The Most Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Say hello to the future star of every single holiday dinner for the rest of your life. A combination of the right potatoes and a super simple technique makes all of the difference here – get wonderfully creamy mashed potatoes each and every time (plus countless requests for the recipe each time you make them!).
Close your eyes and picture the spread on the table just before Thanksgiving dinner. What do you see?
Probably a huge turkey right in the middle, then an embarrassment of riches when it comes to side dishes covering the rest of the table with little room for water glasses if your family is anything like mine.
Now, for the most important question: What are you MOST excited to eat?!
I typically gloss over the turkey, accepting a small piece of dark meat, and load up on all of those side dishes, but the one that gets me starry-eyed every time is the mashed potatoes.
I’m an unapologetic carb-lover, so perfect mashed potatoes were my life goal for the longest time. It took some time to nail down the technique for truly magnificent potatoes, but once I uncovered it, I’ve never made mashed potatoes another way! These are incredibly easy and require only a few ingredients, meaning there is absolutely no reason for leaving them off of your Thanksgiving menu.
Keys to Mashed Potato Bliss
Mashed potatoes are pretty darn basic, right? Boil the potatoes, mash or beat in some liquid, season them, and voila! Potatoes! Except… sometimes they’re not very good, right? Sometimes they turn out gummy or dry or bland and gosh, isn’t that the worst?! Here’s how to make the best-ever mashed potatoes:
- Use Yukon Gold potatoes. The end. Yukon Gold potatoes don’t have as much starch as russet potatoes, soak up that butter and cream extremely well, and result in a super creamy end product.
- Add warm butter and cream. In the past, I’ve stirred in softened butter and milk from the fridge, or some variation thereof. Instead, here we are warming the butter and cream on the stove and mashing them into the potatoes, a little at a time. Adding them warm allows them to more easily absorb into the potatoes, making for much smoother and creamier mashed potatoes.
- Season more than you think you should! Seriously, is there anything worse than bland mashed potatoes? You may think that the amount of salt and pepper in this recipe is a lot, but I promise you that the potatoes taste AMAZING and this is not an area you want to skimp!
Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
A few years ago, as a new mom of two, I grew tired of trying to time my potatoes with the turkey being done and carved, so I started making them early in the day and keeping them in the slow cooker on warm. It worked like a charm!
Now I make them in the morning before anyone gets here and they’re piping hot when we sit down to eat.
How-To: Simply make the potatoes as directed, then splash a little heavy cream into the bottom of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker and transfer the finished mashed potatoes into the slow cooker. Drizzle a little heavy cream on top, cover, and set to warm. Stir every 30 minutes or so and add a splash more cream if the potatoes seem dry at any point. Serve when ready!
My family clamors for these mashed potatoes each and every Thanksgiving, so depending on how many people we’re having, I make either a triple or quadruple batch to ensure there is enough for everyone to eat at dinner and then pack up with their leftovers.
I love that these are super creamy but still retain a good bit of texture and some chunkiness – the best of both worlds when it comes to mashed potatoes. I hope you’ll give this version a try and treat your family and friends to mashed potato nirvana this year.
The Most Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907.18 g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (177.44 ml) half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are very tender.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter and half-and-half in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Mash up the potatoes a little with a potato masher. Add the melted butter mixture a little at a time and use the potato masher to combine. Once it has all been added, use a wooden spoon or spatula to give it a few stirs to combine completely. Stir in the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Half and half is a common dairy product sold in the U.S. If it's not available where you live, you can substitute half whole milk and half heavy cream.
- You can keep these mashed potatoes warm in a slow cooker if making for a holiday dinner. Splash some cream on the bottom of the slow cooker, add the mashed potatoes, and then a splash of heavy cream on top. Keep the slow cooker on warm and stir occasionally. If the potatoes seem dry at any point, then just stir in some additional cream.
- These are very well seasoned (there's nothing worse than bland mashed potatoes!); if you're watching your salt intake, you may want to cut back on the salt to start and then add more to taste.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on November 22, 2011. Updated in November 2019 with new photos, a video, and extra recipe tips.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
This recipe sounds wonderful. Cannot wait to make this.
I always salt my cooking water when boiling potatoes. Make the water as salty as the sea, just like when cooking pasta. The cooked potatoes are well seasoned through out when they are soft and ready for mashing.
Love the tip for keeping them in the crockpot! Thank you.
Totally agree with adding the salt in the cooking process.
This is exactly how I make them and keep them in the slow cooker so delicious!
I’m going to tell a secret they also freeze beautiful ! I make 5 pounds mash and then let cool and freeze in freezer bowls for four servings so easy to pull out when needed!
I love your recipes
Great tips! I will stick to Yukon Gold potatoes because I noticed my red potatoes get a little gluey quick. Also, I started boiling in chicken broth and that adds a TON of flavor. You could do full broth or a water broth mixture. We also add steak seasoning to the broth. Turns out pretty good. Love your recipes as always!
We follow a very similar recipe but use the instant pot recipe and use a potato ricer. Using the ricer we can stir in the ingredients rather than use a mixer or masher to beat in the dairy and butter. Very useful tool the ricer. Used it for the first time at a family gathering and my sister, a trained chef, told us these mashed potatoes were done right before we even told her how we did them.
This is the easiest recipe to follow and make. Absolutely delicious! It was hard not to lick the spoon. Yummy!
