Baked Idaho Potato Sliders

Thanks to Idaho Potato, I’m revisiting my self-proclaimed title of “Slider King of the World.” They gave me the opportunity to add to my obsession. (Thank you). As many of you may or may not be aware of, I’m addicted to sliders and if you have no idea what I’m taking about because you’ve been living under a rock, I’m going to remind you all about it. I’ve had quite a few slider posts on the site—each one getting me that more excited about tiny burgers and sandwiches—and I’m not even embarrassed to admit it. Pot Roast Sliders with Sriracha Aioli are one of my favorites. That was until Fried Green Tomato and Shrimp Sliders came into my life, those are out of this world good. But I can’t talk about sliders without mentioning these BLT Biscuit Sliders that taught me everything should be sandwiched between biscuits and bacon. Hence the birth of these Baked Idaho Potato Sliders. Chive biscuits loaded with a potato patty, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and a creamy chive and garlic sour cream sauce. This one right here just might be my new favorite, until the next bigger and better (or should I say smaller and better) slider comes along. In the meantime though, these sliders will forever have my heart. 

Just in case it wasn’t obvious already, I’ve partnered up with Idaho Potato to bring you a few amazing potato recipes. It’s a match made in potato heaven, which I really wish was an actual thing because that would mean I would be able to eat potatoes until the end of time. DREAM. COME. TRUE. I can without a doubt say that I’ve been eating potatoes non-stop since I was a kid and they’re by far, hands down, my all time favorite vegetable. Yes, it’s a vegetable and I have no problems eating it alongside other starches and carbs. That’s what veggies are for. If you’re interested in reading about my love affair with taters, you can read about it here and here.

Needless to say, I’ve been ecstatic about this partnership for months. It’s been so hard keeping a tight lid on it for so long, but I’m happy that I can finally share the recipes with you! This first one is very near and dear to my heart, of course, but it’s only the beginning, friends. The other recipes are just as big and exciting, if not more. So let’s get pumped up about this potato party! You’ve got an exclusive invitation. Don’t let me party alone. 

This is a great recipe to use up those leftover mashed potatoes you have lying around from a previous dinner. Or if you’re like me and leftover potato anything isn’t in your vocabulary, then you can totally make a batch of mashed potatoes specifically for this dish. That’s what I did.

Place the diced potatoes in a pot filled with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for about  10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. 

**Note: Make sure you always start off with cold water when bringing something to a boil for cooking (like potatoes and pasta) because it’ll help cook them evenly.**

Once cooked, drain well and transfer to a bowl. Throw in the butter, buttermilk and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mash until smooth. Give the taters a taste and then adjust seasonings accordingly. You don’t want the taters to be too wet, or else they won’t shape up for you!

**Tip: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use whole milk instead. Place a cup of whole milk in a measuring cup and add in a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes untouched until it looks curdled. Boom instant buttermilk substitute.**

Allow the mashed potatoes to cool off before handling. You can even place them in the fridge to chill out for several hours. 

**Note: It’s important for the mashed potatoes to be cold before handling and forming because they’ll hold their shape when they’re cold.**

While the potatoes cool down, go ahead and make the biscuits. I used my recipe from the BLT Biscuit Sliders post. I just added chopped chives (about a quarter cup) to the dry ingredients and then added a bit more chopped chives and black pepper to the tops of each right before baking. 

Bake the biscuits until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down. 

Let’s turn our attention back to the potatoes and get those going. Using a medium ice cream scoop portion out scoops of mashed potatoes and shape them into patties.

**Note: Make sure you keep them all about the same size in diameter and thickness. Place them on a plate and continue to shape the potato patties until they’re all done.**

Allow the potato patties to sit for a bit and dry out a bit. This will help them keep their shape while frying. Dredge the patties in an egg wash (whisked eggs with a splash of water) and then in plain bread crumbs. 

Once all of the patties have been dredged in the breadcrumbs, you’re ready to cook them. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add in the olive oil. Cook them for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. 

This is super easy because they’re cooked already, so you’re not really worrying about cooking them per say. 

While you’re working on browning the potato patties, you can get the sauce for the sliders going. Since I wanted these to taste just like baked potatoes, and since my favorite part of baked potatoes is the sour cream (aside from everything else of course) this sauce is made with sour cream. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, garlic, chives, salt and black pepper until smooth. 

To assemble the sliders, split in the chive biscuits in half and spread them with the garlic chive sour cream sauce and top with a potato patty. 

