Use Your Waffle Iron for Incredible Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Editor's Note: Please welcome Daniel Shumski, author of the Will It Waffle? blog (one of our favorites), and the new Will It Waffle? cookbook. In the coming weeks, Daniel will be sharing some of his favorite waffle-iron recipes.

With the waffle iron, mashed potatoes are even better the second time around. [Photographs: Daniel Shumski]

Don't ask me how I've managed to use the waffle iron to prepare a lengthy list of foods—churros, s'mores, ramen—without waffling mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are closer to waffles than any of those things, and the iron makes for perfect crunchy edges and almost custom-designed gravy wells.

Like this mashed potato casserole, I'm going with the baked potato sidekicks of scallions, cheddar, and bacon. If you're going to make mashed potato waffles, you might as well go whole hog.

I have inveterate waffler and writer Stephanie Le to thank for these waffled potatoes. She's the force behind iamafoodblog.com and the author of the inspiring and attractive cookbook Easy Gourmet: Awesome Recipes Anyone Can Cook. Her Potato Waffles recipe, which I've adapted here, is perfect for using up leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, although you may find yourself making mashed potatoes just for this purpose. They're that good.

Your purchase on Amazon helps support Serious Eats.