Mashed Potato Fritters with Onions and Kale
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.These mashed potato fritters are perfect to use up things in the fridge. You can enjoy them as an appetizer, snack, or meal. Plus, they are packed with delicious and nutritious onions and kale!
I love recipes that can act as multiple types of meals – like something that can double as a light lunch, a vegetarian appetizer, snack, dinner, or side dish!
This recipe happens to fit all of those categories! It’s something that takes a little longer to make than my usual recipes (this one takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours), but it is SO worth it.
My kids call this recipe “potato pancakes” because it reminds them of latkes, but is a much healthier version! And if you’re looking for more potato recipes, be sure to also check out my creamy vegan mashed potatoes!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
How To Make Mashed Potato Cakes with Onion and Kale – Step by Step
Step 1: Bring water to a boil in a Dutch oven; add kale. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. While the kale is cooking, chop the rest of your veggies. Remove kale with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Chop kale and set aside.
Step 2: Add potato to reserved cooking liquid in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender.
Step 3: Drain potatoes and partially mash them. Stir in kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, diced onion, and chopped sage. Cook 13 minutes or until browned.
Step 5: Combine potato mixture, onion mixture, green onions, and pepper in the pan. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
Step 6: Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Step 7: Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Then broil patties for 5 minutes or until browned. Serve warm!
What makes Mashed Potato Fritters healthy?
- Reduced Fat: Unlike most fritters or potato pancakes these are baked instead of fried. This greatly reduces the overall fat.
- Nutrient Dense: Latkes, potato pancakes, and fritters are often made of only potato, a few binding ingredients, salt and pepper. These are full of onions and kale which increases the nutrient content of each fritter. Kale is low in calories yet high in vitamins and minerals making it one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet! It’s also high in vitamin A, K, C, and manganese.
- High in Fiber: Kale, onion, and potatoes are excellent sources of fiber making this recipe a satiating meal!
- Plant-Protein: One serving, which is about 2 fritters, has 5 grams of plant-protein!
Will kids enjoy these Mashed Potato Fritters?
Kids will love these little mashed potato fritters! They are super flavorful, and remind kids of actual little pancakes! If your kids aren’t sure about the kale, you can make a few of these without it, but I encourage you to have your kids give it a try with the kale first!
How do you keep potato fritters from falling apart?
The key to keeping these fritters together is having a binding ingredient to hold everything together. Adding a bit of flour will help hold them together.
Another key is to make small fritters. The bigger they are the more easily they can collapse.
In addition, baking these in the oven helps keep them together instead of trying to fry and flip them in the pan.
What is the difference between a potato pancake and a potato fritter?
A fritter is usually a deep fried cake coated in batter and stuffed with various fillings.
A potato pancake is flatter made from a batter that is fluffy in texture.
A latke is a pan fried potato pancake.
This recipe is somewhat of a cross between the three. It’s stuffed with kale, and onions like a fritter. Has a lighter fluffy texture like a pancake or latke, but it is baked in the oven to reduce the fat and improve the nutrient content!
What do you serve with Mashed Potato Fritters?
You can serve the patties as is, or top them with 1 Tbsp fresh grated parmesan, or serve them with ketchup, or just garnish them with sage sprigs. I also like a small dollop of sour cream! You can really do anything you like with them! I think my family and I liked eating them with ketchup the best.
To make a more complete meal you can serve these with this Apple Walnut Salad, steamed veggies, or a small cup of white bean soup.
Top Tips for Making Mashed Potato Fritters
- Allow your potato mix to cool slightly before shaping into patties.
- Use a preheated oven.
- Use some cooking spray on your baking tray, so the potato cakes don’t stick to the tray.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of Parmesan or serve with ketchup or sour cream!
- Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up 3-4 days.
Check Out These Other Delicious Recipes
- Sweet Potato And Chickpea Curry
- Healthy Potato Salad
- Miso Mushrooms
- Low Calorie Biscuits
- Biscuits Without Baking Powder
- Fried Potatoes And Onions
- Healthy Baked Potatoes
If you have tried this Mashed Potato Fritters recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
Mashed Potato Fritters with Kale and Onions
These mashed potato fritters are perfect to use up things in the fridge. I also love that they fit as a snack, appetizer, or meal.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 247kcal
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 1 huge bunch kale trimmed (about 6-10oz)
- 5 small red potatoes cubed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- olive oil cooking spray
- Sage sprigs optional
- Parmesean cheese optional
- Ketchup optional
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a Dutch oven; add kale. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. While the kale is cooking, chop the rest of your veggies. Remove kale with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Chop kale and set aside.
- Add potato to reserved cooking liquid in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash potatoes. Stir in kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, diced onion, and chopped sage. Cook 13 minutes or until browned.
- Combine potato mixture, onion mixture, green onions, and pepper in the pan. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
- Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Then broil patties for 5 minutes or until browned.
- You can serve the patties as is, or top them with 1 Tbsp fresh grated parmesan, or serve them with ketchup, or just garnish them with sage sprigs: you can really do anything you like with them!