I made it for the Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Superb!
How would you fo this with a pressure cooker? Instant Pot does the best job on potatoes!
Michelle,
I made these for the first time last Thanksgiving (I doubled the recipe) and they were such a hit that they are gracing our table again this year. They really are the best mashed potatoes we have ever eaten. When everyone is asking what you did differently and going back for seconds…..you know you have a keeper! Thanks so much for such a simple, yet amazing recipe.
Will definitely try this recipe this year.
The new look on the email looks great.
Oh, my goodness! I am having so much fun going through your recipes…how delicious they sound! Thank you!
I plan to update my 40-year-old baklava recipe by adding cinnamon to the syrup. Your tzatziki sauce sounds perfect with the cucumbers and lemon juice. Thank you for taking the time to fine-tune your favorite recipes, so we can easily make and enjoy them!
Great tips for the perfect mashed potatoes. I Love to add a whole roasted garlic bulb to my batch.
Now it’s perfect! thanks for the tips!
Any recommendations on gravy to serve with this? I’d love to bring it to a friendsgiving but I feel like if you bring mash potatoes you need to provide gravy!
cept…how am I going to get gravy without chicken stock…
You could try a make-ahead gravy, or check with whoever is making the turkey to see if they’re preparing gravy, I would be they are, and then you’re off the hook :)
This sounds so good! I’ve loved mashed potatoes since I was a little kid. When I was turning 6 mom asked what I wanted to eat for my birthday and I just wanted a plate of mashed potatoes! I got them too!!! Have been a life long fan of mashed potatoes. One of the first things about them is the peeling part — just buy yourself a good OXO peeler and its not such a bad job. With this little item, I don’t mind peeling at all. I do like to add garlic — powder sometimes, minced other times. And another things that works really well is sour cream or French Onion dip. Such good flavor, almost make you weep its so good. There’s no such thing as bad mashed potatoes unless you put pean in them, then you should be whipped for ruining them!!!!!
This is great. But it’s a lot of potatoes if you live alone After
I make this amount, I add softened cream cheese and combine well with spud comboportion it in freezer plastic containers or really good top lock bags. The addition makes the potatoes taste
almost just cooked when you microwave them. They last 2 months in the freezer. Try it..
I made these mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are absolutely delicious and heat up well for leftovers. And warming them in the crockpot? Genius! On Christmas Day they were in the crockpot for 8 hours and all I did was give them an occasional stir and they came out wonderfully. This is definitely my go-to recipe for mashed potatoes!
These sound delish. I have your perfect pie crust in the frige right now. I’m making Chrissy Tiegen’s mac and cheese too. I’d say it’s a BEB thanksgiving!
My question is, do you think these potatoes can be made ahead of time? I’m wondering if I can make them today and reheat tomorrow. They just take up so much room on the stove.
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Norma! I’ve never made them an entire day before, but I usually make them in the morning and then put them in my crock pot on warm until dinnertime so I don’t have to worry about them right before dinner! Just add a splash of cream to the bottom and top and stir occasionally, splashing more cream if they seem to be getting dry.
A year ago, you said you were buying the Sprinkles cookbook. I also bought it and have been disappointed in how dry the Sprinkles birthday cake is. Do you have suggestions about how to make non-boxed cakes from not being so dry?
Hi Emilie, I hate dry cakes too! I have tons here on the site that I love; feel free to poke around and give a few a try!
You seriously just changed my life with the ‘do them early and keep them in the slow cooker’ idea. making all those hot mashed potatoes at the last minute was one of the most stressful parts of thanksgiving. THANK YOU!
I have been making mashed potatoes using my Instant Pot to cook the potatoes, such a time saver! I always use yukon gold potatoes, they’re the creamiest! I slice the potatoes into thirds and then load them into a steamer basket in the Instant Pot with one cup of water at the bottom. I steam the potatoes at high pressure for 8 minutes, then do a quick release. I remove the steamer basket and drain the water from the Instant Pot, then add in the butter (I cube it so it melts quickly) and then add in the potatoes on top and mash them, adding in the half & half until I’ve reached the desired consistency. This is our new go-to method, especially since my fiance can handle this part of dinner while I work on another dish!
Thanks so much for sharing your Instant Pot variation Melanie! Sounds so easy!
Who knew that heating milk and butter before would do the trick! Thank you for sharing. Would love to share your recipe on my site if that’s okey with you?
http://niccimarquart.com/
Hi Nicci, If you make the recipe and take photos, and want to blog about it, that’s okay with me, as long as you share a link back here. Thanks!
Never made them any other way, just the way my mother made them like this and her mother before.
I come from Rheinlandpfalz in Germany and this is the way we make Krumbeerebrei! :)
Best ever!
So that’s the secret to better mashed potatoes….half and half?
Mashed potatoes is my # 1 favorite side dish!!
Well, it’s heating the butter and half and half mixture before adding it to the boiled potatoes!
Hi Michelle…
I had to let in our secret to fluffy mashed potatoes is to add in some baking powder about a teaspoon to about a kilo of potatoes when you add in the butter and milk. We don’t heat separately…add in the seasoning milk butter and baking powder all at once give it a good stir and heat gently.
Sumayya
South Africa
Oh I’ve never heard of adding baking powder, I’ll definitely try that soon! Thanks for sharing!