I have discovered how to make the yummiest mashed potatoes over the past few years. 

Mashed Potatoes Ready to be Served

I am no genius, but rather this came from having to host a Thanksgiving with my siblings the year after my mom passed away (she took her meal magic with her) and input from different family members and their ways of making this side dish.

I wanted to share this because sometimes you just want something dynamic and fast. Put your own twist with types of potato, seasonings, and amount of butter and add-ins. That kind of testing is how we figured this out!

Ingredients:

5 lb bag of large potatoes

1 stick of butter (salted or unsalted)

3/4 to 1 package of cream cheese 8 oz

1/2 to 3/4 can of evaporated milk 12 fl oz.

1 tsp to 1 Tbsp of freeze dried or minced garlic (fresh can be too bitter).

1 tsp to 1 Tbsp of freeze dried minced onion.

Salt (I keep the large container on hand to salt to taste).

Get all of your ingredients out, and let the butter and cream cheese start to soften a bit. Put an 8 quart pot on the stove and fill just past half way. Add about 1 Tbsp salt, dried garlic and onion to the pot of cold water – this adds flavor to the potatoes as they are cooking! I never measure – just put it in (you can tweak this to your taste). 

Clean and peel your potatoes, setting the clean ones aside in a bowl of salted water to keep from browning. Start cutting your potatoes in half, then each half into quarters and add to pot of water on the stove. Then turn on your burner and bring the water & potatoes to a rolling boil. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t boil over (adjust your temperature accordingly). Cook until they are able to be easily cut with the side of a fork.

When cooked, drain your potatoes in a colander in the sink (be careful of the scalding steam & splashing hot water!). I usually hold the pot handles with a towel or pot holders.

In a large bowl add the potatoes, 1 stick of butter, 3/4 of the cream cheese, 1/2 can of evaporated milk, and 1 Tbsp of salt. I use a hand mixer because that is what I have and I mix everything together making sure to taste and add more ingredients as needed (if dry, add more evaporated milk – a little at a time).

I hope this helps you out a bit with your mashed potatoes at any time of the year!

PS – I will add more photos as we make ours on Thanksgiving day!