This Brilliant Trick Transformed My Runny Mashed Potatoes — and Saved Thanksgiving (2024)

Christine Gallary

Christine GallaryFood Editor-at-Large

Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram.

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published Nov 6, 2023

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This Brilliant Trick Transformed My Runny Mashed Potatoes — and Saved Thanksgiving (1)

It happens to the best of us: In the hustle and bustle of cooking you’ve accidentally added too much liquid to your mashed potatoes and now they’re runny, not the fluffy mound you were dreaming of. How do you thicken runny mashed potatoes? No worries — you have a few different options. Here is how to whip those potatoes back into shape.

How Do Mashed Potatoes Get Runny in the First Place?

Maybe you already know the answer, or maybe cooking has been such a blur you’re wondering what just happened. Runny potatoes can happen for a few different reasons.

  • Too much liquid: This is the most common reason. In the mashing process you may have added too much milk or broth.
  • Boiled too long: Boiling your potatoes for too long can make them water-logged, which (you guessed it) can contribute to runny mashed potatoes.

Option 1: Add a Thickener

A thickening agent can come to the rescue — chances are, you have the answer to fixing runny mashed potatoes in your pantry. Adding a thickener can firm up your taters in a manner of seconds. Here are the ones we recommend.

Potato starch: This is the ideal thickening agent, and not just because it’s made from potato (although that sure does help). Potato starch has a lower gelatinization temperature — what that means for us is that it thickens food faster, and it results in a smooth, glossy texture. (It’s a handy pantry item to keep on hand for thickening other foods and sauces.)

Cornstarch: So you don’t happen to have potato starch in the pantry. In that case, cornstarch is a very good option. Like potato starch, it’s gluten-free, and it works quickly.

What we don’t recommend using is wheat flour. While it, too, can help thicken your potatoes, it will also give them a pasty flavor. Plus, the flour might not cook thoroughly in the process.

How to Add a Thickening Agent

For best results, add the thickener to warm but not hot potatoes. Make a slurry with the agent: In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of the starch with 2 tablespoons of warm (not hot) water or broth until the starch is dissolved. Then stir the mix carefully into the potatoes over medium-low heat and stir gently until the potatoes thicken. Yes, you are adding more liquid to your potatoes, but in this case, the slurry will help distribute the starch so it doesn’t clump.

Option 2: Reduce with Heat

No thickeners? No problem. Help that extra moisture evaporate by heating your mashed potatoes.

Typically when you want to thicken a food like a sauce or gravy using heat, you reduce it over the stove while stirring. We don’t recommend this for mashed potatoes because they can get overmixed and gummy — plus they may stick to the bottom of the pan.

Instead, you can heat them in the oven. Spread the potatoes in a layer in a baking dish and bake uncovered in a 325ºF to 350ºF oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Option 3: Add Potato Flakes

A third way to thicken runny mashed potatoes is to add … more potatoes, in the form of potato flakes. Instant mashed potatoes might not be your first choice for a holiday meal, but when added to fresh mashed potatoes, they can help thicken without detracting from the flavor.

Gently stir a tablespoon of potato flakes at a time into warm (not hot) potatoes until you reach your desired thickness. By the way, we’ve tested different brands of instant mashed potatoes and have a couple of recommendations for you.

Got another mashed potato emergency? Check out our list of the top mistakes people make when cooking mashed potatoes.

This Brilliant Trick Transformed My Runny Mashed Potatoes — and Saved Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

How to fix mashed potatoes that are too runny? ›

You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well. Stir in the thickening agent gradually, about a tablespoon at a time, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.

When making mashed potatoes What is the trick to making sure they are smooth and have less lumps? ›

Unwanted lumps are a result of mashing undercooked potatoes, so the key to avoiding lumps is cooking the potatoes correctly. Make sure that your potatoes are all cut roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate. And unlike pasta, potatoes should be started in cold water.

What is the answer to the potato paradox? ›

The amount of dry mass, 1 kg, remains unchanged, so this can only be achieved by reducing the total mass of the potatoes. Since the proportion that is dry mass must be doubled, the total mass of the potatoes must be halved, giving the answer 50 kg.

What is potato answer? ›

The potato (/pəˈteɪtoʊ/) is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Potato. Potato cultivars appear in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.

Can you add too much milk to mashed potatoes? ›

Runny potatoes can happen for a few different reasons. Too much liquid: This is the most common reason. In the mashing process you may have added too much milk or broth.

How do you make mashed potatoes moist again? ›

You can use milk, cream, half-and-half, tangy buttermilk, or chicken or vegetable stock to rehydrate your mashed potatoes. Start with ½ cup of liquid for 4 cups of mashed potatoes, and add it gradually so you don't end up with potato soup. Adding extra butter is a good idea, too.

Why can't you add flour to mashed potatoes? ›

Regular flour can also be used to thicken your potatoes as well, but I don't love using it because its raw flavor needs to be cooked out, and it more noticeably dulls the flavor of the potatoes themselves.

Why add baking soda to mashed potatoes? ›

Just a pinch of baking soda is all you need to create mashed potatoes as soft as clouds. When you add baking soda, it reacts with the heat of the dish and the acid in the milk or cream to create small air pockets throughout the mash. These air bubbles translate to light and airy bites. Yum!

Should potatoes sit in water before making mashed potatoes? ›

The secret ingredient is just ice-cold water.

You soak the potatoes in iced water before they are cooked. This eliminates much of the starches in the potatoes, resulting in a super light and fluffy mash. It's also like when you make rice.

How do you make mashed potatoes not taste like dirt? ›

Soaking potatoes in water with a little lemon juice or white wine vinegar when you are ready to prepare them will help get rid of the earthy flavor.

What is the posh word for mashed potato? ›

Pomme Puree - a fancy way to say mashed potatoes.

What is the southern slang for potatoes? ›

So, a tater is a potato. (My nanny gets mad that I've outgrown this word.) Y'all/you'uns/yuns.

What is a metaphor for mashed potatoes? ›

Consequently, a person without a path, a goal, a passion, a drive, or 'seeds of a destiny' – whatever label one gives – a person who denies his or her potential agency or proactivity is mashed potatoes: malleable, easily altered, ineffective under pressure.

What is the mashed potato analogy? ›

Consequently, a person without a path, a goal, a passion, a drive, or 'seeds of a destiny' – whatever label one gives – a person who denies his or her potential agency or proactivity is mashed potatoes: malleable, easily altered, ineffective under pressure.

What state of matter is mashed potatoes? ›

The subject of debate? Whether mashed potatoes were a liquid or a solid. In the end, of course, the TSA agents had the last word: Since the potatoes took the shape of their container, they were determined to be a liquid—specifically, a gel. That's the official TSA line.

What is a fact about mashed potatoes? ›

Mashed potato can be served as a side dish, and is often served with sausages in the British Isles, where they are known as bangers and mash. Mashed potato can be an ingredient of various other dishes, including shepherd's and cottage pie, pierogi, colcannon, dumplings, potato pancakes, potato croquettes and gnocchi.

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