Work some magic on your mashed potatoes with mashed potato puffs! These loaded potato puffs will breathe some new life into your leftover mashed potatoes!
These little bite-sized puffs are the perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes after the holidays. They’re crispy on the outside but warm and creamy on the inside. If you have some cold leftover mashed potatoes sitting in the fridge after Thanksgiving or Christmas, try baking them into these puffs.
We’ll breathe some new life into mashed potatoes by adding some texture and then we’ll load them up with tons of cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chives. With some eggs, we’ll puff them up in the oven so you’ll get crispy, puffy mashed potatoes that go great with a generous dollop of sour cream on top and some fresh chives.
Making these kinda feels like a little cooking magic. Take a look at the before and after pics; it’s a little hard to believe some eggs and baking can do that. They’re great for little breakfast bites, appetizers, or sides, and get a ton of compliments at potlucks and holiday gatherings. Also, you’re not limited to only making them with leftover mashed potatoes. I’ve made mashed potatoes plenty of times just to make these.
For other potato recipes to serve during the holidays, you can also try these garlic Parmesan sweet potato stacks which also use a muffin tin. Also, try out these crispy garlic Parmesan smashed potatoes or some loaded mashed potato balls which are even crispier than these puffs. There’s also this sweet potato casserole which is a staple with my family during the holidays or this twice-baked potato casserole. But back to the recipe, let’s start making some puffs!
How To Make Mashed Potato Puffs (1 Min Video)
These. are. DELICIOUS. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. I can’t get enough of them. Here’s a warning: you should probably make two batches to avoid family feuding! The more leftover mashed potatoes you have the better. You could make a huge batch of mashed potatoes in the slow cooker with this slow cooker mashed potatoes recipe that uses a whole 5 lb. bag of potatoes and then make these puffs.
These puffs are so good you should make mashed potatoes just to make them. I’ve actually done this before and carried them proudly to a holiday potluck with a cute little place card listing the ingredients because people will ask for the recipe. The good news is you can also cheat by using instant mashed potatoes. No one would know the difference.
MASHED POTATO PUFFS RECIPE TIPS
Mixing – The mashed potatoes mixed with eggs will look mushy and goopy. Don’t worry, it will puff up and change.
Muffin pan – I used a regular non-stick muffin pan for the recipe but you can use almost any kind of muffin pan to get all shapes and sizes. I’ve heard of folks using mini muffin pans or even brownie bar pans. Just make sure to grease the pan beforehand.
Recipe Notes:
The bottom of the puffs are more prone to sticking so spray the muffin pan well and/or use a paper towel to grease the whole muffin well evenly so the nonstick spray is not just concentrated in one spot.
Filling it up – Fill in the muffin pan about 3/4 of the way full to allow some room for the puffs to rise. The messier you mound in the potatoes, the more texture they’ll have later and the better they will look. So don’t worry about delicately filling up the muffin pan; look how messy I did mine in the prep photos and how they came out.
Eggs – Can this recipe be made without eggs? Unfortunately, not. The eggs are what make the mashed potato puffs rise, otherwise, you’re just baking some loaded mashed potatoes.
Making it ahead – You should be able to pre-mix all the ingredients the night before and refrigerate them to bake the next day.
Leftovers – These should keep for 3 days or so once refrigerated. You can reheat them in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Freezing and reheating – Mashed potato puffs can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, microwave from frozen for about 1 minute.
Customize It!
- Add more flavor – If your mashed potatoes don’t already have them, try adding more flavor with butter, milk, sour cream, or cream cheese.
- Add some spice – Spice up your puffs with jalapenos or red pepper flakes.
- Substitute filings – Experiment with different protein fillings like pre-cooked chopped chorizo, sausage, chicken, turkey, or ham.
- Substitute chives – Feel free to substitute chives with parsley or green onions.
And that’s about it. It’s easier to watch the video for a general idea of how to make it and then go from there. It also helps to prove how magical these things are from sad, leftover mashed potatoes to puffy potato bites. Enjoy and let me know how you liked them in the comments below!
