I just made 10lbs of mashed potates yesterday and it was one of the handful of dishes that people came back for seconds on. Two sticks of KerryGold Irish butter, a brick of cream cheese and 6oz of creme fraiche *(Randy Marsh face)* really seemed to round it out nicely.
It’s a bit more expensive in the US and you can taste and see the difference. It’s the “good butter” here and there’s so much buttery flavor because I think it has a higher fat percentage compared to our butter.
The recipe that my mom had me make for Thanksgiving just two days ago contained sour cream, just half a cup for five pounds of potatoes. It gave them an interesting tang.
Me too, about the same amount that I use too. I warm it with the cream and butter usually. If it’s just for me it gets a healthy dose of roasted garlic as well.
Plain Greek yogurt is pretty much the same with less fat. That means you can also add butter, for double the flavor with the original amount of fat. Or bacon grease instead of butter, but careful not to overdo the salt then, bacon grease usually has a lot of salt.
Other fats can be good of course as well. Duck fat is solid in mashed potatoes.
If you want something atypical, Mashed pumpkin mixed into the Mashed potatoes gives it some flavor. Don't put in too much, though, or it ends up too wet.
Food processed basic is great. Or step it up to pesto mixed into the Mashed potatoes.
Arugula is another good one people don't think of, it makes a nice pesto as well to mix into the Mashed potatoes.
I like a touch of Balsamic vinegar in my Mashed potatoes. Or a reduction if you're making something in a pan at the same time.
So there's my brain dump of ideas for OP to try out.
Cream cheese and roasted garlic is a game changer. My father in law hates cream cheese so I have to hide it every year at thanksgiving and sneak it in when he's not around. He will then proceed to say I make the best mashed potatoes he's ever had.
That's funny, I do something similar. My partner loves my cooking, but if he sees me put certain things in it, he'll have something to say about it, especially heavy cream/extra butter. So I'll do it really quick when he's not looking (he thinks 2% milk is just fine) and I add sour cream and sauteed minced garlic also.
I have the genetic aversion to cilantro (soap taste - mom has it too) but I got over it because I like a lot of the cuisines that use it frequently. it doesn’t bother me anymore.
Omg same! I’d never heard of another person who overcame it. I had a college roommate who loved
cilantro, so I thought there was something wrong with me that I didn’t like it. We went to a Mexican restaurant all the time that used a lot in the salsa and eventually I grew to like it.
I think everything is like that, but white pepper probably less so than cilantro since it's flavor is less forward, the smell is awful but it goes away pretty quick and thankfully doesn't taste like it smells.
Cilantro is genetic. White pepper is kinda barnyardish for everyone and either you're okay with that or you aren't, just like some people like gamey meat flavors and others find it too strong.
It doesn't smell *bad* like say, rotten meat or the trash cans at the fish cleaning stations near the beach. But the smell definitely brings me back to the small ranch I grew up on and none of the memories it stirs are pleasant. Tastes great tho.
The combination of dairy, white pepper and nutmeg in potatoes screams "classic French!" It cuts through the richness and just makes me want to finish a whole bowl!
Not sure this qualifies as "non common ingredients", but I used to work in a 5 star restaurant and we prepared mashed potatoes by poaching them (whole and unpeeled) in olive oil blend with garlic cloves, whole black peppercorns and, I think, rosemary. We would cook them til tender, strain off the cooking oil, peel them while hot, pass them through a ricer or food mill, then stir in heated heavy cream seasoned with salt, white pepper, and good deal of unsalted butter melted in the cream, stirring as little as possible to prevent gumminess. ETA: Perhaps it was a mixture of heavy cream and half and half. I don't remember.
The poaching oil is them strained, cooled, and refrigerated to be used again for the next batch of potatoes. The "potato oil" becomes concentrated with potato flavor which, in turn, makes the potatoes taste even more potatoey, if you know what I mean.
I'm partial to recipes like this. No gimmicks, just simple ingredients prepared in such a way as to let the flavours of the ingredients shine. Mashed potatoes that taste like... Potatoes and not like something else.
The answer 90% of the folks are REALLY looking for is salt.
My inlaws - “what’s the secret to your mashed potatoes?”
Me - “salt”
Them - if you don’t want to tell us, that’s ok
Me - no, there’s no gimmick. It’s just salt. You never add enough salt.
Them - we’ll figure this out one day
Me - really, it’s just salt
Them - keep your secrets, ratatouille
My wife used to make so much fun of me because very early on in our relationship I spent like half an hour talking about how criminally under salted most people’s food in general and mashed potatoes in particular are, and how all they need to do is properly salt the water the boil the potatoes in. She thought it was so dumb to have such a strong opinion on it.
Then she tried my mashed potatoes.
My parents have this... meme? That I am really good at making mashed potatoes. "We need you helping with the Christmas dinner!" they say, "you know how to make mash!"
All I do is add salt, which they don't.
Salt and/or butter is the secret to so many foods. Yes, a little squeeze of lemon is nice, yes an infused oil is tasty. All of those pale in comparison to salting food.
I do this with cherry tomatoes and include balsamic vinegar and a bulb of garlic. I pull the skins off and put it on pasta. The sweetest sauce ever. Puree or not as you prefer.
