From yesterday's leftover mashed potatoes to this easy bubble and squeak leftover potato cakes, this classic British breakfast recipe is hearty, healthy, delicious, and comforting.
Best of all, it is excellent as a side or a vegetarian main dish too.
Throwing away food is wasteful, and I cannot stand it. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. And if you cannot eat the leftovers of the same dish three days in a row, then have no fear!
I have explored the deep depths of the culinary world to find solutions. Repurposing ingredients into entirely different meals will do just the trick!
With a little imagination and brainstorming, you’ll be able to come up with a delicious, unique recipe. I feel like leftover vegetables from a roast might be a little hard to reconstruct into an entirely different dish from the original.
Have no fear: bubble and squeak cake is here to save the day!
What a name right? Trust me, I was a little (a lot) confused when someone had first told me about this. Turns out, this silly-sounding cake is a traditional breakfast in the United Kingdom.
The dish must include potatoes and cabbage, but beyond that, you can use any leftover vegetables. You essentially mix it all together, coat it in flour, and then fry it in a pan.
What to serve with bubble and squeak?
It’s traditional to serve your bubble and squeak potato cakes with some leftover meat from the night before, or you can make it as a side to any full breakfast.
I love to serve this up with a poached or fried egg on top, some sausage on the side, and then pour gravy over the entire plate. Hungry yet? 😉
Now, I can’t say I haven’t made this breakfast before, and then immediately wanted to fall back asleep. Maybe you could save this type of breakfast for the weekends, even though it is traditionally served on Mondays after a Sunday roast.
I usually have a few indulgent recipes for weekend breakfast, such as my pound cake recipe. Thanks to me you can have dessert for breakfast, or you can have dessert for breakfast.
Beats that usual cup or three of black coffee that some of us tend to call a “breakfast.”
Bubble and Squeak Origin
The “bubble and squeak” comes from the little noises cabbage makes when you cook it. I just couldn’t imagine sitting down at a diner or breakfast place and seeing that on the menu!
Some people call them Scottish or British Potato Cakes, but I think that takes all of the fun out of it!
Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue', 1785, indicates how the dish got its name:
"Bubble and Squeak, beef and cabbage fried together. It is so called from its bubbling up and squeaking whilst over the fire."
As I have mentioned before, I absolutely hate wasting food. Another reason why I love these leftover potato cakes is that you can freeze the extra mixture. If you don’t plan on eating it all, save it for a few days down the road.
Once you divide the mixture into portions and flatten it into little patties, just decide how many you need or want to make. Wrap the rest of them in plastic, put them in a freezer bag, and freeze!
You have a couple of options when you make your bubble and squeak:
You can cook it as one big frittata-like dish, or you can make little cakes. As with my cheesecakes, malva pudding, and other recipes, I love to divide them up into small portions. For one, little food is cute.
Secondly, I sort of preach that it helps with portion control. However, I cannot say that you won’t eat multiple of them in one sitting.
As always, I encourage you to experiment with this recipe. You are essentially frying together some potatoes and vegetables and have room for more flavors and textures!
Try adding some panko breadcrumbs, a dash of your favorite seasoning blend, bacon, or cheese to the mixture.
Whatever you decide to do, you might start taking after me, and purposely buying an excess of vegetables so that you can make these with the leftovers! They’re that good!
How to Make it:
- Mix mashed potatoes with cooked vegetables. Add onions, salt, pepper, and cumin and mix to combine.
- Form the potato mixture into 8 cakes and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up. Dip each cake into the flour to coat lightly.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide-based frying pan. Gently place cakes into the hot oil (fry in batches if necessary). Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Serve with a poached or fried egg, bacon, or breakfast sausage. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Bubble and Squeak Leftover Potato Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups leftover mashed potato
- 2 cups cooked Brussels sprouts or cabbage, sliced or chopped
- ½ cup carrots, cooked and diced (optional)
- 4 chopped spring onions, plus extra for garnish
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix mashed potatoes with cooked vegetables. Add onions, salt, pepper, and cumin and mix to combine.
- Form the potato mixture into 8 cakes and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up. Dip each cake into the flour to coat lightly.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a wide based frying pan. Gently place cakes into the hot oil (fry in batches if necessary). Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Serve with a poached or fried egg, bacon, or breakfast sausage. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Notes
- Add any leftover cooked vegetables to the mashed potatoes.
- Add crispy bacon bits into the potato mix.
- Bake as one big cake and then portion it out.
Stella carroll says
Can I freeze cakes after coking or beforehand
Jas says
I haven't tried freezing them, but I don't see why you couldn't. Don't keep them frozen for longer than a month or two.
Jodie Fitz says
LOVE leftover ideas. These look super delish and, I just bought a brand new egg poaching pan = bonus!
Thanks for sharing at Reader Tip Tuesday - so hope to see you at this week's party. Your layered cake is a feature xo
Jas says
Super happy you like it, Jodie! And thank you for the feature. You made my day! 🙂