Potato smiley recipe without cornstarch is healthy and quick to make. Kid’s favorite Mccain smiles copycat recipe.
My family loves Mccain potato smiles and we indulge in these only once in a month or in two months. Mccain potato smiles are frozen potato smiles and are ready within minutes. They are convenient but, just like every other store-bought frozen product, contain preservatives, excess slat and trans-fats. That’s why I only let my family indulge in these once every month or two. However, if you make these at home and freeze you have a win-win situation.
With the a wonderful weather, one carves more of these crispy warm delights and hence I quickly browsed for some tips and tricks to make these at home. As usual, most of the recipes either had cornstarch or eggs. I wanted to use neither. So, I experimented with my recipe with rice flour. These are crispy and perfect for a cold winter evening with a warm cup of tea for us and milk for our daughter.
How do you make potato smiles?
Potato smiles are usually made with mashed potatoes and cornstarch. My recipe for potato smiles has no cornstarch making it way healthier than any other market alternative or recipes out there. Here’s why
- Crispy potato smiles made with rice flour.
- Made with zero cornstarch and hence healthier.
- No excess salt, no trans-fat, no preservatives.
- Homemade so we can control the ingredients and make variety.
- These can be frozen for future and could be a quick snack alternative.
You may also want to check out some of our favorite kids recipes Firecracker Namak Pare, Chocolate Banana Sushi, Rainbow Pasta

Homemade Potato Smiley Recipe | Mccain Smiles Copycat
Potato smiley recipe without cornstarch is healthy and quick to make. Kid's favorite Mccain smiles copycat recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Boiled and Mashed Potatoes cold
- 1/2 cup Fresh whole wheat bread crumbs Freshly ground in blender
- 1/4 cup Rice flour + Extra for Dusting
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste or Red chili powder
- Oil for Deep Frying
Instructions
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Mix together mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, rice flour, salt and pepper.
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Bring it together into a smooth dough. Use more binding of bread crumbs if required.
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Rest in fridge for 10 minutes.
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Dust the surface with some rice flour before rolling the dough into half an inch thick circle (doesn't need to be an exact circle).
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Cut into circles with the help of a cookie cutter. Use a small spoon to make a smiley face and straw to cut out eyes.
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Make shapes and smileys of your choice. Fry on medium heat till crisp and golden brown.
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Take out on a blotting paper and serve hot with ketchup or a dip of your choice.
Very nice recipe nandita thanks for sharing
it with us…..
Thanks for sharing. Very cute smiles.For how many days it can be stored in the freezer. Can it be used till a month.
Hello Valli,
Thanks a lot. Yes, they can be stored in the freezer for upto a month.
What stores sell these potato smileys?
You can find these potato smileys of McCain brand at any supermarket frozen section in India.
If I was to make up a big batch could I freeze them then take them from freezer as and when needed?? If so can they be cooked from frozen or do they have to be defrosted 1st and what temp on electric cooker please
Hi Angela! Yes you can freeze them uncooked, take them out and directly fry in hot oil. No defrosting is required. Sorry for a late reply. By electric cooker if you mean an induction then do use a high temperature or a pre setting which is meant for frying. The temperature will depend on your induction cooker.
hello.. nice recipe.. 🙂 just wanted to know if i can bake them instead? if so.. what temperature and how long? thank you very much!
Hello Kween, Sorry for a late reply. Yes, you can bake them as well. Just brush slightly with oil for a nice browning on the top. You can bake these at 180 degree C for 8 – 10 minutes or until nicely browned.
Totally love this recipe
Just love these cute smileys 🙂
Wow, your smiley potatoes look adorable. My potato loving son will devour these. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Love your videos, everything is explained so well. The potato smiley look cute and tasty.
These look so cute, my kids used to enjoy with baked beans 🙂
How cute these are!! Nothing beats homemade and I love making them at home too for my boys.. always get a small on third face when they see it 🙂
My daughter will love this. Thanks for the video.
Loved it… i wish i could grab . Lovely video
Potato smileys are cute and recipe video is always helpful.
they are so cute and adorable 🙂 I am definitely making this for my kids…
Those smileys are so cute and so nicely done. I usually buy the ready to fry packs, this is a great option to make at home!
These are such cute looking smileys….and as sapana says, a healthy option of adding rice flour. Perfect for the kids
Who can resist to this cuties, kids will go crazy if they see these homemade smileys. Well done.
Nandita, Your smileys are simply adorable! I love the simple recipe for such a yummy snack!
So cute!! No more store bought, thanks for sharing!
Aww such a cute snack and one of our favorites too!
These look adorable, even my kids used to adore these smiley faces. I love your homemade version.
Lovely snack idea to please kids as well as kids inside the adults..delicious
So cute. I too love smileys but sometimes the ready made ones are broken! Making them at home sounds like a good idea and way much healthier. Bookmarked this recipe.
Those smileys looks awesome
Lovely smilies and thats a nice video.
Another amazing tutorial of our loved snack.
I loved those smileys when I saw on instagram. Adding rice flour is a healthy option.