Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes with Leftover Turkey and Sides

These loaded mashed potato cakes are our favorite way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey and sides. We like to make these mashed potato cakes with leftover turkey, stuffing, cheddar cheese, and green onions, but they can be customized to fit what you’ve got in your fridge from your own holiday feast. They’re super budget friendly because you’ve already made the majority of the ingredients, they’re no-waste because they use up leftovers, and they’re great for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast or brunch. 

Why You’ll Love These Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes

• Works with almost any holiday leftovers. No turkey? No problem! Make these with whatever you’ve got. They’d be great with ham, chicken, or even cooked broccoli. If you don’t typically make stuffing (or dressing, if that’s what you call it), feel free to sub in more mashed potatoes. You can also add diced green beans, if you want.
• Crispy outside, creamy and soft inside. The mashed potatoes and stuffing keep these super soft and creamy in the middle, and pan frying them in a little oil gets the outsides all golden and crispy.
• Great for a post-holiday meal with family and friends. This recipe makes 12 to 14 mashed potato cakes, so everyone can have a taste (and we know most people will want at least 2 cakes). 
• Quick and easy to make. Because this recipe is made with 75% leftovers (and the other ingredients require very little prep), it’s super easy to make and cooks quickly. That means you can have a delicious meal ready in under 30 minutes. 
• Reduces food waste while reinventing leftovers. We hate wasting food, and we love a recipe that repackages leftovers into something new. These mashed potato cakes will remind you of the flavors of the main holiday meal without tasting exactly like it. That means no one will complain about having to eat the same thing twice!

Ingredients in Mashed Potato Cakes

• Leftover mashed potatoes – these are the base of the potato cakes and add creaminess. Our mashed potatoes are made with butter, sour cream, and milk, but use whatever you’ve got.
• Cooked turkey – white meat, dark meat, it doesn’t matter. Chop it up or shred it before adding it to the cakes. If you don’t have turkey, feel free to use chopped ham, chicken, or even cooked broccoli.
• Stuffing – this is our favorite part of the holiday dinner. It adds moisture and stability to these mashed potato cakes.
• Shredded cheddar – a little cheddar adds savory, cheesy flavor to the leftovers.
• Green onions – these give the mashed potato cakes a fresh bite. You can also use chives instead, or even diced red onion, but it might have a stronger flavor.
• Eggs – beaten eggs act as a binder for the potato cakes so that they don’t fall apart when cooking.
• Flour – lightly coating the potato cakes in flour helps form the patties and lock in the moisture. Feel free to sub in 1:1 gluten-free flour here instead, or another flour of your choice.
• Salt and pepper – depending on the saltiness of your leftover mashed potatoes, you may need a little seasoning.
• Neutral oil – for pan frying. You won’t need a ton. Pick something with a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, like avocado oil or canola. 
• Optional toppings – we like to top ours with flaky sea salt sour cream, cranberry sauce, and more green onions or chives.

How to Make Mashed Potato Cakes

1. Add the ingredients for the potato cakes to a bowl and mix. If your leftover mashed potatoes aren’t seasoned, add a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
2. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a separate shallow dish. 
3. Scoop out 3 to 4 tbsp of the mashed potato and leftovers mixture, coat it in the flour mixture (shaking off any excess flour), and form it into a round, flat patty about 3 inches wide and ¾ inch thick. Finish making patties with the rest of the leftover mixture.
4. Heat 2 to 3 tbsp oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, place 5 to 6 patties in the pan and cook for 3 to 5 min or until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the cakes over, cook for 3 to 5 min more or until golden, then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool (this will also help them stay crispy on the outside). Repeat until all the mashed potato cakes are made (adding more oil to the pan if needed).
5. Sprinkle the cakes with flaky sea salt (like Maldon) or a pinch of regular table salt while they’re still warm. Top the cakes with sour cream, cranberry sauce, and green onions (optional).

Rachel & Emily’s Tips for the Best Mashed Potato Cakes

• Make sure your leftover mashed potatoes are cold. They will hold their shape and structure better than warm mashed potatoes, which will make the cakes easier to form.
• Chop or shred the turkey into small pieces so the cakes don’t fall apart. 

