Cheddar Bacon Mashed Potato Cups

I made these last Tuesday and honestly they’re just a smart way to use up mashed potatoes that aren’t doing anything in your fridge. The Cheddar Bacon Mashed Potato Cups get crispy on the outside but stay soft in the middle, and the bacon fat kind of seeps into everything while they bake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Takes 33 minutes start to finish, which is faster than ordering takeout
• Uses leftover mashed potatoes so you’re not starting from scratch with a pot of boiling water
• The edges get actually crispy in the muffin tin, not just browned. There’s a difference.
• That 3/4 cup of cheddar mixed in plus the 1/4 cup on top means cheese in every bite and also on top
• White pepper doesn’t leave black specks but still gives you that sharp kick
• You can grab one with your hands and it doesn’t fall apart

The Story Behind This Recipe

I had a container of mashed potatoes from Sunday dinner just sitting there. Reheating them in the microwave felt depressing and I wasn’t going to eat them plain. I remembered seeing potato cups somewhere online but couldn’t find the recipe I wanted, so I just threw in what I had.

The bacon cheddar recipe thing happened because I’d cooked bacon that morning and had the crumbled bits in a jar. The scallions were about to go bad. Sometimes recipes exist because you’re trying not to waste food and you get lucky.

What You Need

You need 2 cups of mashed potatoes, which is basically whatever you have left over from dinner. They don’t have to be fancy or perfectly seasoned because you’re about to add a bunch of stuff to them anyway.

Two eggs go in to bind everything together. Without them the cups would just crumble apart when you tried to pick them up, which defeats the whole point of making something you can eat with your hands.

Get 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar for mixing into the base, then another 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top after they’ve mostly baked. Sharp cheddar works better than mild because it actually tastes like something once it’s mixed into all that potato.

You’ll want 3 chopped scallions, just the green and white parts. I used kitchen scissors because washing a cutting board for three scallions feels like overkill. Half a cup of crumbled bacon goes in too, and if you cooked it until it’s actually crispy it’ll stay a little crispy even after baking.

Fine sea salt and white pepper are for seasoning. I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper, but taste your potato mixture first because your leftover mashed potatoes might already be salty. Cooking spray is just so the cups don’t stick to the tin when you try to get them out.

How to Make Cheddar Bacon Mashed Potato Cups

Turn your oven to 400°F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray while it heats up. Don’t skip the spray or you’ll be scraping potato bits out of the tin later with a butter knife and getting annoyed.

Dump your mashed potatoes into a large bowl. Crack in the eggs and start mixing everything with a spoon or your hands if you don’t care. Add the 3/4 cup of cheddar, the chopped scallions, the bacon and your salt and white pepper.

The mixture should feel thick and kind of sticky, like it wants to hold its shape when you scoop it. If it’s too loose and runny your mashed potatoes might’ve had too much milk or butter in them to begin with, but it’ll probably still work.

Spoon the mixture into each muffin cup until they’re about three-quarters full. I used a regular spoon and just eyeballed it. Press down gently on each one so there aren’t any big air pockets, but don’t pack them in like you’re making a snowball.

Put the tin in the oven for 20 minutes. The kitchen will start smelling like bacon and cheese around the 15 minute mark. When you pull them out the edges should look a little brown and crispy, and the tops will have some color on them.

Sprinkle that remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar evenly over the tops of all 12 cups. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Stick the tin back in for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese melts and gets a little bubbly and golden.

Let them cool for maybe 5 minutes because they’re molten inside right when they come out. Run a butter knife or a small spatula around the edge of each cup and they should pop right out. The bottoms and sides will be crispy, and when you break one open the inside is still soft and creamy like regular mashed potatoes.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

I filled the muffin cups all the way to the top like an idiot, and they puffed up while baking and made a mess that spilled over the edges. It wasn’t a disaster but I had to scrape baked potato off the top of the tin, and the cups themselves looked sloppy instead of neat.

Three-quarters full is actually the right amount. They rise a little bit but stay contained in their cups and come out looking like something you meant to make instead of something that escaped.

Cheddar Bacon Mashed Potato Cups

By Emma

Prep:

10 min

Cook:

23 min

Total:

33 min

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• mashed potatoes
• eggs
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
• scallions
• crumbled bacon
• fine sea salt
• white pepper
• cooking spray

Method

1. 1 Set the oven to 400°F and lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. The oil helps the potato cups release easily once baked.
2. 2 In a large bowl, mix the mashed potatoes with eggs, 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar, chopped scallions, crumbled bacon, fine sea salt, and white pepper. At this stage, the mixture feels thick and sticky, holding together nicely without being runny.
3. 3 Spoon the potato mixture into each muffin cup, filling them about three-quarters full. The ridged edges of the muffin tin will shape the cups as they bake.
4. 4 Slide the muffin tin into the hot oven. After about 20 minutes, the tops will start to brown slightly and the edges crisp up, giving off a subtle, savory aroma.
5. 5 Pull the tin out and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar evenly over each cup. Return the tin to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles gently, turning golden.
6. 6 Remove from the oven and let the cups cool just enough to handle. A quick nudge with a fork should release each cup cleanly, showing slightly crunchy sides and a fluffy interior.
7. 7 Serve immediately to enjoy the contrast between the crisp edges and creamy center.

