25 Best Recipes For Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Take a moment and think of your favorite Thanksgiving dish. Every year, we think the undisputed shining star of Thanksgiving is the mashed potatoes. Even if we skipped out on every other side, we’d be happy. In fact, we're such big fans, sometimes we get a little overzealous and make WAY more than we need. But not to worry, we've got plenty of clever ways to use up all your leftover mashed potatoes, like shepherd's pie, cacio e pepe potato gnocchi, and even mashed potato waffles.

If you've run out of potatoes and still want to make these super-simple shortcut recipes, we love starting off with our classic creamy mashed potatoes. With that as your foundation, you'll be on your way to making some legendary fried mashed potato balls, dill & cheddar pierogis, and Crockpot potato soup in no time.

Where there are leftover mashed potatoes, there are often tons of leftover turkey, green beans, and stuffing. If you're lucky enough to have a little bit of everything, then you've got to do yourself a favor and make a Thanksgiving sandwich, Thanksgiving leftover lasagna, or a Thanksgiving Crunchwrap. Got even more leftovers? Sounds like it's time for this giant Thanksgiving leftover sandwich!

Creamy with plenty of garlic and brown butter, or chunky with the skins on, we love potatoes any way you mash them. Make any (or all!) of these exciting spins on mashed potatoes (we're especially fond of our colcannon recipe) and potato sides, you'll be on your way to even more bomb leftover mashed potatoes for tomorrow.

This easy recipe turns those sad leftover mashed potatoes into something MAGICAL. If you've got more leftovers on your hands, you gotta check out these Thanksgiving leftovers recipes to revive the remnants of your feast.

Get the Fried Mashed Potato Balls recipe.

This just might be the ultimate comfort dish. Filled with plenty of veggies, creamy mashed potatoes, and an irresistible beef filling, this warming meal combines your sides + main all into one bowl of cozy goodness.

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Homemade potato gnocchi is surprisingly easy to make, and the dough is a dream to work with. Unlike homemade pasta, there's no resting or labored rolling involved. And with pre-mashed potatoes, you can skip straight to step 3 in this homemade pasta recipe! We tossed our gnocchi in plenty of Parmesan and butter for a simple cacio e pepe vibe, but we also have a tuscan butter gnocchi that we dream about regularly.

Get the Cacio e Pepe Potato Gnocchi recipe.

Rule #1 for the day after Thanksgiving: NO COOKING. Seriously, with all of that leftover pickle-brined turkey and creamy mashed potatoes, it would be a crime not to make this sandwich.

Get the Perfect Thanksgiving Sandwich recipe.

This savory leek and potato soup can be left chunky or blended smooth, but the best part is the crunchy garnish that tops each bowl. While many recipes using leeks call for discarding the tougher, more fibrous green tops, we reserve them, slice 'em real thin, and stir-fry them until golden for a crispy topping!

Get the Leek And Potato Soup recipe.

When you're looking for something warm, comforting, and carb-y, do Polish pierogi come to mind? We think they should, and this cheesy dill version certainly satisfies on all fronts. Loaded with sharp white cheddar, sweet caramelized onions, and creamy mashed potatoes, the only thing more gratifying than making them from scratch is stuffing them in your mouth. 😋

Get the Dill & Cheddar Pierogi recipe.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made of creamy mashed potatoes and some green veggie. Most typically you'll find cabbage or kale, paired with some green aromatics like leeks and chives. Here, we opt for a scallion and kale combo for vibrant color and deeper, nuttier flavors.

Get the Best Colcannon recipe.

Have a leftover baked potato? The only logical thing to do is to mash the insides and make dinner rolls. These are truly the Fluffiest. Dinner. Rolls. Ever. Fresh out of the oven, each roll has a crispy bottom, buttery top, and unbelievably soft center.

Get the Fluffy Potato Rolls recipe.

For a thick, creamy potato soup, adding those leftover mashed potatoes will help you achieve that rich result in so much less time.

Get the Crockpot Potato Soup recipe.