MORE POTATO RECIPES TO TRY
- Crispy Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potato Balls
- Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potato Stacks
- The Best Creamy Potato Salad
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
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Mashed Potato Puffs
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Work some magic on your mashed potatoes with mashed potato puffs! These loaded potato puffs will breathe some new life into your leftover mashed potatoes!
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup bacon bits
- 1/4 cup chives, chopped
- Pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Combine mashed potatoes, eggs, cheddar cheese, bacon bits and chives.
- Season with pepper if needed.
- Grease a muffin pan and mound a heaping spoonful into each cup.
- Top each muffin with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes at 400°F or until golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes and dish and serve warm with sour cream.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Instant mashed potatoes – Yes! You can cheat and use instant mashed potatoes to make these.
- Making it ahead – You should be able to pre-mix all the ingredients the night before and refrigerate them to bake the next day.
- Eggs – Can this recipe be made without eggs? Unfortunately, not. The eggs are what make the mashed potato puffs rise, otherwise, you’re just baking some loaded mashed potatoes.
-
Freezing and reheating – Mashed potato puffs can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, microwave from frozen for about 1 minute.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Comments & Reviews
I did it – it was a hit took some to work my coworkers love it – I did go crazy with seasoning the mashed potato (hey I’m Caribbean what can I say curry anyone!) and used turkey wieners which I cut very small along with onions. I had extra large eggs and I used the instant mashed potatoes. I added only 1 cup of milk and ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese to my mixture. In other words what I had on hand but it’s still good!!!!
That’s the beauty of it, you can add whatever you have and season it with various stuff and it should still work! It’s a good baseline to build on for experienced cooks. Hey, I’m glad everyone loved it 🙂
Are these good at room temperature? These look delicious, and I’d love to take them to a pot luck that’s coming up, but not if they lose their appeal once the heat wears off.
Yup, they are still good at room temp. I brought a batch to a work pot luck Thanksgiving dinner and none of them were left. Don’t forget to bring a tub of sour cream for it!
Happened across this recipe today. Lucky for me I had all the ingredients on hand to make them. Delish! Easy to make and they tasted wonderful. Hubby liked them so that was a bigger plus. Thanks for a great recipe. Will be making them again.
The hubby or family liking them is always a great plus, especially since there’s so many of them for just one person! I’m usually far too lazy to bake for just myself. Fortunately my hubby devours these just as fast as I do 🙂
i tried it.its easy and yummy.we used french onion dip instead of sour cream its perfect.thanks for sharing this.
You’re welcome, Rona. Good to know of an option to use french onion dip as well for those so inclined!
I made these last night in a regular sized muffin pan and they were delicious! I found that I didn’t add quite enough salt so I just added a few dashes of salt to the top of each one and they were soooo good! I didn’t have any bacon or chives so I simply just used Parsley along with everything else it called for. I can’t imagine how good these are with bites of bacon in them! I’ll definitely have to be sure I have some on hand next time. I added sour cream to the tops and they were a big hit with both my husband and our two boys (ages 3 and 1). Thank you so much for sharing!!
Parsley will work too. And the bacon adds that needed crunch/salt factor to the puffs that make them little hidden treasures. Hope you manage to include it in next time and I’m glad you and the family enjoyed it, Victoria!
Hi
I made these last night and must have done something wrong . They came out very dry. I used a finely grated Mexican cheese blend but other than that followed your recipe exactly. Any ideas you have for what I can do so they are not dry would be so very welcome.
Heya, Michelle! Hmm, the only thing I can think of was not having enough egg to mashed potato ratio? Did you use large eggs instead of medium? Other than that, I am honestly stumped. If anyone else has any thoughts, they are welcome to chime in!
Hmm… Lots of variables here.
I’ll second the eggs comment above, if you used Medium eggs instead of Large eggs you would probably need an extra egg to keep the ratio right.
I like to load up my mashed potatoes with a lot of butter, cream, milk, etc. but I wonder if you make your potatoes on the drier side, could that cause problems? If you think this might be the case, I’d try adding a little milk to the mixture.
