These vegan potato cakes (which look similar to “arepas”) are stuffed with mushrooms, veggies, and vegan cheese. This amazing comfort meal is perfect for lunch or dinner. The recipe is vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), gluten-free, and easy to make.
Stuffed With Mushrooms, Veggies, And Vegan Cheese
Have you ever made potato cakes from mashed potatoes? If not, you should give this recipe a try because mashed potato cakes taste absolutely amazing! I wanted to make the vegan potato cakes really special and that’s why I stuffed them with mushrooms, veggies, and vegan cheese. And the result really convinced me.
Regular potato pancakes are very delicious, no question, but stuffed potato cakes are even better!
Simple Dough
For the dough, you’ll need potatoes, cornstarch, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and flour. I used rice flour to make these vegan potato cakes gluten-free.
However, you can also use wheat flour or spelt flour, in case you don’t have a gluten intolerance. You might need a little bit less flour though but you will notice right away if the consistency of the dough is right.
The dough shouldn’t be sticky. If this happens, then your potatoes were probably too watery (not starchy enough).
Which Type Of Potato Works Best?
I made these mashed potato pancakes a couple of times with Yukon Gold potatoes and the result was great. Russet potatoes are also fine, however, I noticed that I have to use less flour because Russet potatoes contain more starch than Yukon Gold potatoes.
Filling
I stuffed these potato cakes with onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, and vegan cheese (I used my easy vegan cheese sauce). Of course, I also added various spices that gave the potato cakes an amazing flavor.
You can use other veggies of choice, for example, carrot, cabbage, corn, tomatoes, or broccoli. Just use whatever veggies you have on hand.
How To Make Vegan Potato Cakes?
To make the dough:
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Boil in salted water for about 20 minutes.
- Season the cooked potatoes with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. Please do not use a food processor, otherwise, the mashed potatoes will turn out sticky.
- Let the mashed potatoes cool (in the meantime you can prepare the filling), then add flour and cornstarch. Mix well with a spoon or your hands.
To make the filling:
- Dice the veggies, fry the onion in a skillet with a little oil for about 3-4 minutes, add the mushrooms, garlic, and also the diced peppers and the zucchini. Fry the vegetables for a couple of minutes, season with salt, pepper, and the other spices.
- Split the dough into 8 parts (about 1/2 cup or 120 g each). Form into balls, make a well in the middle, and add about one and a half tablespoons of the filling. You can also add a little vegan cheese (I used vegan cheese sauce) in addition. Carefully “seal” the balls with more dough and flatten them slightly to make them look like thick pancakes. I recommend watching the video for visual instructions.
- Heat approximately 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the potato cakes at medium heat until golden brown on both sides. I often put a lid on the skillet to cook them. They will be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. If you want them to be even crunchier, you can bake them additionally for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 190 °C) in the oven.
Can I Make Potato Cakes In The Oven?
I sometimes get asked if these vegan potato pancakes can be directly baked in the oven without frying them in the skillet first. Even though I haven’t tried it myself, I received a couple of messages from my followers on Instagram who told me that they tried it. The result was good but the potato cakes weren’t as crunchy.
I would, therefore, recommend brushing them with a little oil from both sides and then bake them in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 190 °C) until golden brown (flipping halfway through).
How To Store?
Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. It’s also possible to freeze the potato cakes. I recommend freezing them after frying/baking. Let cool completely, then freeze in freezer bags with wax paper in between for up to three months.
Great As A Snack On The Go/Meal Prep
These vegan potato cakes are perfect for lunch or dinner. However, you can also prepare them for the next day for meal prep, to take them to work/school/uni, or as a snack on the go.
These Potato Pancakes Are:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Crispy
- Hearty
- Easy to make
- A delicious comfort food
- Perfect for lunch or dinner
- Also, great as meal prep
If you give this tasty recipe a try, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag @elavegan #elavegan on Instagram or Facebook if you take a picture of your dish.
Vegan Stuffed Potato Cakes
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 kg (2 pounds) potatoes (*see recipe notes)
- 80 g (1/2 cup) white rice flour (*see recipe notes)
- 40 g (1/3 cup) cornstarch or tapioca flour (1/3 cup)
- salt, pepper, nutmeg (to taste)
Filling:
- 250 g (3 cups) mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 of a zucchini diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Italian spice blend
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Additional ingredients:
- oil for frying
- vegan cheese to taste (optional)
Instructions
Dough:
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Peel potatoes, cut into small pieces, and cook in salted water for about 20 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash them with a potato masher. (Please do not use a food processor, otherwise, the mashed potatoes will be sticky).
- Allow the mashed potatoes to cool (in the meantime you can prepare the filling), then add flour and cornstarch and mix well with a spoon or your hands.
Filling:
- Chop the veggies into small pieces, fry the onion in a pan with a little oil for about 3-4 minutes, add the mushrooms, garlic, and also the diced peppers and the zucchini. Sauté everything for a couple of minutes, season with salt, pepper, and the spice mix.
- Split the dough into 8 parts (about 1/2 cup or 120 g each). Form into balls, make a well in the middle, and add about one and a half tablespoons of the filling. You can also add some vegan cheese (I used vegan cheese sauce) in addition. Carefully "seal" the balls with more dough and flatten them slightly to make them look like thick pancakes.
