Don't throw away those leftover mashed potatoes! With just 10 minutes of prep time, you can turn them into crispy, golden air fryer potato cakes! This quick recipe mixes cold potatoes with egg, flour and seasonings to create potato cakes that are crispy on the outside, and light and creamy in the middle, and requires very little oil. Whether you have holiday leftovers or extra potato flesh from making my air fryer potato skins, this easy recipe is a must try.
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Quick Look: Air Fryer Potato Cakes
- ⏱ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Air Frying Time: 30 minutes (for 2 batches)
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽 Servings: Makes 10 patties
- ⚡ Calories: 98 per potato cake
- 🔥 Flavor/texture: deliciously savory, golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the center.
- 👌 Difficulty: easy, no breading or dredging in flour required.
- ❤️ Why you'll love: great way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes, minimal oil, less greasy than pan frying.
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Why you'll love these potato cakes
I always make too many mashed potatoes because I'd rather have too much than not enough. These potato cakes are one of my favorite ways to use up leftovers, for a few different reasons:
- Simple ingredients: You only need basic kitchen staples to make them.
- Golden brown and crispy: With only a little bit of oil, the air fryer works its magic so they don't get greasy like pan fried potato cakes. (I use this minimal oil technique with my air fryer tuna patties and air fryer crab cakes, and they always get crispy)!
- Less mess. We're not dredging them in flour or breading them in any way, so clean up is a breeze.
- Easy to change up: You can easily swap out the seasonings to try new flavors. (Suggestions included below).
We love to serve them as an appetizer or side dish with a dollop of sour cream, but for a dairy-free option, you can try this homemade cashew mayo as a topping!
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
You only need 8 ingredients to make this recipe!
- Mashed potatoes - You'll need 3 cups of mashed potatoes for this recipe. Make sure they're cold so they've had a chance to thicken.
- Eggs - Two large eggs will help bind the potato cakes.
- Flour - Flour also acts as a binder. I used all-purpose white flour.
- Seasonings - Just a simple mix of salt, pepper and garlic powder is needed. Feel free to add different seasonings, if you prefer. And, if your mashed potatoes are not already seasoned, you will definitely need to add more salt and pepper.
- Chives - I like to add chopped fresh chives to the potato patties and have some on hand for garnish.
- Oil - To help the patties get golden brown and crispy, you'll need a little oil. You can use a spray oil or non-stick cooking spray. I usually just brush on some extra virgin olive oil.
Flavor variations
- Add some oregano, basil and/or parsley.
- Instead of chives, use chopped green onion (scallions).
- Use a little onion powder, or spice things up with a pinch of smoked paprika or cayenne pepper.
- Add some grated cheddar and/or crumbled bacon to amp up the savory flavors.
How to make mashed potato cakes in the air fryer
Step 1: Mix together the mashed potatoes, eggs, flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir in the chopped chives.
Step 2: Use a ¼ cup measuring cup or cookie scoop to portion out the mixture and gently shape into 10 patties that are ½-inch thick.
Pro tip: The mixture for the potato patties will be sticky, so you will need to rinse your hands a few times while shaping them.
Step 3: Grease your air fryer basket with spray oil and arrange the patties in a single layer. Spray the tops with oil or brush on the oil.
Step 4: Air fry at 400F for 8-9 minutes. Carefully flip the potato cakes over and spray or brush more oil on the other side. Continue air frying for another 6-7 minutes, or until the tops are browned and crispy.
Key recipe tips
- Seasoning. This recipe only calls for a small amount of seasoning as mashed potatoes are usually already seasoned. If your mashed potatoes are not seasoned, you'll want to add more salt and pepper to the recipe.
- Wet mashed potatoes. If your mashed potatoes are not thick enough, you'll need to add a little more flour to help the patties bind together.
- Don't use parchment paper. I tested this recipe with air fryer parchment paper (with small holes in it) lining the air fryer basket. I don't recommend this. The patties stuck to the parchment paper and did not crisp up very well.
- Air fry in single layer. For even cooking, these potato cakes should be air fried in a single layer and not over crowded as they will puff up a little as they cook. The recipe makes 10, so I normally air fry the potato cakes in two batches.
Storage and freezing tips
These mashed potato pancakes are best enjoyed hot and crispy. If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge, where they should last for 3-4 days. This depends, however, on how old your mashed potatoes are to begin with. If they're already a few days old, I suggest enjoying the potato cakes within a day or so.
You can also freeze potato cakes. Just arrange the cooled patties in a single layer, or in between sheets of parchment or wax paper, in a freezer safe container. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat the patties, air fry at 400F for 5-7 minutes. If they've been frozen, let them defrost first in the fridge before reheating.
Air fryer potato cakes FAQs
The best potatoes to use are those that are best for mashed potatoes. So, you'll want to make sure you use low moisture potatoes such as Russet or Yukon gold potatoes. They usually create fluffy, creamy and thick mashed potatoes. (Russets are also my go-to for crispy potatoes like these air fryer sliced potatoes and air fryer wedge potatoes).
Potato cakes usually fall apart if they're too wet. This can be easily fixed by adding more flour. Add a little at a time until the potato cake mixture sticks together. Be careful not to add too much flour as the cakes will end up too dry.
I haven't tested this recipe with instant mashed potatoes. If you give it a try, just make sure the mashed potatoes are not wet and thick enough to hold together with the binding ingredients.
Absolutely! Since you need cold mashed potatoes, they're ideal for making ahead. You can make your mashed potatoes the day before, and just follow this recipe to make the patties the day you want to enjoy them. Or, you can even make the patties a day in advance, and leave them covered in a single layer in the fridge until ready to air fry.
Yes, just substitute the all purpose flour for gluten-free 1:1 flour.
Other recommended air fryer potato recipes
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups (600 g) cold mashed potatoes
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (70 g) all purpose white flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
- Oil, to spray or brush on patties
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the mashed potatoes, eggs, flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Mix to combine. If your potatoes are extra thick, you may need to use a potato masher.
- Stir in the chopped chives.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup or cookie scoop to portion out the mixture for the patties.
- Gently shape into 10 patties that are ½-inch thick.
- Grease your air fryer basket with spray oil and arrange the patties in a single layer. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you'll need to air fry the patties in 2-3 batches).
- Spray or brush the tops with oil.
- Air fry at 400F for 8-9 minutes. Carefully flip the potato cakes over and spray or brush more oil on the other sides. Continue air frying for another 6-7 minutes, or until the tops are browned and crispy.
Notes
- This recipe only calls for a small amount of seasoning as mashed potatoes are usually already seasoned. If your mashed potatoes are not seasoned, you'll want to add more salt and pepper to the recipe.
- If your mashed potatoes are wet, you'll need to add a little more flour to help the patties bind together.
- The potato cakes mixture will be sticky, so you may need to rinse your hands a few times while shaping them.
- For even cooking, these potato cakes should be air fried in a single layer. The recipe makes 10, so you'll need to air fry in at least two batches.
- The cook time in the recipe is based on two batches.
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Nutrition Facts per Serving
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.
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