Bubble and Squeak Leftover Potato Cakes

This classic British breakfast recipe is hearty, healthy, delicious, and comforting, from yesterday's leftover mashed potatoes to this easy bubble-and-squeak leftover potato cake.

Best of all, it is also excellent as a side or a vegetarian main dish.

Throwing away food is wasteful, and I cannot stand it. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. And if you cannot eat the leftovers of the same dish three days in a row, then have no fear!

Repurposing ingredients into entirely different meals will do just the trick! Have you ever tried using stale bread to make a savory bread pudding? Yum!

The dish must include potatoes and cabbage, but you can use any leftover vegetables. You essentially mix everything together, coat it in flour, and then fry it in a pan.

What is Bubble and Squeak?

Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785, indicates how the dish got its name:

"Bubble and Squeak, beef and cabbage fried together. It is so called from its bubbling up and squeaking whilst over the fire."

So, its name comes from the little noises cabbage makes when you cook it. Some people call them Scottish or British Potato Cakes, but I think that takes all the fun out!

How to make British Potato Cakes

1. Mix mashed potatoes with cooked vegetables. Add onions, salt, pepper, and cumin and mix to combine.
2. Form the potato mixture into eight cakes and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up. Dip each cake into the flour to coat lightly.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide-based frying pan. Gently place cakes into the hot oil (fry in batches if necessary). Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4. Serve with a poached or fried egg, bacon, or breakfast sausage. Garnish with chopped green onions.

How to serve Bubble and Squeak?

It's traditional to serve your bubble and squeak potato cakes with leftover meat from the night before, but you can also make them as a side to any full breakfast.

I love serving this with a poached or fried egg on top and some sausage on the side, then pouring gravy over the entire plate. Hungry yet? 😉

I can't say I haven't made this breakfast before, and I immediately wanted to fall asleep. Maybe you could save this type of breakfast for the weekends, even though it is traditionally served on Mondays to use up Sunday roast.

It beats that usual cup or three of black coffee that some call a "breakfast."

As I have mentioned before, I hate wasting food. Another reason why I love these leftover potato cakes is because you can freeze the extra mixture. If you don't plan on eating it all, save it for a few days.

Once you divide the mixture into portions and flatten it into little patties, decide how many you need or want to make. Wrap the rest in plastic, put them in a freezer bag, and freeze them!

Variations

• You can cook it as one big frittata-like dish or make little cakes. As with my cheesecakes, malva pudding, and other recipes, I love dividing them into small portions. For one, little food is cute.
• You can add panko breadcrumbs, a dash of your favorite seasoning blend, bacon, or cheese to the mixture.

As always, I encourage you to experiment with this recipe. You are essentially frying some mashed potatoes and vegetables together, and there is room for more flavors and textures!

Whatever you decide to do, you might start taking after me and purposely buying an excess of vegetables so that you can make these with the leftovers! They're that good!

More recipes using leftovers

• Potato and Pasta Dish with Ham
• Chicken and Shrimp Pasta Alfredo
• Turkey Gyros
• German Potato Casserole

Bubble and Squeak Leftover Potato Cakes Recipe

By Jas

Turn yesterday's leftovers into today's feast with this easy recipe for British bubble and squeak.

5 from 2 votes

Rate this Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Chilling Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine British

Yields 4 servings

Calories 226 kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US Customary - Metric

• ▢ 3-4 cups leftover mashed potato
• ▢ 2 cups cooked Brussels sprouts or cabbage, sliced or chopped
• ▢ ½ cup carrots, cooked and diced (optional)
• ▢ 4 chopped spring onions, plus extra for garnish
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ Oil for frying

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Mix mashed potatoes with cooked vegetables. Add onions, salt, pepper, and cumin and mix to combine.
• Form the potato mixture into 8 cakes and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up. Dip each cake into the flour to coat lightly.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide based frying pan. Gently place cakes into the hot oil (fry in batches if necessary). Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
• Serve with a poached or fried egg, bacon, or breakfast sausage. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Notes

~ Free Tip ~

• Add any leftover cooked vegetables to the mashed potatoes.
• Add crispy bacon bits into the potato mix.
• Bake as one big cake and then portion it out.

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal (11%) | Carbohydrates: 46g (15%) | Protein: 8g (16%) | Fat: 1g (2%) | Cholesterol: 10mg (3%) | Sodium: 514mg (21%) | Potassium: 747mg (21%) | Fiber: 5g (20%) | Sugar: 2g (2%) | Vitamin A: 450IU (9%) | Vitamin C: 79.4mg (96%) | Calcium: 44mg (4%) | Iron: 2.1mg (12%)

Tried this Recipe? ❤️ Tag us on Facebook!Let us know how it was! Mention @AllThatsJas or tag #allthatsjas!