Lefse (Easy Instant Mashed Potato Version) Recipe | CDKitchen (2024)

FAQs

Can I use instant mashed potatoes instead of breadcrumbs? ›

Pittman is also a huge fan of using instant potatoes in place of breadcrumbs to bind her meatballs when she makes Gluten-Free Spaghetti and Meatballs. Because of dehydrated potatoes' affinity for liquid, they help keep whatever it is that they're binding—meatballs, meatloaf, meat patties—exceptionally moist for days.

Add Heft with Dairy

Half and half or even regular milk (whole is better than skim, but 2% will do) adds extra creaminess. To give your mashed potatoes a light tanginess, go with buttermilk or sour cream. For packages that call for butter or margarine, try using cream cheese instead for a thicker texture.

As it turns out, I told her, instant potatoes are just potatoes that have been cooked, mashed, and then dehydrated—leaving you with crystallized, powdery flakes that you only need to rehydrate with hot liquid before serving.

In other respects they are similar to mashed fresh potatoes in their nutritional qualities, about two-thirds starch by dry weight, with smaller amounts of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. The largest difference is the loss of vitamin C, although some products may be enriched to compensate.

Instant mashed potatoes are convenient for busy food establishments like KFC — the only thing employees need to do is add water and mix. The peeling, cooking, and mashing, has already been done. The downside to instant mashed potatoes is that they aren't as fluffy and tend to be bland.

Herbs, like chives, green onions and Italian parsley are also good. Try stirring green peas into your mash as well. Truth be told, you only need salt, pepper, lots of butter and cream to make mashed potatoes delicious.

Instant mashed potato flakes, often known as potato buds, are made from dried, previously cooked potatoes. A user may make instant mashed potatoes by rehydrating them in hot water or milk. There's no denying that homemade mashed potatoes are better, but there are times when potato flakes are the better option.

Add a Thickening Agent

This is the most common way to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well.

They're made from a powdered mashed potato mix

The mashed potato powder itself is made from dehydrated potato flakes, powdered nonfat milk, and other ingredients — so, technically, KFC does use real potatoes, but not in the way you probably mean when you ask that question.

How to make mashed potatoes from dehydrated potatoes? ›

All you'll need is water, butter, sea salt, cold milk and our beautiful potato flakes. Boil the water and then add in the butter and salt. Once you remove your pan from the heat, add the cold milk and potato flakes and stir gently.

According to the diabetes association, starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are perfectly okay to include in a healthy diabetes diet. Being a complex carbohydrate, starch generally takes longer to break down in the body than simple sugars like sucrose. Therefore, starchier potatoes are the best for type 2 diabetes.

So, the most convenient way to make mashed potatoes that doesn't take a quick trip to the store is to use milk, sometimes even 1% or 2%, and then add in melted butter to the warm milk when mixing into the mashed potatoes.

The lowdown on homemade mashed potatoes

At $3.99 for a five pound bag of Yukon Gold potatoes and 75 cents in butter and milk, homemade wins in the cost department. The standard serving size for mashed potatoes used by caterers is about 2/3 cup mashed potatoes per person.

For most recipes, potato flakes can be used as a 1:1 substitute for bread crumbs. This means if a recipe calls for one cup of bread crumbs, one can use one cup of potato flakes instead.

It is a preferred alternative to panko and traditional breadcrumbs, and it is an enhanced presentation when other potato formats are introduced like shredded or sliced to create a diferentiated look and texture.

Try out potato flakes on breaded vegetables too -- just substitute the panko breading with potato flakes for a delicious, crispy side of veggies straight from the air fryer. Or give eggplant patties a coating of Italian seasoned potato flakes for spectacularly crispy eggplant parmesan.