How to Make (Stuffed) Potato Nuggets with Leftover Mash!
Amplify your leftover mash by making these crispy, gooey, stuffed-with-whatever, potato nuggets! I use Chorizo and Cheddar here. Freezer-friendly and kid-friendly!
Print
Pin
Servings: 12 Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes leftover and chilled
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs homemade, panko or italian
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cheese, meat or veggies of choice for stuffing diced into small cubes
Instructions
- Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of leftover mashed potatoes (that have been chilled in the fridge overnight, if possible) and roll into balls.
- Press each ball down a bit to flatten and place them on a tray that fits in your freezer.
- Place your tray into the freezer and flash freeze until almost solid.
- Once frozen, get your toppings ready (if any) by dicing them up into small cubes. I love to use cheddar and chorizo (or bacon!) here.
- Take a small amount of toppings (one or two little cubes of cheese/meat) and place smack-dab in the center of your little potato disc. Then, start to gather the sides together to enclose the whole thing. You're basically sealing the toppings inside. Remember for the stuffing - less is more here!
- Place each disc back onto your freezer tray and pop into the freezer to solidify one more time! You basically just want them firm enough to handle so you can dredge them without everything falling apart.
- Prepare a dredging station with three shallow bowls. One should have all purpose flour, the second should have beaten egg and the third is your bread crumbs.
- Dredge each potato nugget as you would any other fried food. First, coat in the flour mixture. This will help the egg adhere to the nugget!
- Next, dip your nuggets into the beaten egg. Make sure to let any excess mixture drip off.
- Lastly, coat your nuggets completely in the bread crumbs. This is where the nice crunch will come from so make sure you coat each nugget evenly.
- At this point, if the nuggets have gotten too warm from the environment, you can refrigerate or freeze them until firm. If they are too soft, they will fall apart when frying!
- Heat frying oil to 350F and fry your potato nuggets until golden brown. Remember, everything is already cooked so you just want to fry until you get a nice, crispy exterior and a warm, melty middle! This won't take very long. Make sure to move them around as they fry and keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Remove potato nuggets with a spider strainer or slotted spoon onto paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Personally, I like to use good ole brown paper bags instead of paper towels.
Notes
The refrigeration really firms up the potatoes and makes them much easier to work with, which is why leftover mash is perfect here. If you don't have any mashed potatoes leftover and still want to make this recipe, you totally can. Just make sure your mash isn't runny and let chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before moving forward with the recipe as written.
If you are prepping these nuggets for the freezer, you can flash freeze them on a baking tray after you dredge them. Once they are frozen solid, remove them from the tray and place into a freezer bag for future use! This step is important so that the nuggets don't get all frozen and stuck together.
These really do freeze beautifully. These are a fantastic and quick snack that I almost always have ready to go in my freezer.
Quick Tip: Make sure to write on the outside of your freezer bag what the contents are along with cooking time & temp. I promise you that even though you think you'll remember what's in there and how to heat it up....you won't :P
These are so customizable and can really be stuffed with anything (just don't overstuff them). Feel free to leave the toppings out altogether. I used to make these as is long before I ever decided to stuff them and I promise they are just as scrumptious!