Sometimes you just need comfort food, am I right? I think one of the ultimate comfort foods has to be potatoes, and it is such a versatile ingredient.

These Cheesy Potato Fritters are the ultimate comfort food. Soft mashed potatoes combined with cheese and air fried to create fritters of pure perfection. They are simply delicious and so simple to make.

What are potato fritters?

Potato fritters are cooked and mashed potatoes combined with a few different ingredients and fried in a pan as a fritter. Fritters can often be made from batter and other ingredients but in this case, the star of the show is the humble potato. The mashed potato works to combine the other ingredients helping you to create a tasty cheesy potato fritter.

Why this recipe works?

Easy to make - The potatoes allow the other ingredients to bind to make a perfect fritter.
Tasty - Cheese, potatoes, garlic, chives, and more. These cheesy potato fritters have it all.
A versatile recipe - The fritters could be served as a snack, perfect for leftovers, or served as an appetizer.
Budget-friendly - This is a really affordable appetizer to make that has tons of flavor.

Ingredients needed for the Cheesy Potato Fritters

Here is everything that you need to create the cheesy potato fritters

3-4 russet potatoes, cooked and chopped
½ a cup of parmesan cheese, shredded
½ a cup of gouda, shredded
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
½ a cup of 2% milk
¼ cup of chives
2 tablespoon of fresh dill
1 cup of Italian-style breadcrumbs
¼ cup of sour cream for topping

Substitutions

Swap out the gouda for cheddar if you don’t want such a strong-tasting cheese.
Substitute the chives for some mixed herbs for added flavor.

How to make the Cheesy Potato Fritters

Now that you have got all of the ingredients together it is time to make the dish.

Yields - 10-12 fritters

In a food processor combine the chopped potatoes, cheeses, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chives, and dill. This is going to create your mashed potatoes.
Pulse 5-6 times until everything starts to become chopped and combined.
Turn the food processor on and stream in the milk until the potato mixture full combines into a smooth texture. (You might need more or less milk accordingly)
Remove the blade from the food processor and scoop out the potato mixture using a ¼ measuring cup.
Add the breadcrumbs into a small, shallow dish.
Form the mashed potato mix into roughly a round patty shape and coat in breadcrumbs.
Add 4-5 of these patties to an air fryer basket and spray with olive oil.
At 400 degrees, air fry these for 10 minutes, then flip them over and continue cooking for 5 more minutes until crispy on the edges.
Repeat the air frying process until all the fritters are gone.
Serve the fritters with a small scoop of sour cream and extra fresh herbs.

Recipe Notes and Tips

Like with any recipe, no matter how simple it may appear, it is always worth taking note of some helpful tips and advice on offer. I have a couple of suggestions that will help you when making this recipe.

If you are making a big batch of these cheesy potato fritters you could put the oven on low to keep the cooked ones warm while you make up the rest of the batch.
Do a test fritter first to ensure that you are putting the right amount of oil on and that your batter isn’t too wet.

Variations to try

When it comes to any recipe it is always good to hear of any variations you could make and try. This is by no means an exact recipe; you can do your own thing regarding what you add or how you make it. Here are a couple of recommended variations that you might want to try.

Why not change up the cheese you add to this recipe? Parmesan and gouda are quite a strong tasting, so you could choose shredded mozzarella or cheddar as an alternative,
Add some chopped cooked bacon to the potato mix before you air fry the potato fritters.
Use leftover mashed potatoes instead of cooking the potatoes fresh to avoid any food waste.

How to make this recipe ahead of time?

These are great to make ahead!

You can refrigerate the potato mix for 2 days before cooking them in the air fryer.

Or if you prefer, you can cook the recipe completely and then once the cheesy potato fritters have cooled, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

These could also be frozen after cooking as well, giving you that perfect snack and appetizer with little notice!

To reheat the cheesy potato fritters, you can place them back in the air fryer or pop in a warm oven until heated through.

Serving suggestions

These are great served as an appetizer. I have a couple of serving suggestions that you might want to consider:

Why not whip up my Salmon Cream Cheese Dip to serve with these cheesy potato fritters? It is a great combination.
Instead of serving with soured cream why not make a poached egg to sit on top? Add a sprinkle of crushed red chili flakes on top. This could turn these cheesy potato fritters into an epic brunch.

FAQs

There will always be questions that people may have, so hopefully, I will have managed to answer some of the common ones below.

Why are my potato fritters soggy?

There are a couple of things to consider if your potato fritters are soggy when they come out of the air fryer. It might be they need a little longer to crisp up. You might also want to check that you haven’t put too much oil on the potato fritter before cooking. This is because the fritter will absorb the oil.

It might also mean that the batter is too wet. Be careful with the amount of milk you put in, too much and it will cause soggy fritters.

How do you keep your fritters from falling apart?

If your fritters are falling apart then it may be that the batter was too wet to begin with. Do a test fritter first and see how it comes out. You can then amend the batter if needed.