These homemade mashed potatoes are creamy, buttery, and smooth, with a soft texture that works for weeknight dinners, Sunday meals, and holiday tables. They’re made with starchy potatoes, warm cream, butter, salt, and black pepper using a simple stovetop method.
I love serving them with Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs because the potatoes soak up the buttery pan sauce beautifully. Add Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic or Candied Carrots for an easy vegetable side, and a cold glass of Homemade Lemonade works well when you want something fresh alongside a rich comfort-food dinner. The Foodie Blog
Warming the cream and butter before adding them to the potatoes is one of the small steps that makes a big difference. The potatoes stay soft and creamy instead of turning stiff, while a little melted butter and parsley on top makes them ready for the table.
What Are Homemade Mashed Potatoes?
Homemade mashed potatoes are peeled potatoes that are boiled until very tender, drained thoroughly, mashed, and then mixed with warm dairy and butter.
This recipe uses 2 pounds of starchy potatoes, 1 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk, and 1/4 cup unsalted butter.
The result is richer than potatoes mashed with cooking water alone but still simple enough to serve with almost any main dish.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Let’s Make Easy Mashed Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into similar-sized chunks so they cook evenly.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cook until the potatoes are very tender and easy to pierce with a fork.
- Drain the potatoes well and return them to the hot pot for 1 minute to let extra steam escape.
- Mash the potatoes using a potato masher until mostly smooth.
- In a small saucepan, warm the cream and butter together until the butter melts. Do not boil.
- Pour the warm cream and butter mixture into the mash a little at a time, stirring gently until creamy.
- Season with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Serve warm with olive oil or melted butter, chopped herbs, and extra black pepper.
How to Keep Mashed Potatoes Creamy, Not Gluey
The two biggest factors are potato type and how much you work the potatoes after cooking.
Starchy potatoes break down easily, which means you don’t need to keep beating or stirring them to make them smooth. Russets produce a lighter, fluffier mash, while Yukon Gold potatoes give a naturally richer, creamier texture. Serious Eats also recommends russets for fluffy mashed potatoes and Yukon Golds when you want a richer, creamier result in its guide to choosing potatoes for mashed potatoes. Serious Eats
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them thoroughly and let them steam-dry briefly in the warm pot.
Mash them before adding the dairy, then pour in the warm cream and butter gradually.
Avoid putting cooked potatoes in a blender or food processor. Excessive processing releases more starch and can turn otherwise creamy homemade mashed potatoes sticky or gluey. Serious Eats
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using the wrong potatoes: Starchy potatoes are easier to mash into a light, creamy texture.
Cutting uneven chunks: Large and small pieces won’t finish cooking at the same time.
Starting the potatoes in boiling water: Starting with cold water helps the pieces cook more evenly.
Undercooking the potatoes: They should be very tender before mashing.
Not draining them well: Excess cooking water can make the finished potatoes watery.
Adding cold cream and butter: Warm the dairy mixture first.
Using a blender or food processor: Too much mechanical mixing can make the potatoes gluey.
Over-stirring after adding the cream: Mix gently and stop once the texture is smooth.
Forgetting to taste at the end: Potatoes often need their seasoning checked after the cream and butter have been added.
What to Serve With Mashed Potatoes
These homemade mashed potatoes work especially well with:
- Roast chicken
- Skillet chicken
- Turkey
- Steak
- Meatballs
- Pot roast
- Salmon
- Garlic shrimp
- Green beans
- Roasted carrots
- Gravy
- Roasted vegetables
They’re especially good with dishes that have a sauce or pan juices because the potatoes soak up the extra flavor.
You might also like
More Recipes To Try
Swipe to see all 5 recipes
Easy Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into similar-sized chunks.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil, then cook until the potatoes are very tender.
- Drain well and return the potatoes to the hot pot for 1 minute to remove extra moisture.
- Mash the potatoes until smooth.
- Warm the cream and butter in a small saucepan until the butter melts.
- Add the warm cream mixture to the potatoes a little at a time, stirring gently.
- Season with salt and black pepper.
- Serve warm with olive oil or melted butter, herbs, and extra black pepper.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- For the smoothest texture, use starchy potatoes and avoid overmixing.
- Warm cream and butter before adding them to the potatoes so the texture stays creamy.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