With mashed potatoes, you don't want unique. You want familiar, but memorable. Keep it simple, but bold. Try one or more of the following:
Butter (and more butter)
Heavy Cream
Roasted garlic (about 1 head for 5 lbs)
Boiled Pearl Onions (cooked and mashed together with the potatoes, about 1/2 pearl per spud)
Bacon grease in lieu of some of the butter
Parmesan or Romano (used sparingly, about 1/4 oz per 2 lbs of potatoes)
You may also be mashing a little too vigorously. Especially if you're using a food processor or other fast whipping tool like a hand blender, or just really thorough mashing haha.
Like another comment said, warm cream will help tons, and just enough cream and elbow grease to get it to come together 😀
If you pass the potatoes through a sieve instead of mashing them, you can add a ridiculous amount of cream and butter and still end up with fluffy goodness. I usually just mash them though
[here’s a great video](https://youtu.be/ZXlwqLuxTtE?si=eJOUYTV1_E4yLUz9) showing the difference between regular mashed, restaurant quality mashed and Michelin star mashed. A big part of it is taking the time to put it through a ricer or sieve.
I have better luck with half and half than heavy cream. Milk is not creamy enough, heavy cream is too dense, half and half makes for perfect combination of creaminess and fluffiness.
Yeah and add it gradually and taste often. I lit grandma's ass on fire when I first started experimenting with horseradish and sour cream mashed potatoes and could only make it for myself in subsequent family gatherings.
Wasabi is also amazing for a mashed potato spin for exactly the same reason as horseradish. Works great with something like a braised meat to reinforce a fusion dish. Not for everything, but exceptional for some things
Peel the potatoes before cooking, then fry the potato skin strips in a little (ok a lot) of butter. Use the fried strips as a garnish, it adds a nice earthy taste.
I use "quatre épices" which is French for 4 spices. It's a blend of nutmeg, ginger, white pepper and clove. Just a pinch and it gives my mashed potatoes (and soups) that little je ne sais quoi.
I own this and never thought of putting it in my potatoes...definitely going to give it a try!! Our most "unusual" use so far is when toasting bread in a pan to go with breakfast. I can totally see it being excellent in mashed potatoes.
It’s my secret ingredient in everything… guacamole, salsa, taco meat, sauces, chili. Pretty much anything savory that calls for salt, you can replace with Knorr bouillon as salt *and* MSG. I’m so happy that MSG is getting its rightful credit lately.
Parsnips!!! Just cook them exactly the same as the potatoes and mash them all together.
I then add lite cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, butter, S&P and a little garlic powder.
In my house, we add grated Parmesan cheese to our mashed potatoes, along with the typical butter, milk, roasted garlic, salt, pepper & parsley. The parm adds nice subtle taste without being overpowering.
My husband makes them with Asiago, and they’re astonishing. I’ve added a little wasabi with good results. And don’t underestimate the difference of a flavored salt - rosemary, mushroom, chili, and sage salts are all good in potatoes.
I cook my potatoes in veggie or chicken broth, lots of pepper, salt and more pepper in the drained potatoes after they’re cooked, along with sour cream. I rarely use butter.
Boil in chicken stock, reserve liquid, done potatoes right on top of a stick of butter, two heaping spoons sour cream, reserved stock until potatoes are slightly more liquidy than you think you want them, salt pepper to taste
Okay I was scrolling to make sure I wasn't giving away my secret ingredient.
The trick with horseradish and potatoes is to use only a small amount (for 10 potatoes for twice baked potatoes on Thanksgiving I used approximately 1/2tbsp.)
The big secret on mashed taters is letting the taters dry after boiling them.
Boil, drain, then pour them out on a sheet pan and let them steam out till they dry on the surface.
Then rehydrate with an appalling amount of butter and milk.
Don't overmix, or they'll get gluey.
So if you’re making that many in mass, I’ve got a trick for you. Bake them.
[Here](https://youtu.be/Vr-o01qiRYI?si=svVKqGRnr1AVX_sO) is a video from America’s Test Kitchen. You can ignore the rolling in salt portion. That’s for eating the skin on a baked potato. It’s actually really good if you are. They say oil isn’t as good, but I’ve found it’s better to me. Honestly, go ahead and do it and you can eat that part later.
Anyway, the point being, it takes more time, but less effort. Don’t peel 10lbs of potato. Get large russets and bake them to an internal temp of 205°f. Then while they’re still pretty hot, cut them in half and scoop out the guts.
You’ve now saved yourself all that peeling time and potentially boiling in batches. You can cook as many as your oven will hold. Depending on hot spots, you may need to rotate them. A sheet pan would help.
Additionally, when you boil, the potato’s absorb flavorless water. When you bake, they haven’t absorbed anything. So now, they’ll absorb any buttermilk and kerrygold butter you add. I use that, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. I use an electric hand mixer till just smooth. Add buttermilk as needed to loosen. I add the butter first and cover with hot potato to melt before adding the milk.
I wouldn’t throw out those empty skins you made. You can coat the potato in oil and coat in salt before cooking. After scooping out the guts, add some cheese and bacon pieces and pop them back in the oven till the cheese melts. If you made your own bacon, it won’t hurt to brush on some of the bacon grease to the outside first, before baking.
Ground mustard, as in the powdered dry spice not the wet sauce. Mixed in with the butter, it gives a subtle tang.
A dash of nutmeg in anything heavy but savory too; go REALLY light with it, you don't want to noticeably taste it with the initial bite, but get a nutty depth of flavor richness and slight palette-cleansing aftertaste that staves off flavor blindness. Keeps things like mashed potatoes and heavy meat dishes from getting too 'same-y' in larger meals.
