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:
I’m excited to make these soon! How long will they be good in the fridge? I would like to eat them over 3 or 4 days since I live alone and have no one to share them with.. Would it be better to freeze them?
3 days should be fine! 🙂
I’ve made this many times, each with different fillings and it is always scrumptious.. Thank you for sharing! I noticed one comment said it was not vegan? Don’t know what she thinks vegan is…. I’ve been plant based for 4-5 years and I’ve noticed vegan comments can be so judgey.. My hubby thanks you for the inspiration!
My pleasure! I am so glad you both liked the recipe. 🙂
Hi my family grates a little onion into the potato cake. I think that would work her for those who like onion.r
Sounds yummy! 🙂
Well, I tried! I ended up swapping the bell pepper for some carrots and adding about 1/2 lb of ground beef. The taste was great, the look on the other hand…left something to be desired, It was more of a funny baseball shape instead of a cake! Haha, I think I had too many potatoes and that set up the rest to be not-quite-right. I had trouble when I went to fry them with the browned side just sticking to the pan (which I fixed by using a different spatula) and also because the sides were so large they didn’t get browned at all. I ended up baking half of them to see which I liked better, and I definitely think those were the winners, but maybe if mine weren’t so large I would have a different opinion! But either way, in the end the taste wins out and that was great.
Maybe adding some process photos would help someone like me who is just guessing on how this was supposed to happen?
Thanks for your thorough feedback, Grace! 🙂
We had the same experience. Mine are in the oven right now. My first 4 didn’t fry up well. I’m not a good fryer and I rarely used oil anyway. So I think I’ll like the oven ones better.
These are a huge hit! Thank you for creating such a simple yet delicious recipe. I made one of your chocolate cakes a few weeks back and that was also a huge hit! I’m so glad I found you on Pinterest. You are a gift and have been helping me look like a pro in the kitchen. That is not my norm at all. Your recipes are fantastic! I love how clean and easy the blog is to navigate too. The hubby, who is very very picky, said these have major potential with a Latin flavor (he can acutally cook). He wants to try making a Latin version that would mimic Alcapurrias. If you create the recipe first I’ll look like a super hero, just saying. Thanks again!
Aww, I feel very flattered! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback, Stephanie! I appreciate your comment a lot.
Happy holidays to you and your family. 🙂
We just made this recipe with my mom and is our new favourite recipe ever! Thank you for contributing to veganism with your creativity and delicious ideas. I’ll share it with my friends!
You are very welcome, Maria! I am very glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for sharing it with your friends. 🙂
I love it when I’m bored and go thru random Insta accounts and certain photos appear that peak your interests. Well your stuffed Potato cakes did that, I have a few bits and pieces in my fridge, you know the sort 2 days before shopping, that’s dinner sorted for tomorrow. Thanks for sharing looking forward to trying it…
You are welcome, Lindi! 🙂
Tastes good but the dough texture didnt work:( used wholemeal instead turned so sticky was hard to shape and cook with! Anyway I can fix it?
Hi Natasha! You changed the recipe and therefore it didn’t turn out as it should. I never made the recipe with a different flour but it works great with rice flour and cornstarch.
Do you drain the water after cooking the potatoes? It doesn’t specify, and my attempt at the recipe went terribly.
Yes, definitely drain!
Love it Ela! Just wondering if you gave those delights a try to directly bake in the oven? I think it should be fine.. What oven temp would you recommend?
Thanks!
Sorry, I never tried that. Maybe it works nicely in an air-fryer. Let me know if you try the oven method. I would recommend 360 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 182 °C)!
Hello Ella,
I am just wondering if the nutritional information includes the vegan cheese?
No, it doesn’t because it’s optional. 🙂
How would you reheat them for the next day? At work we have microwaves which I don’t like using bit we also have a toastie machine (will it work on that) ?
TIA xx
It should work with the toastie machine (please note that I never tried it though)! 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing ideas for new vegan.
Can I frozen ?
I never tried freezing them, however, it should work. I would recommend freezing them fried and not raw! 🙂
I made them today. I wasn’t sure if they were going to be good because I don’t really know what the consistency of the dough should be like, I thought it was kind of dry and crumbly, but the cakes came out great.
Thank you for the recipe.
For the filling I had two red peppers, onions, garlic, scallions and some fresh herbs from the garden, basically pimped up leftovers ?
Could you discribe the consistency of dough we should be aiming for? I find it hard to tell when it comes to potato-doughs.
Hi Dan, the dough shouldn’t be dry and crumbly, but rather smooth. 🙂
I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
When do you add in the flour? It doesn’t say….. thx 🙂 looks yummy!
Just kidding. Just saw it.
I got too excited lol
I used black beans instead of mushrooms (don’t have mushrooms nor do I like them) and it tasted really good!
Also used spelt flour, worked fine 🙂
Sounds delicious! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Ella i have issues with potatoes that come under the nightshade family, do you think this will work with sweet potatoes?
I tried it once and had to add much more flour but it worked. 🙂
Dear María, you shouldn’t rate this recipe only because it bugs you that I mentioned “arepas” once or twice. Furthermore, I wrote “SIMILAR” and not “LIKE”. 🙂
That’s like reviewing something for NOT being something rather than based on what the thing actually is ????????
I made these last night with your one pot Dahl after seeing it on Instagram. Absolutely delicious! Thank you ?
That’s awesome, Sandie! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