Loaded Potato Cakes Recipe

It's officially 4th of July weekend! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays because the weather is great, you can eat as many hotdogs as you want with no judgement, and there are fireworks. In my hometown of Molalla, OR, there is a lot of activity surrounding this patriotic holiday. We have a big parade through the middle of town, rodeos every night, firework displays, all-night pancake cooking in the park, and American flags hung in every yard. For my family, a big part of the celebration is tasty food. This year, I tried a new recipe- Loaded Potato Cakes. They are filled with mashed potatoes, bacon, and cheese, and they're topped with sour cream and green onion.
These potato cakes are hearty and filling, and they are easy to grab and eat while hanging out with friends and family. The great part is, once you have your mashed potatoes cooked and ready, they're pretty easy and quick to make.

You can use whatever kind of potatoes you like for this dish, but I think classic Russet potatoes are best with these particular toppings.

To get started, you need to make about 8 servings of mashed potatoes. I used 7 small potatoes. You could use 6 medium-sized potatoes or 4 large potatoes. It really depends on what you have on hand, and it doesn't have to be exact for a recipe like this.

After the potatoes have cooked for an hour, take out your anger and mash them up. It's a nice therapy to work out the previous week's annoyances in a physical way. I think cooking is a great outlet for that in general.

Mix together 1 cup of flour with the potatoes, eggs and bacon. The flour and eggs help bind the potatoes so it makes more of a cake-like substance. Use the extra cup of flour as needed if the cakes become too "sticky." The bacon is the special ingredient *wink*

Another special ingredient are the hidden cheese cubes in the middle of the cake. I used medium Tillamook cheddar and Cracker Barrel sharp white cheddar. When you cut into it, the cake should have an ooey-gooey center.

Carefully add your potato cakes to the heated oil. I left the bacon grease in my cast iron pan and added 1/4 vegetable oil. Some of the oil splashed while flipping them, so stand back and tilt your head up when performing this step of the recipe.

Topped or dipped, these cakes are perfect with sour cream and green onion. My brother put some ketchup on his, and I think they would be great with ranch drizzled on top as well. They're soft and flavorful and just a bit sinful.

What are your plans for this holiday weekend? Any special recipes that you want to try?

print recipe

Loaded Potato Cakes

by Holly July-1-2016

Perfect for the 4th of July!

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 Peeled Russet potatoes
• 6 strips Cooked bacon
• 16- 1/2 inch Cheddar cheese cubes
• 1 Green onion
• 2 Eggs
• 2 cups Flour
• 1/2 cup Sour cream
• to taste Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Cut the peeled potatoes into quarters, cover with water, and cook on high for about 20 minutes.2. Allow the potatoes to cool for about 1 hour.3. Cook the bacon until crispy and then allow to cool for 15 minutes. 4. In a large bowl, mash the cooled potatoes. 5. Add the 1/2 of the flour, eggs, and bacon to the potatoes and mix until combined. 6. Form the potato mix into patties and stuff with 2 cheese cubes. Adding additional flour as needed to bind the cakes. 7. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes.8. Add the potato cakes to the hot oil carefully. Turn heat the medium low and cook for 5 minutes.9. Turn the potato cake and cook for another 5 minutes.10. Top the cakes with sour cream, green onion, salt, and pepper as desired.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 8