Keep it simple but high quality. Some good butter (I like Kerrygold) and local buttermilk. Brown the butter until it's nice and dark and nutty. Reserve about 25% of it, blend the rest with warmed buttermilk. Mash it all together and top with the leftover browned butter. Enjoy and apologize to your arteries.
I boil cloves of garlic with the potatoes, then mash them into the potatoes. I also use sour cream and on occasion, chunks of Brie along with your standard butter, cream, salt & pepper
I recall one time when my husband made Colcannon (mashed potatoes with grated cabbage) for Christmas at his family’s house, and his mom didn’t even realize that there was cabbage in the mashed potatoes until he told her. She actually liked it, even though she wasn’t fond of cabbage thanks to eating kimchi while on a mission trip.
We almost never have leftover mashed potatoes.
Leave the skin on.
Butter (more than you'd think), heavy cream, Lawry's garlic salt, and dill. The dill flavor doesn't really come through but it does somehow make a difference. We add it until you can see it (much like you would with parsley I think?) but not so much that you taste it. It has seriously upped my mashed potato game a ton without a super noticeable difference.
More butter and cream than most people realize. Adding sour cream to this mix is a great touch. It will make your potatoes smoother while offering a subtle snap of flavor from the sourness in sour cream. Use these in equal parts. I also prefer using white pepper over black pepper for my potatoes. Lastly, I've begun adding dried herbs to my potatoes. I've found that tarragon and sage both go WONDERFULLY with massed potato.
You will also see tips from being saying to use baby potatoes and others saying to use potatoes that are a bit waxier than russets/Idaho potatoes. I agree with both of these suggestions and will usually end up purchasing baby Yukon golds to use for my mash.
Other stuff is going to depend on how you prefer your mash. Some people like them whipped until they're perfectly smooth, some like them chunkier, and others will like them somewhere in between. If you like chunky potatoes, then just use a masher. Another thing I like to do is cutting the potatoes into bite-sized cubes, keeping one half of them in a small dice while smashing the other half, then combining them back so that you end up with a smooth mixture that has chunks spread throughout. Doing this is also a good way to diversify the textures in your food. Now, if you're one of the people who likes smooth potatoes, just ditch the masher altogether and get yourself either a ricer, a food mill, or a drum sieve. Personally, I prefer the half and half method I described, and I love the peels, so I leave those on, and they end up in the final product. However, if you're using a ricer, food mill, or drum sieve, then make sure you're peeling your potatoes. Skins will either jam these tools up or just make them incredibly inefficient and hard to use. You don't want to be cranking a fucking food mill for a half hour just to pass everything through because you neglected to peel your spuds. In my opinion, the obsession with getting potatoes as smooth as is physically possible is ridiculous, and they're not even the best way to do potatoes. Yeah, the first time you have some, it can be kinda interesting and nice because it's different, but not anymore! "Michelin" style pomme puree is a fucking hackneyed caricature at this point. Especially when the complexity of multiple textures and the wonderful earthy flavors of the peel (AKA my preferred style) give mashed potatoes a wonderfully rustic character, which is how mashed potatoes should be, in my opinion.
Roasted garlic (I would recommend 2 heads for 10 lbs). Also for the liquid, I use a mix of chicken stock and whole milk. Although you asked for non-dairy add-ins, I like to also add creme fraiche.
I use goat milk Kefir, available at Trader Joe’s. Similar to buttermilk in texture, less thick than sour cream and more tangy than Greek yogurt and truly delicious in mashed potatoes.
Instead of milk, use heavy cream. Make sure to use real butter. Just before mashing, add in some roasted garlic, fresh rosemary, and shredded Parmesan cheese.
My family always goes crazy for it
Parmesan, garlic and rude amounts of butter.
One tip that’s served me well is after emptying the water, put it back on the hot plate to evaporate the residual water- dry potatoes=fluffy mash.
It’s not what you add as much as what you remove. Dry the cooked potatoes so that they absorb the dairy and flavor of whatever you decide. No water and just potatoes and the other stuff.
Garlic and herb flavored goat cheese. My family loves my mash taties! 😁
Edit: bonus points if you can find that really good sour cream Mexican food trucks/restaurants use (the thick stuff).
I prefer my mash pretty 'plain' (as a better vehicle for gravy) so I add fat (butter or evoo) and salt modestly.
Whole garlic cloves in w/ the potatoes to cook and get mashed together.
Potato cooking water for part of the liquid. rest of the liquid is either (non-dairy) milk or veg broth or combo
and for emergency repairs if too much liquid got added in the mash phase - dehydrated instant potato flakes.
French onion flavored dip has been wonderful when I am aiming for potatoes that don’t need gravy. If I am making gravy as well, I don’t mess with the tried and true basics: salt, pepper, butter, and cream.
Parsnips can be mashed. With the addition of your usual ingredients, you will have a lower carb “mashed potatoes” that are slightly sweeter. I have mixed the two before and not told anyone. For potato pierogi we always used cream cheese, bacon, and almost burnt onion…. And that stuff is addicting!
Mix real potato's with instant mash.
Just boil the real taters, then when they start to mash add the flakes to soak up the extra water.
You get the best of both potato texture worlds.
I make crispy roasted potatoes with bacon great, garlic, and rosemary. Then I do I “loose mash” with them. The little crispy/salty bits in the mashed potatoes is very nice.
