Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
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These make ahead mashed potatoes are rich, creamy, and perfect for the busy holiday season. Prepare them up to three days ahead, then bake them in the oven until they’re golden and bubbly. It’s an easy time-saving recipe that you can reheat in an hour!
SI love having these make-ahead mashed potatoes in my holiday game plan. They’re incredibly creamy, bake up with lightly golden edges, and take a lot of pressure off when there’s already a lot happening in the kitchen.
Instead of frantically mashing hot potatoes at the last minute, I make these in advance and stash them in the fridge until the big day. I prepare the mashed potatoes as usual, using Russet potatoes, garlic, sour cream, cream, butter, and salt, then stir in a bit of the starchy cooking liquid to keep everything soft and extra creamy. Once they’re mashed, I transfer them to a casserole dish, cover them tightly, and refrigerate.
When it’s time to serve, I just pop the dish into the oven and let it warm through for about an hour. A sprinkle of minced chives on top finishes them off, and they’re ready to go. Mashed potatoes are a must on Thanksgiving and Christmas tables, and this make-ahead version makes them far more enjoyable to cook—and eat.
Pro tip: You need to add extra liquid to your mashed potatoes if you’re planning on reheating them. If you don’t, you’ll end up with dry mashed potatoes. Make them slightly runny so they’re perfectly creamy by the time you reheat them.
Leftovers and freezing
How long do leftovers keep? Store any leftovers in a covered container for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the oven or, if you prefer, in the microwave.
Can you freeze these mashed potatoes? Yep! Adding fats such as cream and butter helps retain their texture. Freeze them in your casserole dish or in a reusable silicone bag, such as these Stasher bags.
Tip: Make this recipe and my easy sweet potato casserole ahead of time, then warm them both up in the oven at the same time.
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 lb Russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 1 cup sour cream (can be light)
- ½ cup cream (or whole milk)
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 teapoons sea salt
- Minced chives (to serve)
Instructions
- Put the potatoes and whole garlic cloves into a large pot and cover with 1-inch of cold water. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and then drain the water from the pot.5 lb Russet potatoes, 6 cloves garlic
- Add the butter to the pot and give it a few minutes to melt. Add the sour cream, cream, butter, and salt and mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Thin the potatoes with a little of the reserved cooking liquid. You want the potatoes to be slightly thinner than normal.1 cup sour cream, ½ cup cream, ¼ cup butter, 2 teapoons sea salt
- Transfer the potatoes to a buttered casserole dish and cover it with aluminum foil. Let the potatoes cool before moving the casserole dish to your fridge. Can be made to this step up to 3 days in advance.
- Put the mashed potatoes into your oven when it's cold – see notes. Turn your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reaches temperature, set a timer for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, until it is bubbling and hot. If you want the potatoes a little extra browned, broil them for a few minutes. Serve topped with minced chives.Minced chives
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
More mashed potato recipes
If you love potatoes as much as we do, make sure to check out all of our potato recipes!
I was wondering if recipe would work in a crockpot. I am putting my dressing in one and thought the mashed potatoes could also go in one. Any thoughts?
While I haven’t tried it, I think it would work great!
mmmm! those mashed potatoes look amazing! thank you for the recipe! can’t wait to make it tomorrow!
I love potatoes! These mashed potatoes are so creamy and delicious! Definitely gonna make them again this week!
This will be such a great time saver for me! I might even throw mine in the toaster oven to heat up – could be a good idea for someone whose oven might be occupied with something else. Happy holidays to y’all and thanks for helping make thanksgiving day go a bit more smoothly 🙂
Great idea about using your toaster oven!
This would be very useful if you have two or three ovens at your house. I do not want my turkey cold or anything else of cooked food I do not want it cold. Yet you yet you want me to take my turkey out of the oven allow the oven to get cold then put the potatoes in there for an hour so you’re not gonna eat the turkey for two hours after you take it out of the oven.? That that makes absolutely zero sense to me. And I think this is the third recipe you have had me use by putting it in the oven that is already occupied by a turkey. And the other thing is don’t all take the same temperature. This shows a lack of planning on your part big-time. Even our large ovens in my church commercial kitchen are not large enough to put that many dishes in at the same time. But yes we have three of them So it would be possible to cook this meal in my church commercial kitchen. But I do not know anyone that could cook that meal at home in their kitchen.
Whether this recipe will work for you or not will depend on the size of your oven and the size of the turkey you’re cooking. Our home oven can fit a small turkey with room for a casserole dish, this works perfectly for us. And we follow the note in the recipe card about letting the casserole sit at room temperature for half an hour so we can tuck it in the hot oven with the turkey. If you’re cooking a large turkey and don’t have any free oven space it’s best to follow the instructions about reheating these in the microwave.