Simply the BEST mashed potatoes recipe that makes any main dish amazing! Perfect for any side starch dish, or side dish in general, these mashed potatoes are silky, pillowy, and delicious.
HOW TO MAKE MASHED POTATOES
- Peel the potatoes and rinse them in water. Be sure to cut the potatoes in equal size pieces so the potatoes cook at the same time and them to a pot of salty water and bring it to a boil.
- Once at a boil, cook the potatoes until fork tender about 25 minutes.
- Before you drain the potatoes, take a coffee cup of the starchy water and set aside. Now drain the potatoes and then return them to the pan.
- Using a hand masher, put the pan back on low heat and start mashing until the lumps are out. Then add the cream cheese, butter and heavy cream and mix to combine.
- If the mixture needs any thinning, use the reserved starchy water you set aside. Check for the need of more salt or pepper and serve.
THE BEST POTATOES FOR MASHING?
There are the big common three potatoes most of us are familiar with. The Russet, Idaho and Yukon potatoes. All of these versions are quite starchy so they are perfect for mashing. Their starch granules swell as they boil for the fluffiest mashed potatoes… yeah that’s a thing.
My preference is the Yukon potato. They are a bit pricier than the Russet or Idaho, but the skin on them is much thinner and they have an inherent yellow color to them that reminds me of butter.
TIPS & TRICKS
Definitely be mindful that you are cutting up your pieces of potatoes in equal sized pieces. You want to be sure that all of the pieces of potatoes cook at the same time or you will be in a pickle when you try to mash hard potatoes intermixed with soft perfect pieces.
Save some of the starchy water before you drain the potatoes to use to thin the potatoes should you need to. Just pull some off in a coffee mug and set aside.
Make sure that your cream cheese, butter and heavy cream are at room temperature. You do not want to cool down your potatoes by pouring in cold cream, butter and cream cheese.
HOW MUCH POTATOES SHOULD I MAKE?
I LOVE to have left over potatoes after serving a meal, especially a big one like Thanksgiving! But even for our Super Supper Sunday family gatherings that are usually 20 plus people, you need a lot of potatoes. So how much should you make?
I usually use the 5 pounds will feed 10 people rule of thumb. So 20 people, 10 pounds. 30 people, 20 pounds. The recipe is standard for 5 pounds of potatoes so adjust accordingly. Remember if you error, error on the side of having too much!
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER MASHED POTATOES?
As if there is even such a thing! Not in my household, but if you are that lucky, you can put them in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. In my opinion, if after 3 days you have not consumed them or re-worked them into some other dish, you simply are not going to. So again, 3 days then off to the trash.
HOW TO RE-HEAT LEFTOVER MASHED POTATOES?
The quickest is to put them in a microwave and reheat them for 2- 4 minutes depending on the amount and how strong the microwave is. Keep in mind that you will need to add some moisture to them to keep them from being super dry. I prefer to use a little milk, give it a stir and then reheat.
The old school method would be to put the mashed potatoes in a pan on low heat on the stove top. Again, add a little milk and the love of patience and slowly heat the potatoes up, stirring occasionally until the consistency is where you want it.
If you are looking for other starch side dish options that will amaze ,take a look at these recipes for consideration:
Cheesy Parmesan Orzo Side Dish
Savory and cayenne saffron infused rice pilaf
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