Leftover mashed potato pancakes are a family favorite ready in 20 minutes!
This Irish potato bread recipe makes delicious homemade potato pancakes! Making these leftover mashed potato pancakes is a breeze, and takes no time at all!
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Mashed potatoes, especially served as Irish Champ, are a family favorite for my hubby’s Irish family. Potatoes have always been a staple on the plate, served up with a chicken, meat, or fish dish. So there are lots of potatoes peeled and cooked and always leftover potatoes. They are perfect for Irish potato bread, also known as mashed potato pancakes.
What Are Potato Pancakes in Other Cuisines?
Potatoes are truly universal food. You can find delicious variations of these potato pancakes in almost any cuisine!
- Polish: (placki ziemniaczane) made with grated onion and served with sour cream.
- Jewish: (latkes) potato pancakes served with applesauce.
- Swedish: (raggmunkar) made with milk, eggs, and served with sour cream.
- Korean: (gamja-jepn) made with grated onion and diced jalapenos.
- Persian: (kuku sib zamini) made with eggs, onion, and seasoned with saffron, turmeric, and served with tomato slices and pickles.
- British potato cakes: made with flour, egg, and seasoned with nutmeg.
How Do You Make Potato Pancakes?
Potato pancakes like Irish “boxty” are usually made from fresh raw, grated potatoes with added seasonings. The potatoes are shaped into ovals and then deep-fried in oil.
This recipe for mashed potato pancakes is made with flour, butter, and seasonings. Not to be confused with Irish boxty, these potato pancakes are strictly made from leftovers so nothing goes to waste!
How to Make Potato Pancakes from Mashed Potatoes
These leftover potato pancakes are as easy as 1, 2, 3! Just season, shape, and cook.
- Season: Mix together all ingredients (per recipe below) and add any special seasoning favorites!
- Shape: Knead dough on a floured surface and flatten into a circle.
- Cook: Cut into quarters and fry on both sides.
That’s all there is to it. Simple and delicious potato pancakes!
How To Reheat
Potato pancakes reheat beautifully. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 5 days. Reheating is easy:
- Fry in a dry frying pan
- Toast in the toaster
- Reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, or more if you like the pancakes even hotter!
We sometimes even spread the toasty leftovers with butter! (Or honey butter if we’re looking for a very special snack!)
What to Serve Mashed Potato Pancakes With
- For breakfast: Serve alongside eggs, sausage, or bacon and a side of toast.
- For dinner: Mashed potato pancakes are great with meatloaf, chicken, or as a base for pulled pork!
Leftover mashed potato pancakes go great with all kinds of dips and sauces!
- Sour cream and potatoes go together like wine and cheese!
- Applesauce or even cranberry sauce
- Ketchup or chipotle for extra spice!
- Nacho cheese sauce or queso is amazing with these potato pancakes!
And of course, anytime they go great with a bubbly glass of prosecco 😉

Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes (Irish Potato Bread)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes cooked and mashed (or leftover Irish Champ), warm
- ¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2 Tablespoons butter softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients except oil in a medium bowl.
- Knead on a floured surface and roll into a circle. Cut into quarters.
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes each side.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
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Adapted from An Irish Country Cookbook, page 93
These were a big hit with my wife and my rather picky father-in-law (both from Belfast). I used leftover Champ and fried them in a butter/oil mixture as I think it browns a bit better. I’m sure they’ll have me making these on a regular basis!
That makes me so happy to hear Chris! We LOVE using leftover Champ for this recipe.