These Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes are so perfect to add to your busy holiday menu. They make last minute preparations so much easier!
What’s the best way to cook potatoes for mashed potatoes?
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add peeled potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain. Mash, and continue with the instructions for this recipe.
How to prepare Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes:
Start with already cooked potatoes that are mashed. Add cream cheese, sour cream and milk. This is going to make your mashed potatoes creamy, and they won’t dry out when you’re making them ahead! Onion salt and pepper are added for a little flavor.
If serving right away, cover and bake in a preheated oven at 325°F. for 50 minutes. However, you can make this recipe up to several days ahead and store in the fridge. If baking cold, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first. Add melted butter on top and maybe some chopped chives!
Is there any way to lighten up mashed potatoes?
It’s okay to lighten this make ahead mashed potatoes recipe up a little by using low fat cream cheese and light sour cream. Don’t skimp too much though because they’re so creamy and good if prepared as the recipe is written.
How can you keep Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes warm?
You can certainly make them ahead and keep them in a buttered slow cooker (just butter the sides of the slow cooker). Just set it at warm, and it’ll be good to go warming for a few hours.
This is a terrific recipe for those who get nervous about preparing a lot of recipes on Thanksgiving Day. If you have a slow cooker, you can make them ahead of time and just warm them in a buttered crockpot until they’re ready to serve. So easy!
If you’re looking for delicious main dishes to serve with mashed potatoes, you might like to try my Prime Rib Roast or this Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf. Balsamic Beer-Braised Pork Roast, Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Glaze and Rosemary and Garlic Leg of Lamb Roast are great pairings with mashed potatoes too!
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled, boiled & mashed)
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk or half and half cream
- 2 teaspoons onion salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well using an electric mixer. Place in a large, buttered casserole dish.
- If serving right away, cover and bake in a preheated oven at 325°F. for 50 minutes.
Notes
- *How to cook the potatoes: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add peeled potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes; drain. Mash, and continue with the instructions for this recipe.
- *It's ok to lighten this recipe up a little by using low fat cream cheese and light sour cream.
- *You can make this recipe several days ahead and store in the fridge. If baking cold, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes first.
- *If you're lacking oven space, start warming this in a well-buttered crockpot earlier in the day.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So sorry if this is a silly question, but if I make the day before and plan on hearing in crockpot the next day, I see you say set on warm(low). My crockpot has a warm setting, a low, and high. Do you mean the warm or should I start with low? (Hope this question made sense, sorry)
I think you could start with low and then switch to warm. Low will still cook it… and warm will keep it warm 🙂
Does it have to be yukon gold? I happen to have russet and need to use them soon..
That’s probably okay.
If not serving right away do I still bake them and then re-heat when serving. Or just boil and mash and refrigerate? Please help … I need my thanksgiving dinner to be perfect
Hi Carey! Not to worry. You can prepare the potatoes and not bake them right away. Just cover them in the refrigerator. There are instructions in the recipe for baking them later. I’m actually using this same recipe for my Thanksgiving dinner this year, and I like to just put them in my slow cooker on warm the morning of Thanksgiving and let them slowly warm up all day. If they dry out, just stir in a little milk or cream.
I can’t seem to find onion salt… went to all the grocery stores and no one has any. What can I use instead?
It’s funny you say that because I haven’t been able to find it either! So crazy. I would just use onion powder and add a little salt.
I just read the comment on freezing the potatoes. I have made this same recipe for many many years and alway freeze them in serving batches in advance of serving. They freeze and thaw out beautiful. I have thawed them or popped them ifrozen in n the oven or microwave. Just a bit of butter on the top and they are delicious. Has always been a hit in my home especially for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Best potatoes I’ve ever made! Everyone loved them. I can’t believe how smooth they were. Who knew what a big difference it made mashing the potatoes before you added anything.
Glad you enjoyed!
Can red potatoes with skins left on be used?
Sure!
So creamy and flavor packed.
But where is butter? Don’t you need butter in mashed potatoes?
This recipe is made with cream cheese in place of butter. You can melt some butter on top.
Can these be frozen and later thawed and baked? Thanks
I’ve never tried that, but I wouldn’t think they’d turn out very well that way.