Over the holidays we make our fair share of potato dishes, mashed potatoes are always high on the list. Leftover mashed potatoes on their own are not the greatest thing in the world, but add a few ingredients and pan fry them to perfection and you have something even more magical. These potato pancakes become not only delicious on their own but as the base for a leftover Eggs Benedict!
If you're looking at that container of mashed potatoes and aren't sure what to do - let me help you by putting together this delicious and versatile brunch dish that will wow your guests.
I'm thrilled to partner with my friends at New Seasons Market to showcase this fabulous Thanksgiving leftover themed recipe. With the ease of shopping at New Seasons either in person or quick and easy delivery via Instacart, my life is made 10x easier. Most of the items for this recipe are pantry staples or you have from your leftover Thanksgiving feast. I've added a few additions that are absolutely optional or adapt as you like.
Jump to:
- Ingredients for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- Instructions for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- Substitutions for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- Variations for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- Equipment for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- How Long Will Potato Pancakes Keep?
- Can I freeze Potato Pancakes?
- What Is the Best Way to Reheat?
- What to Serve with Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict?
- Tips for Poaching Eggs
- Other Dishes to Try
- Leftover Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
Ingredients for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
Mashed potato pancakes are the perfect avenue to build an eggs benedict dish with flavors from your Thanksgiving feast. You may just keep leftover mashed potatoes on hand all the time to make this dish.
- Mashed Potatoes- This dish begins with a batch of already made mashed potatoes, you can check out this twisted mashed potato recipe here on the blog or grab some already prepared mashed potatoes at New Season Market.
- Cheese- Cheese makes everything better, especially potatoes! I have a few varieties of cheese I'm adding into my potato pancakes but really your favorite melty cheese will work. I'm including gruyere and parmesan for ultimate flavor.
- Eggs- We're including an egg as a binder to ensure everything sticks together when cooking the pancakes but also poaching a few to build our benedict.
- Flour- Because these are really turning into a pancake, we need a little structure. We'll use flour to bind the cakes together but I also like to coat the exterior with a bit of flour before frying to get a nice crisp exterior. If you are gluten free, opt or a gluten free flour as a substitute.
- Add ins- If you're cooking these after thanksgiving you may have some leftover herbs, bacon or ham. Feel free to add any of those into your pancakes for extra flavor! I've added some chives for flavor.
- Seasonings- Simple seasonings of salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper flavor these cakes.
- Leftover Turkey/Ham- Traditionally, eggs benedict are topped with Canadian bacon but since we are making these with Thanksgiving leftovers - a bit of turkey or even ham would be the perfect addition.
- Cranberry Sauce- That hint of sweetness with the savory notes really helps to bring the dish to life. A small smear of cranberry sauce is perfection!
- Arugula- I love to add a bit of green freshness with a somewhat heavier breakfast dish.
- Gravy- Instead of hollandaise sauce, we're going to use leftover gravy for our sauce.
- Oil- Using a neutral, high smoke point oil to pan fry these cakes - such as canola or grapeseed oil.
You'll simply need 1-2 skillets, one for your potato pancakes and one to poach eggs. See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
Begin by preparing your potato pancakes. In a large bowl, add your leftover potatoes, shredded cheeses, egg, flour, seasonings and any add-ins if you'd like. The amount of flour you add will depend on how creamy your potatoes are. Potatoes that are much softer and creamier may require an extra bit of flour to hold together. If you begin to form and they are too sticky, add an extra teaspoon of flour at a time until they are cohesive.
Mix your potato mixture and begin forming into small patties, about the size of a traditional English muffin. Once formed, dip the top and bottom in a small bit of flour and rest on a plate or tray. Pop into fridge for about 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Pull out your cranberry sauce, turkey/ham and gravy. Warm the gravy in the microwave or in a saucepan on low heat, set aside.
You'll need to skillets, one for your potato pancakes and one for poaching eggs. You can do them simultaneously or one at a time. If cooking potato pancakes first, set your oven to 200 and pop your potato pancakes in the oven on a sheet pan until ready to assemble and serve.
In a large skillet, heat a neutral oil on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or until shimmering. Once your oil is hot, add your first pancakes allowing the bottoms to brown and crisp up. Cook each side for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Be sure not to overcrowd the skillet - if you are using a smaller skillet, you may need to cook in 2 batches.
Pro tip:
Splash a droplet of water into your oil to check and see if it's ready. If it bubbles and sizzles, you're ready to add in your cakes.
Prepare your eggs to poach. Add water to a wide skillet, 10-12" if you are poaching 4-5 eggs. Heat on medium-high until it comes to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil. Crack each egg into a small ramekin and with your water at a low boil, drop in, ensuring it is covered by water. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes until the outside is completely white. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined sheet pan until ready to assemble.
Begin assembling your mashed potato benedict. On a plate add your mashed potato pancake, a smear of cranberry sauce, a few pieces of warmed turkey or ham then fresh arugula. Next add your poached egg, drizzle with gravy and finally top with additional chopped chives. Enjoy!
Substitutions for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
This dish is built around using Thanksgiving leftovers so substitutions are absolutely possible.
- Turkey- You certainly can substitute turkey in this dish. Feel free change up your protein and add ham, bacon or traditional Canadian bacon.
- Gravy- We've gone ahead and replace traditional hollandaise sauce with gravy. If you're looking for a good hollandaise sauce, try this recipe.
- Vegetarian - Omit the turkey, ham or bacon to make a vegetarian option. Feel free to add some roasted veggies or avocado in its place.
Variations for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
Make it your own! Here are a few variations to elevate your benedict.
