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There is just something about mashed potatoes that leaves you feeling stuffed, satisfied, and a little bit sleepy at the end. However, going through the hassle of preparing perfect mashed potatoes when you need them on the day is always a little bit challenging.
This recipe for make ahead mashed potatoes lets you do all the hard parts up to 2 days before, leaving the actual cooking day free to just bake them and let them reheat. Also don’t forget to try my Potato Lefse!
Why not use this recipe to make some Potato Lefse the next day, or some cheesy garlic and dill potato cakes?
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Making mashed potatoes ahead of time takes so much of the slack away from your cooking day, especially if you are planning on cooking anything remotely complicated.
Getting everything ready ahead of time means that you can just pop the casserole dish in the oven and bake until brown, bubbly, and tasty.
Even besides the convenience, this recipe for mashed potatoes ends up with some really luxurious, rich, and tasty mashed potatoes – if you can’t resist the temptation, you could easily just start digging in as soon as it’s mixed!
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes Ingredients
Make sure you read the recipe card at the bottom carefully for a complete list of ingredients.
- Russet potatoes
- Salt
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Salt & pepper
- Parsley (for garnish)
Reheating
- Butter
Extra Add-Ins
- Sour cream
- Cream cheese
- Garlic powder
- Onion Powder
How to Make Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Wash, peel and slice the potatoes into one-inch chunks
- Place in a large saucepan of water enough to cover the potatoes, heavily salt the water and then bring to a boil
- Boil on low for 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender
- Drain thoroughly
- While the potatoes are still hot, mash using a potato masher or ricer
- Melt your butter and cream together in the microwave or saucepan, being careful not to boil it
- Pour the butter mixture over the potatoes and mash together
- Add in any additional add-ins here
- Grease, a 9×13 baking dish, spoon the potatoes in, and cover tightly with plastic wrap
- Refrigerate this for up to 48 hours
- To bake, let the casserole come up to room temperature
- Melt the butter and drizzle it all over the mashed potatoes, and then bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 40 minutes until the top begins to brown
- Garnish and serve piping hot
What Kind of Potatoes Should You Use for Mashed Potatoes?
All over the world, there is always a debate about what kinds of potatoes you should use to make mashed potatoes.
This isn’t helped by the fact that different potato varieties are not always present in every country.
For this recipe, the very best potatoes would be to use russet potatoes, as these have the highest starch content and boil beautifully, resulting in the best texture imaginable in your mashed potatoes.
Outside of North America, though, you just need to search for something that advertises itself as being “high starch.” In the UK, this might be the “King Edward” variety of potatoes, but it is going to differ heavily based on where you are in the world.
If you simply cannot find potatoes with high starch, use whatever you have to end, but expect it to have just a little bit a lesser texture.
Why You Should Make Mashed Potatoes Ahead of Time
The beauty of these make ahead mashed potatoes is that they are not only incredibly convenient, but they taste a lot better as well when you make them ahead of time.
Making anything before you need it is always a huge time saver and usually results in a better dish as well, simply because you can dedicate the proper time to it.
Instead of having to rush to prepare your mashed potatoes last, potentially letting them sit far too long in boiling water, you can instead focus all of your attention on your mashed potatoes and give it the care and attention it needs.
Furthermore, making mashed potatoes ahead of time actually results in an even tastier side dish in the end. The extra two days sitting in the fridge allows the potatoes and dairy to intermingle, intensifying the flavor and creating a sort of mini-emulsion that leads to an incredibly creamy end product.
In fact, you should be making your mashed potatoes ahead of time even if you aren’t preparing some big, elaborate dinner. Prepare this ahead of time, and you can then enjoy mashed potatoes whenever you want them, straight from the fridge, and far better than if you prepared them fresh.
Looking for more tasty Side Dishes? Try these out:
Enjoy!
Love,
Karlynn
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Course
- Side Dish
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 608
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Russet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Optional Add-ins
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Reheating
- 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
- Wash, peel and slice the potatoes into one-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan and fill with water to cover the potatoes.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in a teaspoon of salt.
- Boil at a low boil for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender, but not falling apart.
- Remove from heat and drain. Place in a large bowl.
- While the potatoes are still hot, use either a potato masher or a potato ricer to roughly mash the potatoes in the large bowl. You don’t have to mash them completely right now!
- Place your butter and cream into a glass measuring cup and microwave in short bursts on high heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is steaming. Do NOT boil.
- Pour the butter mixture over the mashed potatoes and mash into the potatoes again. (this is why you don’t fully mash them easier on.) Stir in any of your optional add-ins at this point as well.
- Grease a 9×13 pan and spoon the potatoes into the pan, smoothing out into one layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
- To Bake
- Remove the casserole and let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F.
- Melt the 1/4 cup of butter and drizzle over top of the mashed potatoes in the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until hot in the middle and the top has browned slightly.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Recipe Notes
- I use ALL of the add-ins for this recipe, but you can pick and choose what you prefer!
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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paddy Ruth bateman says
These are the BEST smashed potatoes ever!!!!!!! My son and husband cleaned the dish out!!! Took to a girls Christmas gathering, the 7 of us could not get enough of them. So worth making and love that you can make in advance! Heavenly!
Shirley Busslinger says
can make ahead mashed potatoes be frozen?
Mr. Kitchen Magpie says
Yes they can be.