Make the creamiest, butteriest, best mashed potatoes recipe for Thanksgiving! Made with only a handful of simple staple ingredients, this post for one of my favorite side dishes breaks down everything you need to make foolproof fluffy and creamy mashed potatoes.
Looking for more amazing potato recipes? Try my light and fluffy Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes for thanksgiving, crispy parmesan garlic smashed potatoes, or yummy, cheesy potatoes au gratin!
Make the Best Mashed Potatoes for the Holidays!
I love potatoes, I'm a carb and starch kind of girl. Meat, potatoes and bread is a real happy meal to me, until someone's mom comes up and complains that I need a vegetable.
But potato is a vegetable, right? Right.
I can't think of anything that accompanies fall better than the humble potato. I mean, of course, pumpkin and apple stuff, but hear me out: what's the best side to go with your fall dinners and holiday meals? The comforting, soul-filling dinners like Beef Stew, Pot Roast, roast turkey on Thanksgiving? Potatoes!
Little is worse than a bowl of bad mashed potatoes and I know how if you've never hosted, whipping up even sides can feel impossible. So I am here to be your guide to the holidays!
These homemade mashed potatoes are literally perfect: creamy, fluffy, whipped potatoes with a ton of butter and heavy cream.
The secret to these potatoes? A pound of butter for every 3 pounds of potatoes.
Decadent? Definitely. Rich? Like a crooked politician!
Get the stretchy pants, honey. We'll need them.
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Jump to:
- Make the Best Mashed Potatoes for the Holidays!
- Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Equipment
- The Best Potatoes for this Recipe
- Ingredients
- How to Make Whipped Mashed Potatoes
- How to Make Fluffy Whipped Mashed Potatoes Ahead of Time
- Variations and Substitutions
- Pro Tips for the Best Whipped Potatoes
- Storage and Reheating
- FAQs
- More Recipes for Holiday Perfection
- Whipped Mashed Potatoes
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- These mashed potatoes are the best for a beginner cook! It's an easy, simple recipe that yields holiday-worthy results every single time, even if you've never made mashed potatoes in your life.
- Doesn't require a hand mixer or stand mixer - most whipped potatoes recipes require you to bust out the appliances, but they can easily make your potatoes gluey. My technique makes creamy, whipped and fluffy mashed potatoes without any fancy equipment.
- Make the mashed potatoes ahead of time - I have tips and tricks on making the potatoes ahead of time for a busy day like Thanksgiving or Christmas, so you're not overwhelmed with many hours of cooking on a big day.
Equipment
- Chef Knife and Cutting Board
- Dutch Oven Pot or Large Heavy Bottom Pot
- Potato Ricer - a ricer presses the potato through holes to make silky, fluffy, and smooth mashed potatoes.
The Best Potatoes for this Recipe
- Russet Potatoes - starchy potatoes like russet are great for mashed potatoes!
- Red Potatoes - these potatoes are waxy and can become gluey easily, so they don't
- Gold potatoes - use yukon gold potatoes for a creamier, butterier dish.
Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes - these potatoes aren't super starchy, they're creamy, buttery and gold in color so they're ideal for mashed potatoes.
- Chicken Broth - I love using chicken base from Better than Bouillon for a lot of chicken flavor in our boiling liquid. I try to use broth instead of water whenever I'm boiling pasta or potatoes, they soak all that good flavor right up!
- Good Butter - a lot, and I do mean a lot of good, good buttah. This is the time to bust out the KerryGold, the Plugra, the Tillamook, that European butter you found at the farmers' market last week.
- Heavy Whipping Cream - this is to give a little more looseness while still being a rich addition, like liquid butter without the greasiness.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
How to Make Whipped Mashed Potatoes
Step 1 | Place potatoes in a large dutch oven or pot. Cook the potatoes in the chicken broth, boiling until the potatoes are fork tender. Then drain the potatoes and press them through your potato ricer
Step 2 | Add butter to your hot potatoes to whip the butter into the potatoes.
Step 3 | Next, add the heavy cream. Whip it right in until the potatoes are smooth and silky. Don't over whip with a hand mixer though, if you're using one. Any mashed potato recipe can get gluey with too much mixing, it's much harder to do if you do it by hand!
Step 4 | Taste and season generously with salt and pepper. Remember that it's always easier to add than to take away in cooking.
Step 5 | Serve with gravy. Boom, you just gained two pounds by making them. But it's so worth it. Just run it off while you go holiday shopping.
How to Make Fluffy Whipped Mashed Potatoes Ahead of Time
Make these mashed potatoes ahead of time by transferring the whipped potatoes to a casserole dish, let it cool to room temperature and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Day of serving, warm in the oven at 325 degrees F.
Or keep the mashed potatoes warm in a slow cooker if you're making this dish day-of until ready to serve.
Variations and Substitutions
- Cream cheese or sour cream can be swapped for the heavy cream, bringing a tangy flavor with them as well.
- I have used russet potatoes for this recipe with no issue.
- This recipe also works with sweet potatoes!
Pro Tips for the Best Whipped Potatoes
- Whisking can prevent the potatoes becoming gluey.
- If you decide to use an electric mixer, whip the potatoes with the mixer on low speed and only until everything is combined!
- Don't have heavy cream? Mix ¾ cup whole milk with ¼ cup melted butter.
- A food mill can be used instead of a potato ricer.
Storage and Reheating
Keep the leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil at 325 degrees F for an hour, or until hot. Stir up and serve with gravy.
FAQs
Yes you can over whip potatoes. This is often done with an electric mixer because it whips faster than by hand.
The starch in potatoes becoming overworked, much like gluten in flour while making cake, warp the texture of your mashed potatoes.
Restaurants use a lot more butter and salt than the average home cook, so they taste a lot better.
Add more flavor with herb infused butter or compound butters, roasted garlic, truffle, or fresh herbs.
More Recipes for Holiday Perfection
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Whipped Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 lbs gold potatoes, peeled and quarter
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 lbs salted butter, room temperature and cubed
- ½ cup heavy cream, warmed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven, add the potatoes and cold chicken broth. Boil for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain the broth and push the potatoes through a potato ricer into the pot. Add about ½ lb (8 tbsp) of the butter into the pot and gently mix in with a whisk. Repeat until all the butter is combined with the potatoes.
- Splash the cream into your potatoes and whisk in until it reaches your desired consistency. Once it does, season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember, potatoes can be bland without a generous amount of seasoning and you can always add more, but it's almost impossible to take away.
- Serve hot, with a generous helping of gravy.
Recipe Notes
Variations and Substitutions
- Cream cheese or sour cream can be swapped for the heavy cream, bringing a tangy flavor with them as well.
- I have used russet potatoes for this recipe with no issue.
- This recipe also works with sweet potatoes!
Pro Tips for the Best Whipped Potatoes
- Whisking can prevent the potatoes becoming gluey.
- If you decide to use an electric mixer, whip the potatoes with the mixer on low speed and only until everything is combined!
- Don't have heavy cream? Mix ¾ cup whole milk with ¼ cup melted butter.
- A food mill can be used instead of a potato ricer.
- Use 1 pound of butter per 3 pounds of potatoes.
- The recipe can be divided or multiplied easily.
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