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Mashed Potatoes · Creamy Classic

Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

10

Hands-free cooking

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Reading aloud

Before you start

Gather your ingredients

  • Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • Swaps for unsalted butter

    Instead of butter

    • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
    • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
    • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

    All 4 swaps for butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • Swaps for fresh chives

    Instead of chives

    • Dried chives: 1 tsp dried for each 1 tbsp chopped fresh (a third as much). Freeze-dried chives keep color but little flavor; use them only as a garnish.
    • Green onion tops: The same amount, sliced thin. Stronger and crunchier.

    More for chives

Step 1 of 6

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Starting in cold water helps them cook evenly.

Step 2 of 6

Bring to a
boil (how to boil) Boil Heat liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. 1. Use a pot big enough that the water fills it no more than three quarters.2. Cover it to boil faster, over high heat.3. Salt pasta or vegetable water once it boils.4. Add the food, stir, and bring it back to a boil before you start timing. Done when: A rolling boil keeps bubbling hard even when you stir. Safety: Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, and drain pasta into a colander in the sink, pouring away from you. Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to boil water for pasta and vegetables: mistakes to avoid
, then
simmer (how to simmer) Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid
until a knife slides into the biggest chunk with no resistance.

Step 3 of 6

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter together in a small saucepan or the microwave until the butter melts.

Step 4 of 6

Drain the potatoes well, then return them to the hot, empty pot over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, to steam off extra water.

Step 5 of 6

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until mostly smooth. Pour in the warm butter mixture a little at a time, mashing and stirring until creamy. Don't use a blender or food processor, which makes them gluey.

Step 6 of 6

Season (how to season to taste) Season to taste Add salt (and pepper or acid) bit by bit, tasting as you go, until the food tastes fully of itself. 1. Season meat and vegetables before cooking, holding the salt high so it falls evenly.2. Taste the dish near the end with a clean spoon.3. If it tastes flat, add a pinch of salt, stir and taste again.4. If it tastes heavy or dull, a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar brightens it.5. Stop when another pinch wouldn't make it better. Done when: The flavors are clear and bright, not flat and not salty. Safety: Don't taste dishes that hold raw meat, poultry or eggs; season them by the recipe's amounts and adjust after cooking.How to season to taste: mistakes to avoid
with salt and pepper, top with chives and serve.

All done

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • Swaps for unsalted butter

    Instead of butter

    • Salted butter: The same amount, with about ¼ tsp less salt per stick (½ cup) elsewhere in the recipe. Nothing noticeable once you cut the salt.
    • Plant-based butter sticks: The same amount. The closest swap.
    • Refined coconut oil: The same amount: solid when the butter is soft or cold, melted when it is melted. It is all fat, so bakes are a bit more tender and rich, with no butter flavor.

    All 4 swaps for butter

    Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.

  • Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • Swaps for fresh chives

    Instead of chives

    • Dried chives: 1 tsp dried for each 1 tbsp chopped fresh (a third as much). Freeze-dried chives keep color but little flavor; use them only as a garnish.
    • Green onion tops: The same amount, sliced thin. Stronger and crunchier.

    More for chives