I grew up eating these old-fashioned potato cakes. Nothing fancy - just leftover potatoes, an egg and some flour, but definitely something to look forward to coming home to after a busy day at school, especially when there was a dish of tomato sauce (or ketchup) to dip them into!
Recipe at a glance
- How leftover potato cakes are made: Leftover mashed potatoes are combined with a mixture of flour and cornflour, an egg, and some chopped spring onion, then fried in oil and butter until golden. Serve with a dipping sauce of tomato ketchup for a tasty, quick and easy lunch.
- Main ingredients: Leftover mashed potatoes, egg, spring onion
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cooking time: 8 minutes (or 3 to 4 minutes per side).
- Yield: 1.5 cups of leftover mash makes 6 potato cakes.
Leftover mashed potato cakes
Let me introduce you to my Mum's recipe for simple potato cakes. Definitely not cordon bleu cookery - just honest, wholesome Yorkshire food, made with simple pantry ingredients and lots of love! I believe my Granny used to make them for my Mum too - so this recipe has been passed down through the generations.
All my Mum used was leftover potatoes, an egg and some flour. I've updated her mashed potato cakes recipe slightly to add cornflour (for extra crispness) and spring onions (or green onions/scallions) for extra flavour. See Variations below for other ways to change the recipe.
Coming from Yorkshire, the mantra 'waste not, want not' was firmly drilled into my mind from childhood, along with other sayings such as 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves' and 'a penny saved is a penny earned'.
Thinking about it, that's probably what shaped my thoughts about food. To this day, I hate food waste, and I'm always thinking about ways to turn leftovers into delicious meals. If you don't believe me, try these recipes using leftovers:
But I'm getting off topic - this recipe is supposed to be about potato cakes - so let's make some homemade pan-fried potato cakes!
Jump to:
Why you should try this recipe
- Quick and easy. There's nothing fancy going on here - just mix and fry.
- Tasty and filling. These fried potato cakes are perfect for a quick after-school lunch. My favourite way to eat them is hot out of the pan with a dollop of tomato sauce for dipping.
- No waste. A batch of easy potato cakes is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
- Old-fashioned cooking at its finest. There must be something special about a recipe that has been passed down for generations but still remains popular.
Ingredients
**You can find the exact ingredient quantities on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**
- Leftover mashed potato. One cup of mashed potatoes weighs around 200 grams or 7 ounces. I had 250 grams, which is slightly more than 8 ounces, and I've based the other ingredients on this. See How to scale this recipe below if you would like to make a larger batch.
- Spring onions or green onions/scallions. You can use both the white and the green parts, and they should be finely chopped. Leave the onion out if you prefer.
- Egg. I used a small egg. It is used to help bind the potatoes together. If you use a large egg, you may find you need extra flour and cornflour to get the correct consistency.
- Flour and cornflour (cornstarch). You don't need a huge amount - one tablespoon of each should be sufficient - and they act with the egg to prevent the potato cakes from falling apart. ~The flour adds stability and structure, while the cornflour encourages a crisper exterior. Once mixed, the consistency of the potato cake batter should be soft and sticky - it will firm up as it cooks. If you feel it is too sticky, you can add extra flour and cornflour, one teaspoon of each at a time, but take care not to add too much or the potato cakes will be dry. You can use either self-raising flour or plain, all-purpose flour.
- I haven't included salt because the leftover mash should already have been seasoned. You can add extra salt to your own taste if necessary.
- I fried the patties in a mixture of vegetable oil and butter (not pictured). The butter adds flavour and the oil stops the butter from burning.
Instructions
Step 1: Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Mix well to combine.
💡Tip - the consistency of the batter should be soft and slightly sticky. It will be too soft to form into patties using your hands, but the batter should hold its shape when you scoop it up in a tablespoon.
Step 3: Heat the oil in a frying pan over low to moderate heat and add the butter.
Step 4: Once the butter has melted, arrange heaped tablespoonfuls of the batter in the oil. Flatten the patties with the spoon and leave them to fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
💡Tip - When frying the patties, don't try to turn them for the first 3 minutes, or they may break. Leave them to brown and crisp. Then check with a spatula - if they are brown enough, you can flip them and fry the other side.
Step 5: Fry the other side for 3 to 4 minutes, then drain on a piece of paper towel. Serve hot with your favourite dipping sauce.
💡Tip - If the patties seem to be browning too quickly, turn the heat down a little.
How to scale the recipe
One cup of mashed potatoes weighs around 200 grams or 7 ounces. I had 1.25 cups, which was 250 grams or a little over 8 ounces, which yielded 6 potato cakes about 4 inches in diameter each.
For every 250 grams of potato, you will need 2 finely chopped spring onions, one small egg and one tablespoon each of flour and cornflour.
