Leftover mashed potato cakes is a great recipe when you're wondering how to use up those leftover mashed potatoes! Create delicious and healthy oven baked mashed potato cakes for dinner with minimal ingredients!

Folks, I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Nothing goes to waste in our kitchen.
Even those niggly little bits of odd leftover vegetables. Like that stray spring onion. The one hiding in the fridge salad compartment!
Or that bowl of cooked leftover sweetcorn and mashed potato that I made too much of. Ooops!
There's always some way to use up any vegetables or food that's left over.
And not just that folks. Being serious. We really should make an effort to use up all our food and ensure that none goes to waste.
After all, some people are having to use food banks here in the U.K. Because they don't have enough food.
There's lot's of excellent leftover mashed potato recipes out there.
What's different about this one is that it doesn't actually involve you having to buy anything to make the recipe!
You should be able to make this recipe with what you've got leftover in your fridge.
Using up christmas potato or thanksgiving leftovers here are a delicious way to get a meal for the whole family.
These delicious potato cakes are a perfect way to get a big meal, a light meal or even a perfect side dish to put out for your family.
Further down this simple recipe I've added a list of other leftovers you might have to hand.
Suggesting different variations of this mashed potato cake recipe using simple ingredients.
Hopefully helping you to find creative inspiration for your leftover potatoes easy recipe.
I've also made this an oven baked potato cakes recipe. Rather than completely fried.
The onion and garlic are sauted at the start. Just to soften them and bring out their flavours.
Other than that though we're keeping this potato cakes recipe as healthy as possible!
So, let's start off this leftover mashed potato recipe.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Clove Garlic
- Cold Mashed Potatoes
- Cheddar Cheese
- Spring Onions / Green Onions
- Sweetcorn
- Dried Oregano
- Chopped Parsley
- Freshly Grated Salt And Black Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Olive Oil - you could use vegetable oil instead.
- Onion
- Clove Garlic
- Cold Mashed Potatoes - you can also use instant mashed potatoes to make these.
- Cheddar Cheese - you could use just about any kind of shredded cheese. Mozzarella works well.
- Spring Onions / Green Onions
- Sweetcorn
- Dried Oregano
- Chopped Parsley
- Freshly Grated Salt And Black Pepper
How To Make Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide and the best way of how to make potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes:
Steps 1, 2 & 3
- Pre-heat oven to 180C FAN and lightly oil a baking tray / baking sheet.
- In a frying pan over a medium heat in some hot oil sauté any onions, garlic or other veg that needs a little bit of cooking first to soften. Other vegetables to sauté might be leeks or celery.
- Then combine the sauted vegetables and any other leftover ingredients you are using in a bowl with your mashed potato. Give the ingredients in the bowl a good season with freshly grated salt and pepper.
Steps 4 and 5
Next, and this part is fun for kids to help out with!
- Using your hands roll the mashed potato mixture into 6 to 8 balls. If the potato mixture is too wet add a little plain flour.
- Place each ball onto the baking tray and flatten them out until they're about 1.5cm / 1 inch thick each.
- Place into fridge for about half an hour. This helps to firm them up a bit.
Step 5 cont.
- Bake in the centre of a preheated oven for about 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- When you remove the cooked delicious mashed potato cakes from the oven allow them to cool for a few minutes then serve.
Here's some other suggested leftover ingredients that you could use in your leftover mashed potato cakes......
Other Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes You Could Make
- tomato, onion, cheese and pepper
- ham, cheddar and red pepper
- chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn, cheese
- bacon, onion, crushed garlic
- leeks and cheese
- pepperoni, green pepper, mozzarella
- anything in your fridge 🙂
FAQ's
How Long Do Leftover Mashed Potatoes Last For?
Store any leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days maximum.
Can Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes Be Frozen?
These oven baked mashed potato cakes can be frozen after cooking. When you are re-using then cook them from frozen though. Don't defrost them first.
Are Potato Cakes Healthy?
This oven baked potato cakes recipe is healthier than most other potoato cakes recipes because it is oven baked rather than completely fried.
What To Serve With Mashed Potato Cakes?
I serve my leftover mashed potato cakes with an iceberg lettuce salad and some garlic mayonnaise. That just keeps this dinner recipe nice and simple!
Why Do My Mashed Potato Cakes Fall Apart?
This may happen if your mashed potato patties are too wet. Simple add a little flour to the potato mixture.
Equipment
For these Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes you may need…
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product, I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through, then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
I use my Jamie Oliver Small Platter White dish here in this mashed potato cakes recipe for serving.
