Mashed potatoes is one sided dish that is a must at a holiday dinner. These Perfect Mashed Potatoes are smooth, creamy, fluffy and sure to earn a permanent spot on your holiday menu.
Mashed Potatoes
No matter what holiday you are preparing for, mashed potatoes is a side dish that must always be on the table.
There is nothing better next to turkey, ham, or Prime Rib than a scoop of soft, fluffy, comforting mashed potatoes. It gets even better when those mashed potatoes are smothered in gravy.
I like to make a different dinner menu for every holiday and different dishes every year but there is one thing that never changes and that is my homemade mashed potatoes. It’s a simple, classic, and comforting side dish that makes you feel like home.
These mashed potatoes are even more comforting made by the fact that my grandmother and my mom make these potatoes the same way. Each bite bring all the family dinner memories with it. I hope these mashed potatoes will make your family dinners just a cozy so you can make your own family memories around the dinner table.
Tips for the best mashed potatoes:
When cooking potatoes, start with cold water and add potatoes to cold water.
Leaving the skin on or taking it off is a personal preference. Potato skin does have a lot of nutrients in it so leaving them on is not a bad idea.
If you leave potato skins on, make sure to wash them well. Otherwise, peel potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes so they cook faster.
Cook potatoes with seasoning and herbs so that the flavors cook into the potatoes.
Remember to take out the bay leaf once potatoes are done.
Make sure to reserve some cooking water from cooking potatoes, don’t drain it all off completely.
Mash potatoes while it’s still hot.
Add liquid a little at a time, checking the thickness while mashing potatoes. If you add all liquid at the same time, you might add too much and mashed potatoes will be too runny.
Always taste as you cook (and mash) to check if more seasoning is needed.
Try Mashed Potatoes With Peas and Onions
If you’d like to spruce up your mashed potatoes and add more flavor, you can make them with peas and caramelized onions.
I love the flavor that caramelized onions add to the mashed potatoes.
To get a nice caramelization on the onions, preheat the pan on medium-high heat with some butter or oil. Add your diced onions and saute, stirring often, until the onions get that nice golden-brown color (and smell incredible).
You can also cook the peas in the water that you saved from mashed potatoes.
Some More Recipes for Holiday Dinner:
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The Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Idaho potatoes peeled or not
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dry dill weed
- salt
- Save the cooking water from potatoes
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- Start with 1/4 cup of cooking water from above might have to add more
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by peeling your potatoes and cutting them in about 1 inch chunks. Cutting the potatoes will make it faster to cook and easier to mash. (If you want to leave skin on, make sure to wash potatoes well.)
- Add the potatoes to the pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes comfortably.
- Add the bay leaf, some salt, and dill weed. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and lower the heat to medium. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked all the way through and starting to fall apart.
- Drain the potatoes and save some cooking water.
- Place the potatoes back into the pot. Add butter, heavy cream, sour cream, about 1/4 cup of cooking water, and salt. Start mashing potatoes. When potatoes are mostly mashed and combined, see if you might need to add a little more water. If you do, add another 1/4 cup at a time until you reach a desired consistency. (You might only have to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup.)
- Mash it for a while until it's nicely smooth. Taste to see if you need to add more salt.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on November 12, 2013.
Carla says
Always a great addition to our holiday family meals!
Marisa Franca says
Usually I make two different kinds of potatoes for Thanksgiving but this year I’ll just be making mashed potatoes. Last year I made them the day before then heated them up in the crockpot. Not as ideal as making them right before dinner. I’m trying to make as many things ahead as possible. I found another method that cooks and rices the potatoes the night before and then you microwave the riced potatoes until they are hot. Then you add the milk products. I like the idea of your recipe because with the bay leaf and dill you are giving the potatoes flavor to begin with. The method I mentioned above bakes the potatoes and then scoops them into the ricer. This is going to be a hard decision 🙁
lyuba says
Good luck with your decision! I always try to find ways to optimize my time.
Happy holidays, Marisa!
Tahnycooks says
Mmmmm….I’m ready for dinner! These mashed potatoes look so good! Perfect!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Tahny!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Mmmm those look like the PERFECT mashed potatoes!!! Wonderful!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Julie!
Kelly @ Mostly Homemade Mom says
I’m AWFUL at mashed potatoes, these look amazing!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Kelly! You should try these 🙂
Sarah says
These sounds delicious, I love potatoes. I’ve never added sour cream, sounds yummy.
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Ruth Cataldo says
These look incredible – and mashed potatoes are a MUST on my holiday table! I am doing a Thanksgiving Round-Up Series next week on my blog and I would love to share this recipe. Please email me if you are happy for me to include this recipe (and any other Thanksgiving delights you may have to share!) Ruth x
lyuba says
Sorry for a late response, Ruth! Time has been is short supply lately 🙂
If you are still putting it together, feel free to add these 🙂
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
I love everything about how you make these gorgeous mashed potatoes!
LyubaB says
Thank you so much, Mandy! 🙂
Jane says
Yumm we eat a lot of mashed Potatoes here in NZ its a nightly staple in most houses, so I’m always on the lookout for ideas to jaz them up a little. Will be trying your way for sure we don’t really do thanksgiving here in NZ so tomorrow night when we have our regular mash I’ll be trying some of these ideas. My mum used to add bacon and cooked onion at times to her mash potatoes I’d forgotten about that. So tomorrow night I’ll surprise the family with your ideas. Will let you know how they go down with the boys. Many thanks for taking the time to post all these yummy recipes and ideas to jaz stuff up.
LyubaB says
Hi, Jane! Thanks for your sweet comment! I hope your boys loved them! 🙂