Valerie Bertinelli Shared the Genius Way She Transforms Leftover Mashed Potatoes Into the Perfect One-Pot Meal
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking of new ways to use up your Turkey Day leftovers. And Valerie Bertinelli has an incredible recipe that turns your mashed potatoes into a creamy soup, no matter what kind of seasoning you added to your original mash.
“You might be wondering, ‘I made crazy potatoes this year. I put jalepeños. I put cheddar cheese. I put sour cream. I put cream cheese. I put all kinds of stuff into my mashed potatoes,'” Bertinelli said in her episode of Valerie’s Home Cooking. “That’s okay. You can put these in [the soup].”
The recipe starts with cooking chopped onion, celery, poblano peppers, and garlic in a Dutch oven while you heat your store-bought chicken broth on another burner. When the onion is translucent and the celery has softened a bit, you can add your broth to your veggies in the Dutch oven.
Then, grab your leftover mashed potatoes out of the fridge and add them to the soup. You can add as much or as little as you’d like and let the entire thing simmer for at least 10 minutes. This will allow the potatoes to melt and the soup to thicken.
Before serving, add some frozen corn, which will thaw after just a few minutes in the soup, and chopped chives for garnish. Season with salt and pepper to your liking, and you’re ready to eat!
We love how versatile this recipe is too. Have leftover turkey? Toss some of that in to add a little protein. Some leftover breakfast bacon would also be delicious on top of this warm soup!
You can check out Bertinelli’s full recipe over on the Food Network website to prepare your post-Thanksgiving meals way ahead of time. Shepherd’s pie and turkey sandwiches don’t have to be the only thing on the menu anymore!
Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below: