17 Simple Mashed Potato Recipes for When You're Craving Comfort Food (2024)

20 Delicious Ideas for Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Smashed Red Potatoes With Miso

This masterful recipe mixes boiled red potatoes and onions with miso-scallion butter and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. If you've never cooked with miso paste—a gut-friendly ingredient that aids in digestion—you're in for a real treat. White miso, the type called for in this recipe, is the mildest form and tastes slightly sweet.

Creamy One-Pot Mashed Potatoes

Call this creamy one-pot mashed potato recipe the classic to end all classics. You'll use Yukon Gold potatoes, rather than the traditional Russet variety, to cut down on the starch content that can lend an overly gummy texture. Then you'll mix them with half and half and use a potato ricer to mash them (which makes all the difference in transforming the dense spuds into fluffy grains). Fold in butter, salt, and sour cream. The result? A revelation.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Just like traditional dish, Instant Pot mashed potatoes should be done with russet potatoes (sometimes referred to as Idaho potatoes), which are best for creating a light, fluffy texture. You'll place the potatoes into the Instant Pot with cold water and salt, then pressure cook for 8 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, warm some milk or cream and butter on the stove before pressing the potatoes through a ricer and folding in dairy, salt, and pepper.

Luscious Mashed Potatoes

There are a few components that make these mashed potatoes so luscious. First, a cup of heavy cream. You'll add it to milk and butter that's infused with rosemary and bay leaf for a super sophisticated twist that won't lean too hard into the herbal notes. (Because, let's be honest, nobody wants a sprig of rosemary stuck in their teeth.)

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

With only 15 minutes of hands-on time and four ingredients, you'd be hard-pressed to find an easier (or more flavorful) recipe for mashed potatoes. Don't skimp on the sour cream, which adds a deliciously tart-and-tangy touch to the already creamy taters.

Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes

In under 30 minutes, you can use your Instant Pot to transform the tough, starchy spud into a creamy side dish that balances sweet, spicy, and citrusy flavors. This simple side dish also packs plenty of beta carotene, Vitamin A, and potassium, too.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These get an added lift thanks to the addition of fragrant garlic butter (yum). Rather than just add a bunch of raw garlic to the potatoes, you'll sauté it in melted butter first, mellowing it's bite and infusing the butter and half-and half with its flavor.

Mashed Potatoes With Toasted Garlic and Smoked Paprika

The paprika gives these potatoes a warm, smoky kick.

Mashed Potatoes With Lemon and Olives

Lemon zest and quartered olives lend a bright zing and brininess.

Mashed Potatoes With Bacon and Blue Cheese

Creamy mashed potatoes get even richer when you mix in pungent blue cheese and crumbled bacon.

Mashed Potatoes With Ricotta and Parmesan

Ricotta adds a mild creaminess to the potatoes, while the Parmesan lends a salty bite.

Mashed Potatoes With Peas and Scallions

Sweet peas and sliced scallions provide a beautiful shot of color in this side dish.

Mashed Potatoes With Carrots and Dill

The carrots cook along with the potatoes in the pot, saving you time and clean-up effort.

Mashed Potatoes With Horseradish and Chives

For an even spicier kick, substitute finely grated fresh horseradish root for the prepared horseradish.

Mashed Potatoes With Mushrooms and Thyme

To get a head start on this side dish, you can prepare the mushroom-thyme mixture up to 2 days in advance.

Mashed Potatoes With Brown Butter and Sage

Browned butter adds a delicious nuttiness to the creamy potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes With Chipotle and Cheddar

The cheddar melts as it's mashed in with the warm potatoes, infusing every bite with cheesy goodness.