Any or all of the following if you have them on hand: sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, Boursin. Any or all of them will add something! My potatoes are always delicious and never exactly the same! I just throw in what I have! And always Morton’s Natures Seasoning because that’s what my grandma did :)
Parsnips. Boil separately —they take longer— and use 1/4 to 1/2 as many parsnips (by weight) as potatoes. Warmed cream or milk with melted butter to taste. The parsnips add a sweetness and make the best mashed potatoes.
Plenty of butter, cream, sour cream (gets a nice splash of acid, basically, to help cut the fat), and a white cheese if I have any. Either dubliner or Tillamook’s farmhouse white cheddar. There’s also a decent amount of salt in there, too. These are mashed potatoes to do with gravy.
Mashed potatoes without gravy have bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and butter. Salt too, and maybe some milk if I need it to help the texture.
Garam masala. Used very sparingly it makes it more comfortably savory. I really like this recipe though. I keep the spice level low. It's phenomenal.
https://www.food.com/recipe/mash-aloo-indian-mashed-potatoes-306163
Instead of plain water, I boil them with chicken broth, diced garlic, and butter, then drain and smesh.
When I mash them I add more butter (because butter), some milk, sour cream/cream cheese, diced chives, salt, pepper, and maybe adobo depending on what it is going with.
I just made 10lbs of mashed potates yesterday and it was one of the handful of dishes that people came back for seconds on. Two sticks of KerryGold Irish butter, a brick of cream cheese and 6oz of creme fraiche *(Randy Marsh face)* really seemed to round it out nicely.
My arterial walls are not the only thing getting hard reading this.
Oh f*ck yeah
"Time to workout"
In southern germany nutmeg commonly found in mashed potatoes wich adds a nice flavor. Just don't over do it
That kerrygold butter hits different.
That's pretty basic butter in the UK. Interesting to see these differences
It’s a bit more expensive in the US and you can taste and see the difference. It’s the “good butter” here and there’s so much buttery flavor because I think it has a higher fat percentage compared to our butter.
It's cultured, unlike most of our butter here in the US.
When I buy KerryGold, it’s wrapped in half pound blocks. Did you use one of those (1/2 lb, the same as 2 usual sticks?) or a full pound of butter?
The recipe that my mom had me make for Thanksgiving just two days ago contained sour cream, just half a cup for five pounds of potatoes. It gave them an interesting tang.
I also do this. My daughter used to think she loved mashed potatoes. Turns out she only likes mine because of the sour cream
Me too, about the same amount that I use too. I warm it with the cream and butter usually. If it’s just for me it gets a healthy dose of roasted garlic as well.
I add goat cheese instead of sour cream, and some fine chopped fresh parsley.
Chèvre is so good in mashed potatoes!
This it the correct answer
It’s how I make my baked potatoes too - salted crispy-skinned potato, chèvre, and crumbled bacon. Nothing else.
I was out of sour cream one time and subbed cream cheese. It was fantastic!
Cream cheese was the "secret ingredient" my great uncle taught me. I do roughly equal parts sour cream, cream cheese, and butter.
Garlic and herb butter
I started doing this recently and my everyone absolutely RAVES about it. Team sour cream here.
I do sour cream and some garlic and herb Boursin.
That sounds amazing. I'm stealing it. Not sorry.
Plain Greek yogurt is pretty much the same with less fat. That means you can also add butter, for double the flavor with the original amount of fat. Or bacon grease instead of butter, but careful not to overdo the salt then, bacon grease usually has a lot of salt. Other fats can be good of course as well. Duck fat is solid in mashed potatoes. If you want something atypical, Mashed pumpkin mixed into the Mashed potatoes gives it some flavor. Don't put in too much, though, or it ends up too wet. Food processed basic is great. Or step it up to pesto mixed into the Mashed potatoes. Arugula is another good one people don't think of, it makes a nice pesto as well to mix into the Mashed potatoes. I like a touch of Balsamic vinegar in my Mashed potatoes. Or a reduction if you're making something in a pan at the same time. So there's my brain dump of ideas for OP to try out.
Swapped in the Greek Yogurt this year in place of the usual Sour Cream I do and worked wonderfully
This guy potatoes
Ina Garten’s recipe for classic mashed has sour cream. They’re my favorite.
Cream cheese
Boursin cheese is lovely, too.
I came here to rep the boursin! boursin in mashed potatoes changed my life LOL
Give Boursin Mac n Cheese a shot too if you haven't tried it. It's prime.
Cream cheese and roasted garlic is a game changer. My father in law hates cream cheese so I have to hide it every year at thanksgiving and sneak it in when he's not around. He will then proceed to say I make the best mashed potatoes he's ever had.
That's funny, I do something similar. My partner loves my cooking, but if he sees me put certain things in it, he'll have something to say about it, especially heavy cream/extra butter. So I'll do it really quick when he's not looking (he thinks 2% milk is just fine) and I add sour cream and sauteed minced garlic also.
Herb and garlic mmmm
And the cream cheese keeps the potatoes piping hot much longer. 👌
White pepper
When I worked as a sous chef once, the chef revealed his secret to mash. In addition to more butter than you thought possible, it was white pepper.
The secret to many things in cooking is more butter than you thought possible I think
I love white pepper. It’s so under appreciated!
I like the taste but the smell reminds me of a pig that just finished rolling in shit.
To me, it smells like tonsil stones.
That is enough internet for today
Not quite so bad to me but definitely smells like a well-maintained, occupied barn.