It is important to use a small egg - a larger egg will add too much moisture, and the batter will be too loose. If you only have large eggs, consider using one large egg for every 300 grams (or 10 ounces) of potatoes, and add an extra teaspoon each of flour and cornflour.
Serving suggestions
There are lots of ways to serve these tasty potato cakes. I've mentioned my favourite way - served alone and dipped into a dollop of tomato ketchup - but here are a few other ways:
- Serve for breakfast, topped with a fried egg (I like a soft yolk) and a rasher of bacon and/or mushrooms on the side.
- Serve with sausages, instead of chips (or French fries). Spoon a helping of tomato and onion over the potato cakes and add a dish of fresh peas. Yummy!
- Top them with curried mince. The potato cakes make a nice change instead of serving the mince with rice.
- Serve as an accompaniment to a schnitzel. The mushroom sauce in this chicken schnitzel recipe is begging to be poured over the potato cakes.
- Serve them with a roast, instead of roast potatoes.
Variations
I've given you the basic recipe, but there are many ways to ring the changes by adding different ingredients:
- Vegetables - if you've got other leftover vegetables (broccoli and/or carrots would be particularly good), mash them into the potatoes and make vegetable cakes instead!
- Curry - dice an onion and soften it in a splash of vegetable oil. Once soft, stir in a tablespoon of curry powder and fry for another minute. Combine it with the mashed potatoes, then continue with the recipe.
- Kid-friendly - stir in some leftover rotisserie chicken and call it chicken nuggets. Serve with tomato ketchup for dipping.
Equipment
There's definitely no fancy equipment needed for this old-fashioned recipe! As long as you've got a mixing bowl to combine the ingredients, a frying pan to handle the cooking, and a spatula to help you flip the potato cakes, you'll be good to go!
Storage
You can store leftover potatoes (to be turned into potato cakes) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Any longer than that and they'll start to smell a bit whiffy, and you should throw them out. (I know - we've all been there - put things into the refrigerator with the best of intentions, only to forget all about them until we're investigating a 'funny' smell).
Leftover mashed potatoes can be safely frozen for up to 6 months. Although, to be perfectly honest, we probably eat mashed potatoes at least once a week - and how much mashed potato do you need in the freezer?
Freezing potato cakes? Because the potato cakes are made with leftover mash, I would prefer to eat them fresh, and not bother freezing them.
Top Tip
I've mentioned this earlier - once the potato cakes go into the pan, leave them alone until they've had a chance to build up a nice crust underneath.
The egg needs time to set and provide structure to the potato cakes - moving them early leads to them sticking and/or breaking.
When they're ready to be turned, they'll release on their own - just give them patience and a few minutes!
FAQ
Apart from the small amount of flour, these potato cakes are naturally gluten-free. To turn them into 100% gluten-free potato cakes, swap the flour for extra cornflour or use gluten-free breadcrumbs as a binder.
In this recipe, the egg acts as the binding agent. There is a small amount of cornflour and plain flour added to help reduce the stickiness in the batter, but essentially, it's the egg that holds the potato cakes together.
Save for later
If you'd like to try this easy potato cake recipe, why not save it to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily - just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other potato recipes
You might like to try these potato recipes too:
📋The recipe
Old-fashioned potato cakes
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Large frying pan
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 8 ounces / 250 grams leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 small egg
- 2 spring onions/scallions/green onions finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon flour all-purpose or self-raising
- 2 tablespoons neutral-flavoured vegetable oil 'for frying
- 1 tablespoon / 15 grams butter for frying
- Salt to taste optional
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients (except the oil and butter) into a mixing bowl.8 ounces / 250 grams leftover mashed potatoes, 1 small egg, 2 spring onions/scallions/green onions, 1 tablespoon cornflour or cornstarch, 1 tablespoon flour, Salt to taste
- Mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over low to moderate heat and add the butter.2 tablespoons neutral-flavoured vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon / 15 grams butter
- Once the butter has melted, arrange heaped tablespoonfuls of the batter in the oil. Flatten the patties with the spoon and leave them to fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Flip the potato cakes with a spatula, then fry the other side for 3 to 4 minutes, and drain on a piece of paper towel. Serve hot with your favourite dipping sauce. See the post for other serving suggestions and variations.
Notes
- The consistency of the batter should be soft and slightly sticky. It will be too soft to form into patties using your hands, but the batter should hold its shape when you scoop it up in a tablespoon.
- Leave room between the patties so that you can turn them easily. Don't overcrowd the pan - fry them in batches if necessary.
- When frying the patties, don't try to turn them for the first 3 minutes, or they may break. Leave them to brown and crisp. Then check with a spatula - if they are brown enough, you can flip them and fry the other side.
- If the patties seem to be browning too quickly, turn the heat down a little.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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