BEST Mashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

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We know calling this the BEST Mashed Potatoes Recipe is taking on a lot, but we’re ready! These mashed potatoes are very easy to make only require TWO ingredients (aside from salt and pepper) and are an absolute DREAM!

These mashed potatoes are super smooth, creamy, rich, and delicious! We love them so much and they are perfect as a side dish to SO many delicious meals!

How to Make the BEST Mashed Potatoes

Process

1. Add potato chunks to a pot and fill with water until just 1 inch above potatoes.
2. Boil potatoes over high heat until barely fork tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain into a colander and cool for about 5 minutes.

3. Using a potato ricer (or a cheese grater), rice the potatoes back into the pot.
4. Add butter, salt and pepper.

5. Stir until all the butter has melted and potatoes are smooth and creamy. Add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve mashed potatoes with pats of butter or gravy.

While it’s not 100% required we do think the secret to the most smooth and creamy mashed potatoes is to use a potato ricer. It is what prevents any lumps from forming, giving the smoothest results. If you’re a huge mashed potato fan, we think it’s totally worth it to have one of these in your kitchen.

If you want a tool that will do more than rice potatoes, we recommend getting a food mill. Not only do food mills rice potatoes, for luscious mashed potatoes, just as well as a potato ricer, but they do more! They’re great for grinding up soup ingredients and for other things like classic bolognese! They come with different grate sizes for even more versatility.

Finally, if you don’t want to bother with either or those tools, a box grater will work quite well for making smooth mashed potatoes. You may still end up with small lumps here and there, but it’ll still do a better job than hand mashing or using an electric mixer.

Tips and Tricks

• Don’t overcook your potatoes and don’t cut them into small (bite-sized) pieces!! Yes, both of these things are the main culprit to watery, runny mashed potatoes. When you overcook the potatoes (or cut them down to bite sized pieces before boiling them), they absorb too much water causing them be runny.
• If you do overcook them, just drain them and allow them to still for about 15 to 20 minutes without ricing or mashing them. This will help the steam release from the potatoes, getting rid of excess moisture.
• To help prevent your mashed potatoes from getting gummy, give the peeled and cut chunks a rinse under some cool water (before boiling) to rinse away any excess starch that can cause potatoes to get gummy.
• It’s important to add the butter to the riced potatoes while they’re still hot. This will result in the creamiest mashed potatoes! If you wait until the potatoes are just warm the butter won’t fully melt and your potatoes will be stiff.
• If you do end up stirring the butter in while the potatoes are warm, just turn the stove to low and stir until the butter has evenly melted. If your potatoes are still stiff, then you can add a small amount of milk or cream to your potatoes to smooth them out.

Why This is the BEST Mashed Potato Recipe Ever!

We think our mashed potatoes recipe is the absolute best for a few reasons.

• As we mentioned above, we use (and highly recommend using) a potato ricer. You will get the smoothest mashed potatoes with this method.
• We don’t use any heavy cream! That’s right. We think all you need for the most delicious mashed potatoes is russet potatoes and a generous amount of butter (along with some salt and pepper of course) for the best and creamiest potatoes.
• Our potatoes stay moist, delicious and fluffy for quite some time, so you don’t have to worry about them bring too runny while preparing other dishes for your meal!

What to Serve with Our Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes go well with SO many dishes and a handful of our favorites are:

• Citrus Dry Brine Turkey
• Pork Belly Porchetta
• Vegan Swedish Meatballs
• Spatchco*ck Chicken
• Standing Rib Roast
• Seared Ribeye Steak
• Garlic Butter Lamb Chops
• Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
• Roasted Rack of Lamb

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