These are plain, classic mashed potatoes, the same dish you already know, and on a Latin American Christmas table they sit next to roast turkey, a glazed pork leg or pork loin in prune sauce, often alongside rice and a creamy pasta salad. What changes for that table is the planning: dinner is late on December 24, Nochebuena, the oven is full of meat, and there are other starches competing for room on the plate. So this is the recipe for 6, the amounts for a crowd, and a make-ahead plan that keeps them soft.
Creamy mashed potatoes in 50 minutes
How do you make creamy mashed potatoes? Start 2⅔ lb (1.2 kg) of peeled, chunked floury potatoes in cold salted water and cook them 15 to 20 minutes after the boil, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain, dry them in the pot for 1 to 2 minutes, mash by hand, then fold in 6 tbsp (90 g) of butter and 1 cup (240 ml) of hot milk. 50 minutes for 6 servings.
They come out fluffy and buttery, with no cream or cheese in the base recipe; those versions are further down. The whole job is 50 minutes, 15 of peeling and cutting and 35 at the stove, including about 10 for the water to come to a boil. Easy, as long as nothing with a motor touches the potatoes.
Ingredients, with US and UK potatoes
| Ingredient | Metric | US | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floury potatoes | 1.2 kg | 2⅔ lb | About 6 medium; 1 kg (2.2 lb) peeled |
| Coarse salt, for the water | 15 g | 1 tbsp | Seasons the potatoes all the way through |
| Unsalted butter | 90 g | 6 tbsp | Salted works; skip extra salt until you taste |
| Whole milk | 240 ml | 1 cup | Hot, not boiling |
Which potatoes to buy
- Floury, as written. More starch and less water, so they fall apart into flakes when cooked and mash light and fluffy. US: russets, sometimes sold as Idaho or baking potatoes. UK: Maris Piper or King Edward, or any bag labeled for mash or roasting.
- Yukon Gold. In between floury and waxy. A denser, yellower, more buttery mash; add the milk gradually, since it may need a little less.
- Waxy: new, red or salad potatoes. They hold their shape when boiled and go sticky before they go smooth. Save them for potato salad.
Dairy swaps and what they change
- Heavy cream (UK double cream) in place of ¼ cup (60 ml) of the milk makes a richer, silkier mash. Swapping all of it is heavy next to several meats.
- Chicken stock for half the milk gives more savory flavor and less fat, and a less creamy mash.
- Lactose-free milk works with the same butter, which has very little lactose; you won’t notice a difference.
- Dairy-free. About ¼ cup (60 ml) mild olive oil and an unsweetened oat or soy drink. Good, but it tastes of oil rather than butter.
Equipment. A pot of at least 5 quarts (5 liters), a colander, and a ricer or food mill for the smoothest mash, or a potato masher for a few small lumps. A fork works for 2 or 3 people; for 6 it’s slow and the potatoes cool down.
Step by step, with the signs to look for
Cold water, salted. The potatoes go into cold water that covers them by about 1 in (3 cm), and heat up with it. Drop them into boiling water and the outside softens and sloughs off while the middle is still hard. The salt goes in the water, 1 tbsp per 2⅔ lb, because that’s the only way to season the inside of the potato. Cut every chunk to the same 1½ to 2 in (4 to 5 cm) so they finish together.
The doneness test. From the boil, over medium heat, 15 to 20 minutes. Push a knife tip into the biggest chunk: it should slide to the center with no resistance and the chunk should split or slip off as you pull out. If it lifts with the knife, give it a few more minutes. Undercooked potato leaves hard lumps no amount of mashing fixes.
Dry them. Drain, return them to the pot and shake it over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes. They stop steaming and turn chalky white on the outside. That steam is water that would otherwise thin out the butter and make the mash runny.
Butter first, then hot milk. Mash while hot, off the heat. Stir in the butter until it disappears; it coats the potato and gives a silkier result. Then the hot milk, in three additions, folding after each. Mix only until there are no streaks; the more you stir, the more starch comes out.
The texture you want. It drops from the spoon in a soft mound that holds its shape. If it clings to the spoon, add 1 to 2 tbsp more hot milk. If it spreads like a sauce, there’s too much milk; see the fixes below.
Planning mashed potatoes for Nochebuena
How much to make
The recipe allows 7 oz (200 g) of unpeeled potato per person, a generous side of a little under a cup.
| People | Potatoes | Butter | Milk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2⅔ lb (1.2 kg) | 6 tbsp (90 g) | 1 cup (240 ml) |
| 12 | 5¼ lb (2.4 kg) | 1½ sticks + 1 tbsp (180 g) | 2 cups (480 ml) |
| 20 | 8¾ lb (4 kg) | 2⅔ sticks (300 g) | 3⅓ cups (800 ml) |
When the table also has turkey, rice, a salad and a pasta, I drop to 5 oz (150 g) per person: with that much to choose from, few people go back for seconds of mash. For 20, cook in two pots or two batches. With nearly 9 lb in one pot, the chunks at the bottom fall apart before the ones on top are done.
The day before
- December 23, or the morning of the 24th. Make the recipe, holding back ¼ cup (60 ml) of the milk. Spread the mash in a shallow container so it cools fast, cover, and refrigerate within 2 hours. If you’re baking the cheese version, make it in its baking dish now.
- On the night, on the stove. Heat ½ cup (120 ml) milk for the batch of 6 in a wide pot, add the cold mash and stir over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until it steams and is hot in the middle, adding more hot milk if it stiffens.
- Or in the oven. In a buttered dish, dotted with butter and a splash of milk, covered with foil, at 350°F (180°C) for 30 to 40 minutes. Stir before serving. This fits once the turkey or pork leg comes out to rest.
