
You can never go wrong with bomb mashed potato pancakes 🥔 I mean.. can you EVER go wrong with potatoes, in general?! Not in this household! Potatoes are a staple on our Polish family side. A meal is NOT a meal without some type of potato dish. Although these are usually a tradition on the day after Thanksgiving with leftover mashed potatoes, we love these things all year round. We will walk you through just how to make these things whether you are using leftover mashed potatoes or fresh boiled potatoes.
The Recipe
For this recipe, when you don’t have leftover mashed potatoes, we start by peeling and boiling some potatoes. You want to boil the potatoes just as you do when you are going to mash them. You want them nice, soft and cooked all the way through. Once they are boiled, make sure to let them cool completely, as if they are too hot you won’t be able to work with them! Once they’ve cooled add in the flour and spices, mix well, and form into balls. Lay them all on a sheet and press softly to flatten. Fry them on the stovetop and you’ve got some delicious potato pancakes! So now, what if you do have leftover mashed potatoes from a previous meal? You will add the flour, more spices if you did not have any in your potatoes already, and continue on the same way as if you made fresh potatoes. Both ways are delicious and extremely easy!
What to serve these fantastic things with? You can use the savory toppings like sour cream or ketchup, or you can go sweet with apple sauce (YES! Applesauce is a traditional potato pancake topping!) sugar, jam or maple syrup. Try them all on these potato pancakes and let us know what you’re favorite is!

The Best Mashed Potato Pancakes
Course: Breakfast, AppetizersCuisine: Polish, EuropeanDifficulty: Medium12
pancakes20
minutes35
minutes1
hour10
minutesMaking vegan and gluten-free potato pancakes has never been easier.
Ingredients
9 medium potatoes
1/4 cup gluten-free flour
1/2 cup sweet onion
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp fresh garlic
1 tbsp parsley
1/2-1 tsp garlic salt
Directions
- Peel potatoes as much as desired (we love keeping some of the skins on).
- In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 16-18 minutes, or until completely soft.
- Drain potatoes and let cool.
- Using a potato masher, mash potatoes thoroughly (you can leave some small chunks for texture).
- Add in GF flour and seasonings and combine.
- Roll mixture into balls and press flat on a baking sheet/plate. They should be about 3 inches in diameter.
- On the stovetop, bring a pan with 1-2 tbsp oil to medium heat. Cook each pancake 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Repeat with each patty.
- Serve immediately with sour cream, applesauce (YES! This is a traditional topping!) or simply ketchup.
Notes
- Instead of boiled potatoes, you can absolutely use leftover mashed potatoes! Simply add the flour and additional spices as desired and continue through the recipe.
It says the the potato pancakes are gluten free, but you are adding flour. That’s not gluten free.
We use gluten-free flour! Sorry if there was any confusion. Make sure to check that the flour you are using is certified gluten-free to keep these as such. Thanks for letting us know!