• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Browse Recipes
  • Resources
  • subscribe
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
Life Currents
Home » Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

November 11, 2022 by Debi 1 Comment

  • Share
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

These Mashed Potatoes are the buttery, fluffy potatoes that come to mind when we think about the classic Thanksgiving Day holiday side dish. These are made with a combination of Yukon Gold potatoes and Russet potatoes for the perfect texture and creamy buttery flavor, the potatoes are first baked, then pushed through a ricer, and mixed with lots of buttery milk.

This easy mashed potato recipe is a nice Rustic Mashed Potato with a rich, creamy, irresistible flavor. Besides being great for the holidays, they’re the perfect side dish for any meal. So full of roasted toasty complex potato flavor.

If you love good, old-fashioned mashed potatoes, this is the recipe for you! It’s made with just 4 ingredients. And this go-to recipe for simple, homemade mashed potatoes, that are fancy enough for the holiday table, is a Thanksgiving dinner must.

I first published this recipe in 2010. I’ve updated it a few times over the years, but this is my first major update now with new information, photos, and how to instructions. Wow my photos were bad (I left one at the bottom of the post if you want a laugh) when I first published this! But the recipe was so good and still is!

Mashed potatoes in a brown bowl topped with melted butter and chives, title on upper left: How to make the best holiday mashed potatoes.
These Mashed Potatoes are the buttery, fluffy potatoes that come to mind when we think about the classic Thanksgiving Day holiday side dish.

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Thanksgiving dinner dishes with stuffing, green beans, gravy, and mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving dinner side dishes with Vegetarian Stuffing, Oven Roasted Green Beans, Vegetarian Gravy, and Mashed Potatoes.

How do you like your potatoes?

There are probably as many ways to make mashed potatoes as there are people. Runny, lumpy, chunky mashed potatoes, skin on mashed potatoes, without skin, boiled, roasted, with cheddar cheese, with garlic, leeks, with green peas, made with Russets, with Yukon Golds, I’ve even made blue mashed potatoes.

But this recipe is a classic, delicious recipe that will please everyone at the table.

They’re perfectly thick and creamy. These aren’t the whipped and light kind of potatoes.

These are easy to make ahead of time and reheat when you want them.

This is the simple mashed potatoes recipe that you want on your Thanksgiving or Christmas spread. These are also the taters you want for weeknight dinners! Just the classic potato and buttery flavors so they don’t interfere with the other flavors at dinner (no garlic to overpower the other dishes or anything!).

Extra special potatoes

Most mashed potatoes recipes usually have you peel the potatoes, chop the potatoes into cubes, and boil the chopped potatoes until tender; then mash with milk & butter. It makes a nice simple side dish as long as you follow some tips.

However, if you want something a little extra special, bake the potatoes. It gives the mashed potatoes an earthy rustic quality with a more complex flavor.

I’m also a big fan of skins left on – easier, healthier, and tastier. The skins develop a caramelized toasty quality after an hour or so in the oven. And the Yukon Gold potatoes have a nice thin skin that goes well in the dish.

Learn how to make mashed potatoes

Pro tips and tricks for great mashed potatoes

  • Use a couple different kinds of potatoes. They’re the star of this show, after all! Grab some starchy Russet potatoes and buttery Yukon Golds, about half of each. This will make the fluffiest and buttery-est mashed potatoes.
  • The fat helps coat the potatoes so they don’t get gluey. We’ve made this step easy by ricing the potato directly into the melted butter.
  • The milk that’s added to the potatoes needs to be hot, or the mashed potatoes may be gluey or sticky.
  • Avoid water logging your potatoes. Too much water is the enemy of mashed potatoes. We’ve solved this problem by baking the potatoes rather than boiling them.
  • Don’t over mix the potatoes. It creates a stickier gummy potato. Again, this is solved by ricing the potato for a fluffy mash.

Ingredients

Now let’s talk about those simple ingredients.

What kind of potatoes should I use?

We’ve already talked about the potatoes – half Russets and half Yukon Golds.

Don’t use the waxy red potatoes for this mash. They won’t break down enough giving you lumpy potatoes, and don’t absorb the dairy very well.

It may seem counterintuitive to use a high-starch potato for a preparation where starch is the enemy, but due to their mealy composition, russet potatoes fall apart easily. Russets also absorb dairy more easily than waxy potatoes, which means less overworking.

And those gold potatoes have that beautiful color and buttery flavor right there in the potato.

So, the combination of the two is perfect!

Milk

Want richer potatoes? Use richer dairy.

Use cream if you want for over the top, decadent potatoes.

Half & half isn’t as thick and rich as cream, but it also isn’t going to be as heavy.

I’m a big fan of whole milk for a balance of taste, calories, and richness.

You can make some pretty good potatoes with 2% milk, but for special occasions, I’d recommend a different choice.

You can also make vegan mashed potatoes using plant-based milks. Choose one that’s neutral in flavor, unsweetened, and no vanilla flavoring added.

