These gluten-free mashed potato pancakes are the perfect way to use leftover mashed potatoes. Add just a few simple ingredients, cook them in a pan and you have a crispy and comforting treat. Serve them as a side dish, snack, appetizer or for breakfast. These pancakes can easily be made dairy-free.
Be sure to check out my recipe for dairy-free alternative for russet mashed potatoes . The leftovers are perfect for these potato pancakes. For more savory pancake recipes try my butternut squash pancakes and my gluten-free corn fritters (almost a pancake).
Leftover Mashed Potatoes Recipe
This recipe assumes that you are using leftover mashed potatoes which were already flavored with some form of butter, cream or milk and salt. If you are using mashed potatoes with out anything added, mix 2 cups potato with 2 Tbsp melted butter or vegan butter sub, 3 Tbsp warm milk or dairy-free milk sub and ΒΌ-Β½ tsp salt.
Potato Pancake Toppings
One of the traditional toppings on potato pancakes is applesauce. This sweet and tart addition is perfect with the richness of potato pancakes. Any prepared, unsweetened, no cinnamon applesauce will work perfectly.
My favorite topping is a sour cream sauce. Mix 1/2 cup sour cream with the zest of one lemon, two tablespoons finely chopped chives and 2-3 pinches of salt. The cool tart sour cream and the fresh flavor of lemon zest provide a great balance with these potato pancakes.
Ingredients
You’ll need two cups of prepared mashed potatoes. If you don’t have any leftover mashed potatoes, you could make some using my dairy-free alternative mashed potato recipe linked above. Or for a quick easy method, microwave 2 potatoes and mash with some butter, milk or cream and salt.
My favorite vegan/dairy-free alternative for mashed potatoes are dairy-free creamers. They add a wonderful flavor and texture to mashed potatoes. Nut Pods and Califia Farms both have very good unsweetened vegan creamers.
An excellent dairy-free butter is Miyokos Cultured Vegan Butter. It has the best flavor (closest to butter) and comes in an unsalted version that makes it perfect for cooking and baking.
Eggs – adding two eggs will lighten up the potatoes and help to give them structure and a little bit of rise.
Potato starch – without the potato starch, these pancakes come out very delicate. They easily break when you try to flip them and remove them from the pan. Just two tablespoons of potato starch gives these pancakes a little bit of structure and hold without making them pasty. You can leave out the potato starch but expect the pancakes to be more breakable.
A little bit of milk or a dairy-free milk substitute helps to thin out the potatoes so that it is more like a pancake batter consistency.
Chopped chives give the pancakes a little zing and balance the starchy potatoes. I add them right into the batter, but leave them out if you prefer.
How to Cook Potato Pancakes
These pancakes are cooked in a pan with a shallow coating of oil. The key to a the perfect crispy, golden brown outside, is the temperature of the oil. If the oil is too hot, the outside will get too dark before the inside cooks and sets. Not hot enough, and the pancakes will be greasy.
I heat the pan over medium high heat with the oil for 1-2 minutes. If the pan starts to smoke, the oil is definitely too hot. Take it off the heat and let it cool down.
Test with just one pancake. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes for the first side to get golden brown. The top will start to bubble around the edges. If it browns in less than one minute, turn the heat down a little and try again.
Gluten-Free Mashed Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- ο»Ώ2 ο»Ώc ο»Ώmashed potatoes
- ο»Ώ2 ο»Ώlarge eggs
- ο»Ώ2 ο»ΏTbsp potato starch
- ο»Ώ1 ο»ΏTbsp ο»Ώmilk or dairy-free milk sub
- ο»ΏΒΌ ο»Ώc chopped chives (optional)
Sο»Ώour Cream Sauce
- ο»ΏΒ½ ο»Ώc ο»Ώsour cream (dairy free ok)
- ο»Ώzest of 1 lemon
- 2ο»Ώ ο»ΏTbsp ο»Ώfinely chopped chives
- 1 Tbsp water
- 2ο»Ώ-3 ο»Ώpinches ο»Ώsalt
Instructions
- This recipe assumes that you are using leftover mashed potatoes which were already flavored with some form of butter, cream or milk and salt. If you are using mashed potatoes with out anything added, mix 2 cups potato with 2 Tbsp melted butter or vegan butter sub, 3 Tbsp warm milk or dairy-free milk sub and ΒΌ-Β½ tsp salt.
- Place, eggs, milk and potato starch into a large mixing bowl. Beat with a wire whisk or electric mixer until smooth
- ο»ΏStir in the chopped chives.
- Choose a ladle or ΒΌ c measuring cup to portion the batter into the pan. Three Tbsp batter makes a 3-4 inch pancake. For snack or bite sized pancakes, use 2 Tbsp batter each. Note that ΒΌ cup = 4 Tbsp.
- ο»ΏPlace a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to completely coat the bottom of the pan. Heat for 1Β½-2 minutes. If the pan starts to smoke, the oil is too hot. If this happens take the pan off the heat to cool down.
- First test with just one pancake. Drop the batter into the pan and gently help it spread a little. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes for the first side to get golden brown. The top will start to bubble around the edges. When the bottom is golden brown, flip with a spatula and cook another 1Β½-2 minutes. If the first side browns in less than one minute, turn the heat down a little and try again.ο»Ώ
- Once you think the heat is right, cook several at a time.
- ο»ΏTransfer to paper towel while cooking the rest. You may need to add more oil at some point.
- Tο»Ώhese pancakes can be refrigerated for about 1 week. To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and tin foil to prevent freezer burn. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven for 3-4 minutes.
Sour Cream Sauce
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Serve cold with hot pancakes.
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