Parmesan Mashed Potato Cakes

These Parmesan Mashed Potato Cakes are so addictive! A crunchy, cheesy crust is hiding the soft, velvety mashed potato filling. They make a perfect side dish or a filling vegetarian meal.

Of all the new recipes I’ve made recently, these Parmesan Potato Cakes are one of the biggest hits in my kitchen. This recipe is simple, requires little ingredients, and yields delicious results. You MUST try these, friend.

I grew up eating Potato Cakes. I’ve tried so many variations of this tasty meal, but I finally found the one I am going to stick with. These Parmesan Cakes are just the best! Adding Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs brings so much flavor to the dish, and dipping the cakes in Parmesan before frying them makes the golden crust even tastier and crunchier. Let’s start cooking!

Parmesan Potato Cakes Video Tutorial

Main Ingredients

• Cooked potatoes. I prefer to use boiled potatoes rather than leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe because, this way, I always end up with the same texture and consistency.
• Parmesan Cheese. You can purchase finely grated Parmesan, or grate it yourself.
• Egg. It helps the potato mixture to hold together better.
• Parsley + Chives. These herbs add a lot of flavor. You can substitute with dill, cilantro, scallions, or basil, if preferred.
• Flour. Use regular bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Salt + Pepper.

How to Make Parmesan Mashed Potato Cakes

1. Cook the potatoes in gently boiling water until tender, about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size. Let them cool down completely. Peel.

2. Place the potatoes in a medium mixing bowl and mash well using a potato masher.

3. To the same bowl, add the egg, Parmesan, parsley, chives, flour, salt, and pepper. Mix everything well.

4. Scoop up about a ½ cup of the potato mixture and form it into a patty.

5. Place about a ½ cup of Parmesan into a shallow dish. Roll the patties in the parmesan to coat.

6. Heat up some olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the potato patties, and fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until they turn golden brown.

What Kind of Potatoes to Use

A starchy potato, such as an Idaho or Russet potato, would be the best pick for this recipe. Yukon Gold makes great potato cakes, too. Sometimes, I like to leave some of the skin on if I’m using a Yukon Gold potato because I love the texture it adds to the cakes.

About Using Leftover Mashed Potatoes

A lot of you have asked if leftover mashed potatoes can be used in this recipe. The answer is: not always. Depending on how the mashed potatoes were made, sometimes they won’t work really well to make these cakes. If a lot of milk (or sour cream) was used to make the mashed potatoes, the potato cakes will become mushy when frying and hard to flip.

Useful Tips & Tricks

Cool the potatoes. Make sure your potatoes have cooled down completely before adding the rest of the ingredients and making the patties. If you use hot potatoes, your potato cakes won’t hold their shape well.

Don’t make the patties too thin. Your cakes should be about 1 inch thick. This way, it’ll be easier to flip them and they won’t break apart.

Be generous with the Parmesan. When rolling the patties in the Parmesan mixture, press the cheese into the patties. This step adds extra flavor and extra crispiness to the potato cakes.

Add herbs to taste. Although I am using parsley and chives in this recipe, feel free to substitute the herbs to fit your tastes best. Dill, cilantro, scallions, and basil would make a great fit.

Don’t fiddle. Be patient and let the cakes fry for 3-4 minutes before flipping them. If you flip them too early, you can ruin the cake.

How to Serve Mashed Potato Cakes

Breakfast. Serve these with a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream on top.

Lunch. Serve these with a fresh salad on the side.

Dinner. Serve these with fish, chicken, meat, grilled vegetables, or tofu on the side. Salmon with Roasted Pepper Sauce, Spinach Stuffed Chicken, Baked Cod, and Roasted Vegetables would pair wonderfully with these Potato Cakes.

All. Day. Long! Seriously, they are THAT good. Whatever you choose to serve these cakes with, you'll be glad you made them.

You'll enjoy these recipes, too:

• Classic Potato Pancakes
• Potato Tacos 
• Potato Curry
• Skillet Potatoes
• Potatoes with Mushrooms