The best way to use up leftover mashed potatoes

There seem to be two perspectives on leftovers. You either love them, or you hate them. I fall somewhere in the middle. I can enjoy leftovers, but only if I make something entirely new with the ingredients.

After Sunday dinners at our house, we often end up with leftover mashed potatoes. Aside from eating a bowl of mashed potatoes with butter (which I know many would enjoy), I like to whip up a bowl of creamy potato soup, just for me. Here's the recipe:

Creamy potato soup (for one) Prep 5 min Total 10 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp whipping cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of paprika
• 2 tbsp grated cheddar (optional)

Instructions

• HEAT potatoes in medium saucepan over medium heat until warmed through. Add stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until smooth before each addition. Bring to a boil. Add cream and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste (it depends on how much was in the potatoes you started with). Put into a bowl and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and grated cheddar.

Note: If your soup is a little lumpy (blame the cook!) you can either push the soup through a sieve or give it a quick blitz with a hand blender. If your mashed potatoes have some fancy ingredients in them like horseradish or onions, the soup still works really well — it just has a little extra flavour.

Need a great recipe for mashed potatoes? Give some of these a try:

Make-ahead mashed potatoes
Creamy mashed potatoes
Dreamy creamy potato mash

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