BEST MASHED POTATOES RECIPE (2024)

Published by Nellie on November 17, 2020

Best Mashed Potatoes are made with cream cheese, sour cream and lots of butter! Easy mashed potatoes recipeturns out perfectly every time.

Mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish. We go through a lot of potatoes at our house and I think mashed potatoes are our favorite. They seem so simple to make, but it always seemed like sometimes they turned out really well and sometimes they weren’t quite as good.

It’s taken me a while to find a recipe that turns out absolutely perfect every single time. But this is it. Simple, but full of flavor and they turn out perfectly creamy. Every single time.

How to make the best mashed potatoes?

The best mashed potatoes start with the right type of potatoes. Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes are the best for mashing. The best mashed potatoes also have a lot of flavor and are perfectly creamy. Adding cream cheese, sour cream and butter to the potatoes is the secret to perfection!

I think the most important step of this recipe is the last one. Once the potatoes are all mashed, you place them in a baking dish and add a little bit more butter on top before baking for about 30 minutes on low heat. You can skip this step if you are pressed for time, but the baking does something amazing for the texture of the potatoes. I also love that I’m not having to do the mashing part at the very last second – I can get all the work done earlier and have the potatoes doing their thing in the oven while I get the rest of dinner ready!

What type of potatoes make the best mashed potatoes?

I’ve used all varieties of potatoes before, but Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes yield the best mashed potatoes. They have a higher amount of starch which helps the mashed potatoes to be fluffy and creamy.

Ingredients in Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes – Use Russets or Yukon gold potatoes for best results. Potatoes need to be peeled and chopped into 1” pieces so they can cook more quickly.

Cream cheese – You’ll need an 8 ounce package of cream cheese. Any variety will work, but you will need to cut it into smaller pieces before adding to the potatoes so that it melts faster.

Sour cream – Adds the perfect flavor and creaminess!

Butter – Add most of the butter into the potatoes and save a little bit to add on top just before baking. You can’t have potatoes without butter!

How to make Best Mashed Potatoes recipe

Place the potatoes into a large pot, and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain, and return the potatoes to the pot. Turn heat to high, and allow the potatoes to dry for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.

Add the cream cheese, sour cream and 6 Tbsp of the butter to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher (or an electric mixer if your arm gets tired!). Keep mashing until completely smooth.

Place the potatoes in a large baking dish (9X13 or something similarly sized). Slice the remaining 2 Tbsp butter very thinly and place the slices evenly over the top of the potatoes. Bake in oven at 300° for about 30 minutes. (If you don’t have time for this step, you can just add the last 2 Tbsp of the butter into the potatoes and serve right after mashing.)

What type of cream cheese to use?

You can use any variety of cream cheese. Regular cream cheese is my preference, but you can use a low-fat or non-fat variety if you prefer.

What to serve with mashed potatoes?

Mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for any type of meat. They pair perfectly with our perfect pork roast recipe or our slow cooker holiday ham. And it goes without saying that you have to have them as part of your Thanksgiving dinner! They go perfectly with Slow Cooker Turkey Breast, Smoked Turkey or Classic Roasted Turkey.

POTATOES MAKEFANTASTIC SIDE DISHES! HERE ARE MORE FOR YOU TO CHECK OUT:

• How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
• Loaded Baked Potato Rounds
• Alfredo Twice Baked Potatoes
• Loaded Sweet Potato Fries
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes w/Maple Cinnamon Butter

Best Mashed Potatoes are made with cream cheese, sour cream and lots of butter! Easy mashed potatoes recipe that turns out perfectly every time.