- Spicy- Top with hot sauce or mix in some pepperjack cheese to your potato pancakes
- Deluxe- Have more Thanksgiving leftovers? Try to add in a bit of stuffing on top of your potato pancake.
Equipment for Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
You don't need much to make this dish a success, a few wide skillets, bowls and a cheese grater.
How Long Will Potato Pancakes Keep?
The potato pancakes are best eaten immediately. If you are storing in the fridge, I recommend no longer than 3 days.
Can I freeze Potato Pancakes?
This dish is best served the day you prepare it or reheat the potato pancakes one time. I don't recommend freezing.
What Is the Best Way to Reheat?
If you plan to reheat these potato pancakes, it's best to reheat in the oven/toaster oven or skillet. That will ensure the exterior remains crisp. You don't want to microwave them, it will change their texture.
What to Serve with Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict?
The potato pancakes with all the eggs benedict toppings is all your need. You can certainly pair it with an extra side salad of arugula dressed with a bit of lemon juice. I would ABSOLUTELY have a bloody mary with it, especially after Thanksgiving!
If you are enjoying the potato pancakes on their own - I like to salt them with some flake salt immediately after frying then enjoy with a bit of sour cream or labneh.
Tips for Poaching Eggs
Poaching eggs seems intimidating for a lot of people, but really it's nothing more than boiling water and dropping them in. There are a many, many tips and tricks out there from: adding salt, adding vinegar, swirling the water to create a vortex, strain egg in mesh sieve and crack egg into ramekin to drop in.
I have tried many of these methods and in the end, the the only one I have stuck to is cracking egg into ramekin and pouring in. This simply gives you more control over your egg getting into the water.
I do recommend using a very high sided skillet or small pot, you want enough water to allow the eggs to be fully submerged to allow the white to cook fully. And definitely either dab with a paper towel if transferring immediately to your benedict or lay on a paper towel while you continue to work.
I hope you enjoy this Leftover Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict as much my family does! If you make Leftover Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict, please let me know by leaving a rating and review below! Don’t forget to stop by your local New Seasons Market to pickup all the ingredients for this dish. Or check them out on Instacart and have groceries delivered to your doorstep.
As always, I love seeing your creations. Please leave a review or share your dish with me on social media #cosetteskitchen which lets me know what is working for you! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , Tiktok and Pinterest. For more delicious recipes to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
xoxo,
Cosette
*This post was sponsored by New Seasons Market. All opinions are my own. I only support and promote brands that I believe in and use in my own kitchen.
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Leftover Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Eggs Benedict
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 benedicts 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Description
An incredibly wonderful way to transform your leftover mashed potatoes into something amazing. You may just want to make mashed potatoes all the time after this!
Ingredients
Mashed Potato Pancakes
- 1 cup cooked and cooled mashed potatoes
- ½ cup flour, additional as need and extra to dip cakes into
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup shredded gruyere cheese
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- small bunch of chives or scallions chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, you can adjust to taste- salt and test flavors before adding egg
- 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup neutral oil - canola, vegetable, grapeseed- additional if cooking 2 batches
Poached Eggs
- 5 large fresh eggs
- deep skillet or small pot of water
Additional Ingredients
- leftover cranberry sauce - or your favorite jam
- leftover turkey, ham or bacon - warmed
- leftover gravy - warmed, check out this recipe
- fresh arugula
- extra chives
Instructions
Mashed Potato Pancakes
- If making in batches and want to keep warm, preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium sized bowl add your mashed potatoes, flour, cheeses, spices and chives - mix and taste for flavor. Add more salt if needed. Finally add your egg and mix until a cohesive dough forms.
- The mashed potato mixture should form into a patty with minimal sticking to hands, if it is sticking excessively, add a teaspoon of flour and mix again. Continue until you have a good consistency.
- Form into 5 patties, about 3" wide and ½" high. They should resemble the shape and size of an English muffin.
- Once formed, dip both sides in flour and set on a plate or small sheet pan and pop in fridge for 15 minutes.
- Prepare your skillet while they chill. Heat ½ cup of neutral oil on medium-high heat. Oil should take about 4-5 minutes to heat up and become shimmery.
- Once your oil is ready, place your potato pancakes carefully and allow to cook for about 4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes, flip and continue to cook another 4 minutes until both sides are golden brown.
- Remove and keep warm in preheated oven 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Continue with additional batches as needed.
Poached Eggs
- Fill a medium skillet or pot about ⅔ full with water. Bring water to a boil on high heat.
- Turn the heat down to low and allowing for a low simmer. You do not want a roaring boil to poach your eggs. Simply bubbles toward the bottom of your skillet.
- Crack your eggs into ramekins, one for each egg.
- Be sure water is at a simmer and slowly slide your egg out of each ramekin into the water.
- Be sure not to overcrowd your skillet/pot, only add as many fits.
- Allow egg to poach for 3-4 minutes or until the whites set.
- Remove egg with slotted spot and pat dry with a paper towel under the spoon and place on your benedict if ready or set on a paper towel lined plate until ready to assemble.
Assembly
- To assemble your benedict begin with a potato pancake.
- Add a layer of cranberry sauce.
- Next add your turkey (or other protein).
- Add some fresh arugula.
- Top your arugula with a poached egg.
- Finally top with warmed gravy, additional chives and fresh pepper.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If using table salt - HALF your salt quantities
- I recommend testing your potato mixture before adding your egg for seasoning, all mashed potatoes are going to be seasoned differently so you want to ensure a balance of spices for your mixture.
- When poaching multiple eggs, ensure your skillet or pot is large enough, you don't want to over crowd them in the pan. When cooking multiple eggs, you may need to add an additional 30 seconds per egg.
- This recipe is easy to double!
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