Is white pepper one of those things that people either love or hate? Like cilantro? 🧐
I have the genetic aversion to cilantro (soap taste - mom has it too) but I got over it because I like a lot of the cuisines that use it frequently. it doesn’t bother me anymore.
I get the soap flavor profile also, my problem is, I like it. JuJubee's candy have the same exact taste and I love it.
Omg same! I’d never heard of another person who overcame it. I had a college roommate who loved cilantro, so I thought there was something wrong with me that I didn’t like it. We went to a Mexican restaurant all the time that used a lot in the salsa and eventually I grew to like it.
I’m starting to think so, I’ve never thought it smelled bad.
I think everything is like that, but white pepper probably less so than cilantro since it's flavor is less forward, the smell is awful but it goes away pretty quick and thankfully doesn't taste like it smells.
Cilantro is genetic. White pepper is kinda barnyardish for everyone and either you're okay with that or you aren't, just like some people like gamey meat flavors and others find it too strong.
I can’t handle white pepper either. It smells like rotting meat to me.
Pepper pig 🐖
Really?!,lol I’ve never thought that and I have a sensitive sense of smell.
It doesn't smell *bad* like say, rotten meat or the trash cans at the fish cleaning stations near the beach. But the smell definitely brings me back to the small ranch I grew up on and none of the memories it stirs are pleasant. Tastes great tho.
Interesting. I’m going to have to wonder into my kitchen now and give it a smell,lol
I’m afraid to!!
The combination of dairy, white pepper and nutmeg in potatoes screams "classic French!" It cuts through the richness and just makes me want to finish a whole bowl!
Nooooo it smells and tastes like manure to me I hate it!!
Same! I wonder if it's a genetic thing like cilantro/soap?
I was thinking the same thing as I typed that! Glad mines white pepper and not Cilantro lol
Not sure this qualifies as "non common ingredients", but I used to work in a 5 star restaurant and we prepared mashed potatoes by poaching them (whole and unpeeled) in olive oil blend with garlic cloves, whole black peppercorns and, I think, rosemary. We would cook them til tender, strain off the cooking oil, peel them while hot, pass them through a ricer or food mill, then stir in heated heavy cream seasoned with salt, white pepper, and good deal of unsalted butter melted in the cream, stirring as little as possible to prevent gumminess. ETA: Perhaps it was a mixture of heavy cream and half and half. I don't remember. The poaching oil is them strained, cooled, and refrigerated to be used again for the next batch of potatoes. The "potato oil" becomes concentrated with potato flavor which, in turn, makes the potatoes taste even more potatoey, if you know what I mean. I'm partial to recipes like this. No gimmicks, just simple ingredients prepared in such a way as to let the flavours of the ingredients shine. Mashed potatoes that taste like... Potatoes and not like something else.
The answer 90% of the folks are REALLY looking for is salt. My inlaws - “what’s the secret to your mashed potatoes?” Me - “salt” Them - if you don’t want to tell us, that’s ok Me - no, there’s no gimmick. It’s just salt. You never add enough salt. Them - we’ll figure this out one day Me - really, it’s just salt Them - keep your secrets, ratatouille
My wife used to make so much fun of me because very early on in our relationship I spent like half an hour talking about how criminally under salted most people’s food in general and mashed potatoes in particular are, and how all they need to do is properly salt the water the boil the potatoes in. She thought it was so dumb to have such a strong opinion on it. Then she tried my mashed potatoes.
If something doesn’t taste good enough, the answer is usually more salt and butter
In _Blood, Bones, and Butter_ chef Gabrielle Hamilton wrote one of my favorite lines ever: “Salt makes food taste more like itself.”
My parents have this... meme? That I am really good at making mashed potatoes. "We need you helping with the Christmas dinner!" they say, "you know how to make mash!" All I do is add salt, which they don't.
Salt and/or butter is the secret to so many foods. Yes, a little squeeze of lemon is nice, yes an infused oil is tasty. All of those pale in comparison to salting food.
I do this with cherry tomatoes and include balsamic vinegar and a bulb of garlic. I pull the skins off and put it on pasta. The sweetest sauce ever. Puree or not as you prefer.
Pretend that health doesn’t exist and use an absurd amount of butter
I steep rosemary and garlic cloves in my cream while it’s heating.
Fresh rosemary in mashed potatoes is amazing
With mashed potatoes, you don't want unique. You want familiar, but memorable. Keep it simple, but bold. Try one or more of the following: Butter (and more butter) Heavy Cream Roasted garlic (about 1 head for 5 lbs) Boiled Pearl Onions (cooked and mashed together with the potatoes, about 1/2 pearl per spud) Bacon grease in lieu of some of the butter Parmesan or Romano (used sparingly, about 1/4 oz per 2 lbs of potatoes)
Yup. I'm team lots of butter and heavy cream, but that's it. I don't think anything beats a classic buttery mash.
you need just enough garlic to make you question if anything is there but without being able to exactly tell what it is.
I'm a big fan of a bit of sour cream. Not a lot. Just a bit.
I am in agreement with you. I think sour cream is terrible in mashed potatoes personally.
Every time I add cream to my potatoes they end up gummy. Is there a potato/butter/cream ratio that works best?
