Loaded Mashed Potato Waffles Recipe

Mashed or baked potatoes loaded with cheese, sour cream, onions, and all manner of other toppings make for a great, hearty side dish. Here, developer Kara Barrett is re-purposing the dish into something that she describes as "a savory breakfast waffle channeling lots of baked potato flavor." She assures us that the dish is "very easy"  and "super simple" to make, as it features just six ingredients.

One thing Barrett particularly likes about this recipe is that, as she tells us, "It's a fun and tasty way to use leftover mashed potatoes." If you don't happen to have any on hand, though, you might still want to whip up a batch of these waffles for breakfast, brunch, or even a breakfast-for-dinner-type entree. In that case, you could either use instant mashed potatoes or make a fresh batch. If you're opting for the latter course of action, be aware that you'll need to boil about two medium potatoes to get the 1 cup of mash needed for this recipe.

This recipe starts with mashed potatoes, then adds shredded cheddar for flavor and eggs and flour to provide a waffle-like consistency. Once the waffles are cooked, they're loaded with a topping of sour cream and chives.

In a medium bowl, mix together mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, flour, and eggs.

Heat a waffle maker, then lightly spray or oil the inside. Add the prepared batter, being careful not to overfill the waffle maker.

Cook for 3 minutes, or until the waffle is nicely browned and the cheese has crisped. Repeat with remaining waffles

Serve warm, garnished with chopped chives and sour cream.

While these loaded mashed potato waffles are great just as they are, you might want to load them up with even more toppings or mix-ins. Barrett feels that "anything you might put on a baked potato" would be a good addition to this recipe, adding that "bacon or sausage come to mind." Both of these breakfast meats, as well as diced ham, cooked chorizo, shredded chicken, or pulled pork, can be stirred into the batter to load your waffles from the inside out. You could also stir in some chopped green onions or add diced chiles for a little heat.

As for topping your loaded mashed potato waffle, try using a fried or scrambled egg. Add some melted cheese and perhaps a slice of ham or a few strips of bacon, top the pile with another waffle, and you'll have yourself an egg-cellent breakfast sandwich. You could also try eating these loaded mashed potato waffles with jelly or maple syrup in place of sour cream and onion if you enjoy sweet and savory flavor pairings.

Even if you don't intend to eat all six waffles at once, we'd advise going ahead and cooking up a full batch, since they can make great leftovers. Uneaten waffles should be refrigerated after they've cooled down — Barrett advises keeping them in some type of airtight container, which can either be a releasable tub or a plastic bag. When it comes to reheating them, either the microwave or the oven will do. The waffles can be frozen, too, in which case Barrett recommends that you "thaw after freezing and then warm them back up in the microwave," although you could also cook them in the oven or toaster.

If you're looking to put your leftover loaded mashed potato waffles to new use, try cutting them up into 1-inch squares to make the base for a breakfast casserole. Need some inspiration? Use them in place of the hash browns in our cheesy sausage breakfast casserole or the bread in our ham and cheese strata.