Loaded Mashed Potato Cups are an easy and delicious way to turn leftover mashed potatoes into something new when you’re tired of serving them the same old way. Baked in a muffin pan, these individual cups are creamy, cheesy, and loaded with bacon and chives.
Serve them alongside roasted chicken, pepper steak, crockpot meatloaf, or your favorite holiday dinner for a comforting side everyone will love.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Loaded Mashed Potato Cups
- Why Make It: Turn leftover mashed potatoes into a fresh, cheesy side dish.
- Flavor: Bacon, cheddar, Parmesan, sour cream, and chives come together to create the classic, savory flavor of a loaded baked potato.
- Tools: A standard 12 cup muffin pan makes evenly sized individual portions that are easy to serve.
Total Time: 40 Mins (10 Min Prep) Servings: 12 Cooking Method: Oven
Ingredient Notes
- Mashed Potatoes: You can use leftover mashed potatoes, or make quick and easy microwave mashed potatoes from scratch. For the best results, use thick mashed potatoes that hold their shape.
- Bacon: Crisp bacon adds a smoky, salty contrast to the creamy potatoes. Ready-cooked bacon or real bacon pieces are convenient shortcuts when you’re short on time.
- Cheddar Cheese: Sharp cheddar adds plenty of flavor and a deliciously cheesy finish. Monterey Jack or a cheddar blend can be used instead.
- Sour Cream: Keeps the mashed potato cups creamy while adding a touch of tang. Plain Greek yogurt can be used instead for a slightly tangier flavor.
- Chives (optional): Add a fresh, mild onion flavor to the potato cups. Thinly sliced green onion tops can be used instead.
Variations
- Broccoli Cheddar: Add finely chopped, cooked broccoli to the potato mixture and keep the cheddar topping for a classic broccoli cheddar combination.
- Ham and Cheese: Replace the bacon with finely diced, cooked ham for a savory ham and cheese version.
- Spicy: Use pepper Jack instead of cheddar and add chopped jalapeños for a little extra heat.
- Meatless: Simply leave out the bacon. Add extra cheddar or Parmesan for more savory flavor.
- Extra Loaded: Add extra bacon, sour cream, cheddar, and chives as garnishes after baking for an even more loaded potato experience.
How to Make Loaded Mashed Potato Cups
- Combine mashed potatoes with sour cream, bacon, Parmesan, chives, and melted butter.
- Divide among muffin cups and press into place.
- Brush with butter and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
- Bake (full recipe below), then rest before removing from the pan.
Storing Mashed Potato Cups
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days
- They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat the cups in a 350°F oven or air fryer until heated through or in the microwave.
More Ways to Use Mashed Potatoes
Did you enjoy these Loaded Mashed Potato Cups? Leave a comment and rating below.
Loaded Mashed Potato Cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
- 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon chives
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons melted butter divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tin.
- Combine potatoes, sour cream, 1 tablespoon melted butter, bacon, chives, and parmesan in a bowl.
- Fill and press each tin with the potato mixture. Brush tops with the remaining melted butter and top with cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cool slightly before removing from tin.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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I followed the direction to the letter and I couldn’t get them out of the muffin pan (sprayed it with oil)-they were still very mushy-cooked them another 15 min and broiled for 7 minutes , still were mushy. Something need to be added to this to make it more solid because when they went into the muffin pan they were very solid clumps of mixture and it still didn’t hold them together. Now I have to dump them out all together as a side of mashed potatoes, which I could have done without all the work. Sorry for this review I appreciate all recipes I use from online but some just aren’t worth repeating.
I appreciate you letting us know, Kathy. If your leftover potatoes already had butter or sour cream in them, you might need to reduce or omit it from the mixture. Also, this recipe ends up being about ⅓ cup on the potato mixture in each muffin tin. If your muffin tins were larger or you added more it will change the cook time. I hope that helps!
Can you make potatoes and fill muffin tin with just the potatoes ahead and put in fridge til time to bake?
While I haven’t tried that, this should work. They just may take longer to bake Annette. Let us know if you try it!
Do you need to grease the cups with crisco so they dont stick? Or does spray work? I always have a tough time with cupcake tins and things getting stuck.
I didn’t find it necessary but you can spray them if you prefer.
Hi I am going to freeze these cups. To reheat them what temperature and for how long do they cook? Thanks
I let them thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat in the microwave or the oven. If reheating in the oven I would heat at 350°F until heated through.
Can you freeze these potatoes?
These freeze well Marliss. For full information on freezing you can find it right above the recipe in the post. Enjoy!
As others have mentioned, this is not a good recipe. I made mashed potatoes, and then tried this recipe. The cups were extremely soft. I accidentally tipped the pan while taking them out, and they slid right out. The couple that were left cape out enough to be able to hold in my hand, but they were soft at best. They are not cups that you can serve as hand held recipe as the recipe suggests.
Sorry to hear that, Al! For this recipe, we use Yukon Gold because they are starchier and tend to hold together better. It also will affect the recipe if your leftover potatoes had any added moisture in them, like milk or butter mixed in. It also sounds like they may have needed to be cooked a little longer. Hope that helps.
Taste good but they came out very wet. They all fell apart trying to get them out of the tins, even after letting them cool completely. I feel like they need some egg and flour, something to hold all the wet ingredients together.
I am sorry to hear that, Maegan. We didn’t have that problem with this recipe. If using leftover mashed potatoes there may be some additional moisture in the potatoes causing them to get soggy.
I loved how easy this recipe is, BUT I found it very salty. Could it be the Marble Cheese I used? Any suggestions?
Bacon and cheese can both be salty. Also, if you are using leftover mashed potatoes with salt (rather than plain), you could be adding more salt without realizing it. You could try a reduced sodium bacon, and check the salt content of the cheese you select. Hope that helps Gail!
These are good making them Rueben potatoes by adding a bit of sauerkraut, corned beef, 1,000 island, and sour cream.
I will bet these would be really good with an egg in them instead of sour cream. Break and egg into the cup and then bake it, garnish with the bacon and chives. Sounds good to me.