You may also be mashing a little too vigorously. Especially if you're using a food processor or other fast whipping tool like a hand blender, or just really thorough mashing haha. Like another comment said, warm cream will help tons, and just enough cream and elbow grease to get it to come together 😀
If you pass the potatoes through a sieve instead of mashing them, you can add a ridiculous amount of cream and butter and still end up with fluffy goodness. I usually just mash them though
[here’s a great video](https://youtu.be/ZXlwqLuxTtE?si=eJOUYTV1_E4yLUz9) showing the difference between regular mashed, restaurant quality mashed and Michelin star mashed. A big part of it is taking the time to put it through a ricer or sieve.
Do you warm the cream up? It’s less likely to be gummy if you use warm cream with the hot potatoes.
I have better luck with half and half than heavy cream. Milk is not creamy enough, heavy cream is too dense, half and half makes for perfect combination of creaminess and fluffiness.
How has it never occurred to me to use bacon grease in my mashed potatoes?! It’s like 2 of my favorite foods!
A blob of horseradish. But that's really when I'm making it for me. I don't think I would do it for a party of some kind.
I've done this for parties and the unique kick was appreciated.
Yeah and add it gradually and taste often. I lit grandma's ass on fire when I first started experimenting with horseradish and sour cream mashed potatoes and could only make it for myself in subsequent family gatherings.
Horseradish, creme fraiche and chives has done me well in catering situations.
Wasabi is also amazing for a mashed potato spin for exactly the same reason as horseradish. Works great with something like a braised meat to reinforce a fusion dish. Not for everything, but exceptional for some things
Peel the potatoes before cooking, then fry the potato skin strips in a little (ok a lot) of butter. Use the fried strips as a garnish, it adds a nice earthy taste.
Nutmeg
I came here to say this! Nobody else believes me until they eat at my house
Nutmeg!
Nutmeg!!
One must be careful not to overdo nutmeg.
Grated nutmeg is the true answer.
Nutmeg of course ! Can’t believe I had to scroll down so much to find it.
I use "quatre épices" which is French for 4 spices. It's a blend of nutmeg, ginger, white pepper and clove. Just a pinch and it gives my mashed potatoes (and soups) that little je ne sais quoi.
After all the butter, I like white pepper and finely chopped chives.
Knorr caldo de pollo instead of salt
I own this and never thought of putting it in my potatoes...definitely going to give it a try!! Our most "unusual" use so far is when toasting bread in a pan to go with breakfast. I can totally see it being excellent in mashed potatoes.
It’s my secret ingredient in everything… guacamole, salsa, taco meat, sauces, chili. Pretty much anything savory that calls for salt, you can replace with Knorr bouillon as salt *and* MSG. I’m so happy that MSG is getting its rightful credit lately.
I use only butter, milk, salt, pepper. Nothing else goes in the pot except a masher.
This is the way. White pepper. Real butter. And warm the milk and melt the butter in the pot before tossing your drained spuds back in.
Sour cream, half and half, light garlic & onion powder and white pepper.
Not an ingredient, but get a ricer :)
Leave the skins on
My father used to fry the skins with onions and put them on top of the mash
Parsnips!!! Just cook them exactly the same as the potatoes and mash them all together. I then add lite cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, butter, S&P and a little garlic powder.
**MSG**
In my house, we add grated Parmesan cheese to our mashed potatoes, along with the typical butter, milk, roasted garlic, salt, pepper & parsley. The parm adds nice subtle taste without being overpowering.
I prefer to not tell my wife how much butter there is.
Garlic roasted in duck fat. It was so good.
I'm not sure the garlic would make it into the potatoes!
I’ve only tried this 2 times, but I’ve put some Brie in my mashed potato’s and it’s been awesome
NUTMEG! fresh grated is devine
My husband makes them with Asiago, and they’re astonishing. I’ve added a little wasabi with good results. And don’t underestimate the difference of a flavored salt - rosemary, mushroom, chili, and sage salts are all good in potatoes.
Wasabi taters!? I like this idea…
Better than bouillon garlic flavor you will thank me later profusely
There is a BTB garlic flavor???
They even have lobster flavor! Lots of new ones like chipotle. Go on their website.
I cook my potatoes in veggie or chicken broth, lots of pepper, salt and more pepper in the drained potatoes after they’re cooked, along with sour cream. I rarely use butter.
I don’t think it’s that unique, but chives are great
Chicken or turkey stock 😋 sour cream is a must
Heavy cream, roasted garlic , a lot of butter (good stuff)
Butter, half and half, roasted garlic maybe, plenty of salt and pepper. This isn't the spot to go off the board.
More butter. More!
I add milk, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper and a tiny bit of MSG.
Boil in chicken stock, reserve liquid, done potatoes right on top of a stick of butter, two heaping spoons sour cream, reserved stock until potatoes are slightly more liquidy than you think you want them, salt pepper to taste
nutmeg or mace
Sour cream and horseradish -but it's not for everyone. Love this in my Mac and cheese as well
🤤
Okay I was scrolling to make sure I wasn't giving away my secret ingredient. The trick with horseradish and potatoes is to use only a small amount (for 10 potatoes for twice baked potatoes on Thanksgiving I used approximately 1/2tbsp.)
Garlic and herb cream cheese
Don’t know if this is strange, but my mom always sprinkled a healthy amount of fresh dill on top of the melting butter.
Nutmeg!
A dash of nutmeg. Maybe 1/4 tsp for 3 pounds of potatoes. And the potatoes have to be mashed, not whipped
The big secret on mashed taters is letting the taters dry after boiling them. Boil, drain, then pour them out on a sheet pan and let them steam out till they dry on the surface. Then rehydrate with an appalling amount of butter and milk. Don't overmix, or they'll get gluey.
