It’s not even Halloween yet, but it’s never too early to start planning for Thanksgiving, so I’m going to throw you this little tip to save for later. There are so many moving parts that go into making sure a Thanksgiving meal is hot and ready all at the same time, and it’s even more challenging when you’re working with just one stove. Recipes like these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes that can be prepared on the side will free up space on your stove top and, because it requires no babysitting, will leave your hands and eyes free to focus on other recipes. Thanksgiving Day boil-over averted. 😅
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Why Make Mashed Potatoes in a Slow Cooker?
Using the slow cooker cuts out the “babysitting the boiling pot” step in the process of making mashed potatoes, which can really free you up to concentrate on the rest of your meal. It also eliminates boil overs, draining the potatoes, constantly checking them with a fork to see if they’re tender, using multiple pots and dishes, and gives you another free burner on your stove top. With slow cooker mashed potatoes, you just add everything to the pot and press a button and go. And if you can’t get to them right when the timer goes off, they’ll be okay!
How Do You Flavor Mashed Potatoes?
I flavored my mashed potatoes with garlic, pepper, butter, milk, and cream cheese, but you can use your tried and true favorite mashed potato add-ins with this recipe. The cooking process will stay the same: 3 lbs. potatoes and about 1.5 cups of broth. Then after they’re cooked, add in whatever you’d like! My All-Purpose Garlic Herb Seasoning is a favorite, but other fun seasoning blends include Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, or even ranch seasoning.
What Kind of Potatoes are Best for Mashed Potatoes?
Russet potatoes are my top choice for mashed potatoes because they have a light, fluffy flesh. You can use red potatoes, but they tend to create a more dense mashed potato.
Can I Make Them Vegetarian?
Absolutely! You can swap the chicken broth listed in the recipe below for vegetable broth. Just be aware that vegetable broth is usually a much darker color, so your finished mashed potatoes may look a little more brown.
What Size Slow Cooker Do I Need?
I’m using a 5 quart slow cooker, but it was only about half full, so you could probably get away with using a 3 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 3 lbs. russet potatoes ($1.80)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($0.40)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.25)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
Instructions
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then dice them into one-inch cubes. Rinse the diced potatoes with cool water in a colander to remove the excess starch.
- Add the cubed potatoes, minced garlic, chicken broth, and some freshly cracked pepper to the slow cooker. Stir briefly to distribute the garlic and pepper.
- Place a lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for three hours, or until the potatoes are fork tender. You can test the tenderness by lifting the lid just long enough to pierce the potatoes with a fork.
- Take the lid off the slow cooker and add the cream cheese, milk, and butter. Stir to combine the ingredients and mash the potatoes. For an extra smooth mashed potato, use a hand mixer to briefly whip the potatoes until smooth.
- Taste the potatoes and add salt or pepper if needed. Serve immediately, or switch the slow cooker to the "warm" setting until ready to serve.
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Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Instant Pot Instructions:
- Follow steps 1-2 in the recipe above.
- Close the vent, choose the manual setting, and set the cook time to seven minutes.
- Once finished, use the quick pressure release method until the pressure normalizes.
- Follow steps 4-5 in the recipe above.
Try These Other Mashed Potato Recipes:
- Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes
- Dairy-Free Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes
- Spinach and Feta Mashed Potatoes
- Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls
- Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms with Herby Kale Mashed Potatoes
How to Make Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes – Step by Step Photos
Start by washing and peeling 3 lbs. of russet potatoes. Dice the peeled potatoes into one-inch cubes.
Rinse the cubed potatoes well in a colander. This removes the excess starch which can make your mashed potatoes gluey instead of fluffy.
Add the cubed potatoes to a slow cooker along with 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 1.5 cups of chicken broth, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir briefly just to distribute the garlic and pepper.
Cover the slow cooker, then cook on high for three hours, or until the potatoes are tender. You can test their tenderness by removing the lid just brief enough to see if a fork can be easily inserted into the potatoes.
Add 4oz. cream cheese, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 cup milk to the hot potatoes. Stir with a spoon to combine the add-ins with the hot potatoes. The potatoes should be so tender that they begin to mash as you stir. You can continue to stir with a spoon for a chunkier mashed potato, or…
Use a hand mixer to briefly whip the potatoes until smooth.
Finally, taste the mashed potatoes and season with salt or pepper if needed. Depending on what kind of broth you use, you may want to add salt.
And that’s it! Soft, silky, flavorful slow cooker mashed potatoes without any “heavy lifting”. You can serve the potatoes right away or switch the slow cooker to the “warm” setting to keep them warm until you’re ready to serve dinner.