- Heat approximately 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the potato cakes at medium heat until golden brown on both sides. They will be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. If you want them to be slightly more crunchy, you can bake them additionally for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
- Wheat flour or spelt flour might work as well but you will most likely need less. I never tried it, so please experiment at your own risk.
- If the potatoes are extremely floury I would recommend using less rice flour, e.g. just 1/4 cup. The dough shouldn't be too dry or crumbly.
- Recipe makes about 8 potato cakes. Nutrition facts are for one potato cake.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Tried these with sweet potatoes but it didn’t really work – they were a too soft – although my potatoes were a wee bit warm still so that may be the issues. I will try it again with regular potatoes though – they tasted really good but had a bit of trouble keeping them together – I also used ricotta cheese which was really nice.
Hey Cathy, yes, it’s difficult with (orange) sweet potatoes as they have less starch. Japanese sweet potatoes (white flesh) work much better as they are starchier. 🙂
hi going to try these today can you suggest what would accompany them as a main
That depends on what you like. I sometimes make them with lentil dal but there are so many options for other savory dishes. You can check out many main dishes HERE.
Any substitute for the cheese?
You can leave it out.
THIS RECCIPE SOUNDS GREAT.
CAN I USE POTATO STARCH INSTEAD OF CORNSTARCH
Yes, that should be fine! 🙂
REALLY YUMMY, THANK YOU. QUICK QUESTION – WILL THEY FREEZE AFTER BEING COOKED?
Yes 🙂
Can you make these with brown rice flour or cassava flour?
It might work, but I haven’t tried it.
Any ideas how I could add green lentils to these?
I would just cook them and then slightly mash them with a fork and add them to the veggie mixture. 🙂
I am wondering what where the video is? Can’t find it anywhere.
Hi Betty, the video will appear within the post and stick to the screen once you scroll past it. You will only see it if you don’t use an ad blocker, though. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Ela! I was wondering if I could make these in an air fryer?
Hi Diana, I never tried it, so I am not sure. It might work fine, though! Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂
After assembling I did not fry. Instead I froze in single layer. Once frozen, transfer to freezer storage bag. When time to eat I put in air fryer frozen for 15-20 min.. Comes out great and you do not need to eat entire batch at once.
I have also made using Indian spices for the filling and other vegetables!
That’s amazing, Beth! Thanks for your helpful feedback. 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe, these are delightful! I added some smoked tofu, it went really well with the rest of the filling. Even with some extra flour, my dough was nowhere near as firm as yours, so I found it easier to form the cakes as giant dumplings, instead of making a bowl and covering it with extra dough. All in all, this is a great way to use any kind of leftovers. Potatoes are magic.
I am glad you liked them, Madli! 🙂
Wow! Flavor was amazing. Excited to have found your site and try other recipes, this one was a hit! Made with your cheese sauce on top instead of inside along with extra of the middle part on top. So good!
That’s awesome, Kelly. I am glad it turned out delicious. 🙂
Greetings! My fiancée & I love the stuffed potato cakes! I followed your directions in full, the only issue I have is getting the sides to cook very well. I ensure they don’t touch while cooking them in a pan and the top & bottom is always golden brown but the sides are always soft & sticky. Any suggestions?
You could cook them for some minutes in the oven afterwards. 🙂
where’s the video you mentioned? I’ve gone over the post several times and can not seem to find it.
are these eaten hot or cold?
Hi Karin, the video will appear within the post and stick to the screen once you scroll past it. You will only see it if you don’t use an ad blocker, though.
I prefer them hot, but you can eat them cold, too.
Hello Ela,thanks again for your wonderful recipes! 😁
Do you think I can use just some simple gluten free flour?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Phoenix, if the GF flour blend also contains rice flour and any type of starch, then yes, that should be fine. 🙂
Did you use a red bell pepper?
I used an orange bell pepper, however, red is fine too!
I have made this with variations ~ added fresh dill & carrots to the potato mix! Delicious
Sounds great, Laura. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
These look so delicious! I don’t see recipe for the dipping sauce – could you share? Can’t wait to cook up a batch of stuffed potatoes and plan to share your page with my vegan friends❤️
Sure! This is the recipe: Chinese Garlic Sauce
This took two hours and turned out mushy. It was a disaster. Followed the recipe exactly.
So sorry to hear it didn’t turn out well, Shannon. I wonder what went wrong.
Agreed. Just tried making them as well, turned out sticky even though I mashed them with a masher and did not process as recipe said and it was a disaster. Waste of time, food, effort- everything. Looks good, but clearly something is off and not stated in the recipe.
Neda, it sounds like your potatoes were waxy and not starchy. If the dough is sticky, then there wasn’t enough flour/starch.
Tasted great, but I either used the wrong kind of potatoes or not enough wheat flour because they stuck really badly to the bottom of the pan. I will try again with more flour. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hello! Is it 1 kg of peeled or unpeeled potatoes?
Hi Paula, it’s 1 kg of unpeeled potatoes. 🙂
these were so good-even my kids loved them, especially my “getting hard to feed 14 year old”. I did use touch of real cheddar cheese but they are so tasty, i don’t think it’s necessary. I did bake them after pan frying. I’m going to try the vegan cheese sauce next time.
That’s awesome, Mel! So happy your kids loved them too. 🙂