Leftovers and anything reheated should reach 165°F (74°C) in the center.
Same day, held warm
To make them fresh, peel and cut the potatoes in the morning and keep them in the pot covered with cold water in the fridge. An hour before dinner, salt the water and turn on the heat. Once mashed, they hold up to 2 hours in a covered bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, or in a slow cooker on the keep-warm setting, which keeps them above 140°F (60°C). Stir in a splash of hot milk every half hour, because the surface dries into a crust if nobody touches it.
On a buffet table, don’t leave them out more than 2 hours. If dinner runs long, put out half and keep the rest warm.
Why mashed potatoes go gluey, runny or lumpy
- Gluey or gummy. Overworked. A blender, immersion blender or food processor ruptures the cooked cells and releases starch, which turns into an elastic paste. Beating for a long time with a hand or stand mixer does the same, more slowly, and so do waxy potatoes. It can’t be undone, but gluey mash still bakes up well under cheese (below), or, chilled, makes Mexican potato patties.
- Runny. Waxy potatoes, potatoes that weren’t drained and dried, or too much milk at once. Stir it in the pot over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes until it firms up, gently, or it will go gluey.
- Hard lumps. Undercooked potatoes or chunks of different sizes. Push it through a food mill or a coarse sieve; raw lumps won’t soften now.
- Cold and stodgy. Milk or butter straight from the fridge. Have the milk hot before you drain the potatoes.
- Bland. Not enough salt in the water. Add salt at the end, a little at a time.
- Peeled potatoes turning gray. Cut potato darkens in air. Keep them covered in cold water, for a few hours in the fridge.
Allergens. Contains milk. Gluten-free and not spicy, and usually the side kids clear first.
Variations for the holiday table
- Cheesy. Stir 3½ oz (100 g) grated cheese into the hot mash at the end: Parmesan or aged Manchego for a sharp flavor, mozzarella or a mild white cheese for stretch. Taste before salting.
- Roasted garlic. Slice the top off 1 head of garlic, drizzle with 1 tsp oil, wrap in foil and roast at 400°F (200°C) for about 40 minutes, until the cloves are soft and golden. Squeeze them out and mash them into the butter. Sweet and mellow, nothing like raw garlic; roast it the day before.
- Baked with cheese. Spread the mash in an 8 x 12 in (20 x 30 cm) dish, rough up the top with a fork, and dot with 2 oz (60 g) grated cheese and 1 tbsp (15 g) butter. Freshly made and hot, it needs about 15 minutes at 400°F (200°C), until the ridges brown. From the fridge, bake it covered at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes, then uncovered with the cheese for 10 more. It’s the easiest version to carry to someone else’s house.
- Lighter. Half milk, half stock, and 3 tbsp (45 g) butter. Less creamy, still full of flavor.
What to serve it with, storing and freezing
On the Christmas table. With a Latin Christmas turkey and its pan gravy, with pork loin in prune sauce, which leaves plenty of sauce for the mash, or with a Mexican adobo pork leg. If Mexican white spaghetti is also on the table, those two cover the starch. Through the rest of the year it’s the classic partner for Venezuelan asado negro, with white rice and fried plantains.
Fridge. In a sealed container within 2 hours, 3 to 4 days.
Freezer. Yes, and this recipe freezes better than a lean one because of the butter and milk. Freeze flat in bags or in portions and use within about 3 months. Thawed, it weeps a little liquid and looks grainy; reheating it in a pot over low heat with a splash of milk and a good stir brings it back. Thaw overnight in the fridge. For Christmas I’d still make it the day before rather than freeze it, because it never gets quite as fluffy again.
Reheating. In a pot over low heat with a splash of milk, or covered in the microwave at medium power in 2-minute bursts, stirring between them, until hot in the middle. At full power the edges dry out and the center stays cold.
Leftovers. Cold mash from the fridge shapes better than fresh, which is why it’s the base of Colombian stuffed potatoes and of potato patties.
Frequently asked questions
Should I peel the potatoes before or after boiling? Before, in chunks, for this recipe: they cook in 15 to 20 minutes and season all the way through. Boiled whole in their skins they absorb less water and come out a little drier, but take twice as long and have to be peeled hot. Both work.
Can I use a hand mixer? A few seconds on low to break up the potatoes is the most it will tolerate, and it’s easy to go too far. A ricer or masher is safer, and not slower for 6 servings.
Can I use potatoes boiled the day before? Yes, though the mash is less fluffy. Mash them cold, add the butter and heat in a pot over low heat with the hot milk, stirring as little as possible.
How much mash do I get from 2.2 lb (1 kg) of peeled potatoes? With the butter and milk above, almost 3 lb (1.3 kg), or 6 servings.
Nutrition
Per serving (one sixth of the recipe, about 7¾ oz / 220 g of mash), worked out ingredient by ingredient from the quantities above:
- Calories: 276 kcal
- Protein: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fat: 14 g, of which 8 g saturated
- Fiber: 3 g
- Sugars: 4 g
- Sodium: 420 mg
Nearly 4 in 10 of those calories come from the butter; with 3 tbsp (45 g) a serving drops to about 220 kcal. The sodium includes an estimate of the salt the potatoes absorb from the water; whatever you add at the end comes on top.
I make mine with a ricer and floury potatoes, and for Christmas I make them the day before, because on the night the oven and every burner belong to the meat, and mash reheated with a splash of hot milk comes back just as soft. If I could only put one version on a table with several meats, it would be the plain one here, no cheese, because the sauces bring the flavor. Josnaisis.