Creamy Mashed Potatoes
This is my go to, make you weak in the knees, mashed potatoes recipe. I started making these a few years ago when I wanted to try a new mashed potatoes recipe for Thanksgiving. I made them and all our dinner guests gave rave reviews, making these the must have for holiday dinners.
I believe this recipe is unique for a few reasons:
-There is cream cheese involved. In my younger days, cream cheese wasn’t commonly used in our mashed potatoes. Now I have to say I don’t like cream cheese by itself, it scares me, but I love these mashed potatoes. Go figure.
-There is no hand mixer involved in these potatoes. What? There is no hand mixer involved in these potatoes. Seriously. How do they get so creamy then? Next point..
-You boil these potatoes for a pretty long time until they’re almost ready to fall apart. This makes a hand mixer not necessary, as just a spoon and a potato masher makes them blended pretty quickly.
-You can make these ahead of time, no problem. For holidays I usually make these the night before so the actual holiday cooking is a little more relaxed. I just throw them in the oven 30 minutes before we’re ready to eat.
If you are looking for a mashed potatoes recipe to try, please give these a chance. They make me very happy.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds Russet Potatoes half a bag
- 1/2 cup butter + few slices on top
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 cup Half-and-Half
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch of sea salt
- fresh or dried parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and then cut them up into about equal sizes.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add your potatoes. Keep boiling and cook these for 30 minutes. They’re going to be so soft your fork will just slide into them.
- Drain the potatoes.
- Put your potatoes that you drained back into the pot and put back on the burner, low heat. You are now going to just mash them with a spoon or potato masher.
- Add your butter, cream cheese and half-and-half.
- Mix and whip these until creamy.
- Add in your salt and pepper, mix more.
- Put your potatoes in a oven safe baking dish.
- Add a few slices of butter on top of the potatoes.
- Put foil on top and bake for 25 minutes at 350.
- Add fresh or dried parsley to garnish before serving.
Recipe Notes
If you want to make them the night before, put foil on top and store in refrigerator. Take them out of the fridge 2 hours before baking to bring them to room temperature. Continue then baking for 25 minutes at 350 (or until completely hot in the middle).
You will use half a bag of potatoes for this recipe. If you are having a large dinner, duplicate the entire recipe and use a whole 5 pound bag.
One of the worst things in my life: peeling potatoes. Agh, I never look forward to this.
Compost the peels if you can!
Then we cut them up into similar size pieces. This will assure everything is cooked about the same with equal softness.
Now boil for 30 minutes. Turn your oven a little down if it starts to spit water at you. I know 30 minutes seems like a while, but we want to get these potatoes soft.
So soft that a fork will just slide through..
Drain, then put back onto your burner on low. Take a potato masher or spoon and break the potatoes up. Because they were cooked so long they should fall apart pretty easily.
No mixer, just a potato masher. Look how soft they are already!
Add your butter, cream cheese and half-and-half.
Now stir, stir, stir.
Look at the creaminess already.. Oh my!
Add salt and pepper.
Stir more. How beautiful they are!
Put them into a baking dish.
Put a few slices of butter on top. Why not, you know? YOLO. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
These glorious potatoes will come out of your oven. Garnish with fresh or dried (what I used) parsley.
Serve and enjoy!
They look creamy and absolutely delicious!
Oh so creamy! Thanks for stopping by Pam!
Cream Cheese was never in my house growing up in Oklahoma… So it still weirds me out. The same thing with cheese cake! But I can see why it taste so good in mashed potatoes!
I hear you! I was always grossed out by cheesecake.. then I tasted it and thought “this isn’t so bad!”. But plain cream cheese – never!
Love that creaminess in the potatoes. Yum! Hope you had a lovely weekend.
Hope you did too Anne!
these potatoes look incredible!
xx
http://www.pretpenser.com
http://www.pretpenser.com
Thanks Veronica! They’re a favorite. 🙂
Definitely making these! The best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had …believe it or not – they were served for a lunch presentation – a working lunch…and they were made with cream cheese. How do I know? Because when I got back to the office, I called and asked what made them so incredible! Can’t wait to make these!
Hahaha, I love that you called to ask. Hope you enjoy these!
I just love when potatoes make you weak in the knees!
Hahaha, yes! Yummy potatoes.
These look fabulous, there is nothing better than mashed potatoes in my opinion! Love the thought of adding cream cheese 🙂
I’m a mashed potato lover too, whenever they’re offered, I’ll have some!
You’d think mashed potatoes are easy to make, but I have yet to find the perfect recipe…the kind that will wow a guest. I’ve never tried cream cheese in them and I love the idea! Pinning and making this. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Tina, I hope you try these and love them!
Seriously, is there anything better than homemade mashed potatoes?? Yum! 🙂
I agree, comfort at it’s finest!
MOUTHWATERING.
I need these in my liiiife!
I hope they enter your life soon!
What an interesting idea to add cream cheese to mashed potatoes, never thought of it!
It just adds the right amount of creaminess! MMMM. 🙂
[…] I recommend you serve creamy mashed potatoes on the side? Please […]
Oh wow. Pamela, these sound amazing!! I’ve never thought to use cream cheese in mashed potatoes before, though I have made creamy cheddar mashed potatoes (with cream and finely grated cheddar cheese) so I can imagine how delicious they must be!!! Definitely trying these. The weather here is getting freaking cold so it’s a perfect day for creamy mash and perhaps some slow-cooked lamb in gravy… mmmm!
Creamy cheddar mashed potatoes – oh my, those sound absolutely perfect! I am a big fan of cheesy potatoes so those sound great. Next time I will be grating some cheese to add in, thanks for the suggestion!
Recipes looked very good…oes anyone have a good tried and tested simple recipe for potatoes boulangere…thx…byeGeorge…(~.-)
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