatively, you can add in more cheese to really make sure that the potato cakes are quite literally oozing melted cheese when you fry them up. We always suggest a good portion of grated cheddar, but other cheeses, such as Monterrey or Colby work well too.

Can I cook potato cakes ahead of time?

Definitely!

You are already cooking your mashed potatoes ahead of time for the recipe because they need to be chilled, of course. But you can also then prepare the potato cakes themselves ahead of time.

Once you've cooked them, let them cool on the side. Then simply store them in the fridge until you're hungry. You can eat mashed potato cakes cold, or you can reheat them in the microwave, or by frying them at low heat in a skillet.

Can I freeze my mashed potato cakes?

To keep your potato cakes fresh and as tasty as they can be, we recommend trying to eat them as soon as you've prepared them and fried them.

If you have lots of leftover mashed potatoes to use, though, you can prepare potato cakes in advance and then freeze them to eat a later date.

Once you've cooked the potato cakes, let them cool on the side. Once they are cold, place them a freezer bag or a suitable freezer container.

You can keep them frozen for up to 6 months. When you want to eat the potato cakes, let them thaw gently on the side before reheating. Once they have thawed, you can cook them in the microwave or reheat them gently in a skillet.

Conclusion for the perfect potato cake recipe!

That's our deliciously cheesy mashed potato cake recipe! All you need are chilled mashed potatoes, plenty of cheese, and a dependable cast iron pan to fry them in. Cook them up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Why not bookmark our potato cakes recipe for the next time you have leftover mashed potatoes to cook up?

If you enjoyed this mashed potato cake recipe, feel free to check out other cast iron skillet recipes such as pan fried pork chops!