Loaded baked potatoes are usually, well, loaded with cheese and bacon and sour cream and chives. Okay, so the chives and sour cream parts are covered. So we now need some cheese and bacon. Lay down a couple of squares of cheddar and some crispy bacon on top of the potato patties. 

At this point you can stop right here and call it good, but since it is a New Year and a new us, and we’re trying to be healthy and all, I figured we might as well take it a step further and get our healthy on. Slap on a slice of tomato and a piece of lettuce and watch as you instantly feel better about your life choices. 

Now that we’re still keeping up with our resolutions of eating healthier, we can top the sliders and skewer them with a long toothpick to keep them in place. I learned the hard way. Don’t ask. 

I know what a lot of you must be thinking, “Jonathan you’re using a starch as a patty and sandwiching it between a carb and loading it with cheese and bacon!” The madness!! I’m crazy! But in my defense (and in all seriousness) potatoes are still veggies in my book, so I’m trying here. I’m really trying. 

If it was up to me, I’d only eat sliders for the rest of my life. I’d make sliders into everything. They’re awesome little bundles of joy and you can totally eat more than one and still feel good about yourself because like ten of them count as one normal sized burgers. I’ve done the math, it’s correct. Don’t think twice about it. Just do it (sorry Nike). 

These sliders can easily be transformed into vegetarian by, of course, omitting the bacon. It’s such a great dish because you can still have two options for your guests, a vegetarian one and a bacon one, with just one ingredient. It doesn’t get any easier than that. You don’t have to worry about making two completely different dishes. 

Another little nifty fun fact about this recipe (it just keeps getting better and better) is that they’re just as great at room temperature. You don’t have to stress out about keeping them hot before serving. They’re perfect for appetizers at a party where you don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen while the guest are there. Make the different components of the dish ahead of time and then assemble them right before your guests come over and then don’t worry about them staying warm or anything. They’re cool. They’ll just hang out by themselves until someone eats them. And they will. ALL of them. 

Excuse me for a minute and indulge my love of this post and it’s photos. I’m just going to drop in another gratuitous photo of these sliders, even though I’m running out of things to say about them. Let’s just admire them.

Once again, I’ll let you know that I’ve partnered up with Idaho Potato to bring you this recipe (along with a few more coming throughout the month of January!) and I couldn’t be more excited. These are some of the best posts/recipes/photos/contributions I’ve ever done and I’m very proud of them, so pardon me if I continue to bombard you with photos and reminders to check them out. I hope you guys like them enough to give them a try yourself. Potatoes for life! 

Baked Idaho Potato Sliders

Baked Idaho Potato Sliders are the perfect way to turn leftover mashed potatoes into a delicious appetizer or dinner! These tasty sliders are loaded with bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and a chive garlic sour cream sauce.

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 pound Idaho® potatoes peeled
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups plain bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 slider rolls or biscuits*
• 6 slices cheddar cheese cut in half
• 6 slices cooked bacon cut in half
• 2 to matoes thinly sliced
• 4 to 6 pieces green leaf lettuce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives chopped
• 1 garlic clove grated

Instructions

• Cut the potatoes into a medium dice and place them in a pot filled with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mash with the butter, buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper and granulated garlic. Continue to mash until the potatoes are somewhat smooth. Set aside and allow to cool down completely. You can chill them in the fridge, as well.
• Once cooled, shape the mashed potatoes into small patties, using a medium sized ice cream scoop, with damp hands to prevent them from sticking to your palms. Form into flat discs, about half of an inch thick. Allow to sit for a few minutes to set and firm up a bit.
• Whisk the eggs with a splash of water in a shallow dish. Pour the breadcrumbs in a separate dish. Dip the potato patties in the egg wash and then dredge them in the breadcrumbs, patting them so that they’re fully coated. Place on a plate or platter and continue breading the rest.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and allow to heat through. Cook the potato patties for about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, or until golden brown. Flip over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes to brown the second side. Transfer to a plate and continue browning the remaining patties.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, chives, grated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until completely combined.
• To assemble the sliders, split the rolls or biscuits in half. Spread both sides liberally with the garlic chive sauce. Place a browned potato patty down and top with cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato. Skewer with a toothpick to hold together. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

yields: 12 sliders
*You can find the recipe for cream biscuits on my site, under the "BLT Biscuit Slider" post. I adapted the recipe by adding chopped chives to the dough and sprinkling some on top before baking. You can also just use store bought rolls and brush them with melted butter and sprinkle them with chives and rewarm in the oven!

Author: The Candid Appetite