Notes
Top Tips for Making Mashed Potato Fritters
- Allow your potato mix to cool slightly before shaping into patties.
- Use a preheated oven.
- Use some cooking spray on your baking tray, so the potato cakes don’t stick to the tray.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of Parmesan or serve with ketchup or sour cream!
- Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cakes | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.6g | Sodium: 495mg | Potassium: 1053mg | Fiber: 8.5g | Sugar: 6.8g
Approximately how many cups of kale would you use? Could this be made in an air fryer?
Hi Marg! I think it’s about 6-8 cups of chopped kale. I haven’t tried making this in the air fryer, but theoretically I think it should work! I just wouldn’t be able to tell you what temp / how long to cook it for — but I’m sure you could experiment with it and get it to work! Hope that helps!
Great fritters to make in the morning. With my favorite sauce, this will be a fantastic start to any day!
You know what’s funny, I have never actually made these for breakfast but you are right! They are a perfect way to start the morning! 🙂
We had these for dinner last night and they were SO good! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Yesss!! That is awesome! Thanks Jessica!
Great combination of flavors in these. I really like that they are baked and not fried.
Yes!! Baking them makes them so much healthier, but they still have a ton of flavor!
Wonderful combination of flavors here! These are all ingredients I usually have so it was super easy to make these!
So happy to hear that Jamie! Thanks for letting me know!
These fritters were so delicious! Loved the flavors in them and perfect for meal prepping.
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Emily!
Hmm these look delicious, thanks for posting up this recipe, looks quite simple to make.
Simon
No problem! These are definitely easy to make, and I’m sure you will love this recipe Simon!
Making these for the boyfriend tonight! He’s obssessed with potatoes so I hope this healthy alternative works. Thanks for the recipe Anjali 🙂 question: instead of five small red potatoes, can I use three large russets? (it’s what I have on hand)
Yay!! I can’t wait to hear what he thinks about it 🙂 And yes, you can definitely use russet potatoes instead of the red potatoes – depending on how large the russet potatoes are you may be able to get away with using 2 instead of 3 (but you’ll have to judge the proportions as you’re making it). Good luck!!
He loved them! I ended up having baby red potatoes on hand (I told you, he’s obsessed, I usually have like four kinds in the kitchen) Mine got a little crispy, but I attribute that to my new oven. Can’t wait to make them again 🙂
Woohoo!!! Success! 🙂 Aren’t you excited that you got him to eat kale?? I love that they got a bit crispy – I made mine a little crispy as well because I just like the extra texture it brings.
So many different textures and flavors! I love this idea of turning a classic into something new and different. And I’ll be honest, I haven’t cooked with kale much yet, but I plan to in the near future.
Thanks Parita! Kale is honestly one of my favorite vegetables – it’s super hearty so it stands up well in soups and stews, and works well in Italian food (especially in dishes where you cook down the vegetables for a while). It’s great as a base for green smoothies (which is an awesome way to get your nutrients for the day) and I’ve even thought about making a kale pesto – using the traditional pesto recipe but substituting kale for basil. Would love to hear about recipes you use kale in as well, and how you like it when you start cooking with it more!
Could this be made with sweet potatoes instead? I love the combination of kale and sweet potatoes, and don’t care for white potatoes.
Oooh! That’s a great idea Caroline! Theoretically I’d say you probably could substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes – I know it would taste great with the kale and onions (and potentially the sage too). If you try it with that substitution, definitely let me know how it turns out!
I made these last night with sweet potatoes, and they were really good. I would suggest using more sweet potatoes. At the store, I weighed 5 small red potatoes and chose a sweet potato that was about .30 of a pound bigger. It wasn’t enough. sweet potatoes aren’t as creamy as red potatoes so you need more to compensate for that. The only changes I made were to peel the sweet potato and I added the parmesan to the mixture before sectioning and baking.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it turned out well with the sweet potatoes, I can’t wait to try that the next time I make this recipe! Thanks for the tip about using a bit more of the potatoes, and adding the parmesan is a great idea!
Looks great, but I’m pretty sure that’s chard in your pictures, not kale. I’m sure either would work just fine, but just wanted to let you know. 🙂
Thanks! And actually – it’s a variety of kale that looks like chard called dinosaur kale 🙂 Dinosaur kale is a little milder and softer than regular kale, which is why I like using it in this recipe. But you’re right that chard would work well in this recipe too!
I really like kale and potatoes too — actually, sneaking kale into mashed potatoes is how I got my dad to try kale. Usually I’ll cook potatoes with kale, mash them up, and then blend in some garlic sauteed in olive oil. This looks similar, but with more seasonings. I bet the sage is good.
That’s a great twist on this recipe! I totally agree – potatoes are a great “vehicle” to sneak other delicious and healthy items into our diets. I think this might be one of the first times I got the husband to try kale as well!
Always looking for new ways to use kale! Will definitely try – love it with the potatoes.
Awesome! Let me know how you like it Claudia! 🙂