My husband was the first one to notice the difference. He looked at me and asked me if I did something different to the mashed potatoes. I told him I haven’t, except that I changed the cooking method, which was the slow cooker method. He was a bit surprised too, and I knew he was thinking the same as I was a few hours ago. But none of that mattered because they enjoyed the mashed potatoes with the main dish. That’s what’s always important to me. But then again, easy method plus delicious food is always welcome.
See what our friends from The Kitchn have to say about this amazing recipe:
“The final recipe here, too, is one for rich, creamy, holiday-style mashed potatoes. But you don’t have to add the butter and milk; you can of course just use the basic method and mash up the plain potatoes for a lighter dish.”
I always want the full flavors for my family so I did this with the regular ingredients. But it doesn’t mean that it will not taste good if you prefer the lighter dish. It would definitely taste less creamy, but it will still taste as good.
Ingredients
5 pounds russet potatoes
3 to 4 cloves garlic, optional
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
McCormick Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 3 1/2 cups Borden milk, or a mixture of milk and cream
1/2 cup Land O Lakes unsalted butter
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potatoes: Lightly grease the slow cooker insert with butter or cooking spray. Peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces about 1 inch to a side. The smaller the potatoes, the faster they will cook, obviously. Transfer the potatoes to the slow cooker.
- Add the seasonings: Smash the garlic cloves, if using, and drop on top of the potatoes. Stir in the salt and a generous quantity of black pepper.
- Pour in 1 1/2 cups milk: Pour in 1 1/2 cups milk and stir the potatoes once.
- Cook until tender: Cover the slow cooker and cook 4 to 5 hours on HIGH or until the potatoes are very tender and soft. Turn the heat to WARM.
- Melt the butter: When the potatoes are done, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
- Warm the dairy: Stir 2 cups milk, or a mixture of milk and cream, into the melted butter and warm gently over low heat.
- Mash the potatoes: If you used garlic but don’t want the potatoes super garlicky, remove the garlic cloves and discard. Use a spoon to scoop out and discard any browned bits on the sides of the pot. Use a potato masher or ricer to mash the potatoes right in the pot.
- Slowly stir in the dairy: When the potatoes are as smooth as you like, slowly stir in the warmed dairy and butter. The potatoes will look soupy at first but the potatoes will quickly soak up the liquid. Add an additional 1/2 cup of milk or cream if you want them to be even creamier.
- Taste and season: Taste and season with additional salt or pepper if desired.
- Keep warm: To keep the potatoes warm, leave in the covered slow cooker on the WARM setting for up to 4 hours.
USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW.
Quick Tip: For lighter mashed potatoes: you don’t need to add the butter, milk, or cream — you can simply cook the potatoes and then mash them without additional dairy.
Thanks again to The Kitchn for this amazing recipe.
