What can I make with mashed potatoes?
Mashed Potatoes keeps well, costs little, and turns into comfort food with barely any help. Recipes using mashed potatoes are below, plus roasting and storage notes.
12 recipes with mashed potatoes
Smash Burger
Thin, ultra-crispy burger smashed on a hot griddle.
American10m4Smashed Cheeseburger
Thin, crispy-edged beef patties with American cheese on a toasted bun.
American20m4Ceviche
Fresh fish cured in lime juice with onion and chile.
Peruvian25m4
Tempura
Ethereally light battered and fried shrimp and vegetables.
Japanese30m4
Vegan Buddha Bowl
Quinoa bowl with roasted veg, chickpeas, and tahini.
American35m2Buddha Bowl
Grain bowl loaded with roasted veg, protein, and tahini drizzle.
American35m4Breakfast Hash
Skillet-crisped potatoes with peppers, onion, and eggs.
American40m4German Potato Salad
A creamy and tangy potato salad originating from Germany, typically served as a side dish.
German40m4
New England Clam Chowder
Creamy potato and clam soup studded with bacon.
American45m6
Japchae
Chewy sweet potato noodles tossed with beef and vegetables.
Korean50m6Belgian Fries
Crispy outside, fluffy inside Belgian fries, served with a side of mayo or ketchup
Belgian50m4Moules Frites
A classic Belgian dish of mussels cooked in a flavorful broth, served with crispy fries.
Belgian55m4
How to get the most flavour out of mashed potatoes
- 1Cut into even pieces so everything finishes at the same moment.
- 2Roast at 425F on a preheated sheet pan for caramelised edges, or sear hard in a skillet if you want it fast.
- 3Do not crowd the pan; steam is the enemy of browning. Use two trays if you have to.
- 4Season in layers: salt before cooking, then acid and fat after, so the mashed potatoes tastes finished rather than plain.
What goes well with mashed potatoes
Mashed Potatoes is at its best with butter, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, black pepper and cream. Any two or three of those, plus mashed potatoes, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing mashed potatoes
Store mashed potatoes unwashed - moisture is what causes rot. Leafy types last longest wrapped loosely in a towel inside a bag; roots prefer somewhere cool and dark, not the fridge door. Anything starting to soften is ideal for soups, stocks, and roasting.
Substituting mashed potatoes
If you are out of mashed potatoes, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Mashed Potatoes recipes: common questions
- What can I make with mashed potatoes and not much else?
- Plenty. With mashed potatoes plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest mashed potatoes recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute mashed potatoes?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover mashed potatoes?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover mashed potatoes without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- Are these mashed potatoes recipes vegetarian-friendly?
- Many are, and the vegetarian and vegan collections filter the whole library down to recipes with no meat or no animal products at all. In the chat you can also say "vegan" or "no dairy" and every suggestion will respect it.