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A hand holding a plate of mashed potatoes close up showing a dab of butter melting on the top and a rich creamy spread up mashed potatoes on a plate

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Let's talk about this Mashed Potatoes Recipe. This is my all time favorite and crowd  pleaser wow mashed potatoes, and they deserve all the glory! Creamy, silky smooth, rich with a hint of roasted garlic, and super easy to make. A secret ingredient and trick is KEY to this absolutely BEST mashed potatoes recipe, so read along :)
Course Appetizer, side, Side Dish
Cuisine American, European, French
Keyword Best Mashed Potatoes, how to make mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 336 kcal
Author Mahy

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds Potatoes Russet and Yukon, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 2 cups Milk 2%
  • 1 1/2 cups Cream 18% or 35%
  • 1 teaspoon salt kosher or sea salt
  • 1 garlic roasted
  • 4 tablespoons butter unsaled
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese or sour cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper more or less to your taste

Instructions

  1. You can get the full comprehensive article on Roasted Garlic & How to Roast Garlic. If you're familiar with it, basiclly you'll trim off the top of a whole head of garlic. It sounds like alot but it doesn't have an overpowering taste, rather a sweet one.
    a head of garlic with the tops cut off in the middle of some foil. Drizzled with olive oil and sea salt

  2. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil and salt, then wrap the foil around it. Bake or air fry it until golden and super soft. Then unwrap it and it should look golden.

    a roasted head of garlic just ready and unwrapped from the foil looking golden and super soft
  3. We are team peeled potatoes. Like all the way. Peeling the potatoes makes them super creamy when mashed and that's what we're aiming for here.
    A hand holding peeled and cut up potatoes to about 1 inch thick chunks.
  4. Cut the peeled potatoes into 1 inch cubes appropriately. Now it doesn't need to be perfect since they will get mashed anyway, but keeping them the same size is important. This insures the potatoes all cook at the same time.
    A hand holding a jar of milk and cream mixed together ready to boil in the potatoes with for a creamier mashed potatoes recipes
  5. This is THE trick. We have tested over so many years boiling the potatoes in water, stock, milk alone and milk with cream. It's key to stick to the recipe here since we don't want to throw away excess milk or cream if you add too much.
  6. You'll add just enough to cover the potatoes, and not even fully immersed. Boiling the potatoes in this creamy mixture ensures they soak up all that creaminess with their existing starch to create utterly luscious mashed potatoes!
    perfect amount of milk and cream added over the potatoes, not too much, just enough to cover it so it can soak it up.
  7. Cover the pot and let the potatoes cook low and slow. Avoid increasing the heat as it will scorch the milk.
    tender boiled potatoes in the pot ready to mash
  8. When ready, the potatoes will soak up all that milk and cream, and the remaining liquid will be super thck. The thickness comes from the starch in your potatoes.
  9. You'e going to use a slotted spoon to remove the boiled potatoes in a large bowl. To that bowl, you'll add the roasted garlic cloves. Simply squeeze them out of the garlic head and they will be soft and come right out.
    a large bowl with the boiled potatoes, the roasted garlic cloves on top, some butter, seasoning and some cream cheese
  10. Then you'll season the potatoes, and add in butter and cream cheese.
  11. We love a hand held mixer or kitchen machine for this job. You can use a potato mashed as well if you prefer. We have found that using a mixer creates FLUFFY, airy and seriously divine mashed potatoes instead. So we go for that.
    A hand holding a hand mixer and using it to fluff up the potatoes and mash them instead of a potato masher
  12. Keep mixing until the potatoes are soft to your liking.
  13. Spoon the fluffy mashed potatoes onto the serving plate using a large spoon. Swirl the surface around to create a small dent where you can add the butter if using.
    A large spoon smoothing out the surface of the mashed potatoes on a serving plate
  14. Add in a teaspoon of butter on top and watch it melt away! So divine! You can add in some fresh herbs, parmesan, parsley , chives, chilli flakes, extra black pepper or any topping you like here!
    A fork spooning out some of the mashed potatoes with the melted butter on top showing the creamy texture.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Tips for the Best Mashed Potatoes 

  1. Choose the right type of potatoes with a balance of starch and wax. Our favorite is Russet potatoes, or Yukon gold. You can even have a mix of those two. 
  2. Peel the potatoes for a smooth finish.
  3. Cut your potatoes to an equal size so they cook evenly. 
  4. Add the correct amount of milk and cream to boil the potatoes. This avoids wasting excess of the liquid when they potatoes are boiled and soft. 
  5. Boiling the potatoes in milk and cream infuses them with a rich and creamy taste compared to using water.
  6. Season the cream and milk so the potatoes are salted while cooking.
  7. Make sure to cook on low heat.
  8. Roasting the garlic is a great way to add a subtle sweet taste without overpowering your dish. 
  9. Cream cheese add the perfect tang, texture and creamy finish to mashed potatoes. 
  10. Using a hand mixer creates a fluffy and airy mashed potatoes recipe. 

How to Serve Mashed Potatoes

Naturally they're a great side dish, and even greater with steak! Try our Ribeye Steak or perfect NY Strip Steak recipes here. They're also perfect served with our Braised Lamb Shanks .

How to Store, Freeze and Reheat Mashed Potatoes

  • Our favoirte way to store leftovers is in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Try our popular Mashed Potato Pancakes using leftovers--SO GOOD!!!
  • To make in advance, simply soak the peeled and cup up potatoes in a bowl of ice cold water for 4 hours. Then boil and proceed with the recipe. 
  • To Reheat the mashed potatoes you can microwave it with a plastic wrap on top. Make sure to make a few dents on the wrap on top to allow steam to evaporate. 
  • We prefer to reheat the mashed potatoes in a small pot with a 2-4 Tablespoons of milk and heat that on low. The amount of milk depends on how much leftover you have. 
  • To cook in a Crock-Pot, proceed with the recipe and milk and then heat on high for 1 hour. 
  • If you're heating in an instant pot, select the warm setting with the extra milk for 45 minutes. 

Variations of Mashed Potatoes

  • Make this recipe using sweet potatoes--SO GOOD! 
  • Try our quick and delicious Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
.
  • Add cheddar, gruyere or any cheese to the bowl before mixing. 
  • If you're making this vegan, use a dairy free milk and butter alternative. 
  • Make it zesty and fresh by adding the zest of 1 lemon.
  • Spice up the potatoes with Italian seasoning, Greek seasoning, Cajun, Taco seasoning and more! 
Nutrition Facts
Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 336 Calories from Fat 297
% Daily Value*
Fat 33g51%
Saturated Fat 21g131%
Trans Fat 0.3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 102mg34%
Sodium 1091mg47%
Potassium 189mg5%
Carbohydrates 6g2%
Fiber 0.01g0%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 1305IU26%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 148mg15%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.