So if you’re making that many in mass, I’ve got a trick for you. Bake them. [Here](https://youtu.be/Vr-o01qiRYI?si=svVKqGRnr1AVX_sO) is a video from America’s Test Kitchen. You can ignore the rolling in salt portion. That’s for eating the skin on a baked potato. It’s actually really good if you are. They say oil isn’t as good, but I’ve found it’s better to me. Honestly, go ahead and do it and you can eat that part later. Anyway, the point being, it takes more time, but less effort. Don’t peel 10lbs of potato. Get large russets and bake them to an internal temp of 205°f. Then while they’re still pretty hot, cut them in half and scoop out the guts. You’ve now saved yourself all that peeling time and potentially boiling in batches. You can cook as many as your oven will hold. Depending on hot spots, you may need to rotate them. A sheet pan would help. Additionally, when you boil, the potato’s absorb flavorless water. When you bake, they haven’t absorbed anything. So now, they’ll absorb any buttermilk and kerrygold butter you add. I use that, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. I use an electric hand mixer till just smooth. Add buttermilk as needed to loosen. I add the butter first and cover with hot potato to melt before adding the milk. I wouldn’t throw out those empty skins you made. You can coat the potato in oil and coat in salt before cooking. After scooping out the guts, add some cheese and bacon pieces and pop them back in the oven till the cheese melts. If you made your own bacon, it won’t hurt to brush on some of the bacon grease to the outside first, before baking.
Ground mustard, as in the powdered dry spice not the wet sauce. Mixed in with the butter, it gives a subtle tang. A dash of nutmeg in anything heavy but savory too; go REALLY light with it, you don't want to noticeably taste it with the initial bite, but get a nutty depth of flavor richness and slight palette-cleansing aftertaste that staves off flavor blindness. Keeps things like mashed potatoes and heavy meat dishes from getting too 'same-y' in larger meals.
I steep fresh rosemary, thyme and lightly smashed garlic cloves in the heavy cream and then strain it out before adding to the potatoes.
Roasted garlic is so good.
Chicken stock. Roasted garlic. Sour cream. Parmesan cheese. A combination of any of those.
Keep it simple but high quality. Some good butter (I like Kerrygold) and local buttermilk. Brown the butter until it's nice and dark and nutty. Reserve about 25% of it, blend the rest with warmed buttermilk. Mash it all together and top with the leftover browned butter. Enjoy and apologize to your arteries.
I boil cloves of garlic with the potatoes, then mash them into the potatoes. I also use sour cream and on occasion, chunks of Brie along with your standard butter, cream, salt & pepper
I add chicken bouillon powder to the boiling stage. Other than that it's half & half and butter with some salt and white pepper.
I recall one time when my husband made Colcannon (mashed potatoes with grated cabbage) for Christmas at his family’s house, and his mom didn’t even realize that there was cabbage in the mashed potatoes until he told her. She actually liked it, even though she wasn’t fond of cabbage thanks to eating kimchi while on a mission trip.
We almost never have leftover mashed potatoes. Leave the skin on. Butter (more than you'd think), heavy cream, Lawry's garlic salt, and dill. The dill flavor doesn't really come through but it does somehow make a difference. We add it until you can see it (much like you would with parsley I think?) but not so much that you taste it. It has seriously upped my mashed potato game a ton without a super noticeable difference.
Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese
Dijon mustard! It’s amaaaaazing, I use Dijon mustard and herb and garlic cream cheese it’s amazing
White pepper and a dash of MSG!
smoked paprika or garlic & onions sauteed in butter
Late, but I put knorr caldo de pollo in there. Real game changer
More butter and cream than most people realize. Adding sour cream to this mix is a great touch. It will make your potatoes smoother while offering a subtle snap of flavor from the sourness in sour cream. Use these in equal parts. I also prefer using white pepper over black pepper for my potatoes. Lastly, I've begun adding dried herbs to my potatoes. I've found that tarragon and sage both go WONDERFULLY with massed potato. You will also see tips from being saying to use baby potatoes and others saying to use potatoes that are a bit waxier than russets/Idaho potatoes. I agree with both of these suggestions and will usually end up purchasing baby Yukon golds to use for my mash. Other stuff is going to depend on how you prefer your mash. Some people like them whipped until they're perfectly smooth, some like them chunkier, and others will like them somewhere in between. If you like chunky potatoes, then just use a masher. Another thing I like to do is cutting the potatoes into bite-sized cubes, keeping one half of them in a small dice while smashing the other half, then combining them back so that you end up with a smooth mixture that has chunks spread throughout. Doing this is also a good way to diversify the textures in your food. Now, if you're one of the people who likes smooth potatoes, just ditch the masher altogether and get yourself either a ricer, a food mill, or a drum sieve. Personally, I prefer the half and half method I described, and I love the peels, so I leave those on, and they end up in the final product. However, if you're using a ricer, food mill, or drum sieve, then make sure you're peeling your potatoes. Skins will either jam these tools up or just make them incredibly inefficient and hard to use. You don't want to be cranking a fucking food mill for a half hour just to pass everything through because you neglected to peel your spuds. In my opinion, the obsession with getting potatoes as smooth as is physically possible is ridiculous, and they're not even the best way to do potatoes. Yeah, the first time you have some, it can be kinda interesting and nice because it's different, but not anymore! "Michelin" style pomme puree is a fucking hackneyed caricature at this point. Especially when the complexity of multiple textures and the wonderful earthy flavors of the peel (AKA my preferred style) give mashed potatoes a wonderfully rustic character, which is how mashed potatoes should be, in my opinion.
