One of those flexible side dishes that may be served with a variety of different dinners is mashed potatoes. Most people enjoy mashed potatoes, which may be served with nearly anything. But do you know how long can we keep mashed potatoes in the fridge?
In this post, we’ll cover all you need to know about preserving leftover mashed potatoes so you can enjoy them another day.
Table of Contents
How Long Can I Keep Mashed Potatoes in The Fridge?
Mashed potatoes can be kept in the refrigerator for three to five days if they are kept in the proper conditions. Your leftover mashed potatoes must be kept in an airtight container.
Despite the fact that mashed potatoes can go bad, if they are stored properly in the refrigerator, they can be preserved for a considerable amount of time.
This means that you may store your leftovers in the refrigerator until you wish to utilize them for another meal, preventing food waste.
How Should We Store Mashed Potatoes in The Fridge?
Make sure to use an airtight container when putting leftover mashed potatoes in the refrigerator.
This will prevent the potatoes from drying out and from absorbing other odors from the refrigerator. The moisture will be kept inside the container instead.
Using an airtight container also ensures that any contamination of your potatoes won’t spread to other foods in the refrigerator. Whatever airtight container you choose to use to store your mashed potatoes, make sure it is both wide and shallow.
This is due to the fact that this kind of container will allow your food to cool evenly in the refrigerator and prevent any warm spots from developing, which would otherwise cause your food to spoil more quickly.
Can We Freeze Mashed Potatoes?
Yes, if you are not going to use your mashed potatoes right away, you might decide to freeze them instead. Since the potatoes are already pretty mushy, to begin with, this is another excellent option for storing, and the texture of the potatoes is unlikely to change.
You can put your leftover mashed potatoes in the freezer as long as you have freed up enough room in your freezer and have some freezer bags or containers on hand.
However, you must first ensure that the potatoes have cooled to room temperature or less before putting them in the freezer.
It could cause other foods in the freezer to defrost and boost the temperature inside the freezer if you place leftovers in the freezer when they are still hot or warm. Since it’s crucial to freeze the food as soon as possible, this is the last thing you want to happen.
You should first divide your remaining mashed potatoes into separate parts before freezing them. As a result, you won’t have to completely defrost the potatoes when it’s time to use them up; instead, you may simply remove as many chunks as you require.
You may go ahead and seal them up and put them in the freezer once you have completed dividing the food into your freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. After this time, you have another 12 months to defrost and consume your potatoes.
Is It Possible to StoreMashed Potatoes at Room Temperature?
No, mashed potatoes must always be kept in the refrigerator and should never be left out at room temperature. This is particularly crucial if you added any additional dairy to your potatoes, such as milk or butter.
This is because mold and bacteria may grow quickly, especially in a warm atmosphere, and this will only cause your mashed potatoes to spoil. Your mashed potatoes can be allowed to cool at room temperature, but you shouldn’t keep them out for longer than two hours.
You should discard your mashed potatoes if you leave them out at room temperature overnight since they might not be safe to consume.
How to Judge Whether Mashed Potatoes Have Gone Bad
Even in the best storage conditions, leftover mashed potatoes can unfortunately still spoil, especially if they are kept for an extended period of time. Below, we’ll explain how to determine if your mashed potatoes are bad.
They have an odd appearance; if your mashed potatoes have any moldy patches, glossy spots, or patches of dry bits, they are bad.
When they are made fresh, mashed potatoes should appear completely normal, though adding dairy products may give them a slight golden hue. But when they begin to appear odd, it’s time to discard them.
They smell strange. Usually, if your mashed potatoes smell strange, they will also look strange, but this isn’t always the case. Even if your mashed potatoes appear to be safe to eat to the naked eye, you should toss them if they smell unpleasant.
This smell might come on much more quickly if you used any dairy products in your mashed potatoes. They have a strange flavor; it is best to stop eating mashed potatoes if you notice that they taste strange.
You can taste your potatoes to see if they taste okay if you are unsure about how they look and smell, but this is not really advised. Throw them away right away if you detect any sour flavor in them.
What Occurs If You Eat Bad Mashed Potatoes?
If you don’t like sour and rancid flavors, you’ll probably gag at the taste of rotten mashed potatoes right away. However, if you consume stale mashed potatoes, you could get sick.
According to the CDC, food poisoning could include any of the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Frequent vomiting
- Dizziness
- Digestive upset
- Nausea
You need to get medical help right away if you believe you are showing signs of food poisoning. Additionally, patients need to drink plenty of pure water or an electrolyte powder mixture to stay hydrated.
Reuse Mashed Potatoes
- Thick them up by adding anything and then shape them into patties. It’s fantastic to have potato patties, and they don’t always have to be patties. You can prepare cheese-topped baked mashed potato fingers. Loaded baked potatoes are another choice, or you could just use a cake decorating attachment to make swirls on the potatoes before baking them. Children may make those themselves, and they are particularly enjoyable for them.
- To thicken the cream soup, you may also add some mashed potatoes. like a leek and potato soup or cream of potato and bacon soup. Or, really, you may have any soup you like as long as you think it will go well with potatoes. It’s not a good idea to boil the soup after adding cheese or cream cheese, so be aware of this. Simply stir in the mashed potatoes at the very end so that they can fully meld with the other ingredients. Regular cheese or soft cheese would start to disintegrate if you were to boil them (or even gently simmer them).
Summary
Since it might be challenging to determine the ideal amount to utilize, it is very simple to create too many mashed potatoes. Fortunately, you can extend the life of your leftover mashed potatoes by storing them in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. As an alternative, you can keep them frozen for up to a year.
