- 3 lbs (1.4kg) Yukon gold potatoes, rinsed
- Kosher salt, to taste
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp (130g) unsalted butter, plus more to garnish
- 4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
- 1 cup (300ml) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (78ml) heavy cream
- Optional aromatics: bay leaves, thyme, oregano, sage, chives, parsley, green onion, crushed red chili flakes
Snacks & Sides
How To Make Perfect Mashed Potatoes Every Time
One of the most important and beloved Thanksgiving side dishes of all time. The soaker of juices... the holster of roasted meats.
Prep
40 minutes
Cook
30 minutes
Total
1 hour, 10 minutes
Serves
8
people
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Ingredients
Directions
- For easy clean up, peel the potatoes over a piece of parchment paper. Wrap the parchment up and discard the peels. Cut the peeled potatoes into approximately 1” (2.5cm) pieces; more important than being exactly 1” is making sure they are all even in size so they cook in the same amount of time.
- Add the cut potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Season the water generously with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender but they still hold their shape; it's very important not to overcook the potatoes or they will absorb water and the final result will be watery.
- Once the potatoes are done cooking, strain through a colander and let sit for a few minutes to allow any excess water to drain off.
- While the potatoes are still hot, press them through a potato ricer set at the finest setting into a large bowl. Place to the side and keep warm.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is half-way melted, add in the garlic cloves and continue to heat until all the butter is melted.
- Whisk in the milk and heavy cream and season with salt to taste.
- Add in any of the optional aromatics you want. Heat the liquid until it just begins to simmer and steam, remove from heat and let everything steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain out the aromatics you added and pour about half of the liquid into the potatoes. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated. Add more liquid, a little at a time, and stir to incorporate. Keep doing this until the potatoes are creamy and smooth; if using Yukon gold potatoes, they will most likely take all the liquid but different potatoes have different moisture content so adjust as needed if you used a different potato. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with a pat of butter as garnish and more salt and pepper to taste.
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