As it's made of Porcelain it's pretty hard wearing as well as being microwave and dishwasher safe.
You'll see me using this serving dish in many of my other recipes.
Subscribe to Neil's Healthy Meals
Don't miss future updates and new recipes. Make sure you’re subscribed to Neil’s Healthy Meals.
Subscribe here to add your email to the subscription list.
And you can follow me too via your favourite social channels :-
Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin & YouTube.
*I do not use your email for anything else other than adding you to my blog subscription list which you can opt out of at any time.
Other Popular Leftover Potato Recipes You Might Also Like
- Quick healthy fish cakes are really easy to make and delicious too. At only 128 calories each, this healthy fish cakes recipe makes 8 fishcakes packed full of flavour.
- Oven Baked tuna sweetcorn cakes are a great way of using up leftover potatoes to create an amazingly simple and filling quick healthy meal.
- Smoked haddock fishcakes are coated in wholemeal breadcrumbs and then oven baked, making this a much healthier fishcake than if they were fried.
- Sweet potato cakes are delicious and easy to make. They are great served as a main meal with a green salad or as a side dish. The recipe makes 8 cakes.
Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes Recipe
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 400 g cold mashed potatoes
- 125 g cheddar cheese grated
- 4 spring onions chopped
- 150 g sweetcorn
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Freshly grated salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180C Fan and lightly oil a baking tray.
- Gently heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic together for about 4 - 5 minutes until softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- In a large bowl combine the cooked onion and garlic with the cold mashed potatoes, cheese, spring onions, sweetcorn, oregano and parsley. Season with the salt and pepper.
- Using your hands roll the potato mixture into 6 to 8 balls. Place each ball onto the baking tray and flatten them out until they're about 1.5cm / 1 inch thick each.*
- Place into fridge for about half an hour then bake in the centre of an oven for about 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. Serve warm.**
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made these oven baked mashed potato cakes, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
David @ Spiced
Wait. Leftover mashed potatoes? What's that? Haha...just kidding! Whenever we make mashed potatoes, I usually make a full 5-lb bag since it takes a bit of time to boil the potatoes. And leftovers are one of my favorite things! Speaking of leftovers, thanks for the reminder about these mashed potato cakes. I love the crispy edges and soft middle! Would it be wrong to make a batch of mashed potatoes just so I can turn them into potato cakes? ๐
Neil
No it wouldn't be wrong just to make a batch of mashed potatoes so you can make these potato cakes David. ๐
These potato cakes came about BECAUSE I had a bag of potatoes and I wondered what to do with them!
Ashika | Gardening Foodie
I ALWAYS have leftover mashed potatoes. This is such a great recipe to use them up in. Thank you for the great idea and recipe Neil...it is absolutely perfect ๐
Neil
Glad to be of some help with your leftover mashed potatoes Ashika! ๐
Jeff the Chef
Onion, garlic, cheddar, sweet corn โฆ sure, I'd make these cakes with leftover mashed, but I think I'd mash some potatoes just to make them! They sound so delicious, as do your other suggested combos.
Neil
Glad you like the recipe Jeff! Yes, those combos are delicious and its tempting just to mash some potatoes to have them. And so you should! ๐
Ben|Havocinthekitchen
Potato mash leftovers? Honestly, this rarerly happens in our house. We do love potatoes, but we try to restrict ourselves. So when it comes to a potato dish, there's a little chance there would be any leftovers. If this happens (0.99% chance), I love to drop the potato mash on a skillet and warm it through well making sure it turns brown in some spots. Seriously, that's one of the most delicious ways to eat potato leftovers! But these potato cakes with corn and cheddar sound and look amazing too, Neil. I'll need to give it a try...a just need to make a huge pan of potato mash then ๐
Neil
In the unlikely event that you do have some mashed potatoes left over Ben I hope you get a chance to make this. ๐
You'll be making sure you have leftovers next time, after you've tried these once. ๐
Shashi at SavorySpin
Ahhhh Neil - this recipe is perfect for today! This past weekend I made a batch of mashed potatoes to top up a shepherds pie with (for a friend who just had a baby) and I have a bunch leftover and to be honest, I would much rather enjoy my leftover mashed potatoes with corn and a lovely array of herbs in the form of these cakes! Seriously, how brilliant are these! Think these will be happening again and again in my kitchen!
Neil
Glad to be of help there Shashi. I'll do you a swap. Some of your shepherds pie for some of my leftover mashed potato cakes? ๐