crispy mashed potatoes
you should probably double your mashed potato recipe for thursday
These are the ONLY way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes in my opinion and they are worth making extra for. It’s essentially a mashed potato spring roll topped with all the fixings of a baked potato. They’re a side from a Canadian chain called Joey’s and this was my absolute favorite thing to get a restaurant from ages 12-21.
Can you put the toppings inside? Sure, but the textural and temperature contrast is what makes this so so good to me. The cold sour cream and chunks of cheese hitting that creamy piping hot mashed and crisp golden crust is truly heaven in a bite. I think this might be my favorite way to eat a potato.
Unfortunately, they don’t really work any other way than deep fried, air fryer or oven leads to a split wrapper no matter how you spin it (trust me I tried several variations to make it work). But if there’s ever been something worth deep frying, this is it.
So ya, this is your sign to double your mashed potato count for Thanksgiving to make sure you have enough for these. OR get real crazy and serve these instead (as long as you don’t mind them taking all the glory over everything else on the table).
Enjoy!
crispy mashed potatoes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
SERVES: 1 (see note)
Chef’s knife
Cutting board (not my exact one but very similar)
1/4 cup ice cream scooper (optional)
Small sheet tray
Cheese grater
Small fry pan (see notes)
Tongs
I have purposely put amounts here for 1 single roll because it really depends on how much leftover mashed potato you have, so adjust the amounts based on how much you’ve got! You can also add more or less of all the toppings or filling depending on your taste, this is how I do it but do it however you’d like.
1/2 cup room temp, leftover mashed potatoes
1 x 8.5” spring roll pastry wrappers
oil for frying (enough to give you about 1/2 inch of oil in your pan)
1 tbsp sour cream for serving
1 tsp chives for serving
1 tbsp bacon bits for serving
1 tbsp cheddar cheese for serving
If you are making your bacon from scratch: place bacon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into cold oven and then set oven to 400F. Cook until crispy (about 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon), flipping halfway. Remove from oven, and lay bacon on a paper towel to drain the excess fat. Set aside.
Roll your rolls. Place 1/2 cup (2 scoops of the ice cream scooper) of room-temp mashed potatoes in the centre of your spring roll wrapper. Roll like you would a spring roll (see my video) and lightly wet the edges with water to seal. Roll them all now and set aside.
Fry your rolls. In your frying pan, heat 1/2 inch of oil over medium-high heat. To test if the oil is ready, place a wooden skewer or chopstick in, if it bubbles immediately it is ready. Test one roll first to confirm the temperature is ok. It should turn golden on one side in about 1-2 minutes. If it is faster or slower, adjust the heat. Continue to cook each roll until golden on both sides, and drain on a metal cooling rack while you cook the rest.
To serve, place rolls on a plate and serve with sour cream, bacon bits, grated cheese and fresh chives.
Using a small frying pan: a couple reasons for this. First, you use less oil and oil isn’t super cheap so I’d rather use less when I can. Second, if you add too many of these to the pan at one time, it lowers the temperature of the oil which we don’t want (not hot enough oil = overly greasy results).
Storing + reheating: these are great leftover, or can even be made ahead. Reheat them in the air fryer or oven, set to 400F and bake for a few minutes until crispy again on the outside.
What to serve it with: literally anything or just on their own. These are great with turkey or chicken roast dinner, a beef roast, leftover turkey sandwiches etc. Serve anywhere you’d serve a roasted or mashed potato.
Make it vegan/DF: ensure your mashed potatoes are and adjust the toppings with vegan or DF versions.
Make it gluten-free: unfortunately, I don’t think these would work with rice paper rolls, they must be flour-based.
What spring roll wrapper to use: they must be flour-based spring roll wrappers. I use TYJ brand which I can find at save-on, superstore or any Asian market. They are found in the frozen section with the frozen Asian foods. You can use different-sized ones, just adjust the amount of filling you use.
What mashed potato recipe should I use: use your go-to recipe, make sure it’s well seasoned as they are the star of the dish here!
Anything else? Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and don’t forget to let me know if you make it!