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These freezer-friendly, creamy mashed potatoes are the perfect veggie side to meal prep for the week. With butter and heavy cream for richness, they’re a fluffy and heavenly bite.
We love potato sides at home, especially mashed potatoes! This recipe is a simpler take on my Chunky Garlic Mashed Potatoes — perfect for when you need an easy, comforting side. They’re so good my family requests them for weeknight dinners and holidays alike.
The secret to their ultra-smooth texture? A potato ricer! It makes mashing effortless and gives you the creamiest results. Topped with fresh parsley for a pop of color and flavor, these mashed potatoes might just steal the spotlight from the main dish.
Why You’ll Love These Creamy Mashed Potatoes
If you love versatile sides that go well with different dishes, this recipe will earn a place in your weekly meal rotation in no time. Here’s why I know you’ll love it:
- Great for freezing. Thaw the leftovers for hectic weeknights when you need a quick side.
- Family-friendly. Creamy mashed potatoes are a hit with even the pickiest eaters!
- Great for every occasion. Enjoy them on a regular Monday night or serve them at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s dinner.
- Simple ingredients. All you need are potatoes, heavy cream, and butter. That’s it!
Recipe Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients, so they’re nice and simple to make! The recipe card at the bottom of the post has exact quantities and measurements.
- Potatoes – I used Russet and Yukon Gold, the best potatoes for mashing.
- Heavy cream – Half-and-half or whole milk are great swaps.
- Butter – Reduce the salt in the rest of the recipe if you use salted butter.
- Salt and pepper – Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper are best.
- Fresh parsley – This is an optional garnish that adds color and an extra bit of flavor.
How to Make Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Melting the butter and heavy cream together makes every bite equally rich and velvety. Once you’re ready to start cooking, the recipe card at the bottom of the post has step-by-step instructions.
- Boil the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a pot of boiling water and cook them for 15-20 minutes, or until fork-tender.
- Dry them. Remove from the heat and strain the potatoes with a fine-mesh strainer. Set the strainer over the pot. Let the potatoes drain for 5 minutes to remove excess moisture.
- Melt the butter. Add the heavy cream and butter to a pot over medium heat and stir until completely melted. You can also use the microwave for this. Set it aside.
- Prep the potatoes. Pass the potatoes through the ricer and add them to the pot. Pour in the melted butter mixture. Whisk everything until completely combined. Season with salt and pepper. Don’t over-mix.
- Serve. Sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve with your favorite dishes and enjoy!
Tips and Variation Ideas
Working quickly is the key to creamy mashed potatoes that are easily spiced up depending on what you’re craving. Here are some of my top tips and variations for the recipe:
- Don’t let them cool. Rice the potatoes as soon as they’re done drying. The colder they are, the harder it is to mash them and achieve the same smooth texture.
- Don’t let the potatoes soak. Once the potatoes are done boiling, remove them from the water immediately to prevent them from absorbing excess moisture. Leaving them to soak will create very runny mashed potatoes.
- Make them cheesy. Melt 4 oz cream cheese with the cream and butter until completely smooth. Continue the recipe as usual and add 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese to the mixture while you mash the potatoes for an ultra-cheesy bite.
- Add crunch. Cook 6-7 bacon strips until crispy. Crumble and fold them into the mashed potatoes for a crunchy, smokey texture and flavor.
- Go rustic. Don’t peel the potatoes, and use a masher instead of the ricer for chunky, steakhouse-style rustic mashed potatoes.
- Loaded-potato mashed potatoes. Fold in 1/4-1/2 cup crumbled bacon into the recipe. Garnish with 3-4 tablespoons finely chopped chives, 1/4 cup sour cream, and 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Add tang. Swap the heavy cream for buttermilk to add hints of tang and acidity that balance out the richness.
Serving Suggestions
Creamy mashed potatoes are a go-to side for dinner at my house. I love serving it with my Crispy Buffalo Chicken, Three Meat Italian Pie, and Instant Pot Pork Roast. Rotisserie chicken, pork chops, and steak are other great options. For more side ideas, try my Tomato Avocado Salad or roasted broccoli.
Can I Save Extras For Later?
Absolutely! These mashed potatoes are perfect for short and long-term storage.
- Fridge: Place in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Discard if they taste sour or if liquid forms in the container.
- Freezer: Transfer to freezer bags in serving-size portions. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- To reheat them: Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon milk or water and microwave in 15-second increments, stirring between each one. You can also use a pot over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes.
More Easy Side Dishes
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Description
This silky and creamy mashed potatoes recipe with heavy cream and butter is the perfect veggie side for your favorite dinners.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes (I used half russet and half yukon gold)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted Challenge butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Parsley, optional
Instructions
1. Put potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil for about 15-20 minutes until fork tender. Don’t over boil or they can get too much water in them.
2. Drain the water from the potatoes in a colander, then set the colander with the potatoes over the warm pot on the stove. Let the potatoes sit over the hot pot for about 5 minutes or until dry.
3. While the potatoes dry, heat the cream and butter until melted and warm and stir together. Set aside.
4. Add the potatoes to a potato ricer and rice them all into the hot pot that was used to boil them, which should still be hot/warm. You don’t want the potatoes to cool down too much or they’ll be harder to mash.
5. Pour the riced potatoes into a mixer bowl and add the hot cream and butter.
6. Use the whisk attachment to mix and blend and smooth the potatoes. They should come together and smooth out quickly. You don’t want to over mix them.
7. Add salt and pepper and gently stir to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 359
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 760.1 mg
- Fat: 27.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.1 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 73.7 mg
How many days can you make these in advance without having to freeze them?
They should be good for 3-5 days in the fridge, so you’d want to freeze them if you want them to last longer than that.
Perfect creamy mashed potatoes, just the way my mom made them and taught me. Early on my mom taught me that it’s a criminal offense to have even one tiny lump in your mashed potatoes.
This recipe is almost identical to my mom’s. But she didn’t use cream in hers just whole milk.