Nutritional information

Calories

200

Protein

8g

Carbs

20g

Fat

10g

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Tips for the Best Cheddar Bacon Mashed Potato Cups

Your mashed potatoes should be cold from the fridge when you mix everything together. Warm potatoes make the eggs get weird and the mixture turns too loose to hold its shape in the tin.

Press down on the mixture in each muffin cup with the back of your spoon after you fill them. I noticed the ones I didn’t press had gaps inside after baking and they were more likely to break when I pulled them out.

The bacon needs to be actually crispy before you crumble it in. If it’s still chewy or soft it’ll just make the potato cups feel soggy in some bites, and nobody wants a limp bacon piece in there.

Check the cups at 18 minutes if your oven runs hot. Mine took the full 20 but my mom made them last weekend and hers were done early, so ovens are just like that.

Don’t skip letting them cool for those 5 minutes. I tried eating one right away on Tuesday and burned the roof of my mouth on molten cheese, and then I couldn’t taste anything properly for the rest of the night.

Serving Ideas

I ate mine with sour cream on the side for dipping and it was the right call. The cool sour cream against the hot crispy potato cups is good.

They work next to scrambled eggs for breakfast. Sounds odd but the bacon cheddar recipe thing already has breakfast flavors going on anyway.

Put them on a plate with some ranch dressing and carrot sticks if you’re pretending they’re a balanced snack. Or skip the carrots, I’m not your mom.

Variations

You can swap the bacon for cooked crumbled sausage if that’s what you’ve got. It changes the flavor to more peppery and the cups get a little greasier but they still work fine.

Jalapeños instead of scallions if you want them spicy. Chop them really small or you’ll get a huge chunk of heat in one bite and nothing in the others, which is annoying when you’re trying to eat 12 of these.

Pepper jack instead of regular cheddar adds some kick without having to chop peppers. The flavor spreads more evenly through the whole potato cup that way.

Loading them with chives and using Gruyère instead makes them fancier I guess, but then you’re spending more money on what’s basically a leftover situation. Your call.

FAQ

Can I use instant mashed potatoes for this? Yeah but they have to be thick, not runny. Make them with less milk than the package says or they won’t hold together in the muffin tin and you’ll just have a mess.

Do these freeze well after baking? They do but the crispy edges get soft when you reheat them. I froze four of them last week and microwaved one yesterday, and it tasted fine but lost that crunch completely.

How do I reheat leftover potato cups? Put them back in a 375°F oven for about 8 minutes. Microwaving makes them rubbery and sad.

Can I make these ahead and bake them later? You can fill the muffin tin and keep it covered in the fridge for a few hours before baking. Any longer and the raw egg mixture starts getting watery at the bottom.

What if I don’t have white pepper? Just use black pepper. You’ll see little specks but it doesn’t change how they taste, it’s purely a looks thing.

My potato cups stuck to the tin even with cooking spray, what happened? You either didn’t use enough spray or your muffin tin has scratches in the coating. Run a thin knife around each cup before trying to lift them out.

Can I use a different cheese? Monterey jack, gouda or mozzarella all work but they’re milder than cheddar so you lose some of that sharp flavor. Mozzarella makes them stringy when you bite in.

How long do these last in the fridge? 3 to 4 days in a covered container. After that they start tasting like old refrigerator.

The tops of my cups cracked while baking, did I do something wrong? No that just happens sometimes when the eggs puff up. They still taste the same and hold together fine.

Can I use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon? Sure but it doesn’t have the same fat content so the cups won’t be quite as moist. Turkey bacon also doesn’t crisp up the same way.

Do I have to use scallions or can I use regular onions? Regular onions work but chop them super fine and maybe sauté them first. Raw onion bits in mashed potatoes are too crunchy and sharp.

What if my mashed potatoes already have cheese and bacon in them? Then you’re already halfway there. Just taste the mixture before adding more cheese and bacon so you don’t overdo it.

Can I make mini versions in a mini muffin tin? Yeah but watch them closely because they’ll be done in like 12 to 15 minutes instead of 20. The timing is completely different.

My mixture is too dry and crumbly, what do I add? Beat another egg and stir in a tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Too much and it gets runny, so go slow.

Is there a way to make these without eggs? Not really. The eggs are what bind everything so it holds the cup shape, and without them you’d just have a pile of loose potato mixture.

Can I add other vegetables to these? Cooked broccoli or spinach work if you squeeze all the water out first. Wet vegetables make the cups fall apart.

Why did my cheese on top burn? You left them in too long after adding that final 1/4 cup. 2 to 3 minutes is really all you need for the cheese to melt.

Can I use parchment paper liners instead of cooking spray? Muffin liners made of paper would work but then you can’t get that crispy edge on the outside, which is half the point of these things.