Ever have extra mashed potatoes after dinner that you just have no idea what to do with? I have a habit of not wanting to waste anything. But I also am not a fan of leftovers. So how do I not waste food but not have to reheat it? I repurpose my leftovers into something new. My Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts are the perfect example.
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Leftovers Not Your Thing?
If you are like me, you love what you cook the first day but really don’t want to reheat it. Unless it’s lasagna. Lasagna always just seems better the second day. (Maybe that’s just me?)
Because I have always been like this, I’ve come up with plans to “reinvent” the food in the fridge so that I don’t feel like I’m eating leftovers. From shredding up leftover Roasted Chicken for soup or Chicken N Noodles to making my leftover mashed potatoes into these yummy doughnuts, I love reusing food.
Mashed Potatoes
I love mashed potatoes. There are so many things we meal plan that use mashed potatoes as a side dish.
And did you know that you can freeze your leftover mashed potatoes?
Really!! Just bag them up in a freezer bag, label and date them, and pull them out later for these Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts. Grab yourself a set of these bag holders to make filling the bag super simple.
Twist on Traditional Doughnuts
I love experimenting with my food. Adding new flavors and hints of things to a recipe is just part of how I cook. My beautiful hubby has the exact same experimental personality with food, but he tends to forget how picky of an eater I am. Sometimes it works out; other times I find something else to eat.
Think about all the new Artisanal breads on the shelves in stores. They have all kinds of new types of breads to choose from.
If you have Irish in your heritage, I’m sure that a lot of your family recipes include potatoes. A lot of the breeds of potatoes that are commonly grown in Ireland are very starchy. Because of the starchiness of the potato, it was simply no-brainer to use these in bread.
Potato Bread has been around for a very long time. Humans are very smart when it comes to finding ways to feed their families. Realizing that the starch in potatoes can be converted into flour came rather quickly. And potatoes are relatively cheap and easy to grow. What better way to feed your family when you don’t have a lot of money?
You can read more about the History of Potato Bread here.
Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts
Just a note about making these wonderful Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts and freezing leftover mashed potatoes. If you make mashed potatoes including any seasonings or ingredients other than traditional milk, butter, salt and pepper, DO NOT use the flavored mashed potatoes in these doughnuts.
While most times I do the traditional pan version of deep frying my doughnuts, these can be air fried also. I like the old-fashioned way (obviously) and even have a 1/2 gallon mason jar labeled for frying sweet things, like doughnuts and funnel cakes.
When air frying, the trick to getting the texture right on the surface is to spray lightly with oil when you put them into the fryer, and then again halfway through the cooking time. This gets that almost crispy outside while leaving the inside light and fluffy. Doughnut perfection.
Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts
Leftover Mashed Potato Doughnuts
Ingredients
- 1 c white sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 2 tbsp butter or shortening
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 c flour sifted
Instructions
- Cream shortening.
- Gradually add sugar, beating continually until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Add the mashed potatoes to the creamed shortening mixture.
- Add milk and flour alternately, stirring until well blended.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut with a floured doughnut cutter and let stand uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Drop in batches into hot oil (375F) and fry 3-56 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure to turn as they brown.
- Drain on paper towels.
To Air Fry:
- Spray rested cut dough with oil. Air fry at 375 for 3 minutes. Spray again with oil and return to fryer for an additional 3-5 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
These look delicious! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.
These look really good and remind me of my favorite honey-dipped doughnuts. But I’ve never heard of mashed potato doughnuts and now I’m intrigued to try them. Thanks for the recipe!
These look so fluffy, light and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
There used to be a donut shop in Little Rock on Arch St. That sold what they called Spud nuts. They were delicious, wow wish I had some right now. I will give this recipe a try, they lolook really good.
I’ve never heard of these. SOunds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
I have had these before and they were great. We learned to make the in Home ech class at school. I have made them since then but it has been several years. We didn’t use condensed milk and we added a pinch of nutmeg
Thanks so much Pat. I knew there were multiple ways to make them, but this is the recipe I’ve always used. The nutmeg sounds like a wonderful addition.
Thanks so much for visiting. 🙂
Wow! What a great idea on how to used mashed potatoes. They are never very good when re-heated. Thank you for sharing this post.
That definitely is a new twist for me. They look amazing. Thank you for sharing on the Classy Flamingos.
WHOA! I have never heard of this!! Pinning because I am totally trying it. They look like Dunkins glazed donuts but better!
I have never heard of such a thing. What a neat way to use leftovers!! #trafficjamweekend
I’ve never of these but they sound amazing!
Thanks for sharing at The Homestead Blog Hop!
Thank you for sharing on the Simple Homestead Blog Hop. You’re one of our featured posts this week! Hop on over and grab the graphic to display in your side bar.
Happy St. Patrick’s day! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for dinner party. Hope you have an awesome week.
Can I make the donuts ahead and heat them the next day in the oven? Will it affect the texture or should I freeze them in a ziploc bag the day before and reheat a few hours before serving? Thank you.
I’ve reheated them before in the microwave without incident. If you prefer, reheating in the oven or a toaster oven would also work. Thank you so much for visiting. Tell me how they turn out when you try!! *Hugs*