Whether you’re a traditionalist or you like to change up your holiday menu every year like me, your Thanksgiving table is probably incomplete without a big bowl of piping-hot mashed potatoes.
That said, there’s nothing worse than digging into a pile of fluffy potatoes, only to discover that they’re bland or dry.
Although there are dozens of ways to dress up spuds with mix-ins like cheese, sour cream, and extra butter, kitchen queen Ina Garten has a wonderfully simple recipe that I had to try.
I’m so glad I did. Not only is Garten’s recipe short and sweet, but the results are flavor-packed, ultra-creamy, and something you’ll find in every future holiday spread in my house.
Here’s how to make them.
The ingredient list is short and simple.
You only need six ingredients for this holiday side dish: kosher salt, potatoes, whole milk, unsalted butter, buttermilk, and black pepper.
Garten recommends using a potato that’s easy to boil, such as Yukon Gold. Russets would work well, too: Compared to other potatoes, these varieties contain more starch, which breaks down when mashed into a light and fluffy texture.
Yukons are my personal preference, since I’ve found them to be slightly creamier.
The potatoes took me less than 10 minutes to prep.
Once I collected my ingredients — and set a big pot of well-salted water to boil on the stove — I started on the prep work.
The first step here is peeling the potatoes, but don’t worry about doing a perfect job.
I’ve found that, as long as the spuds are clean, a few pieces of potato skin in the mix won’t really change the dish’s quality. You may even like to leave some skin on for extra texture.
The potatoes should then be cut into roughly equal-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
Garten recommends 1 ½-inch cubes, but it’s OK if you’re not too super precise since everything will be mashed together later.
Cook the potatoes, and don’t let them get gummy.
Once the water reached a boil on the stove, I added the prepped potatoes to the pot and reduced the heat to maintain a gentle simmer with the lid off.
An important part of the recipe is to avoid boiling the potatoes, which can cause them to become gummy. Instead, keep the water at a nice simmer until you can easily pierce the spuds with a paring knife. This took me between 10 to 15 minutes.
When they’re done, drain the potatoes in the sink and return them to the pot to finish the dish.
While the potatoes simmered, I warmed the butter and milk.
A mixture of melted butter and whole milk infuses the cooked potatoes with rich, creamy flavor and texture.
A key step in Garten’s recipe is to warm the two ingredients in a small saucepan while the potatoes cook. The butter will melt into the milk, causing an emulsion.
Dry spuds absorb hot liquids better than cold, and they’re easier to combine with no cold lumps of butter.
Don’t let the mixture come to a boil, which can cause the milk to separate from the butter.
Then, I mashed the potatoes.
When the potatoes are done cooking, strain the water out over the sink and return them to the pot. It’s time to mash them.
Garten’s calls for using a food mill to break down the potatoes, but I live in a New York City apartment with barely enough room to store a pot big enough for this recipe — so, I used a good old-fashioned potato masher.
Once I’d crushed the potatoes into a mostly uniform mush, I added the warm butter and incorporated it with a rubber spatula, per Garten’s instructions.
I added just enough buttermilk for a super creamy mash.
Once you’ve folded the butter and milk into the potatoes, it’s time for the star ingredient: buttermilk.
This ingredient truly sets Garten’s recipe above others I’ve tried. Buttermilk is rich and tangy. It adds a slight tinge of acid that potatoes (which, let’s be honest, can be a bit “blah” if not properly seasoned) need.
I halved Garten’s recipe, which typically feeds five or six, and decided to add a half cup of buttermilk. At first, I was worried I’d overdone it — my mash looked soupy.
After a little more stirring and time, though, the starchy potatoes absorbed the buttermilk, and I had myself an incredibly light and fluffy mash.
The seasoning — and the buttermilk — made Garten’s recipe stand out from the rest.
Adding the right amount of salt and pepper is essential for any dish, but mashed potatoes are often tragically overlooked in the seasoning department.
Garten recommends adding another 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper to the mash for the full recipe, and I agree wholeheartedly.
The result is a rich, tangy, and flavorful side dish you don’t need to wait for a holiday to make. I’ll be bringing these potatoes to Thanksgiving dinner this year and for the foreseeable future.
In my opinion — and perhaps Garten would agree — the typical Thanksgiving menu could use some tangy, acidic additions, and these potatoes are the perfect way to sneak in extra flavor without angering the purists.
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