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You are here: Home / NIBBLES / Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

November 8, 2020 By Steven 2 Comments

My Dad made the best creamy mashed potatoes. Smooth, and buttery with the perfect amount of moisture. He always thinned his mashed potatoes with milk, however, I use half & half in my creamy mashed potatoes recipe. In the USA, my favorite potatoes for mashing are Russet potatoes. High starch, low moisture potatoes that are light and fluffy when baked.

I make mashed potatoes both skin on and/or peeled, it just depends on the main course and how fussy I feel about it. I like the rustic mashed potatoes with the skin on as a side dish for stews or mashed potatoes that I add other things to, such as herbs, cheese, or smashed green peas.

If you leave the skin on for mashed potatoes, be sure to scrub the potatoes really, really well. A lot of farmers use cow manure as fertilizer, so, yeah, enough said. Scrub your potatoes well. I have a sponge with a coarse, abrasive side that I have set aside specifically for scrubbing root vegetables.

A few simple ingredients are all you need to make the most amazing, creamy mashed potatoes!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes for Two

This mashed potato recipe is for two people; however, it is easily doubled, tripled, converted for 100 people. The formula for making perfect mashed potatoes is simple and straightforward. It isn’t necessary to add a lot of salt to the finished mashed potatoes, they are boiled in salted water so they should taste excellent, however, add or subtract salt to your personal taste. Just remember the gravy or other components in the meal may have a lot of salt in them as well, so go easy on the salt in mashed potatoes until the meal is fully assembled. To start my creamy mashed potatoes recipe, I use one potato per person, the size you would use for a baked potato, then go from there.

This is my foolproof recipe for creamy mashed potatoes:

  • 1-Russet potato per person
  • 2-tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 2-tablespoons half & half, or milk
  • 1/4-teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4-teaspoon of black pepper

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Best Potatoes for Mashing

  • High-Starch Potatoes: These make the best mashed potatoes. My Dad made the best creamy mashed potatoes, and he always used the high starch Russet potatoes. Russets are a ‘floury’ potato that has low moisture content and more of a fluffy texture when cooked, making them my go-to for light, creamy, smooth mashed potatoes.
  • Medium-Starch Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are somewhere in between the Russet and the Red Potato having characteristics of both a waxy and a floury potato. These will produce a dense, creamy mashed potato.
  • Low-Starch / Waxy Potatoes: Red Potatoes are what’s called a ‘waxy’ potato and will hold their shape when cooked, they make an interesting niche / rustic mashed potato, but not what we are looking for in this or any traditional mashed potato recipe.

How to Make Perfect Mashed Potatoes

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into equal size pieces, approximately 2-inches. If you like mashed potatoes with the skins on, be sure to scrub the skins very well to remove all dirt.
  2. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water. Anytime a recipe calls for boiling veggies, potatoes, or pasta, in salted water, it should taste like the ocean. Not enough salt and you’ll wind up with bland mashed potatoes.
  3. Don’t over-boil. You just want them to cook to the point that the tip of a knife will pierce the potato with little resistance. Over-boiling will cause the potatoes to fall apart in the water.
  4. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot uncovered. Reserve some of the water in case your mashed potatoes are gummy and you need to thin them a little. Place them back in a hot dry pot and let them steam for a minute or two to dry out and rid the potatoes of excess moisture.
  5. Combine the butter, dairy, and other ingredients in another pot. Bring to a simmer before adding them to the hot potatoes. Never add cold ingredients to your hot potatoes.
  6. Mash the potatoes by hand, not with a machine. There is a lot of starch in these potatoes, and the mechanical action of a mixer or food processor releases more of the starch. This has the potential of making the finished mashed potatoes gluey and gummy. If this happens, you can rescue gummy mashed potatoes by stirring in more hot cream, stock, or the starchy water that the potatoes were boiled in. Rather than light and fluffy, the mashed potatoes will be a lot creamier, but at least they won’t be gummy.

Here is my foolproof recipe for Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

My Dad made the best mashed potatoes. Creamy smooth, and buttery with the perfect amount of moisture. He always thinned his mashed potatoes with milk, but I rarely buy milk, so I like to use half & half. In the USA, my favorite potatoes for mashing are Russet potatoes. High starch, low moisture potatoes that are light and fluffy when baked.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
I would be so happy if you followed me on Pinterest!Follow @SipsNibblesBites
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Servings: 2
Calories: 334kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Pound Russet Potatoes Peeled, 1-inch dice
  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 Cup Half & Half
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt Plus extra salt for the boiling water
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Instructions

  • Place diced potatoes in a small pot covered in salted water over high heat. Water should have enough salt to taste like the ocean. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook at a low boil until a knife pierces the potato easily. Approximately 20-minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot over low heat. Let the potatoes steam uncovered for about 1-minute to evaporate some of the excess moisture.
    Mashed Potatoes
  • Combine all the other ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. (or microwave until steaming hot).
  • Add the hot liquid to the potatoes and use a hand masher, mash the potatoes until smooth, about 1-minute
    Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Nutrition Facts
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 334 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 603mg26%
Potassium 512mg15%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 816IU16%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 53mg5%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Thank you for visiting my Food Blog. I hope you enjoy my recipe for Creamy Mashed Potatoes. Please come back and visit again soon! Bon Appetit, Steven

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Filed Under: NIBBLES, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Best Potatoes for Mashing, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, How to Make the Best Mashed Potatoes

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Comments

  1. Lacy

    December 20, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    5 stars
    I love this mashed potatoes recipe!

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    • Steven

      December 25, 2020 at 6:07 pm

      Thank you, Lacy, for the nice comment and the 5-star rating. My Dad made the best-mashed potatoes! I’m just copying him. Bon appetit!

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