Homemade Mashed Potatoes To Make Everyone Happy
Mashed potatoes are one of our forever foods–once it gets cold outside we won’t say no to a big scoop on the side of warming dishes like Wine Braised Short Ribs (or Wine Braised Beef with Mushrooms), Creamy Tarragon Chicken, Mini Meatloaf, Coq au Vin–the list never ends! They are of course the quintessential Thanksgiving side dish, along with turkey and gravy. For a little twist on the classic potato dish, we love our Potato Leek au Gratin or get fancy with our easy Hasselback Potatoes!
Ingredients For Classic Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Russet potatoes
Sea salt
Unsalted butter, softened
Whole milk
Garlic powder
How to Make Classic Mashed Potatoes
Peel and cut the potatoes.
Fill a large pot with 4 quarts water and season with salt.
Add the potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until just fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
Add the milk and butter. In the same pot, combine the butter and milk over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Classic mashed potatoes with milk are the way to go, but if you have an extra splash of heavy cream around, we wouldn’t be mad about it.
Mash the potatoes. Using a potato ricer, rice the potatoes over the hot butter mixture or mash the potatoes directly into the liquid, taking care not to overwork them.
Season the potatoes with the garlic powder and salt. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Serve These Classic Mashed Potatoes With:
How to Store Leftover Mashed Potatoes + Tips
If you happen to have left over mashed potatoes you can serve them atop our Shepherd’s Pie.
Five tips classic fluffy mashed potatoes: Use a potato ricer! The texture is much finer than using a potato masher or fork. We call for whole milk for a lighter mashed potato. When it comes to potatoes, we use Russets, because they are high in starch and have the fluffiest texture when mashed. Melt the butter and milk together so you don’t have as much mixing to do. Don’t overmix your mashers!
Leftover mashed potatoes can be frozen for up to three months. We let them thaw in the fridge and then gently warm them on the stove, adding milk to loosen the texture if needed.
More Potatoes Recipe From The Modern Proper
All Of Your Thanksgiving Sides At The Modern Proper
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