Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you make mashed potatoes ahead of time and reheat them? ›

Make-ahead mashed potatoes are a great option for the holidays. You can do nearly everything — boil, peel, and mash; stir in milk and salt — up to two days ahead. Before serving, reheat. Adding butter at the last minute makes them taste freshly mashed.

Move the potatoes to a baking dish: Heating the potatoes in an even layer allows them to warm up faster with less drying out. Add more cream and butter: More moisture and fat are the two secret ingredients to reheating any leftovers. For potatoes, reach for half-and-half or broth and butter.

If you want to get ahead, why not boil them in advance, then toss in a little oil and store in the fridge until you're ready to roast them. There's no need to bring them back up to room temperature, just toss them into hot fat straight from the fridge.

Stir it gently together until combined, and that's your make-ahead mashed potatoes made! These can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, OR if you're making them the morning of, you can just slip them into a crockpot (set to the lowest heat) and keep them warm until you're ready to serve them.

With some smart strategies and advance planning, you can clean, peel and chop potatoes the night before or morning of your dinner party, so your spuds will be ready to go when you need them for mashing, baking, Hanukkah latkes and more.

Restaurants prepare the potatoes ahead by boiling and mashing just the potato, then just before serving, it is mixed into boiling cream (or milk or even broth or a combination thereof) to reheat it and make it nice and creamy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add a dash of cream or milk, and some more butter to the dish before baking. To further avoid dryness, don't skimp on butter and other dairy products. Reheat the potatoes until they're warm throughout—the potatoes should reach 165 degrees before serving.

If you are reheating them in the oven, stir in the liquid and butter pieces, then spread the potatoes out in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil to keep the potatoes from drying out. Reheat at 350˚F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes reach 165˚F.

Plan on 1/3 to 1/2 pound potatoes per person for your feast.

Yes, you definitely can peel and cut up fresh potatoes, cover them with water and store in the fridge overnight. Cook, cool and prepare the potato salad, mashed potatoes, or use in other recipes, the next day. Can you peel potatoes the night before you mash them? Yes.

Why do restaurant mashed potatoes taste better? ›

Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.

Mash potatoes with half-and-half or milk using a potato masher. Add in the cream cheese and smash until the cheese melts into the potatoes. Add chives or scallions. Season with salt and pepper, to your taste.

Sour cream adds a little bit of tangy flavor and a boost of richness to mashed potatoes. It's a fun change from the standard milk or cream and butter combo usually flavoring mashed taters. You can even try your hand at making homemade sour cream from heavy cream!

"Hold your mashed potatoes in a bain-marie, or water bath, with a lid on top [and] they stay for hours — days really," Ray, who recently partnered with Home Chef, said in an interview with Allrecipes. The method is oh-so-simple.

If you are reheating them in the oven, stir in the liquid and butter pieces, then spread the potatoes out in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil to keep the potatoes from drying out. Reheat at 350˚F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes reach 165˚F.