Skip to content
These creamy potatoes are easy to prepare making them perfect for weeknight dinners and holiday dinners. Serve them with sour cream, gravy, or extra butter.
This recipe for mashed potatoes yields about 10 cups of potatoes (10 servings), making it a great Thanksgiving side dish.
What Type of Potatoes To Use
There are a few potato varietals that work well:
- Yukon Gold: Yukon Gold potatoes offer a naturally buttery flavor, creamy texture, and a richer texture. I opt for Yukon Gold when preparing higher-end dishes like Prime Rib with Prime Rib Gravy.
- Russet Potatoes: Russet potatoes provide fluffiness and a rustic texture and flavor. I opt for Russet potatoes when making rustic recipes such as Shepherds Pie and Bangers and Mash.
- Red Potatoes: Red potatoes offer a waxy and firm texture. I prefer using them in potato salads, such as Ensalada de Papa, but they still make for great mashed potatoes.
Texture Options
Here’s how to get the exact texture of mashed potatoes you’re looking for:
Smooth: Use a potato ricer (for peeled potatoes) or a food mill (for unpeeled potatoes) for a ridiculously smooth texture. Think high-end restaurant style.Some people prefer to use a mixer, but it’s easy to over-mix and ruin the texture.
Chunky: For a “rustic” texture utilize a basic potato masher. A potato ricer will remove all the beloved lumps.
Mashed Potato Topping Ideas
Here are a few topping ideas for mashed potatoes:
- Extra butter
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Bacon bites
- Fried shallots or onions
- Gravy: easy brown gravy, chicken gravy, and turkey gravy are popular options, but any of these Thanksgiving gravy recipes are amazing.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Tips From Darcey’s Kitchen
- Rinse the potatoes before and after dicing to remove excess starch.
- Cut the potatoes in uniform sizes to ensure even cooking. Don’t cut them too small as they will get water logged. I recommend a 1″ dice.
- Ensure the potatoes are well-drained after cooking.
- Mix While Hot: Rice/mash potatoes should be mixed while hot so that the butter and cheese can incorporate better.
- Don’t over-mix the potatoes. Too much mixing leads to gluey taters.
More Mashed Potato Recipes
Here are a few more mashed potato recipes and Thanksgiving Potato recipes:
Classic Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 5 lbs potatoes, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces (*Note 1)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (*Note 2)
- 1½-2 cups half-and-half, warmed (*Note 2)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Optional Garnish Ideas
- gravy
- sour cream
- cheddar cheese
- diced chives
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large stockpot, add the diced potatoes and kosher slat. Add enough cold water so it covers the potatoes by 1 inch. 5 lbs potatoes, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces, 1 tbsp kosher salt
- Partially cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, approximately 15-18 minutes. Drain well and return to the pot.
- Mash until your desired consistency is reached. Use a spatula to fold in the melted butter, 1½ cups of half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Add extra half-and-half, a small splash at a time, if needed. Taste and add more salt, if desired. 1 cup unsalted butter, melted 1½-2 cups half-and-half, warmed ½ tsp kosher salt ¼ tsp black pepper
- Top with your selected garnishes and serve.