In this recipe I have you warm the milk with the melted butter so it’s hot when you rice the potatoes into it. This helps the potatoes absorb the dairy much easier, and you won’t have to work them as much to mix in the butter and cream. Less agitation means creamier mashed potatoes.

Butter

Use unsalted butter. That way you can control how salty your potatoes are. Salted butter varies from brand to brand, and even batch to batch.

The butter is one of the main flavors in mashed potatoes, so use the best quality you can.

If you want to use salted butter, don’t add the 1 teaspoon salt called for in the recipe, and simply taste and add salt as needed in the final seasoning.

Melting the butter and adding it to the potatoes with the warm milk coats the starch and results in silkier potatoes.

Smooth mashed potatoes trick

Let’s gather our tools and answer the question of, “what tool should I use to mash potatoes?”

I love my {affiliate link} Potato Ricer. If you don’t have one, I seriously recommend one! It makes smooth evenly mashed fluffy potatoes with no lumps! And it’s easy to fish out the peel after ricing the potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes beforehand.

Or, you can chop the peel a little smaller and toss it into the dish.

Food mills {affiliate link} are great. I use them for my pumpkin pie recipe too. It makes for fewer lumps, fluffier taters, and separates the skins so no peeling needed.

You can use a hand potato masher, however, the final dish will be lumpier and possibly heavier.

Potatoes made with an electric mixer, blender, or food processor can be overworked and too starchy ending up with a gluey sticky mess.

Why do mashed potatoes sometimes get gummy?

Ok, we’ve touched on it a few times but let’s talk about those gummy gluey potatoes and how to avoid them.
 
When potatoes are mashed, their starch is released. The more you work the potatoes, the more starch gets released. Working the potatoes is either when you mash them or when you mix them with the milk.
 
When too much starch gets released, the potatoes become gummy and gluey. This is what you want to avoid.
 
To prevent that sticky mess, make sure you mash the potatoes while they’re still hot.
 
Don’t skip warming the milk and melting the butter. Warm dairy helps prevent cold liquid from shocking the potatoes and the potatoes absorb the milk faster thus incorporating it into the potatoes for a better consistency.
 
Don’t over work the potatoes when mashing or mixing them.
 
Using the potato ricer or food mill helps to break down cooked potatoes without overworking them. And be sure to gently fold in the butter and milk for light mashed potatoes.

How to make

Be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card for full ingredient amounts and instructions.

wrapping potatoes in foil on left, and wrapped potatoes in the oven on right.

Wrap each potato in foil, then prick potatoes through foil several times with a fork. Bake until tender, 1 to 1 & ¼ hours.

butter and milk in a pan on left, and unwrapping and cutting potatoes on right.

Heat milk, butter, and salt in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until butter is melted.

While milk mixture heats, unwrap baked potatoes and, cut unpeeled potatoes in quarters.

a chunk of potato in a potato ricer on right, and pushing the potato through the ricer on left.

Force the hot potatoes through potato ricer into the hot milk mixture in pan and gently stir with a large heatproof spatula just until combined.

The skins can be scooped out of the bowl of the ricer as you mash the potatoes. You can also chop the skins into smaller pieces and add them to the potatoes.

the potato ricer over the milk mixture on left, and mixing the mashed potatoes together on right.

And this recipe is easily doubled or tripled. Just use the calculator built right into the recipe card to make it easy on you!

Rustic Mashed Potatoes with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
These mashed potatoes are served topped with my Creamy Mushroom Sauce

How to serve

Rustic mashed potatoes are a family favorite; they’re versatile and can be served alongside so many main dishes. Comfort food here we come!

For a wonderful family dinner, serve up some Cedar Plank Air Fryer Salmon, Italian Apricot Chicken, or Smokehouse Style Beef with Maple Thyme Roasted Carrots and Air Fryer Green Beans on the side.

Mashed Potatoes are fantastic topped with Vegetarian Gravy,  Creamy Mushroom Sauce , Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce or country gravy.

Bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing for Thansgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving dinner should be filled with delicious food for everyone!

Thanksgiving Day menu

Looking for great dishes for Thanksgiving? Don’t worry, I got you covered!

Start with some Marinated cheese and crackers. It can be made ahead of time and it’s so good!

You’ll want to make this Stuffed turkey along with Vegetarian Stuffing, Vegetarian Gravy Recipe, Roasted Cranberry Sauce, Roasted Vegetables, and some creamed spinach. Oh don’t forget my favorite turkey day side dish of cucumbers and onions.

Finish it all off with a great Pumpkin Pie Recipe.

Can I make these ahead?

These are great make ahead potatoes!

They’ll keep warm in a covered pot for about half an hour.
 
Transfer them to a slow cooker on its “warm” setting or chafing dish for up to two hours.

Leftover mashed potatoes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Allow the mashed potatoes to cool completely, then transfer them to an airtight container and pop in the fridge.

Reheating

Reheat any leftovers in the microwave, in the oven, or on the stove. You may need to add a little more milk and butter if they’ve dried out a bit.

