Creamy Butter Mashed Potatoes Recipe (video)

Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• Potatoes: I like to use russet potatoes for this recipe. Other potato varieties will work in a pinch!
• Butter: you can use salted or unsalted butter.
• Heavy Cream: cream will make these mashed potatoes more rich and creamy. You can use whole milk for a lower calorie version.
• Chicken Broth: cooking the potatoes in chicken broth adds so much flavor to the dish!

Preparing the Potatoes

You’ll love how easy this recipe is to make. The first step is preparing the potatoes.

1. The first step is washing the potatoes. I like to give them a quick rinse under cold water to get off as much dust as possible.
2. Next, I use a sharp peeler and get rid of the peel and any knots, brown spots or green areas. If you see green on a potato, that means it wasn’t stored properly and may have been exposed to sunlight. Cut away any green parts since those can ruin the flavor of the mashed potatoes.
3. Keep the peeled potatoes in a bowl filled with cold water to prevent browning. The water will also wash away any last bits of dust. Once the potatoes are peeled, use a sharp knife to cut the potatoes into medium-sized chunks. It’s important that the potatoes are evenly cut! When the potatoes are evenly cut, they cook more evenly, resulting in a creamier and smoother mash!

*This is the peeler I mentioned in my video, from Williams Sonoma.*

Cooking the Potatoes

Once you have the potatoes peeled and cut, it’s time to get them cooking! I love to use chicken broth or vegetable broth for my butter mashed potatoes recipe. The broth adds so much great flavor without being overwhelming!

1. Place the potatoes into a large pot, add the broth, the potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes by a few inches.
2. Next, I add in 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) of sea salt. I know that sounds like a lot but potatoes need a lot of salt! Just make sure to taste test the finished recipe before adding more salt.
3. Bring the potatoes up to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the potatoes are fork tender and very soft, but not falling apart. The potatoes will boil anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes and the timing all depends on the size of your potato pieces. Larger pieces will take longer to boil.

How to Make Butter Mashed Potatoes

Once the potatoes are cooked and soft, it’s time to make mashed potatoes out of them! I like to drain out all the liquids and transfer the potatoes into a clean mixing bowl. You can do the next steps in the same pot, too.

1. First, I add the butter. I use 1 cup of high-quality, grass-fed salted butter. This butter adds so much incredible flavor to the potato recipe! I recommend using softened butter at room temperature; cold butter will cool the potatoes. Allow the butter to melt for a few minutes.
2. The actual mashing part can be done two ways – manually with a potato masher or with a hand mixer. Both methods will make great mashed potatoes! I find that using a mixer makes the potatoes more creamy.
3. As you’re mashing the potatoes, begin adding a few tablespoons of cream at a time. Don’t add all the cream at once; sometimes I only use ¼ cup, other times I use 1 cup. The amount of cream just depends on how dry the potatoes are. Mash and mix the potatoes until no clumps remain and they’re creamy and smooth.