• Shred the cheese yourself to ensure maximum meltiness. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that make it harder for the cheese to melt well. 
• Don’t overcrowd the pan. We know that it may be tempting to fit as many mashed potato cakes as possible in one frying pan, but overcrowding will cause the cakes to steam instead of pan fry, making them less likely to get browned and crispy on the outsides. For a 12 inch frying pan we like to cook 5-6 cakes at a time.
• Between batches of 5-6 cakes, carefully wipe out any excess oil from the pan using a paper towel, then add a little bit more oil for the next batch. This will prevent the oil and little bits in the pan from burning and ruining your second batch.

Variations and Substitutions

We always have leftover turkey mashed potatoes, and stuffing the day after Thanksgiving, but we know that not everyone eats the same thing for the holidays. Here are some potential variations and substitutions:

• No leftover turkey? Maybe you don’t like turkey or didn’t decide to make it this year. That’s okay! You can use ham or even rotisserie chicken.
• Make it vegetarian. Skip the meat altogether and replace it with roasted broccoli, cooked green beans, or just extra mashed potatoes, pulse more cheese and green onions.
• Play around with add-ins. Make these potato cakes unique by adding jalapeños, leftover roasted veggies, or even caramelized onions. Change up the cheese if you don’t like cheddar. 
• Gluten-free option. Use gluten-free flour or cornstarch instead of all-purpose.

Serving and Storage Suggestions

We like to serve these as a main dish the day after Thanksgiving. They’re great with extra cranberry sauce, some sour cream, a little flaky sea salt, and some more green onions. You can also serve them with gravy for even more holiday flavor. We like to have a nice leafy salad on the side, such as our Fall Salad with Apples and Bacon, a simple arugula salad, or even roasted vegetables. 

Store any leftover mashed potato cakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days for best results.

Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes with Leftover Turkey and Sides

5 from 1 vote

These loaded mashed potato cakes with leftover turkey and sides transform those holiday leftovers into an easy, delicious, and no-waste meal.

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Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy, holiday, Quick

Servings: 12 mashed potato cakes

Ingredients

Potato Cakes

• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes ours had sour cream, butter, milk, salt, and pepper
• 1 ½ cups cooked turkey chopped (can replace with cooked ham, chicken, cooked broccoli, green beans)
• 1 cup leftover stuffing
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup chopped green onions about 4 large
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Flaky sea salt (like Maldon) for topping finished cakes

Flour Mixture

• 1 cup flour can also use gluten-free flour, if desired
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• Neutral oil for shallow pan frying

Optional Topping

• Sour cream
• Cranberry sauce optional
• Green onions diced

Instructions

• Add the ingredients for the potato cakes (minus the flaky salt for finishing) to a bowl and mix. If your leftover mashed potatoes aren’t seasoned, add a pinch or two of sea salt or table salt and pepper.
  2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, 1 ½ cups cooked turkey, 1 cup leftover stuffing, 2 eggs, ½ cup chopped green onions, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Make the flour mixture by mixing flour, salt, and pepper in a separate shallow dish.
  1 cup flour, 1 tsp sea salt, ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• Scoop out 3 to 4 tbsp of the mashed potato and leftovers mixture, coat it in the flour mixture (shaking off any excess flour), and form it into a round, flat patty about 3 inches wide and ¾ inch thick. Finish making patties with the rest of the leftover mixture.
• Heat 2 to 3 tbsp oil in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, place 5 to 6 patties in the pan and cook for 3 to 5 min or until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the cakes over, cook for 3 to 5 min more or until golden, then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool (this will help them stay crispy on the outside too). Repeat until all the mashed potato cakes are made (adding more oil to the pan if needed).
  Neutral oil
• Sprinkle the potato cakes with flaky salt (like Maldon) or a pinch of regular table salt while they're still warm.
  Flaky sea salt (like Maldon)
• Top the mashed potato cakes with sour cream, cranberry sauce, and green onions (optional).
  Sour cream, Cranberry sauce, Green onions

Final Thoughts

This year, don’t let those Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste! Transform them into these delicious mashed potato cakes. They’re honestly one of our favorite parts of the holiday season. If you make these, we’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments how they turned out, or tag us on social media!