I made 15-minute, 45-minute, and 25-hour mashed potatoes, and I preferred the classic method
- I tried recipes for 15-minute, 45-minute, and 25-hour mashed potatoes to see which is worth it.
- The microwave method wasn't actually easier, but the overnight recipe might be good for holidays.
I love homemade mashed potatoes.
Whenever we have mashed potatoes in my home, we follow the same simple method that takes under an hour from start to finish.
But there are many ways to make mashed potatoes. Some people swear by using a microwave to speed up the process, and others prefer to prep them a day in advance.
Those options may be convenient, especially when you want a quick dinner side for a holiday gathering, but I wondered if they'd actually make better mashed potatoes.
I decided to test three different recipes: a 15-minute microwave method, the 45-minute method I learned from my partner, and a 25-hour overnight method to find the best way to make mashed potatoes.
The 15-minute potatoes were made in the microwave.
The 15-minute mashed-potato recipe I followed is made in the microwave to cut down on the time it usually takes to boil potatoes.
Of course, I still had to spend time peeling and chopping the potatoes.
I didn't have a container big enough for all the potatoes.
I didn't have a microwave-safe bowl large enough for the number of potatoes this recipe called for, but I was able to use two smaller containers that I covered in plastic wrap.
I microwaved the peeled and cubed potatoes for a total of 11 minutes. Then I warmed the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds and the butter for one minute.
The rest of the process was simple, but the potatoes were a little hard.
After the potatoes, butter, and milk were microwaved, I combined them with salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
The potatoes had been fork-tender when I pulled them from the microwave, but they were not easy to mash up once they were in the bowl.
When they finally came together, I topped them with chives.
The flavor of these potatoes was pretty good, but the texture was gluey and dry.
There was a good amount of salt and pepper in the potatoes, and I could taste the butter. But the texture was dry and a little tough (yet somehow gluey), rather than creamy or fluffy.
And although the microwave version was faster to make than regular mashed potatoes, it wasn't necessarily easier.
My usual potatoes take about 45 minutes and require few ingredients.
When we want comfort food in my home, we'll often follow a simple "no-recipe recipe" for mashed potatoes that I learned from my partner.
He doesn't usually measure out ingredients, but I did to make these potatoes.
I started with two medium-sized russet potatoes, which I peeled, cubed, and boiled on the stove for about 30 minutes.
I riced the potatoes once they were cooked.
Once the potatoes were fork-tender, I drained them and left them in the pot over high heat to get rid of any extra moisture.
Afterward, I turned off the heat and scooped the potato chunks into a ricer.
Once the potatoes were riced, I added 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and some salt and pepper and combined.
These potatoes had great flavor and texture.
The extra steps of removing the moisture from the potatoes and ricing them made for an even creamier texture. Of course, the heavy cream and butter worked wonders, too.
The texture was the creamiest of the three mashed potatoes I tested, and these turned out nice and smooth with no lumps.
The flavor was great, too. I could taste the salt and black pepper — even with all the heavy cream. The potatoes were buttery and salty without being too salty.
The 25-hour potatoes are ideal for big potlucks or holiday dinners.
The 25-hour recipe I followed had a pretty standard method. But the cooked potatoes get put in a baking dish in the fridge overnight.
The next day, the dish is brought to room temperature before being warmed up in the oven.
Interestingly, this recipe skips cream or milk in favor of both cream cheese and sour cream. It also used two different types of potatoes: russet and Yukon Gold.
The method started just like my standard recipe.
I started by peeling and chopping the potatoes before cooking them for about 25 minutes in boiling water on the stove.
Then I drained the potatoes and put them back on the stove briefly to help any additional water evaporate before ricing them into a mixing bowl.
The recipe certainly had lots of creamy elements.
To the riced potatoes, I added room-temperature cream cheese and sour cream as well as some salt and pepper.
The cream cheese was a little difficult to incorporate, which was tricky because the recipe also specified not to overmix the potatoes.
The prepared potatoes go in the fridge overnight.
Once the potatoes came together, I put them into a baking dish, topped them with some butter, and put them in the fridge.
The next day, all I had to do was warm everything up.
The next day, I had to bring the potatoes to room temperature, which took about an hour.
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and popped them in for about 40 minutes.
Chilling and reheating altered the texture of these potatoes.
I tasted the mashed potatoes immediately after they were done before I put them in the fridge for the night, and I loved the flavor and the texture. They weren't as creamy as the 45-minute potatoes, but they were super fluffy.
But after spending a night in the fridge and being reheated, the texture became drier and denser.
The flavor was still really good, and I loved the extra tanginess from the cream cheese and sour cream.
Ultimately, I'll just stick to my usual method.
Out of the three methods, I preferred the creamy, buttery 45-minute potatoes.
The 15-minute potatoes are quick, but I didn't like the dry, dense texture. And really, they weren't easier than just boiling potatoes on the stove top.
I loved the 25-hour mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream, but only when they were done cooking the first time.
The extra time spent resting and reheating is fine for when I want to make potatoes ahead of time — especially since I don't think my usual method would be as good reheated. But I wouldn't spend the extra day if I was making mashed potatoes just for myself.
My 45-minute recipe is simple enough, with few ingredients and only one pot, and the resulting mashed potatoes have a great texture and delicious flavor. I've made them many times before, and they'll still be my go-to moving forward, too.
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