To reheat in the oven, place them in a 350° F oven, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes until heated through. This is the way I do it when I take them to a family gathering too.

Heat them, covered, in a heavy saucepan on the stove over low heat, stirring, until heated through.

Leftovers can be made into something new too, like Mashed Potato Puffs, Mashed Potato Casserole, or Potato Veggie Fritters. Or use them as a topper for shepherd’s pie.

Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes?

Yes, you can freeze mashed potatoes for up to one month. Let the prepped potatoes cool completely, then place in airtight containers.

When you’re ready to eat them, just thaw them in the fridge overnight. Or, if you forgot to take them out, just pop them in the microwave on a defrost setting.

Country Gravy Mix - easy to make and delicious once mixed up and served over mashed potatoes
These mashed potatoes are topped with my Country Gravy

Let’s connect

If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email in the upper right.
Or, connect with me on your favorite social media channel for recipes, photos, & much more:
Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter!
And find my shop on Amazon for recommendations on cool tools

If you try this recipe,
please come back & leave a comment below letting us know how it goes.
Share a picture & tag @lifecurrents on Instagram.
Or you can upload a “tried it” photo (I would love to see)
via the pin.

A large bowl filled with mashed potatoes topped with butter and chives, a bowl of green beans next to it.
Mashed Potatoes are the centerpiece of every thanksgiving day table!

Recipe

a brown bowl filled with mashed potatoes topped with chives and melted butter.

Mashed Potatoes

Debi
This easy mashed potato recipe is a nice Rustic Mashed Potato with a rich, creamy, irresistible flavor. Besides being great for the holidays, they’re the perfect side dish for any meal. So full of roasted toasty complex potato flavor.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 109 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound Russet potatoes
  • 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 1 cup whole milk or milk of choice
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425° F.
  • Wrap each potato in foil, then prick potatoes through foil several times with a fork. Bake until tender, 1 to 1 & ¼ hours.
  • Heat milk, butter, and salt in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until butter is melted.
  • While milk mixture heats, unwrap baked potatoes and, cut unpeeled potatoes in quarters.
  • Force the hot potatoes through potato ricer into the hot milk mixture in pan and gently stir with a large heatproof spatula just until combined.
  • The skins can be scooped out of the bowl of the ricer as you mash the potatoes. You can also chop the skins into smaller pieces and add them to the potatoes.

Video

Notes

Make ahead: Mashed potatoes can be made 1 day ahead.
Reheat, covered, in a heavy saucepan over low heat with a little additional milk, stirring after potatoes are warm, until heated through;
Reheat in the oven: in a baking dish, covered, until heated though.
Reheat in a microwave, stirring halfway through heating.

Nutrition

Calories: 109kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 309mgPotassium: 513mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 52IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword mashed potatoes, potatoes, roasted
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!

A glass bowl filled with mashed potatoes with the skins on.
This photo is from when I first published this recipe in 2010. Wow that was bad!
  • Share

Filed Under: Budget, Christmas, Easter, Gluten-free, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian, Weeknight meals Tagged With: Christmas, Cooking, dinner, Food, healthy, Holiday, ingredients, potato, recipe, side dish, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

You May Also Like

square crop of pieces of cookie dough bark stacked up.
Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough Bark
square crop of cookies topped with lemon cream cheese frosting.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
square crop looking down on two pieces of avocado toast on a wooden cutting board.
Cottage Cheese Avocado Toast
about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

Previous Post: « Vegetarian Gravy
Next Post: Eggnog Custards »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susannah

    November 16, 2022 at 9:32 am

    5 stars
    I am obsessed with how buttery and fluffy these are! This is going to be my recipe for Thanksgiving this year. I’m so glad I made a test run for weeknight dinners too!

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

Most Popular Recipes

square crop of a bowl of lemon cottage cheese pudding with a spoon on the side.
square crop looking down into a baking dish filled with pepper jelly topped cheese dip with crackers on the right.
square crop of creamy dressing in a glass jar with fresh cilantro and limes around it.
looking down on a bowl with two scoops of coconut sorbet in it.
square crop looking down on a small white bowl filled with ranch and surrounded by vegetables and a lemon wedge.
a Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes with a bite missing so you can see the filling.
A chip that's been dipped in cheese and the bowl of cheese is behind it.
looking fown in a cast iron skillet filled with White Bean Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi and a wooden spoon sticking out.
a white bowl filled with rice pudding that's topped witha s prinkle of cinnamon and there's a spoon in the pudding.

Footer

SEEN ON

as seen on

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

This month’s featured recipes: Bourbon Banana Bread, Crescent Roll Chicken Squares, Pecan Pie Muffins, and Flourless Chocolate Cookies.

Want to tip me? You can Buy Me a Coffee! And thanks!

© 2025 lifecurrentsblog.com. All rights reserved. Find my Privacy Policy Here.

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard
  • Mix
  • Threads
  • X
  • Email

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.