Fried Mashed Potatoes

By Rachel // May 18, 2010 // 9 comments //

I have a thing for potatoes. They’re oh so good but seriously filling. Whenever I make potatoes I seem to always make too much. It doesn’t matter what variety, I go overboard. The problem with this is that leftovers don’t seem to reheat well. Even if reheating didn’t leave you with soggy fries and less than desirable mashed potatoes, they’re still not anywhere near as good as a fresh batch.

So what do you do when you have made too much mashed potatoes? Do you force yourself to eat a couple more bites, save it for later or maybe even toss the extras? I hate throwing away something that is so good. If it’s an item I don’t love quite as much, it isn’t as hard to toss it if I am full and don’t want leftovers. But mashed potatoes, it’s practically a sin to let them go to waste. So I find myself eating way too much and regretting it. I now have a use for leftover mashed potatoes. That means no over eating and no throwing away. This of course wouldn’t be a regular item but it’s good for an occasional treat or maybe a party appetizer.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this food trial. The idea of fried potatoes seemed interesting but it could quickly prove to not be such a great idea. We all have those whether we talk about them or not. In the end, I was glad I tried this. They’re super tasty bites of mashed potatoes with a slightly crispy shell. They absolutely have a touch of grease to them but anything fried is going to have that. So use a fork or just wash your hands when you’re done. If you love mashed potatoes as much as I do, this is worth trying at least once. Next time I’ll probably skip frying in the deep fryer and use my electric skillet. The deep fryer proved to be the most troublesome part of the process but it wasn’t a disaster.

Print Recipe

Fried Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time40

Cook Time10

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer

Ingredients

1 C mashed potatoes
1/3 C mozzarella cheese
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 large egg beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 C plain bread crumbs
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano

Instructions

Make mashed potatoes as desired or use leftovers that have been chilled. This particular batch of mashed potatoes were made with garlic, butter, salt and pepper.
In a deep fryer or electric skillet, heat oil to 350F°. If using an electric skillet, oil should be roughly an inch deep. In a food processor, combine mashed potatoes, half of both cheeses, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and half of an egg. Blend well. If you forget to toss in your egg, like I did, just mix it in by hand. It doesn't have to be perfect. The egg gives it a bit more moisture to help hold onto the crumb coating. Remove mashed potato mixture to a bowl, set aside.
In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs with basil, oregano and remaining cheese. Stir well.
Using a small cookie scoop, take a scoop of your mashed potatoes. Roll into a ball. Toss potato ball into bread crumbs, lightly roll around or toss bread crumbs on top of the ball to coat. Transfer coated potato ball to a clean plate. Continue process until you have used up all of your potatoes.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Remove from fridge and fry in small batches for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until a nice golden brown but not burnt.

Notes

An original recipe from Baked by Rachel

9 Responses to “Fried Mashed Potatoes”

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The Cooking Ninja — May 27, 2010 at 1:12 pm

ooh…I simply love potatoes. We have a panfried mashed potatoes version in Asia – yours reminds me of it.
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Emily — June 2, 2010 at 4:37 pm

ooh…I simply love potatoes. We have a panfried mashed potatoes version in Asia – yours reminds me of it.
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Love With Food — June 24, 2010 at 2:25 pm

Love it! Mash potatoes seems to be a popular leftover food! Good idea to add cheese. I should try adding cheese to this Potato cake recipe: http://lovewithfood.com/recipes/show/253-potato-cakes-with-olives-and-chicken
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Kim at 4virtu — November 23, 2010 at 2:19 am

Your recipe has been featured for our Tasty Tuesday – can I just say: YUM!
Thank you!
http://ht.ly/3e5b0
I am also Kim @BeehiveBlog :)
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Sandra Roberts — January 27, 2017 at 6:19 pm

If you pop them in the freezer for 1/2 hour they are less likely to explode and they do get heated through when frying
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Leah Porter — December 16, 2019 at 7:03 pm

Hiya, I’ve been trying to make these for ages. As soon as they hit the oil they disintegrate, leaving no trace there was ever a ball there. I cannot figure out why
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  Rachel — December 17, 2019 at 10:10 am
  
  Make sure you’re using mashed potatoes that are or were on the firmer side (just not super soft). You also may want to try freezing your mashed potato balls once they’ve been shaped and coated, prior to frying.