Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe (with Video)

Perfect mashed potatoes. Heating the milk and butter is a must, I didn't realize what a difference it would make, my potatoes were not gummy and they stayed hot longer.

I have been making mashed potatoes like this for over 50 years...and it's the way MY mother made them. For this recipe to be a success, you have to know a little about potatoes. Notice the recipe called for BAKING potatoes. Red ones will be gummy. Yukon Golds make GOOD mashed potatoes. Start them off in COLD water so everything will reach boiling at the same time. When they are tender, drain them in a colandar and let them STEAM. The more steam is gone, the more the potatoes will absorb the milk. (No problem with 'soupy' potatoes here...you even MAY have to add more milk than the recipe calls for. While the potatoes are steaming, heat the butter and milk in the same pot you cooked the potatoes in. (Why wash another pan?) Add the steamed potatoes and mash and season. (I've had my share of 'gummy' and 'soupy' mashed potatoe in my time :) Oh! And if this is for a special occasion...use cream instead of milk. Over the top!!!

Great recipe for "good old fashioned" mashed potatoes! It's straight forward and just plain delicious. The perfect mashed potato for your favorite gravy! I always heat up my milk in the microwave and add it to the potatoes (sometimes use half n half to make them creamier). You just can't go wrong with this classic recipe for comfort food!

Take about 8 cloves of raw garlic and throw them into the water with the potatos and let them cook together. They will be soft and mash easily. TO DIE FOR

Thank you for the great mashed potatoes recipe! I think this is the first time I've ever made them from scratch. We had my boyfriend's parents over for dinner and I made these with the chicken I made and they came out great! The only thing is, I did not use salt and pepper. Also, I probably used about 2.5 lbs. of potatoes, I just eyeballed them though. Also, with the amount of potatoes I only used half a cup of milk and that was perfect. I kind of destroyed our blender on another recipe I was making, so I used a fork to crush the potatoes, then I added the milk mixture and then whisked it to the creaminess. At this point, the mashed potatoes were kind of cold, so I had to microwave them for a bit, which was no problem. Great recipe, will definitely use it again.

This is pretty similar to how I make mine. I do two things different. I use Yukon Gold potatoes, and I boil them with their skins on. This prevents some of the binding elements of the potato from getting boiled out, giving you a creamy consistency that will get people thinking you used cream cheese. One last thing is with the yukon golds I mash them with the skins on. You can't even tell they are there afterwards. BTW, I'm not going to be "that guy" that says how perfect a recipe with ... these minor changes :D. This is just my take on an already simple yet amazing recipe :). Gave it 5 stars because it stands great on it's own and any suggestions are strictly personal preference.

The only thing we changed is we added garlic to the butter and mashed ours in the kitchen aid mixer. We used whole organic milk. The potatoes taste as good as the whipped potatoes at high end restaurants. Highly recommend this easy to make recipe!! We used Klondike Rose potatoes (red skin golden flesh bought at target). Enjoy!!

Cooked the potatoes a lil longer. Bout 23 minutes. Potatoes began to break on their own. A signal they were done. Customized recipe by adding 1 whole stick of butter. Steam of potatoes will melt the butter while mashing. Seasoned with Garlic Herb Spice. Poured in 1 cup of whole milk. Mashed and mixed. Texture came out lovely.

For 5 lbs. of red potatoes (NO, they aren't gummy!), I heated up 2-1/2 C 1% milk with 1-1/2 sticks of butter; Cut up the potatoes into chunks with about 2T Kosher salt and boiled them at high altitude for about 25 minutes until they were fork tender. Used a potato masher before adding the hot milk & butter, then used my electric mixer to make them creamy. Added Lawry's Seasoned Salt and Seasoned Pepper to taste, and they're in my crockpot, waiting until we leave for my friend's house! This is basic Mashed Potatoes 101 - keep 'em simple, folks!

May I suggest, cook the potatoes in chicken broth instead of plain water. You can refrigerate it prior to, for even cooking. The difference in flavour is a game changer; so much so that I use broth to cook all my vegetables now, and even poach eggs in broth. Amazing flavour and so healthy too!

I have referred to this recipe for years, but never followed it exactly. I like to boil 1-2 cloves of garlic per pound of potatoes. Mash the potatoes with the garlic using a potato masher. Add the melted butter and milk slowly so you don't end up with soupy potatoes. I use 2x the butter and half the milk from this recipe. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once you have the flavor you like, use an electric beater until you get the consistency you like.

Tasted okay but it made no difference to heat the milk and butter separately. Just didn’t do it for me.

Added milk and butter w/o heating, works fine.

Added a lot of seasoning, a little too creamy for me if you have any suggestions to make it a little thicker! But other than that it was a great easy recipe!

I love this site

a little bland need more creaminess

Very easy and delicious way to make mashed potatoes. Creamy and flavorful. I used half and half, warmed in the microwave, and added butter at the same time. No measurements as I didn't make 2lbs of potatoes. I eyeballed half and half in a measuring cup, then heated it. Also seasoned with pepper (they were salty enough from the salt in cooking water). Not sure why some people are having trouble with this recipe. They are definitely not runny or no flavor. My son and I LOVE these mashed potatoes. Fool proof.

Perfect

I whipped this up after a long day, and it was exactly what I needed. Quick, comforting, and delicious — everything came together with minimal effort. The flavors were spot-on, and it tasted like it took hours to make. I’ll definitely be making this again soon.

I love this recipe! It's easy to make for someone who doesn't like to cook, and everyone I've made it for raves about how good the mashed potatoes taste.