And finally, oven temps can vary quite a bit. If your oven tends to run low, then food will generally take longer to cook than expected leading either to under-baked goods, or if you just leave it in longer to cook, that could dry out your food. Did your attempt look nice & browned like the pictures here within the prescribed time, or did you have to cook it longer to get it there?
Great investigative culinary skills, Jeff. Thanks! 🙂
Made these last night with left over mashed potatoes from Christmas dinner. Even my VERY picky 16 yo son ate one (and for him that’s fantastic). Everyone else devoured them. Followed the directions exactly as written. Cooked 30 minutes and they came out perfect. Thank you for a YUMMY leftover recipe! 🙂
I’m so glad, Sarah! These are still a favorite in our house and sometimes I’ll still make mashed potatoes just to make these instead of waiting for leftovers. Because leftover mashed potatoes in our house are rare!
Can you prepare the recipe ahead of time and leave in refrigerator until you’re ready to bake them?
Thanks!
I don’t see why not, Connie. Just do a toothpick poke test at the end of the baking time to make sure it comes out clean. Bake a little longer if the chilled state of the potatoes affects the baking time needed.
Should the mashed potatoes be cool first or is it ok to mix ingredients together when still warm? Your recipes are the best! So glad I found you!!
I would say let them cool off a little. Warm is good, just not steaming hot. I hope this works out for you, Carrie! And thanks for being so sweet 🙂
Fantastic side to go with my Cornish pasty. I added some mustard power and chopped bacon to ours. Thanks again 🙂
Mustard would give it a little kick! Happy you enjoyed it, Peter 🙂
PS: Just Googled Cornish pasty and now I’m drooling. It looks and sounds so delicious! So hungry!
Needing a side dish for tailgating. This just might work!?
Thanks
Welcome, Libby! Hope it worked out for you 🙂
I’m getting ready to make the puff mashed. I cook the mashed potatoes then let them cool? Or can I go right into the oven?
I’d say let them cool off a little, Mike.
We’re doing an all-finger-food Thanksgiving, and this just slid right into my potato slot. The idea is to have all the foods of a traditional T-day, but in tapas or appetizer form – makes for a more relaxed, casual day. This recipe, with bacon, cheese and potatoes, what more could anyone want?!
What a great idea! Tapas for Thanksgiving sounds a lot more stress free 😉
Can you clarify if the “mashed potatoes” are simply potatoes that have been mashed with nothing added?
Thanks!
Sure. I’ve done plain mashed potatoes no frills with it before and leftover mashed potatoes with milk and butter. It really does not matter what kind of mashed potatoes you begin with as long as you’re okay with having that flavor profile in the potato puffs. Good luck, Jessica!
My family says I am a freak, but I don’t like cheese, could these be made without cheese?
Possibly separating the eggs and whisking the whites
I’m pretty sure it will work without cheese. As for trying it without the yolks, I’m not sure if that’ll work since it’s the eggs that puff them up.
Excellent! Or should I say… Eggcellent?
Love mashed potatoes, but never found a way to reuse them that I really liked. Anything involving frying either burned, or soaked up too much grease (too temperamental) and never had the right texture beyond the fried exterior. The big revelation in this recipe for me is that it’s baked, and therefore more consistent than frying, and it has awesome texture. You still get a little crunch from the browned bits, but the inside is light and fluffy. I think this is entirely down to the egg/potato/cheese ratio, which is spot on.
Based on what I’ve read here and my own experimentation, this recipe will also take a wide range of variation, based on personal tastes, and available ingredients (salami and basil… Nice…) I made mine as per the recipe, but used broccoli’d mashed potatoes, and couldn’t be happier. I’ll probably play around with the recipe a little the next time I make it, just because that’s how I roll… But this is a solid foundation. Potato, egg and cheese. Who knew?
It’s magic! You can definitely vary it a little here and there as long as the foundation of mashed potatoes to egg ratio is kept and the fillings aren’t too dense. Speaking of trying to fry mashed potatoes, I did it with this recipe and it didn’t even last a day. Something to keep in mind if you ever want to revisit the idea.