Mashed Potato Biscuits Recipe (5 Ingredients, 22 Minutes)

Name: For the Best Biscuits, Use Mashed Potatoes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold; 1 cup (250g) cold mashed potatoes; 3/4 cup whole milk, plus more for brushing

Angled view of a decorative small plate with one sliced mashed potato biscuit with butter and jam next to a butter knife with butter on the end — Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

If there's one thing I will do during the holidays, it's make (as my grandma would say) “a whole mess” of biscuits. I'm gonna have biscuits on the supper table, making sure there’s enough left to make sandwiches and the next day to dip in gravy.

Something that has always intrigued me is the idea of using leftover mashed potatoes to make my biscuits. I've seen it work in Italian cooking to make gnocchi and my brain always wondered if it would work. I thought adding mashed potatoes should make pasta gummy and dense, but the exact opposite is true. Properly made gnocchi are light and fluffy and feel like a cloud when you put them into your mouth.

Why couldn’t I do the same thing with biscuits? Turns out I can!

Making Mashed Potato Biscuits

I didn't want to replace any of my regular biscuit ingredients with mashed potatoes. I wanted them to enhance the flavor and the texture but still end up with light, fluffy, buttery biscuits. I also wanted to use enough mashed potatoes to make it worth my while, so I whisked one whole cup of mashed potatoes into my milk and made it part of the wet ingredients.

I decided that as long as we were trying to make this an easy recipe that utilizes leftovers, let's not fuss with trying to roll out, laminate, and cut out the biscuits. Let's just scoop and bake. To ensure all of my biscuits were the same size, I used a 2-ounce cookie scoop to portion the biscuit dough. You can use a quarter cup measuring cup and drop the dough right onto the sheet pan (that's why they call them drop biscuits).

Overhead view of a plate with one sliced mashed potato biscuit with butter next to a plate of more biscuits ready to serve — Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Substitutions

If you don't have whole milk, you can use a lower fat milk, just don’t use skim. You could also use an equal measurement of buttermilk, which adds a nice tanginess to the biscuits. I have not tried this particular recipe with plant-based milk, but I have used coconut milk in my regular biscuits and it was delightful!

I tested this recipe with homemade mashed potatoes, precooked store-bought mashed potatoes, and boxed mix mashed potatoes, all of which worked equally well and gave the biscuits a nice buttery flavor and fluffy texture.

If you don't want to use dairy butter, you can use an equal measurement of margarine or shortening.

Quick and Easy Variations

Feel free to add any mix-ins that you would regularly enjoy in biscuits. Add in some finely shredded cheddar cheese, finely chopped chives, or try grated Romano cheese and freshly cracked black pepper for a cacio e pepe vibe!

How To Freeze

To make ahead to bake later, just freeze them right on the pan until hard. Then transfer the biscuits to a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To bake, place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and allow them to thaw a bit while you preheat the oven to 425°F. Then bake as directed, adding on just a few more minutes.

Mashed Potato Biscuits

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 22 mins

Servings 12 servings

Yield 12 biscuits

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1 cup (250g) cold mashed potatoes
3/4 cup whole milk, plus more for brushing

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
Combine the dry ingredients and butter:

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.

Cut the butter into approximately 1/2-inch cubes and drop them into the dry ingredients.

Combine the butter and the flour mixture by pressing the butter between your thumb and forefinger using a finger-snapping motion. When done, your flour mixture should have the texture of coarse cornmeal with some flat butter pieces and other pieces that are pea-sized or smaller.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Add the wet ingredients:

In a small bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the cold mashed potatoes with the milk.

Pour the mashed potato and milk mixture into the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold them together until you have a sticky dough.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Form the biscuits:

Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, portion mounds of biscuit dough onto the prepared sheet pan, leaving at least an inch and a half between scoops. You should be able to get 12 biscuit mounds onto the tray. If you’re using a measuring cup, you may need to scoop the mixture out of the cup and onto the pan.

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Bake:

Brush the tops with a little more milk and bake until the biscuits are light golden brown on the top and crispy on the bottom, 12 to 16 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan for about 10 minutes before eating.

You can keep leftover biscuits in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. After that, they will begin to go stale. Don't store in the refrigerator or they may harden too much.

To reheat, I recommend wrapping them in aluminum foil and heating at 350°F for about 10 minutes. Unwrap and heat for another minute or two.

Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
174	Calories
9g	Fat
20g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	174
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g	12%
Saturated Fat 5g	26%
Cholesterol 22mg	7%
Sodium 252mg	11%
Total Carbohydrate 20g	7%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 2mg	11%
Calcium 94mg	7%
Iron 1mg	6%
Potassium 112mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.