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Mary Claire Lagroue is the Commerce Editor at Food & Wine. A former associate editor at Allrecipes, she joined Dotdash Meredith in 2019. She has written about food since 2017, covering everything from product reviews to recipes to restaurants. Her work can be found in Cooking Light, Southern Living, and more.
Updated on October 20, 2023
Next time you're mashing a big batch of potatoes, consider doubling the recipe. You can use the leftovers to make some scrumptious (and surprising) dishes. Think potato pancakes, pierogi, quesadillas, and more. Just use a recipe that contains plenty of fat (like our Day Before Mashed Potatoes) to keep leftover mashed potatoes extra creamy.
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Potato Soup
Thin those mashed potatoes with broth and milk and you've got potato soup. Set out a fixings bar of chives, shredded cheese, bacon, and sour cream, and let your family customize their bowls.
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Shepherd's Pie
Serve veggies, meat, and leftover mashed potatoes in a one-dish meal. Don't eat meat? Here's a comforting plant-based version.
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Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes
You can't go wrong with a combo like bacon, mashed potatoes, and cheese. Mix them together and drop them into a hot frying pan, then serve these golden patties as a side with grilled meats or as a meal on their own.
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Mashed Potato Quesadilla
Leftover mashed potatoes take on a Tex-Mex twist when sandwiched between flour tortillas. Top them with salsa, sour cream, and cheese for a super speedy dinner.
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Tender Potato Biscuits
Fluffy, leftover mashed potatoes add moisture to these delicate potato biscuits. Use a gentle hand when mixing so the biscuits aren't tough.
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Potato Waffles
These savory waffles are a fun use for leftover mashed potatoes. Top them with sour cream and serve alongside grilled fish or chicken.
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Pierogi (Polish Dumplings)
These beloved Polish dumplings traditionally feature potato filling. You can make the filling the night before you stuff the pierogis.
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Norwegian Potato Lefsa
Employ leftover mashed potatoes in this Norwegian flatbread, which you can serve with butter and cinnamon sugar or — for the hard core — lutefisk (aka dried whitefish).
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Cheesy Leftover Ham and Mashed Potato Casserole
Turn leftovers (especially holiday leftovers!) into pure comfort food. Recipe creator bd.weld suggests substituting ingredients based on what you have on hand. In other words, follow the recipe and use your turkey leftovers instead of ham.
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Potato Rolls
We're not saying mashed potatoes are more comforting than bread. But baking rolls from mashed potatoes does make them even more comforting!
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Hot Beef Sundae
Serve these savory, state fair-inspired "sundaes" at birthday parties or whenever you're having to persuade your picky eaters to finish their dinners.
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Meatloaf Cupcakes
Here's another kid-friendly version of a favorite sweet-turned-meaty. Bake meatloaf in muffin pans and pipe mashed potato "frosting" on top. "I put the mashed potatoes in a pastry bag and used the largest tip I had," says reviewer George.
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Chantilly Potatoes
Using leftover mashed potatoes in another potato dish makes a whole lot of sense to us too. "I made these exactly as directed using Swiss Gruyère cheese," reviewer Kim's Cooking Now says. "Elegant and sophisticated. I'd gladly serve these at a fancy dinner party. Easy to make too. Loved them!"
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