What would you recommend to make this dairy free?
Hmm, I’m not sure for this one. I don’t often use dairy substitutes, so I’m not sure what would work here.
My son is lactose intolerant, so I will make these potatoes with Lactaid whole milk and Earth balance vegan”butter”.
These always come out perfectly! Today I was making them with bacon wrapped steaks that I didn’t want to keep bacon wrapped. I cooked the bacon separately, crumbled it and added it to the potatoes. Best idea ever!
Mine turned a brownish yellow, did I do something wrong?
It might have just been the way the coloring in the broth deepened after cooking?
I made these today in my Crock Pot and made rice meatballs with sauce in my second Crock Pot. It’s so hot here even with the house closed up and the air conditioner on, it’s still hot. This was so great to have mashed potatoes to serve my meatballs and sauce over. I made green beans also, but the kitchen stayed nice and wasn’t overheated and sticky using the Crock Pots. These potatoes tasted wonderful. I made them exactly as the recipe stated and this one will go into my keeper binder. Thank you.
I’ve made these numerous times in my Instant pot and they always come out amazing. I add garlic to mine, and often use sour cream or yogurt in the place of cream cheese since I don’t have that in my fridge often. I also like to add Parmesan and chives. Yum.
I’ve made these twice now and they’re great! Like some of the other commenters, I was skeptical as to the advantage of making mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. It really is so much easier though! No draining, and I can walk away and do other chores/study without coming back to check on them. It seriously takes about 10 minutes of active work–wash, dice (I don’t peel the potatoes), pour in the liquid and turn it on. And the potatoes mash up perfectly with a fork as you mix in the dairy goodness at the end. Love it! Thanks for another great recipe!
Made this recipe the other night using tiny golden potatoes that Aldi had on sale (3lbs for 99 cents). My wife and daughter say that this is the only way that we should do spuds from now on!
Thanks, Beth!
BTW, empty Better Than Bullion jars make the best spice jarsever.
Oh, great idea!!
do you have a video somewhere that shows how you cube potatoes?
Here’s one from youtube, but there are more on youtube if needed. :) https://youtu.be/lOFPZ4_HP4g
Need to make these immediately! My mouth is watering!
Greets,
I made this recipe tonight in my Instant Pot and I am IN LOVE. I do own a potato masher, but my husband prefers a really smooth potato so I normally whip with my hand blender. That wasn’t necessary with this recipe! The masher worked wonders!
The best part? I had a head of cauliflower that I wanted to use up so I subbed 1/3 of the potatoes for cauliflower. It was amazing, and my SUPER PICKY kids didn’t notice the difference. I am also out of fresh garlic, and trying to do a no-spend January so I used garlic powder. Still amazing!
Looks delish!!
These mashed potatoes were amazing! This recipe would be so easy to double to feed a crowd. Your recipes never disappoint!
I’m still wondering about the slow cooker advantage–you still have to peel, dice, etc. All of this can be done with a saucepan–I tend to dice the potatoes very small–about 1/2″ dice, barely cover with water, and simmer until very soft. I could as easily use broth and milk from the beginning, saving myself the trouble of draining off the water and adding hot liquid–and with a bit less liquid in the pot, be sure to stir a couple of times during cooking on low heat. It would still only take about 30 minutes of cooking time, and I always use my mixer in the process. I have a 4 burner stove with an oven–plenty for a complicated meal, and the counter space used up by an appliance tends to be more of a problem for me than actual cooking space.
It’s really a personal preference thing. :) For me I like knowing that I can completely walk away and not think about it. And if I use the pressure cooker setting on my Instant Pot it only takes about 10 minutes. If I only had the slow cooker option, it would still be helpful on busy days or during the holidays when there are a million things going on. If stove top is easier for you, that’s cool too! :)
Just wondering, what size slow cooker do you use when you aren’t using the Instant Pot?
It’s about 6 quarts.
Will these freeze well?
I think they would, although some people find the texture of frozen potatoes to be unappetizing (they get slightly more grainy).
I haven’t tried this recipe buy regular mashed potatoes freeze and reheat easily. Put the frozen potatoes [already mashed with milk and butter and then frozen] in a bowl and microwave for 4-5 minutes. They are watery and grainy when you start thawing, but stir them good and cook 2-3 more minutes more. Keep stiring and cooking until they are thickened and creamy. the extra water will cook off and your potatoes will be just like new. I got this idea after seeing frozen mashed potatoes in the grocery store and I though, why not? Now I make a huge soup pot full of potatoes and freeze them in dinner size portions. We can have mashed potatoes anytime!