I’ve always been a sucker for mashed potatoes. As a kid, whenever it was roast dinner day, I’d ask for a large portion of mashed potatoes and gravy and as little as possible of everything else.
Jump to:🥔 What is the best potato for mashing? What to use to mash the potatoes Can you make them ahead? Recipes that use mashed potatoes: 👀 READ THIS!!! MY TOP TIPS How to Make the BEST mashed potatoes! Serving Suggestions Perfect Mashed Potatoes Recipe More Potato Sides 💬 Reviews
In my university years, I came up with a concoction of mashed potato with cheese, crispy bacon and onion gravy that was my staple food for at least a year.
So you can imagine my horror when my daughter Gracey turned out to be a mashed potato hater. She’ll eat mashed potato cakes that have been breaded and fried, or Roast potatoes, even stuffed potato skins but give her regular mashed potato and she turns her nose up. I think it was because she had a bit of a choking fit on some when she was weaning, and it imprinted something on her brain. I’m trying to work it our of her.
Lewis, on the other hand, is my kindred spirit. If I told him it was mash and nothing else for dinner he’d be overjoyed. He takes his role as chief taste tester very seriously.
🥔 What is the best potato for mashing?
You want to use a fluffy starchy potato. I found that Maris Piper, King Edwards, Rooster, Russets, Yukon golds or Desirée work really well for making mashed potato.
What to use to mash the potatoes
You can mash them using a more traditional masher but I find that to get the perfect smooth creamy mash then I use a potato ricer (<–affiliate link). It works really well to get a consistent smooth mashed potato but also ensures you don’t overwork the potato like you can with a handheld masher as you chase the lumps around the pan. Trust me a  potato ricer is the way to go!
Can you make them ahead?
YES! You can make mashed potato ahead if you like. I often do this to take a bit of pressure off when I’m making a Sunday roast. Just, make the mash, cool, cover and refrigerate, then reheat in the microwave (stirring a few times) until piping hot. TIP: You can add a touch more cream if it’s thickened too much during refrigeration.
How to Make the BEST mashed potatoes!
To make the mash, I peel my potatoes and chop them into even-sized chunks (about the size of half a kiwi fruit). Place in a pan and cover with cold water. Here are some of our favourites:
Do:
As I said above, use floury potatoes - such as Maris Piper, King Edwards, Rooster, Russets, Yukon golds or Desirée. Chop the potatoes into approx same-size chunks (about the size of half a kiwi fruit). Drain the cooked potatoes well, but only for a minute or so - you want them to be nice and hot. Use a potato ricer (<–affiliate link) for lump-free mash Add the butter before the cream - so the heat of the potato can melt it more quickly without the cream cooling it down Use double (heavy) cream! Yes you can use milk, but a proper glug of cream is what you need for the best mash. Be prepared to use a more salt than you expect. Potatoes need plenty of salt (to taste) and a touch of black pepper.
Personally I don’t cook mine with salt, I prefer to add it after. Add a little salt, taste, add a little more if needed. You can always add more if you like, but you can’t take it away if you add too much salt, so be sure to taste test.
Don’t:
Overcook the potatoes. You should cook the potatoes until you can just slide a knife through them. 15 minutes is usually enough - up to 20 minutes if you’ve cut your chunks slightly bigger. If you overcook the potatoes they’ll break down and soak up too much water - leading to tasteless, watery mash. Use an electric whisk or food processor! Some people do this to ensure they get the lumps out (no need if you use a ricer), but one little whizz too far and it overworks the starch in the potatoes giving the mash a gluey texture. Use low fat products. Mash is stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. Low fat mash is still high in calories, and it’s a poor substitute for real mashed potato with cream and butter. So if you’re making it, enjoy every mouthful. Use milk. The best mashed potato needs fat in there from the cream (as well as the butter). At a push whole (full-fat) milk is OK. I’d use it if I had to - because I’d run out of cream. Freeze mash if you can help it. As mashed potatoes defrost, they can go watery and a little grainy. You can remedy this by reheating in an uncovered pan (to let the excess moisture evaporate), whilst stirring occasionally, then adding in more cream. They’re not quite the same though, and will be a thinner consistency overall.
I prefer not to season the water - leaving the seasoning until later. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 15 minutes - until a knife will slide into them easily. Drain in a colander for a minute, then load into a potato ricer 2 at a time: Squeeze the potato ricer, letting the riced potato fall into a bowl, or the pan (give it a rinse first). When all the potatoes are riced, add the butter and stir, then add the cream and stir again. Stir in salt and pepper and taste - adding more if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with a knob of butter, some Maldon salt flakes and a pinch of black pepper before serving.
Serving Suggestions
I have so many dinner recipes that go REALY well with mashed potatoes. Roast Dinner is an obvious one, but some of my other favorite recipes to serve with mash are: Stay updated with new recipes!Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).
More Potato Sides
We LOVE a good potato side dish. Here are some more of our favourites: This post was first published in December 2018. Updated in October 2019 with re-edited photos and more tips. Updated in Sept 2020 for housekeeping reasons. Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
