These Polish potato dumplings are by far the best way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes. They are easy to make and incredibly versatile.
These Polish potato dumplings, or Kopytka as we call them, are the perfect way to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes.
Potato dumplings, also known as gnocchi in Italian, are one of those taboo recipes that seem impossible to make from scratch. The thing is, if you have to start with peeling the potatoes then yes, they are impossible. No one has time for all that.
But what if we split the process into two separate dinners or more?!
Here is the trick, the next time you make mashed potatoes make extra. When you’re already peeling and mashing making more does feel like that much extra work.
The next day, take the leftovers and turn them into Polish potato dumplings. The process is super easy once you have the mashed potatoes.
It doesn’t even matter how you make your mashed potatoes either. Milk, no milk, garlic, no garlic. It’ll all taste great, I promise!!
Preparing Polish Potato Dumplings
Ingredients
Potatoes: This root vegetable is starchy and is native to the Americas. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C and potassium and even contain small amounts of protein. There are many varieties and shades of potatoes. I like yellow flesh potatoes for this recipe but any type will work great.
All-purpose flour: I use all-purpose flour. It is a wheat flour and the most commonly used flour for baking. It is very versatile and makes anything from pizza dough to cookies and cakes. You can use whole wheat flour for this recipe to add a little bit more fibre if you’d like.
Egg: Eggs are laid by many different animals but chicken eggs are what we use in this recipe. Eggs provide protein, fat and many other nutrients and therefore are a healthy part of our diet. Here they are used as a binder.
Butter: Butter is churned milk or cream and is high in fat. It is solidified when refrigerated, holds a semi-soft, spreadable consistency at room temperature, or can be liquefied when heated.
How to Make Polish Potato Dumplings
Make the Dough
First, you have to start with mashed potatoes. I highly recommend you make this dish only if you already have mashed potatoes left over. However, if you really want to try these and have the time to start from scratch by all means!
To make the mashed potatoes, peel about 5 medium potatoes and boil them in water. Once fully cooked mash the potatoes using a potato masher and let them cool completely.
Once the mashed potatoes are cool, flatten them out to make sure they are in an even layer, then divide them into 4 equal parts.
Remove one of the parts and set it aside. Fill the whole you created with flour and level it off evenly with the rest of the potatoes. For me, this was roughly 1 cup of flour. Add one egg and the remaining potatoes that
you removed earlier.
Before you get your hands dirty, fill a medium to large pot ¾ of the way with water and bring it to a boil on medium-high heat.
Now go back to the potatoes. Stir the potatoes, flour and egg to combine. You can use a stand mixer, a spatula or your hands.
Once the dough forms into a manageable ball (it will be a bit sticky) you are ready to make the dumplings.
Shape the Dumplings
Coat a clean surface with flour and knead the dough a couple of times just to bring it all together into a ball. Divide the dough into 5 pieces.
Take one of the 5 pieces and roll it out into a long strip. The strip should be about 1” thick.
Once you have the right diameter, using your hand or a spatula pat it down gently to turn the roll into a flat strip. This is not critical to the recipe at all. This is just how I always had these served.
TIP: If you are making gnocchi, you want to roll the strip out more aiming for a smaller diameter. Then cut them into 1” pieces and gently roll each piece under a fork to get the beautiful texture of gnocchi.
Then cut it using a butter knife into 1.5” dumplings. Repeat for the remaining dough. I got 66 dumplings in total.
Cook the Dumplings
Once the water comes to a boil add some dumplings to it and boil for 3 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pot. You want the water to keep boiling as you add dumplings and you don’t want them to stick together.
Note: How many you can fit in a pot at once depends on your pot size. I used an 8” pot and was able to fit approximately 12-15 dumplings per batch giving me 6 batches.
Once the dumplings float to the top, they’ll need another 90 seconds or so and they’re ready. Do not overcook them or they will start falling apart.
Scoop them out using a slotted spoon into a bowl and add some butter. Toss to coat. This will prevent them from sticking to each other.
Substitutions
Mashed Potatoes: You can use any kind of mashed potatoes the only caution I have is that any stronger flavours in the potatoes may reduce the serving options you have for the dumplings. For example, if you have our garlic and chive mashed potatoes left over, they will make great dumplings. However, they will likely not taste well as a sweet dish in the end.
Serving Polish Potato Dumplings
As you might expect these delicious kopytka are perfect in place of potatoes with most dishes. Anything with a sauce is my absolute favourite. Try them with our chicken breast in mushroom sauce. The tender dumplings with the creamy sauce are to die for.
If you’re not into sauces, all you need to do is top the dumplings with some sauteed onion and bacon and you have a perfect lunch or snack.
Lastly, and potentially most surprisingly, kopytka are amazing as a sweet dish. As a kid, this was my favourite meal and I’m sure you can guess why.
To make these dumplings into a sweet dish simply coat them in butter, letting it melt against the hot dumplings, then coat them in sugar. That’s it! Enjoy!
Storing Polish Potato Dumplings
These Polish potato dumplings also make great leftovers. To store them simply place them in an air-tight container and keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
To reheat, you have two options. There is the lazy option and the delicious and transformative option.
The lazy option is simply nuking the dumplings in the microwave. Add a little butter beforehand to let it melt then serve with a delicious sauce.
The delicious and transformative option is to pan-fry the dumplings. Heat up some oil or butter in a pan and fry the dumplings until heated through. Heat them up on medium heat and toss frequently to prevent burning. They will brown nicely adding yet another depth of flavour.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Polish Potato Dumplings (Kopytka) Recipe
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs mashed potatoes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for coating the work surface
- 1 egg
- ½ tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Add the mashed potatoes to a large bowl. If you need to make mashed potatoes see the recipe link above. Flatten them out to make sure they are even then divide them into 4 equal parts. Remove one of the parts and set it aside.1.5 lbs mashed potatoes
- Fill the whole you created with flour to make it even with the rest of the potatoes. For me, this was roughly 1 cup of flour. Add one egg and the remaining potatoes that you removed earlier.1 egg, 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Before you get your hands dirty, fill a medium pot ¾ of the way with water, add the salt and set it to boil.½ tbsp salt
- Stir the potatoes, flour and egg to combine. You can use a stand mixer, a spatula or your hands.
- Once the dough forms into a manageable ball (it will be a bit sticky) you are ready to make the dumplings.
- Coat a clean surface with flour. Knead the dough a couple of times just to bring it all together. Divide into 5 pieces. Take one of the 5 pieces and roll it out into a long strip. The strip should be about 1” across.1 cup all-purpose flour
- Once you have the right diameter, using your hand pat it down gently to turn the roll into a flat strip. Then cut it using a butter knife into 1.5” dumplings. Repeat for the remaining dough. I got 66 dumplings in total.
- Once the water comes to a boil add some dumplings to it and boil for 3 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pot. You want the water to keep boiling as you add dumplings and you don’t want them to stick together. Once the dumplings float to the top, they’ll need another 90 seconds or so and they’re ready. Do not overcook them or they will start falling apart.
- Scoop them out using a slotted spoon into a bowl and add some butter. Toss to coat. This will prevent them from sticking to each other.2 tbsp butter
- Serve immediately.