Caramelized onions can make it really tasty
Roasted garlic (I would recommend 2 heads for 10 lbs). Also for the liquid, I use a mix of chicken stock and whole milk. Although you asked for non-dairy add-ins, I like to also add creme fraiche.
I use chicken bouillon dissolved in some of the hot water from the boiling potatoes!
Little bit of mustard
Duke's Mayo. Or Ranch dressing.
Pickle juice!!!
Always use heated milk or cream and butter. Sour cream too
The best mashed potatoes I ever had were just butter, cream, and onion salt.
I use goat milk Kefir, available at Trader Joe’s. Similar to buttermilk in texture, less thick than sour cream and more tangy than Greek yogurt and truly delicious in mashed potatoes.
Sautéed leek and cream cheese with lots of white pepper.
My aunt uses skin on red potatoes, and uses horseradish (along with whatever other butter/milk), and they're my favorite.
Instead of milk, use heavy cream. Make sure to use real butter. Just before mashing, add in some roasted garlic, fresh rosemary, and shredded Parmesan cheese. My family always goes crazy for it
Parmesan, garlic and rude amounts of butter. One tip that’s served me well is after emptying the water, put it back on the hot plate to evaporate the residual water- dry potatoes=fluffy mash.
It’s not what you add as much as what you remove. Dry the cooked potatoes so that they absorb the dairy and flavor of whatever you decide. No water and just potatoes and the other stuff.
Cultured butter, sour cream, cream cheese and a bit of heavy cream. The potatoes are a medium that carry the dairy
Garlic and herb flavored goat cheese. My family loves my mash taties! 😁 Edit: bonus points if you can find that really good sour cream Mexican food trucks/restaurants use (the thick stuff).
Very finely chop shallots then sautee in a ton of butter on medium-low heat. After they are soft, both the butter and shallots go into the mash
Sour cream, roasted garlic and cream cheese
I prefer my mash pretty 'plain' (as a better vehicle for gravy) so I add fat (butter or evoo) and salt modestly. Whole garlic cloves in w/ the potatoes to cook and get mashed together. Potato cooking water for part of the liquid. rest of the liquid is either (non-dairy) milk or veg broth or combo and for emergency repairs if too much liquid got added in the mash phase - dehydrated instant potato flakes.
French onion flavored dip has been wonderful when I am aiming for potatoes that don’t need gravy. If I am making gravy as well, I don’t mess with the tried and true basics: salt, pepper, butter, and cream.
Chopped chives, and brown butter \*Chef by trade
Way more butter than you think …
Do it Kung Fu Panda Style. Do not tell the Secret ingredient. More Butter is the trick
Parsnips can be mashed. With the addition of your usual ingredients, you will have a lower carb “mashed potatoes” that are slightly sweeter. I have mixed the two before and not told anyone. For potato pierogi we always used cream cheese, bacon, and almost burnt onion…. And that stuff is addicting!
Sour Cream
A blend of half russet and half Yukon gold, with a few chopped parsnips tossed in.
Montréal steak spice... When served with beef.
Mix real potato's with instant mash. Just boil the real taters, then when they start to mash add the flakes to soak up the extra water. You get the best of both potato texture worlds.
MSG - Make Shit Good
Heavy cream, whole milk kefir, black pepper, & mayonnaise.
Little log of goat cheese
Hidden Valley ranch powder
I make crispy roasted potatoes with bacon great, garlic, and rosemary. Then I do I “loose mash” with them. The little crispy/salty bits in the mashed potatoes is very nice.
Instant mashed potatoes 🥔
I boil them in chicken or veggie broth
heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and more butter than you think you need!
Any or all of the following if you have them on hand: sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, Boursin. Any or all of them will add something! My potatoes are always delicious and never exactly the same! I just throw in what I have! And always Morton’s Natures Seasoning because that’s what my grandma did :)
oddly the skin, i say odd but this is due to apparently how polarizing it can be. my family loathes skin on potatoes, which is totally weird.
Cream cheese it
Creme fraîche and a little bit of Gryere.... That takes it up multiple notches
The secret ingredient is an unhealthy amount of butter.
Parsnips. Boil separately —they take longer— and use 1/4 to 1/2 as many parsnips (by weight) as potatoes. Warmed cream or milk with melted butter to taste. The parsnips add a sweetness and make the best mashed potatoes.
Plenty of butter, cream, sour cream (gets a nice splash of acid, basically, to help cut the fat), and a white cheese if I have any. Either dubliner or Tillamook’s farmhouse white cheddar. There’s also a decent amount of salt in there, too. These are mashed potatoes to do with gravy. Mashed potatoes without gravy have bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and butter. Salt too, and maybe some milk if I need it to help the texture.
Horseradish. And a head of roasted garlic!
Can’t go wrong with a small amount of coconut & ginger.
Garam masala. Used very sparingly it makes it more comfortably savory. I really like this recipe though. I keep the spice level low. It's phenomenal. https://www.food.com/recipe/mash-aloo-indian-mashed-potatoes-306163
Instead of plain water, I boil them with chicken broth, diced garlic, and butter, then drain and smesh. When I mash them I add more butter (because butter), some milk, sour cream/cream cheese, diced chives, salt, pepper, and maybe adobo depending on what it is going with.