Our Fluffy Mashed Potatoes are so smooth and creamy, you won’t make them any other way. One kitchen tool makes these potatoes the best. Everyone tells us that these are the best mashed potatoes they’ve ever had!
We love serving these mashed potatoes with comfort food dinners like our Brown Gravy Meatloaf! Or you can try our Ultimate Chicken Marsala, perfect for soaking up all the delicious gravy!
How We Make The Most Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
There’s really only one trick to making the most delicious, creamy, smooth mashed potatoes and it involves one kitchen tool. A potato ricer. That’s how you make these Fluffy Mashed Potatoes.
Yes, it is what you need to make these potatoes lump free. And I already know what you’re going to say to me, that you use a hand mixer to make your mashed potatoes smooth?
Nope. Using a hand mixer is OK, but it creates extra starch in your potatoes so they can develop a “gluey” texture.
Using a potato ricer presses the cooked potatoes into tiny little strands that when mixed with butter and liquids break down into creamy, smooth mashed potatoes with only a couple of stirs.
How To Make
Just a couple of steps here (after peeling and boiling) to show you how to make the most fluffy mashed potatoes. For complete instructions, head down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Peel and Boil: Peel and boil 5 pounds of russet potatoes. We didn’t show a photo of that here because we assume you know how to peel a potato.
- Rice: After boiling, drain the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer into a pot.
- Season and Fold: Season the potatoes with salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Pour in warm milk and cream and fold the potatoes until combined.
Can You Make Mashed Potatoes Ahead Of Time?
You definitely can, they won’t be as fluffy as they are when you first make them, but perfectly delicious – yes. You can reheat these mashed potatoes in the microwave or covered in the oven with a few more pats of butter.
Both ways of reheating will probably require a little more milk and or cream to get the consistency back to where they were, again, warmed so it doesn’t bring down the temperature.
Or if you want to make these mashed potatoes a few hours before dinner you can keep them warm in a slow cooker so it’s one less thing you have to do at dinner time.
What Are The Best Potatoes To Use For Mashed Potatoes?
My favorite potato for making mashed potatoes are russet potatoes. It’s a higher starch potato that makes the most fluffy, smooth and full of flavor mashed potatoes.
You can also use Yukon Gold potatoes which are buttery all by themselves, but they are a slightly more waxy potato so they won’t get as light and fluffy. But still delicious.
Russet potatoes will also give you these bright, white mashed potatoes and Yukon Golds will obviously be yellow in color. So if color is a preference of yours when making mashed potatoes it’s something to think about.
Variations
Besides making these classic mashed potatoes, there are SO many ways that you can flavor these spuds!
- Cream Cheese/Sour Cream: We added a little sour cream to this recipe as an option. Both of these ingredients will add a rich, tangy flavor to the potatoes.
- Herbs: Lots of fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, rosemary and basil are delicious additions.
- Shallots/Onions: Caramelize shallots or onions and stir them in.
- Cheese: We’re using parmesan cheese but you can also stir in shredded cheddar cheese, gruyere or even gorgonzola.
PIN IT!
Looking For More Potato Recipes?
- Duchess Potatoes
- Stick of Butter Smashed Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- Mini Loaded Hasselback Potatoes
- Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Loaded Skillet Mashed Potatoes
- Fried Mashed Potato Balls (Perfect for using leftover mashed potatoes!)
- Mustard Roasted Potatoes
Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeWe’ll show you how to make the most Fluffy Mashed Potatoes with one kitchen tool! The only way we ever make them!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 12 tablespoons of butter (you can use 8 but 12 is better!)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into large pieces, roughly the same size.
- Add the potatoes to a large pot, then cover the potatoes with cold water. Add a small handful of kosher salt to the water and then bring to a boil. Stir and cook the potatoes for 15-18 minutes until fork tender and then drain.
- While the potatoes are cooking, warm the milk and cream together over low heat in a small saucepan or in the microwave.
- Put the cooked potatoes through the potato ricer right back into the same pot they were cooked in. Add the butter, parmesan cheese, sour cream (if using), milk and cream, salt and pepper to taste. You’re going to need more salt than you think, but start with 2 teaspoons and then add more if needed.
- Stir a few times just to combine the ingredients and create a smooth texture, taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.
- Serve immediately or keep warm in covered in the pot. You can also transfer the potatoes to a slow cooker set on low or the keep warm setting.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftover potatoes in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Reheat mashed potatoes in the microwave or a low oven (about 350) until warmed through. Add more milk/cream and butter to the warmed potatoes.
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
