Finding yourself with leftover mashed potatoes during the holiday season? This 7 ingredient crispy potato ball recipe is the perfect way to use them in a fun and unique way. This recipe is an excellent appetizer idea for football game day or even just as a quick after school snack idea.
These crispy fried mashed potato balls aren't just a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers, they are also excellent as a game day appetizer or side dish. Leftover mashed potato balls are also a great idea to use up some leftover potatoes from Christmas and make this recipe for a New Years Eve hors d'oeuvres or party appetizer. Served with a sour cream or ranch dip sauce, your guests won't be able to get enough of these little bites.
This was inspired by my Loaded Bacon Potato Balls on this site, and pairs well with this creamy cavatappi mac and cheese.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Russet potatoes provide the best results due to their high starch content which helps them get a nice crisp. Potato starch is mixed in with the potatoes to help get a little extra crisp. Salt, pepper and green onions are used to season the potato balls and sour cream and chipotle sauce are used for the dipping sauce.
- russet potatoes
- potato starch
- green onion or chives
- neutral oil for frying
- salt
- pepper
- sour cream
- chipotle sauce
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Peel the potatoes. Cube the potatoes. Add to a pot of salted water and boil until a fork can easily poke through the potato. About 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Step 2: Chop the green onions. Add the cooked potatoes to a bowl. Mash with a hand mixer, potato masher or potato ricer. Place potatoes in the fridge to cool. Add green onions, potato starch, salt and pepper to the potatoes. Mix thoroughly.
- Step 3: Use a cookie scooper to scoop balls of the potato mixture. Roll in your hands to create an even ball about 1-2 inches in diameter. Heat oil on medium-high heat on the stove until the temperature of the oil 350 degrees. Mix chipotle sauce with sour cream and set aside.
- Step 4: Shallow fry the potato balls. Flip the potatoes every 2-3 minutes until potato balls are golden brown all around. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the oil and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain excess oil. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and toss with salt. Serve warm with chipotle sour cream.
Hint: use a potato ricer to make sure the potatoes are as mashed as possible. There is nothing worse than big chunks of un-mashed potatoes throughout this appetizer.
Substitutions
- Potatoes - yellow potatoes can also be used for this recipe
- Potato Starch - use corn starch if not available, they will act the same way in the recipe
- Green Onions - chives are a great option to use if green onions are not available.
Variations
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes into the potato mixture for some extra heat. Hot sauce could also be added to the mixture
- Loaded - add bacon and cheese to the mashed potato mixture
- Cheesy - add a cube of sharp cheddar cheese to the center of each potato ball
- Roasted - cook cubed potatoes in oil in the oven for a crispy roasted potato recipe
See this crispy roasted potato recipe on my website!
Equipment
To create this recipe, you will need a stock pot to boil the potatoes in, a sauté pan to fry the potato balls, and a large bowl to mix the potatoes in. A small cookie scoop is also helpful to scoop and form the potato balls since you only want them to be about 1-inch balls.
A potato ricer, potato masher or hand mixer is also needed to mash the potatoes and a potato peeler is used to peel the potatoes. As with most recipes, a sharp knife and cutting board is also needed.
How to Store Fried Mashed Potato Balls
Store the leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days if using leftovers to make this recipe. Remaining mashed potato balls can be stored for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
When heating up the fried potato balls, either re fry them for a few minutes until warm, heat them up in the air fryer or bake them. You can heat them up in the microwave but this will take away the crisp of the potato balls.
These ingredients do stand up well to freezing for up to 2 months if stored properly.
Top Tip
For an extra crisp, coat the potato balls in an egg wash bread crumb mixture before frying. This is not necessary as the potato crisps up on its own but if you want double the crisp coating the balls in panko bread crumbs is how you get it.
FAQ
Since you will be using your hands, the cold mashed potatoes make that process much easier and more doable and will help avoid burns.
This recipe includes directions to make a chipotle sour cream which I feel pairs the best but you can choose your favorite dipping sauce. Life fries, these potato balls really go with almost any dipping sauce you could imagine since they are similar in flavor.
A neutral oil with a high smoke point in the best for frying. Avocado oil is the best, but this can get expensive. A peanut oil, canola oil or vegetable oil will work fine too.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Fried Mashed Potato Balls:
📖 Recipe
Crispy Fried Mashed Potato Balls Recipe Using Leftovers
Equipment
- 1 potato ricer
- 1 large bowl
- 1 sharp knife and cutting board
- 1 saute pan
- 1 Stock Pot
- 1 small cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 4 yellow potatoes peeled and cubed
- 3 tablespoon potato starch
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ⅓ cup green onion chopped
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon chipotle sauce
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes. Cube the potatoes. Add to a pot of salted water and boil until a fork can easily poke through the potato. About 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Chop the green onions.
- Mash with a hand mixer, potato masher or potato ricer. Place potatoes in the fridge to cool.
- Add green onions, potato starch, salt and pepper to the potatoes. Mix thoroughly. Use a cookie scooper to scoop balls of the potato mixture. Roll in your hands to create an even ball about 1-2 inches in diameter.
- Heat oil on medium-high heat on the stove until the temperature of the oil 350 degrees. Mix chipotle sauce with sour cream and set aside.
- Shallow fry the potato balls. Flip the potatoes every 2-3 minutes until potato balls are golden brown all around. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the oil and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain excess oil. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and toss with salt. Serve warm with chipotle sour cream.
Notes
- store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
- to reheat, either fry the leftover balls, air fry them or bake them. Microwaving them will cause them to get soggy.
Nutrition
If you have any questions about how to make these fried potato balls or need other appetizer recipe suggestions, leave a comment below!
Comments
No Comments