The Most Fluffy Mashed Potatoes (2024)

The most fluffy mashed potatoes…the ultimate side dish at your holiday table.

We all love mashed potatoes, and for good reason: they are inexpensive, easy to make and they work with so many savory main dishes. They make the perfect side dish, especially during the holidays. They’re also great for people with diet restrictions: they work for gluten free and vegan (depending on what you add to them). There is a trick to making mashed potatoes perfectly fluffy. Some believe it’s all about the mass amounts of butter and cream added, which I am all for, but it turns out that you can achieve the perfect fluffiness even without adding butter and cream.

The trick to making the most Fluffy Mashed Potatoes:

The trick to the most fluffy mashed potatoes is to add a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. Just a pinch of baking powder added to the drained, cooked potatoes can help make them so fluffy. Make sure that your baking powder is fresh (check the expiration date!). Both baking soda and baking powder are chemical leaveners. Did you know that baking powder is just baking soda with cream of tartar mixed together. You can make your own baking powder, but we don’t mind buying baking powder at the store. If you only have baking soda, you can add a pinch of baking soda, but you need to make sure to add something acidic like buttermilk. It needs to be combined with an acidic ingredient like yogurt or buttermilk to create carbon dioxide (a gas that emits small bubbles and makes the potatoes fluffy).

Ingredients for the best Mashed Potatoes:

• 5 lbs potatoes peeled, and cut into chunks
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• pinch of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic minced *optional

How to make the most fluffy mashed potatoes:

Start with a 5 pound bag of russet potatoes to feed 10+ people. We love good old Russet potatoes for making mashed potatoes, but you can also use Yukon Gold Potatoes. You can leave the skins on, but we prefer the skins off for the most fluffy mashed potatoes.

• PREP THE POTATOES: Start with a large bowl of water near your work station. As you peel and cut up the potatoes submerge the potatoes under the water in the bowl to keep them from turning pink while they are uncooked.
• BOIL THE POTATOES:In a large pot add the cut and peeled potatoes. Cover with enough water. Add 1 tablespoon salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down and let the potatoes simmer in the water until the potatoes are fork tender (about 15-20 minutes). Drain the water from the pot.
• PAN DRY THE POTATOES: Remove any excess water from the cooked potatoes.After draining the water, immediately return the potatoes to the hot stockpot, place it back on the hot burner,and turn the heat down to low.Let the cooked potatoes sit in the hot pot on the hot burner to let any excess water evaporate from the potatoes for about one minute. This will help the potatoes so they’re not soggy. Turn the heat off.
• ADD THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:Add a pinch of baking soda (this is key for the ultimate fluffiness). Add the cream cheese, butter, cream, and salt.
• MASH THE POTATOES:Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and to mix them together with the other ingredients. Keep mashing until they are light and fluffy. Add more salt and pepper to taste as desired.
  FOR SERVING.Move the mashed potatoes to your serving dish and add more sliced butter on top for serving.

MAKE MASHED POTATOES AHEAD:

It can get crazy on holidays, especially on Thanksgiving day to time all the food to be ready and warm when it’s time to serve. Mashed potatoes are a great thing to do most of the work in advance to help ease your work load the day of your big meal.

Keep the the uncooked potatoes underwater for up to 4 hours:You can prep the uncooked potatoes: peel and chop ahead of time and keep them soaking in the water. Place the pot in the fridge for 4 hours or keep it at room temp and add ice cubes to the water every couple of hours to keep the water cold.
Make one to two days ahead and refrigerate… and rewarm: You can completely cook, mash and season your potatoes. Let them come to room temp and then keep them chilled in the fridge and just rewarm the next day.

The Best Way to Freeze Mashed Potatoes:

While potatoes don’t have a good track record for freezing well, mashed potatoes are the exception…as long as they have plenty of butter and cream.
To freeze mashed potatoes: make the mashed potatoes as usual, making sure to add plenty of butter and cream. Remember this is the key to help them freeze well. Once the potatoes are made and cooled, portion them into freezer safe food storage bags and freeze flat.

The Best Way to Reheat Mashed Potatoes or Frozen Mashed Potatoes:

If time permits: thaw the potatoes in the fridge one to two days before reheating. If time does not permit you can go straight to warming them up using one of these methods:

• Stovetop: reheat the mashed potatoes, thawed or straight from the freezer, in a large pot, over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once heated through, add additional seasonings and butter if needed.
• Oven: reheat potatoes, thawed or straight from the freezer, in a covered dish at 350 F. for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely heated through.
• Slow Cooker: Reheating in the slow cooker works best when the mashed potatoes have thawed in the refrigerator. Add the potatoes to the slow cooker and heat on low for 2 – 4 hours.
• Microwave: This is our least preferred option, but in a jam, here is how to reheat mashed potatoes in the microwave: Add the potatoes to a covered dish and warm them in the microwave for 5 minutes at half power, stirring occasionally. Please Note: The time will vary based on the quantity of mashed potatoes you are wanting to reheat. Also microwaves can vary quite a bit too. Once cooked through, stir well and add additional butter and seasonings if needed.
• The Instant Pot: Transfer potatoes to a pressure cooker and heat on the “warm” setting for 1 hour, covered, or until hot.

Whichever method you use to reheat the mashed potatoes, if the potatoes seem to be on the watery side, stir in some sour cream or cream cheese to give them a thicker, creamier consistency. Taste them and add any additional butter, cream or salt and pepper if needed.

How many pounds of potatoes do you need to make mashed potatoes?

One 5 pound bag will feed 10 people, so depending on how many people you plan to serve, you can easily double, triple or quadruple this recipe. Did you know that you can make mashed potatoes go further by adding part instant potato flakes to your mashed potatoes? In a jam if you are worried about not having enough mashed potatoes, this tip is so helpful.

MORE potato recipes we LOVE:

• Funeral Potatoes
• Parsley Potatoes
• Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
• Crispy oven potatoes with cheese and bacon
• Hot German potato salad
• Crock Pot Ranch Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes go great with:

• • • Poor Boy Steak
    • Ham Rolls
    • Slow Cooker Turkey
    • Cedar Plank Salmon
    • Easy Crock Pot Beef Tips
    • our FAVORITE grilled chicken
    • Meatloaf
    • Swedish Meatballs