These ultra creamy cheesy mashed potatoes are made using a ricer to get the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever, and loaded with tons of savory, gooey cheese.
I know I say this about a lot of things, but mashed potatoes are maybe one of my favorite foods ever. Whether they’re made to be ultra creamy, like these are, or roughly smashed and speckled with little bits of skin, there’s absolutely nothing better than potatoes married with butter, cream and salt. And these ultra creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes just might top the list of best mashed potatoes ever. They are so smooth and silky, and extra sharp and savory due to a very generous amount of shredded cheese. And the best part is that as long as you have one very specific tool, making these cheesy mashed potatoes is an absolute breeze.
So what makes these cheesy mashed potatoes so silky smooth and creamy? Well the answer to that question is a simple one: a ricer. A ricer is a simple device that has a bunch of small holes to push things (like potatoes or other cooked starchy vegetables) through, and they come out in tiny little pieces that look like grains of rice. This is the key to fluffy, lump free mashed potatoes. Using a ricer incorporates air into the potatoes as it pushes them through, creating an ultra fluffy mashed potato. You risk overworking the potatoes when you use a fork or masher, at which point they become starchy and gummy. Using a rice ensures this doesn’t happen, which also makes a ricer perfect for making something like gnocchi.
Once you’ve riced the cooked potatoes, you’ll add milk and cream (helping out with the creamy part of these creamy mashed potatoes), and of course butter and salt, and tons of shredded cheese. But a ricer really is all it takes to make mashed potatoes incredibly smooth and silky.
THIS IS WHERE THE CHEESE COMES IN
I made these cheesy mashed potatoes two weekends ago to pair with my slow braised beef stew. And while there couldn’t have been a better pairing for a dreary weekend, I did have a slight ulterior motive to making these. You see, when my cousins came over for board game night a few weeks ago, (when I made these caramelized onion, gruyere and fig crostini) we bought tons of cheese to serve as an appetizer (our pun on “board” game night – board games and charcuterie boards). So we happen to have a ton of leftover cheeses in our fridge, and I figured what could be better than cheesy mashed potatoes.
Because of all these various leftover cheese, I loaded my mashed potatoes with a variety of cheeses. A wine infused Toscano from Trader Joes, an ultra sharp cheddar, and a hard goat’s milk cheese. But as I say with a lot of my recipes, you can use literally whatever you prefer or happen to have on hand. The one thing I urge you to do is not by pre-shredded cheese, which contains preservatives meant to prevent the shreds from sticking together and doesn’t melt as nicely as the freshly grated stuff. After all, you want these potatoes to be the creamiest and gooiest you’ve ever had, and if you follow my recipe, they most certainly will be.
The Creamiest Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Potato Ricer
Ingredients
- 2 lb yukon gold potatoes
- 1 stick butter (8 tbsp), room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk, room temperate
- 2-3 cups shredded cheese of choice (freshly shredded is preferable)
- salt and freshy ground pepper
- fresh herbs for plating (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and slice the potatoes in half. In a large pot, cover potatoes by 1 inch with cold water. Heavily salt the water (it should taste like the sea) and place over high heat.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cook until potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart, about 30 minutes. Drain.
- Push the potatoes through the ricer directly back into the hot pot you just boiled them in. Add in milk, cream, butter and shredded cheese and whisk until potatoes are smooth and creamy, adding more milk if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Top with freshly cracked black pepper and herbs.
i dont have cream, is there any alternative?
Yes, you could use whole milk, sour cream, creme fraiche or mascrapone instead!
These are delicious. I used sour cream and I made them with shredded Gouda cheese. thank you for the recipe.
I followed the directions, but I think for the water “it should taste like the sea” might be too subjective. I believe that they would have been delicious if they hadn’t been so darn salty.
I will definitely be trying this recipe again though. The consistency was incredible and I imagine the taste would have been too had I not overly salted the water.