This is the perfect comforting and delicious recipe for using up leftover mashed potatoes. These Potato Fritters with Chives are creamy with a golden crust. Serve the fritters as a satisfying side dish that is made vegetarian and gluten-free.

a stack of potato fritters.

If you’re anything like me, when you make a batch of mashed potatoes, you make a LARGE batch…like huge! Thankfully you can repurpose those leftover mashed potatoes into other delicious dishes including these easy potato fritters. Simply form the potato mixture into patties and fry them in a hot skillet.

You will end up with crispy potato fritters that are the perfect vehicle for delicious toppings! Serve them on their own or with leftover shredded lean protein served on top (for vegetarians: try served with whole cooked pinto beans or black beans).

Potato fritters using leftover mashed potatoes is such an easy recipe.

Why You Need This Recipe

  • Use up all your leftover mashed potatoes. This recipe is especially handy around the holidays when mashed potatoes are abundant. See my recipes for Whole30 Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, or Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potato.
  • This healthy potato recipe is made vegetarian and gluten-free.
  • Add any toppings you like! These potato fritters are so versatile. You can top them with sour cream, blue cheese dressing, or buttermilk ranch. If you prefer to keep it dairy-free, you can top with sliced tomato, red onion, and avocado. The opportunities are endless. If it sounds good for a topping, then go for it.

Key Ingredients

ingredients for mashed potato fritters.

Mashed potatoes – Be sure the mashed potatoes are chilled. The amount of flour you need will depend on how thick your mashed potatoes are. Start with 1/2 cup and then add a bit more if needed.

Flour – I used a gluten-free all purpose flour for this recipe (I like Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Mix), but you can use regular all-purpose flour, if you prefer.

Egg – An egg will bind the patties together so they don’t just fall apart. I use large eggs for all of my cooking.

Chives – Chives have a mild flavor similar to onions but aren’t as pungent. They taste delicious with potatoes but you can leave them out if you like.

Olive oil – You will need a neutral cooking oil to cook the potato fritters in. I used olive oil but you could also use avocado oil or ghee as well.

Recipe Steps

how to make mashed potato fritters.

Step One

In a large bowl combine the mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of flour, egg, chives, and salt. You can use a food processor if you wish, but you don’t really need to.

Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.

Step Two

Use a spatula to mix the ingredients into a thick batter. Add additional flour if necessary until the batter will stick together.

Step Three

Form the batter into 12 thin burger-like patties. Place them onto a plate.

Step Four

Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan, then place as many fritters that fit into the pan. Cook the potato pancakes in two batches over medium heat or medium-high heat.

cooked fritters on a plate.

Step Five

Let the fritters cook for 5 minutes in the hot oil, then flip them over and cook another 5 minutes.

Step Six

The fritters should be golden brown. Transfer the cooked fritters to a serving plate lined with paper towels and then cook the second batch. Serve with sour cream (or a dairy-free sour cream), or your favorite dipping sauce.

potato fritter dipped into creamy dip.

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

  • If your prepared mashed potatoes are well seasoned, then you likely will not need to add any extra salt to the fritters. If your prepared mashed potatoes on are the bland side or are unseasoned, add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to the fritter mixture before frying.
  • If you don’t have fresh chives, you can substitute chopped green onions (scallions) instead.
  • Be sure that your fritter patties are fairly thin to ensure they get warmed through.
  • The fritters are best served right after making. So, fry only enough to serve. Store any unused fritter mixture covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • If you are on a dairy-free diet, replace the optional dollop of sour cream with a dairy-free option.
  • You can also serve the fritters with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce.
  • Use chickpea flour to increase the protein content, if you wish.

Recipe FAQs

What can I top these fritters with?

Potatoes have a neutral flavor that go well with almost any topping. Top them with a cooked lean protein or with whole cooked pinto beans or black beans.

Can I make these fritters using mashed sweet potatoes?

You bet! Here’s my recipe for Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Can these be baked in the air fryer?

Yes, they sure can. They will not have as much of a crispy exterior as if you pan-fried them, but they will still be tasty. Bake them for 10 minutes at 380 degrees F, flipping once during the cooking process.

mashed potato fritters served on a plate.

More Healthy Potato Recipes You Might Like

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mashed potato fritters

Potato Fritters with Chives

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5 from 1 review

This is the perfect comforting and delicious recipe for using up leftover mashed potatoes. These Potato Fritters with Chives are creamy with a golden crust. Serve the fritters as a satisfying side dish that is made vegetarian and gluten-free.

  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups prepared mashed potatoes, chilled
  • 1/2 cup flour plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided (I used the Bob’s 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking the fritters
  • Sour cream (optional, for dipping)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, ½ cup of the flour, egg, chives, and sea salt.
  2. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients together to make the fritter batter. Add up to 2 extra tablespoons of the flour until your fritter batter is thick enough that it will stick together.
  3. Then, use your hands to form 12 fritters. Pat them down so they look like small and thin burger patties. Place the formed fritters on a plate.
  4. In a large nonstick skillet, heat up two tablespoons of the oil. Let it heat up for a few minutes over medium-high heat. Then, carefully place as many fritters as you can in the pan without them overlapping. You will probably need to cook them in two batches.
  5. Let the fritters cook for about 5 minutes. Then, use a spatula to flip them over to cook for another 5 minutes.
  6. The fritters should be golden brown on both sides when they are done.
  7. Transfer the cooked fritters to a serving plate lined with paper towels and cook the second batch in the remaining two tablespoons of oil.
  8. Serve the fritters hot with optional sour cream (for dipping).

Notes

  1. If your prepared mashed potatoes are well seasoned, then you likely will not need to add any extra salt to the fritters. If your prepared mashed potatoes on are the bland side or are unseasoned, add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to the fritter mixture before frying.
  2. If you don’t have fresh chives, you can substitute chopped green onions (scallions) instead.
  3. Be sure that your fritter patties are fairly thin to ensure they get warmed through.
  4. The fritters are best served right after making. So, fry only enough to serve. Store any unused fritter mixture covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  5. If you are on a dairy-free diet, replace the optional sour cream with a dairy-free option.
  6. You can also serve the fritters with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce.
  7. AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONS: Bake them for 10 minutes at 380 degrees F, flipping once during the cooking process.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 fritters
  • Calories: 221
  • Sugar: 2 g
  • Sodium: 729.3 mg
  • Fat: 12.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23.6 g
  • Fiber: 2.7 g
  • Protein: 3.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 14.9 mg

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