Potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes

For the full recipe and ingredient list for mashed potato pancakes without flour, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Add beaten egg to leftover mashed potatoes. Add bread crumbs, a little at a time until the potatoes are thick enough to form into balls.
Form into 2-inch patties.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Fry mashed potato pancakes until golden brown; flip and do the same on the other side. Do not peak, and only flip once to prevent mashed potato cake from falling apart, and to allow a golden brown crust to form. You’ll know they are ready to flip when a brown crust starts to form around the edges of the potato cake.
Serve hot.

Why do potato cakes fall apart when frying?
If you start with a very creamy mashed potato, you’ll need to add enough binder ingredients to hold them together. The beaten egg and breadcrumbs act as the binder in our mashed potato cakes. I recommend starting with 1 Tablespoon of breadcrumbs and add more slowly until the mashed potatoes are capable of forming a ball.

Another reason the potato pancakes fall apart is because you are moving or flipping them too often. Do not move them around and only flip them once. You’ll see the brown crust forming around the edge in the oil. If you move them around, the crust will not form.