1/14/11

8 Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes?

We were asked to bring 10 foil wrapped baked potatoes to our church Christmas party.  Others brought salads and side dishes while the church provided the meat and dessert.  It was a fabulous dinner, however, there were TONS of baked potatoes left over!
After giving several dozens away to families that needed meals, there were STILL tons left over.  I asked if I could take half of what was left.  I just couldn't bear to see those baked potatoes thrown away!

Can you freeze mashed potatoes?  Yes!  Here's how:

Peel the baked potatoes and put them in an electric mixer with the whisk or paddle attachment.  Blend until smooth.  I did not add any salt, butter or cream to them, as I wanted to use them for many recipes that only need a small quantity of cooked potatoes.



Measure them and put them in a Ziploc freezer bag, squeezing as much air as you can, and stick them in the freezer.  You can also use a large ice cream scoop to freeze individual portions.  Freeze the balls of potato on a tray for a couple of hours, then transfer to a freezer safe plastic bag.  

Just think of all the recipes that use mashed potatoes....

Potato Pancakes
Croquettes
Perogies

Image and video hosting by TinyPicCan you think of any other uses for leftover mashed potatoes?



8 comments:

  1. I love to reheat them for Breakfast. Chop and add some cheese, sauteed onions or green peppers. Even a little leftover ham or bacon. Yum!

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  2. I also love them for breakfast! A super huge comfort food in my family is scrambled eggs with mashed potatoes added in at the end. My mom used to make it all the time (sometimes with cheese, sometimes without) with leftover mashed potatoes and it just brings back so many great memories.

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  3. Make hash browns! Grate them with a large grater. I don't even remove the peel, it kind of sticks together, and not much is left in the hash browns.

    I learned this as a poor, starving college student who worked at Wendy's. We could take home the leftover potatoes at the end of the night.

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  4. PS That hint was for whole baked potatoes.

    I like mashed potatoes leftover with a little butter and cheese too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooohh, thanks Bonnie and Colean! Sounds like a yummy breakfast hash. My friend puts potatoes in her breakfast burritos, so why not do it as you suggested?

    Nancy, yes! Hashbrowns are the greatest! Did them here on a previous post and froze them: http://tinyurl.com/4tj83yx

    You were lucky to be able to take home leftover potatoes!

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  6. I just froze some of our leftover potatoes from a soup I made for Christmas to use for mashed potatoes later! I hate to throw out food as well! Freezing is a great solution!

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  7. Freida -

    I see you have it listed there, but I was thinking "sure" given that I make gnocchi pretty regularly (though I tend to make them out of ricotta nowadays), and those can be frozen for a long time.

    By the way, just added your wonderful blog to my food links!

    Chris

    www.akuindeed.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great tip Frieda! I'm always wondering if you can freeze certain foods and potatoes were one of them!

    ReplyDelete

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