Simply Recipes Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

In search of the easiest and best make-ahead mashed potatoes? These extra-rich mashed potatoes can be refrigerated or frozen, then reheated when you're ready to eat.

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

Mashed potatoes are central to our holiday meals (how else can you make gravy volcanoes?) and they are the easiest thing in the world to make ahead.

Creamiest Mashed Potatoes

In this simple recipe we are are mashing boiled potatoes and garlic (a potato ricer is helpful for making everything fluffy), mixing them with butter, cream cheese, yogurt, and a touch of rosemary.

The cream cheese helps fortify the mashed potatoes so they reheat well, and the yogurt gives them a light tang. You could also use sour cream.

Heap the baking dish with the potatoes, and chill until a couple of hours before dinner time, then let come to room temp and bake. Easy!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes {garlic + Herbs} • Fivehearthome

You can also freeze these mashed potatoes for up to two weeks. The high fat content in these mashed potatoes means that they will freeze and thaw just fine.

To freeze, first line your casserole dish with a layer of aluminum foil followed by a layer of plastic wrap. Add the mashed potatoes, cool completely, then freeze in the casserole dish until solid.

Once frozen, use the foil to lift the mashed potatoes out of the pan by lifting up on the foil. This way, the mashed potatoes are molded in the shape of your casserole dish, but your dish isn't tied up in the freezer for weeks. (The layer of plastic wrap between the mashed potatoes and the foil protects the potatoes from picking up a metallic flavor from the foil.)

Twice Baked Potatoes

Cover the top of the frozen mashed potatoes with plastic wrap and another layer of foil, so the mashed potatoes are completely protected. Freeze for up to two weeks.

Frozen mashed potatoes can either be thawed overnight in the fridge, or warmed while still frozen. Either way, unwrap the block of mashed potatoes from the plastic wrap and foil, and place it back in the original casserole dish. If thawing overnight, cover and place in the fridge.

If your mashed potatoes are thawed, followed the baking directions in the recipe as written. If baking from frozen, add 15 to 20 minutes onto the warming time. You may want to stir the mashed potatoes once or twice while baking to make sure they are warming evenly.

Super Creamy Mashed Potatoes

A potato ricer creates the fluffy texture in these mashed potatoes, but if you do not have a ricer, other methods work, too. Use a hand potato masher or an electric hand mixer but make sure the potatoes are hot when you mash them so they do not become gluey.

Can you reheat or keep warm in a slow cooker? Yes, you can reheat both frozen or thawed make ahead mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. Put them in the slow cooker on low, stirring occasionally. Mashed potatoes that go straight from freezer to slow cooker need to thaw out some before stirring. Turn the slow cooker down to warm when you have heated the potatoes through.

Should mashed potatoes be thawed before reheating? No, you don't need to thaw the mashed potatoes before reheating them in the oven or the slow cooker. They will take longer to reheat than thawed mashed potatoes, though, so factor that extra time in.

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Can you freeze the mashed potatoes in a foil pan and reheat in it? Yes, you can freeze this dish in a foil pan and put the pan in the oven, omitting the plastic wrap placed under the potatoes mentioned above in the How to Properly Freeze Mashed Potatoes section.

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

Everybody seems to have their favorite way of making mashed potatoes. Some cook them with the peel on, some without. Some add a little of the cooking water to the mashed potatoes for extra starch.

I have found that the single thing that makes the biggest difference for making perfect creamy, heavenly potatoes is the type of potatoes you use.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Most people use starchy Russets for mashed potatoes. With their high starch and low water content, they're good for baking, for making French fries, and for mashing. Here's my secret though—even better than Russets for mashing are Yukon Golds.

They're a little more expensive than Russets, but worth it! They're naturally creamy when mashed, never mealy, and have a slightly buttery flavor all on their own. Yukon golds make the most perfectly creamy, buttery mashed potatoes.

Yes! You can even make ahead and freeze mashed potatoes. Just make sure that you don't skimp on the butter or cream. It's the fat that helps the potatoes reheat well.

Easy Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Our favorite way to reheat mashed potatoes is to just put them in the microwave (covered) for a couple minutes, and then give them a good stir before serving.

You can also put them in a slow cooker (a couple hours on low), or reheat in the oven or on the stovetop. Just stir occasionally, and add more butter and seasoning if needed to serve.

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2, 000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Crockpot Cheesy Mashed Potatoes With Caramelized Onions.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.