Cheesy Potato Puffs
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This Cheesy Potato Puffs recipe turns mashed potatoes, cheese and bacon into little balls of baked goodness. This easy recipe is a great way to re-purpose leftover mashed potatoes.
Mashed potatoes, cheese and bacon…what can be better? I’m not sure there is anything better, at least not for a quick and easy side dish or appetizer.
This recipe for baked mashed potato balls is found in Gooseberry Patch’s Christmas Kitchen cookbook. I love that all the recipes in GP’s cookbooks are super easy and use less than five ingredients.
Cheesy Potato Puffs
Leftovers can be great to help you get through the week without having to cook all new meals or to take to work for lunch. However, sometimes you (or your family) just can’t eat the same leftovers multiple times without re-imagining them into new dishes.
That is why this recipe is so great. Take leftover mashed potatoes and turn them into a whole new dish! We love this recipe after big family meals, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, because we can use the leftovers and the family won’t complain.
Need a recipe for homemade mashed potatoes? Try this crock pot version from The Country Cook.
How to Make Loaded Mashed Potato Balls with Cheese and Bacon
Start with mashed potatoes, prepared and cooled. Stir in a shredded cheese. Form one and one-half inch balls with the mashed potatoes. Pour bacon pieces into a separate bowl and roll mashed potato balls until completely covered in bacon. Place mashed potato balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet (we cover ours with parchment paper). Bake for 15 minutes.
Full Recipe is at the bottom of this post.
Recipes using Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Leftover mashed potatoes are so versatile and can be used in many different recipes. Here are some of our favorite ways to use mashed potatoes:
- Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
- Old Fashioned Potato Salad using Leftover Mashed Potatoes
- Leftover Thanksgiving Crescent Casserole
- Easy Shepherd’s Pie
- French Onion Shepherd’s Pie
Cheesy Potato Puffs
Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed potatoes, cooled
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 cup bacon pieces or bits
Instructions
- Stir shredded cheese into mashed potatoes.
- Scoop mashed potatoes into 1 1/2-inch balls.
- Roll mashed potato balls in bacon pieces.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes.
Notes
- Leftover mashed potatoes work great in this recipe. Pre-made mashed potatoes, like Bob Evans, work as well.
- We love using the 4-ounce pouches of instant mashed potatoes if we don’t have any leftovers.
- We used Hormel Bacon pieces to cover our puffs, but you could definitely cook bacon and crumble it yourself!
- The carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information below are auto-calculated and can vary greatly depending on the products used. Please do not use for specific dietary needs.