Duchess potatoes are a classic French dish made with piped mashed potatoes that are enriched with egg yolks and butter. Basically, they're like fancy tots, and they're perfect alongside anything from a perfectly seared steak to ultra-creamy chicken Dijon. They also work well as a beautiful piping onto shepherd's pie!

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Everyone knows Thanksgiving leftovers are where it's at. There's nothing we love more than building a massive sandwich with turkey, cranberries, and stuffing. But what's to be done with all those leftover mashed potatoes? We say, waffle them. Still got leftover potatoes? Make these delicious loaded fried mashed potatoes—they won't disappoint.

Get the Mashed Potato Waffles recipe.

This tender, springy, and slightly sweet potato bread is here to make your dream peanut butter & jelly come to life. (Or your dream croque madame... or your dream grilled cheese... the point is, it's the best for sandwiches.) Adapted from Makinze's fluffy potato rolls, you really can't go wrong with this crowd-pleasing classic.

Get the Homemade Potato Bread recipe.

This meatless, dairy-free take on shepherd's pie is packed with veggies (mushrooms! celery! butternut squash! parsnips!) and loaded with flavor. It's also incredibly hearty, thanks to lentils.

Get the Vegan Shepherd's Pie recipe.

When the weather outside is frightful, nothing satisfies our craving for comfort food quite like a good shepherd's pie. A traditional shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb or beef, but this turkey version is surprisingly light and SO easy to make. If you'd like to bulk it up with more veggies, frozen corn, and/or frozen peas are a great addition!

Get the Turkey Shepherd's Pie recipe.

These hearty pastries—mashed potatoes, studded with bits of caramelized onion, enveloped in a thin crust— are easy, delicious, and so comforting. Our recipe includes classic potato & onion knishes, spanakopita-style knishes, and samosa-style knishes. The simple potato filling is ripe for riffing feel free to invent your own.

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Homemade samosas don't need to be intimidating! The spiced potato filling is fast and easy, and the dough comes together quickly using melted ghee. You may need to hunt down some spices and seeds, but it's well worth it for the best, most authentic-tasting samosas ever.

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We might never be able to match the genius of the person who invented the twice-baked potatoes; however, we think we've gotten pretty darn close with this casserole version. We transformed the foil lined side into a creamy, cheesy casserole that instantly become a weeknight meal staple. 😍

Get the Twice Baked Potato Casserole recipe.

Tired of the same ol' leftover Thanksgiving sandwich? This crunchwrap is the perfect way to shake things up. Don't have all the leftover ingredients? No worries! Just use what you've got. Everything short of pumpkin pie will work just fine. 😎

Get the Thanksgiving Crunchwrap recipe.

Got a lot of leftovers (or a giant appetite)? A Bundt pan and pre-made crescent dough will help you make a leftover turkey sandwich of epic proportions.

Get the Giant Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich recipe.

Thanksgiving leftovers aren't regular leftovers, they're *cool* leftovers. We stuffed our leftovers inside a crescent roll (well, basically a giant crescent roll), and it's to-live-for.

Get the Thanksgiving Ring recipe.

Leftovers have never been so exciting now that you can stuff all those potatoes, turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce in a crispy, crunchy egg roll wrapper. Serve these with gravy for one of the most ingenious uses for leftovers EVER.

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Step up those leftover spuds with these fried mashed potatoes! Now, everyone's preferred mashed potatoes are different. If yours are on the looser side, it's OK. Just add a little flour to thicken them up so that they'll fry better.

Get the Loaded Fried Mashed Potatoes recipe.

This bake is basically a loaded baked potato in casserole form ... do we even need to say anything else? Top this cheesy bacon goodness with hot sauce or pickled jalapeños if you prefer a spicy kick.

Get the Loaded Mashed Potato Bake recipe.

The best part about this mini meatloaf is the umami-ized mashed potatoes slathered on top. It's Thanksgiving in a muffin tin.

Get the Muffin-Tin Turkey Meatloaf With Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe.

We layer buttery mashed potatoes, cheese, green beans, cranberry sauce, and gravy lasagna-style, and it just might be better than the original. Did we also mention we top it with even more cheese and gravy too? It's genius, we know.

Get the Thanksgiving Leftover Lasagna recipe.