Make these easy mashed potatoes without milk for the perfect side dish! This easy mashed potato recipe makes creamy and delicious potatoes that will make a great addition to any meal or even Thanksgiving dinner.
Is there anything better than a mountain of mashed potatoes topped with hot gravy dripping down the sides? It’s definitely my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner (and this amazing stuffing) and really any dinner that mashed potatoes are a part of.
I grew up in a family where instant mashed potatoes were a thing – now they’re a thing of the past. After trying real russet mashed potatoes, you’ll never go back to pouring something out of a box, no matter how simple it is.
These mashed potatoes are almost that easy, they just take a little more time.
They’re fantastic topped with just a little butter or gravy if you have gravy. And they make a great side dish for this almond chicken, this balsamic chicken, or really any kind of meat dish.
Or just by themselves.
I used to do that – make mashed potatoes just to eat by themselves. I’m kind of a mashed potato fanatic.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Russet potatoes – we always prefer organic potatoes and typically just buy them in a big five pound bag
- Salted butter – we prefer Kerrygold grass-fed butter because the flavor is just so much better. You want the butter to be room temperature before adding it to the potatoes so it melts in easily.
- Whipping cream – while these are mashed potatoes without milk, they do use butter and cream so they’re not dairy free. The cream gives these an amazingly creamy texture.
Instructions
Once you see how easy these mashed potatoes are to make, you’ll be adding them to your weekly menu every week!
Okay before you get started with the actual recipe, you need to peel and dice the potatoes. This helps them cook both evenly and quickly. Then you’re ready to get started!
1 – Drain the Potatoes
The first step is an easy one to skip but don’t. It’s important to help get rid of excess starch in the potatoes and only takes a minute.
Put the diced potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Drain the water then fill the water with more cold water until the potatoes are just covered with water.
It’s the first rinse and drain part you don’t want to skip.
2 – Boil the Potatoes
Cover the pot and bring the water (and potatoes) to boil over high heat.
Once it’s boiling, uncover the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until you can easily pierce and crush the potatoes with a fork.
We like to mash using a silicone whisk like these but you can use your favorite potato masher (this silicone one looks amazing), a mixer, or even a fork!
Drain the potatoes in a colander and set aside.
3 – Heat the Cream
This is another step that is important to help the cream mash into the potatoes really well.
Add the cream to the empty pot and heat just until warmed, about 2 minutes. Remove the cream and set aside for later. Warming the cream helps it really combine with the potatoes for maximum creaminess.
4 – Mash the Potatoes
Alright it’s finally time for some mashing! Add the potatoes back into the empty pot and lightly mash with a whisk or potato masher to break up the potatoes.
Add your room temperature butter and continue to mash and stir with the whisk until the butter is fully combined with the potatoes.
Add the warm cream, salt, and pepper and continue to mash until smooth.
Serve alongside your favorite main dish or on top of this shepherd’s pie. Or double it and do both – as a side dish for dinner tonight and with shepherd’s pie tomorrow!
Expert Tips
Use high-quality cream and butter since they’re the only things really flavoring the potatoes other than salt and pepper.
Use a whisk rather than a fork to mash for the maximum creaminess.
Double the recipe and enjoy mashed potatoes all week long. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days and just warm them back up in the microwave or oven.
Use a potato chopper like this one we use for our air fryer fries for quick and even dicing.
Use room temperature butter and warm cream to help them incorporate into the potatoes better.
Mashed Potatoes FAQs
Don’t have a potato masher or a mixer? Try a whisk. We actually prefer to use a whisk to mash potatoes because it helps get the lumps out and make the potatoes more creamy.
Don’t have a whisk? A fork works too!
Don’t want to use butter (maybe you’re doing Whole 30 or some other lifestyle)? You can use ghee in placement of the butter instead.
Let’s be honest – you could eat these mashed potatoes with anything. You could eat mashed potatoes with anything period, but here are some of my personal favorites to go along with this mashed potato recipe.
Almond chicken
Balsamic chicken
Ground turkey meatballs
Greek lemon chicken
Best stuffing recipe
You should plan on about 1/2 pound of potatoes per person so ideally you’d measure the weight of the potatoes. Or if you’re buying bags of potatoes – a five pound bag would be good for 10 people, 3 pound bag would be good for 6 people, etc. This recipe is written using a 3 lb bag of potatoes.
I recommend using russet potatoes for mashed potatoes because they’re larger and have a really good flesh for mashing.
More Delicious Side Dishes
- Crispy smashed potatoes
- Creamy twice baked potatoes
- Hash brown cups
- Homemade french fries
- Air fryer brussel sprouts
- Corn succotash
Mashed Potatoes without Milk
Ingredients
- 3 lbs russet potatoes peeled and diced into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Mashed Potatoes
- Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Drain the water to remove any excess starches and then fill the pot with more cold water until the potatoes are just covered with water. Cover the pot and bring the water and potatoes to boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, uncover the pot and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Simmer the potatoes until they are easily pierced and crushed by a fork, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once tender, drain the potatoes in a colander.
- Return the empty pot to medium heat. Add the cream to the pot and heat just until warmed, about 1-2 minutes. Once warmed, remove the pot from the heat and set the cream aside for later.
- Add the potatoes back to the empty pot and lightly mash with a whisk to break up the potatoes. Add in the room temperature butter and continue to mash and stir with the whisk until the butter is fully incorporated. Add the warm cream, salt, and pepper and continue to mash until smooth.
- Serve warm with butter, gravy, or your favorite main dish.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info
This recipe was originally posted in November 2019 and has since been updated and changed.
Denise says
Can you make these the day before? Do you think they will still be as good reheated? I need to make enough for 35 people.
Britni Vigil says
We make these all the time early and enjoy them all week long so yes, you can definitely make them ahead of time!
Joan Lombardi says
I’m making this one tonight for dinner. Yum!!!
Lauren Kleiman says
I could eat mashed potatoes everyday. These look dreamy!